The rifle that the M16 was based on, the AR15, designed by
Eugene Stoner, was a SUPERB weapon. In field tests, its performance
was near perfect. United that were supplied with it didn't want to
go back to the their M14s. In the early years of the VN War, a AR15
could fetch up to 500 bucks on the blackmarket (it was sold in the
US for only $100). Such was its quality and performance.
The problem is the AR15 was designed and manufactured by a civilian
contractor, whereas the M14, the US military's standard rifle, was
designed by the army. Naturally, the army didn't like having its
rifled replaced by one that wasn't designed by them. In an era
where politics was less than transparent, certain quarters of the
US military establishment sought to sabotage any effort to replace
the M14. And when they failed, they made certain changes to the M16
to ensure that it would offer sub-par performance.
The 2 big problems were with the rifling of the barrel, and the
type of propellant used in the ammunition.
The brass believed that the M14's replacement should have its
range. Being of smaller calibre, the AR15 naturally could not fire
a round as far as the M14. The solution to that was to 1. increase
the rifling of the barrel so that the bullet would spin more, be
more stable in flight, thus travel a further distance. 2. use a
propellant in the ammo that expanded more rapidly These 2 design
features were thus added to the AR15, among others, and the M16
came into being.
Not necessarily a bad thing, increasing the rifling of the M16's
had a detrimental effect on lethality. The 5.56mm round was very
light, but scientists had long discovered that the lighter a bullet
was, the more devastating a wound would be. Bigger calibre bullets
often passed thru the flesh because of the sheer momentum and mass.
A 5.56mm round would tumble as it passed thru the flesh, causing a
lot more tissue damage. By increasing the rifling, thus spin, the
5.56mm bullet would continue thru the body like a bullet of larger
calibre, negating the inherent lethality it had.
The AR15 was designed to be used with bullets that were propelled
by IRT (I think). It was with such rounds that the AR15 performed
perfectly, and was most impressive. The US military, however, had
strong ties with companies producing rounds which used ball powder
as a propellant. The M14 used such rounds, and various political
and military forces worked to ensure that existing ammo suppliers
would not lose their contracts.
The problem with ball powder is that it burnt much faster, and was
dirtier. The increased speed of combustion was good, because it
gave the bullet a greater range, but ball powder rapidly fouled the
M16's internal mechanisms, components that were designed for use
with the cleaner IRT. That was the crux of why the M16 kept jamming
- the wrong ammo was being used.
I wouldn't say the AK47 is a superior weapon. Had the M16 been a
wholesale copy of the AR15, it would have undoubtedly kicked the
AK47's ass. Early field trials already suggested this.
Unfortunatley, the GIs in Vietnam were saboed by a stubborn
bureaucracy. The M16 was no AR15 although they looked
similar.
Most of the design problems were quite rapidly resolved, mostly
because there was an immense amount of pressure on the govt from
GIs, parents of GIs to do something about the unrealiability of the
M16. Apparnetly, many GIs had written to their parents complaining
about their M16s jamming. The pressure was enough for a House
investigation committee to be convened to find out wtf went wrong.
I believe the product of that was some heads rolled, and a 700 page
report. Oh, and a better M16, of course. You can find it online if
you search hard enough.
