The M16 and the Vietnam War
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 11 мар 2024
- An overview of the M16 during the Vietnam War including it's feature in war movies.
More War Movie Content: / johnnyjohnsonesq
Request a review: johnnyjohnsonreviews@gmail.com
Movies Featured:
We Were Soldiers 2002
Apocalypse Now 1979
Family Guy (Series)
Hamburger Hill 1987
The Green Berets 1968
Forest Gump 1994
Full Metal Jacket 1987
Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan 2019
The Siege of Firebase Gloria 1989
Tropic Thunder 2008
Missing in Action 1984
Rushmore 1998
The Deer Hunter 1978
Platoon 1986
Uncommon Valor 1983
BAT *21 1988
American Dad (Series)
#gun #army #war
The British Army bought 10,000 M-16s before the US Army did. They were used by the Gurkhas in preference to the FN FAL as it was shorter and lighter.
Well the US navy was the first operator of the M16 in 62 and that was in the 80s if I do believe but the M16s that Britain had were A1s which were good but they prefers the Canadian Colt rifles over the American Rifles. And when I said M16 I mean the first issue military pattern AR-15 modified for military use. Before the A1.
Love Gurkhas
And a piece of crap that jammed and was not that well built. Vets I met bitched that it would break
@@shananiganspapa did ya watch the video?
@@bolnol, I'm definitely adding a kukri to my blade collection!
The person who said that the M-16 can be self-cleaned might be one of the worst trolls in the US military. 😂
Reminds me of a guy in my armed security guard training. "It's a Glock, you don't need to lubricate it." Yeah, ok, buddy. You have fun with that.
My father was told the same they lied
Even though the rifle was designed to use stick powder the us decided to use ball powder then they found out that needed a chrome chamber my father had to learn this the hard way
Govt armories trying to stop AR15/M16 adoption in favor of the M14...
@@R0d_1984armories don't produce weapons, why would they be the ones lying?
It was great to see an interview with a soldier on the rifle. It is uncommon to see such footage.
Excellent
I was thinking just this. Really quite chilling to see the real human being talking about real fighting in the midst of all the highly stylised action movie sequences.
Especially cause he couldn't answer more specifically, as in what is it, failure to? Extract? Feed?
6:40 Johnny, on the issue of AK's to spec ops units during Vietnam, one other reason was that many of these missions, especially MACV-SOG missions along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, were conducted at night. The AK has a distinctive heavier sound firing compared to the lighter "pop-pop" sound of the M-16, so acoustic concealment was a reason to use the AK as well, if the teams got into firefights.
Dunno about 5.56 being a "lighter" kind of sound. It's pretty harsh compared to a lot of calibers.
But ignoring the sound, the Stoner rifles firing about 300 rounds a minute faster would probably be the most obvious giveaway.
Far from an expert guys... but didn't the AK and the M16 have different colored tracer ammo?
@@jerryjeromehawkins1712 5.56x45=Orange
7.62x39=Green
@@immikeurnotStoner weapons were used almost exclusively by the SEALS, who generally operated in the southern areas around the Mekong.
@@immikeurnot speaking from experience the difference in sound between the two is VERY distinct, easy to discern even during a firefight.
"You're all stupid, see they're gonna be looking for army guys"
What they don't prepare you for is the incessant use of "Fortunate Son"...
We were always looking for some guy named Charlie, but I never did find him
@@Wachuma-icp99 I found him.
Knew a Sea Bee who said his unit never let go of the old M14s. Said the real advantage was that if the chopper went down and the M60 was destroyed, you could rip 7.62 rounds from the belts and load them into the M14s
Good point.
That's why pretty much all nations, have tried using the same caliber, for multible weapons systems, at one or multible points in time.
Eg pistol and SMG. Or Individual rifle, squad machine gun (LMG, LSW) and Marksman Rifle.
I've personally been in a firefight, where most ammo went to the machine gun. So the opposite of in your example.
After being ambushed, and dumping half a mag, and changing it for a full. As a Forward Observer, I switched to my map, binos and radio. And during the next couple of hours, the rest of my mags went to the LSW gunner.
In that instance, I think we were all grateful, that we could continue feeding our MG. But in general, there was a broad consensus, that it lacked punch, for the way it was used doctrinaly.
Like with everything. There are both upsides and downsides to standardising on one caliber.
So generally, any military that have done so, generally ditch the idea, once it's time to find a replacement for one of the weapons.
And then they try the same again after a few decades, when technology has improved, or priorities/requirements have changed.
Because 7.62 is superior to 5.56
plus the first were crap
I only fired 15 shots from an M-16 during my short time in my country's version of the National Guard. The Army instructor brought us to firing range and told us to shoot with zero prior knowledge. My first and last time using the M-16, a burst of GPMG and a single shot from a handgun.
Totally comprehensive training, you guys could rival the Russians in best in the world, most comprehensive training lol
@@Legitpenguins99Lol, indeed. It was a college outreach programme disbanded a year later due to low interest. And thanks to Soros playing around with South East Asian economy several years prior the Army had a hard time trying to find funds or provisions for us. The previous recruits, my seniors, had better training.
@@Legitpenguins99 I hope that is sarcasm.
What country was that?
My uncle had kept his copy of the M16 comic book in plastic and I inherited it from him, great memories and best cleaning guide ever made.
Sweet 16
Pretty good summary of the M16. The combination of propellant change and failure to chrome line the chamber and bore created the vast majority of the M16`s problems. Failure to extract due to cartridge brass sticking in corroded chambers was the most common malfunction.
Yeah the ball powder was easily the biggest flaw of the weapon.
@@blackhatfreak I’d argue the chrome lining was the bigger problem. It caused the failures to extract which meant the case was stuck in the chamber which shut down the gun. Guys began taping cleaning rods to their rifles which they’d shove down the muzzle to knock the stuck case out. God help you if the extractor tore the base of the case off. The ball powder accelerated the firing rate and caused bolt carrier bounce leading to light strikes in full auto. Usually you just had to manually cycle the gun to eject the unfired round and you’re back in the fight. Some felt that the ball powder increased fouling and the increased chamber pressures caused the over expansion of the case leading to the failures to extract but most experts currently agree that the chamber corrosion was the major factor causing failure to extract malfunctions. Once chambers were chrome lined the M16’s ran ball ammunition ok. Bolt carrier bounce was eventually corrected by modifying the buffers. The Army and Marine Corps issued cleaning kits as well. It was just extraordinary that the brass thought cleaning kits were unnecessary!
The ball powder likely caused a more fouling generally, and in the gas system especially, exasperating the non chrome chamber issues. You’re both correct 👍
@@Chiller11 the ball powder is the reason the chrome was the issue.
Building an A1 was the best decision ever. Its to this day the most fun rifle to shoot.
I’m happy you are having your fun, but would you give it up if it meant everyone in the USA was safer?
@@1337billybob hell no. Never. This is a laughable question. I will never give my guns up under any circumstances.
@@1337billybobnobody is safer without guns, quite the opposite. The proliferation of firearms among civilians helps to ensure that any criminal faces far more firepower when doing crimes.
Americans tackled this problem very wrongly, it is much harder to rob someone when he has a gun, and a criminal it is less likely to rob someone if they knew how common firearms are.
Sure there are cases when banning firearms helped reducing deaths, however they never tell you that the non-firearm deaths increased significantly which countered the deaths from firearms, and when the rights to bear arms is written into the Constitution you just can’t take guns away from people.
@1337billybob I don't see how one man giving up a gun would make EVERYONE safer. I imagine it would make anyone who might rob the person who gets rid of their gun safer, but no sane person wants dangerous criminals to be more safe. Then again, maybe you support the criminals.
@@dannyzero692I had a friend once who told me of an idea for resolving the gun control debate that I think is pretty clever. He suggested not taking away the guns, but rather the live ammunition and compensating the owners with money and/or non lethal ammunition, with live ammo being allowed only on certified firing ranges. The line of thought was that it pleased the overall wishes of both sides: pro-gun folks get to keep their guns and still use them, while the accessibility to the stuff needed to commit a shooting is drastically lowered.
Fun fact: a lesser-known issue of the Vietnam-era M16 was that Colt's machinery gave barrels the wrong twist, destabilizing the bullets so much they'd fragment on impact.
The flip side of horror stories about jamming were reports like "the M16 rocks, I hit Charlie in the shoulder and his head exploded," which the Pentagon did its best to classify because they REALLY didn't want to deal with the PR fallout for something that wasn't even intentional on their part.
Are you sure the fragmentation wasn't due to velocity rather than twist rate? Inconsistency (from my limited understanding) in the particulars of the rifling could cause all sorts of issues such as instability causing tumbling and difficulty zeroing, but I'm not sure under or over spinning the projectile would cause the fragmentation.
Tumbling would explain that quote quite well actually.
Incorrect, the vietnam era 5.56 ammunition was a 55gr fmj projectile optimised for a 1 in 12 inch rifling twist, they were brutally effective against unarmored targets because unlike larger diameter projectiles moving slower such as .308 and 7.62x39
The 5.56 out of a 20 inch barrel going 3200 feet per second delivers it energy into the target by shattering shortly after impact causing extreme temporary and permanent cavitation leading to signifigant organ and tissue damage around the point of impact
As opposed to punching entirely through a target without dumping any energy into it like heavier rounds
The myth of vietnam era m16s having bad rifling likely arose from people using later M855 62grain ammunitoon designed for the m16a2 onwards which had a 1 in 7 inch twist rate and would not properly stabilise from an earlier m16 with a 1 in 12
The fragmentation was caused by the high velocity of the bullet, they used 1/12 until the 80s. The heavier ammo designed for the M16A2 will not stabilize in a M16A1 barrel however but this ammo didn't exist yet during the vietnam war
The Armalite AR15 had a 1-in-14 bore twist and used the .222 Remington cartridge. The Colt XM16 was chambered for the more powerful .220 Special (AKA .223 Remington) cartridge and used 1-in-12 rifling to have a more stable trajectory.
When it used the .22 caliber industry standard 1-in-14 rifling it was unstable and had a wobbling trajectory like the 7.35mm Carcano. The large cavitation wounds weren't a violation of the Hague Conventions because it had a FMJ bullet. The rifling was changed because the XM16 was unacceptably inaccurate in temperate climes and got worse in cold weather.
The fragmenting was due to it being a varmint round it was (contrary to misinformation) part of it's design (it's a geneva convertion issue, though the U.S isn't or wasn't a signatory to...)
Good and accurate description of the switch from stick IMR powder that Stoner designed the gas system around, to the cheaper (1 cent per round) spherical or ball powder.
And largely to be placed at the feet of Army logistics: The Army had huge stocks of ball powder, it would be cheaper to use ... and forced when the problems of the dirtier powder were already known.
Carried one in the Marines from 79 to 85. Didn’t shoot anything else. I do remember some old timers from Vietnam saying they hated them.
We hated them, cuz, they didn''t always fire the next round, after the one in the chamber, sometimes it would, and sometimes it would not, with the M-14's, they worked 24/7, good weather, bad weather, clean, dirty, never failed me, or anyone that I knew.
My grandfather preferred the m1 .30cal carbine (he was a cook) and my father's favourite weapon was the browning hi power (he drove lavs) but they both used to say that the m16 was the best weapon for frontline troops.
I was issued the M16A2 with a 203 attached in the 90's
In middle school, a friend of mine has his grandpa came in to speak to our class who was a Vietnam Vet. I think we just read a book about it? Well, as a kid I read about how the M16 kept jamming so wanted to ask if his ever did. Before asking, I was thinking 'don't ask if he killed anyone, don't ask if he killed anyone.' Well, I ended up asking if he killed anyone and he said he didn't want to talk about it and he left shortly after. I think about that day a lot.
I worked with 4 Vietnam veterans. You never ask them about the war. I just sat back and listened when they talked about their experiences. Sounded pretty terrifying some of the stuff they went through 😢😢😢
3:20 R. Lee Ermey is in his element.
My dad was issued an M16A1 back in the late 1980’s his only complaint was it was a pain to clean other than that he had nothing but praise
Same thing mine says. He was 82nd in the early 70s and said only ones who had issues with them were the ones who didn’t know how to take care of a woman lmao
The M16's character arc is some classic Heroes Journey stuff: begin as the red-headed stepchild, grow into a reliable friend, and now these days be viewed as an iconic hero (or villain if you listen to the political talking heads).
Not unlike the Tommygun?
Yup. Part of the reason for the AR15s popularity in the civilian market is actually due to US Military vets picking them up since it was a rifle that was at least somewhat familiar to them, and they had abundant access to things like cleaning kits. On top of this, the rifle is actually easy to learn and master, making it popular in various circles such as competition shooting.
The reason they crop up so many times in.... certain events... is not due to their capabilities... it's just due to the AR15 being the Toyota Corolla of firearms
I like to add this about the ammunition, the ammo was originally produced by Remington with ball powder which was successful in field use without modifying the M16. When the M16 became standardized, the army took over ammo production so propellant was switched to surplus IMR (designed as late from WW2) which was compatible with artillery and 7.62 NATO. The bureaucrats intended the 556 ammo to fail so they could justify re-issuing M14 rifles to meet contracts originally promised to Springfield Armory.
It's backwards, actually; the initial powder was IMR (improved military something) and then the Army switched to older ball powder since they had tons of it laying around, plus old powder could be recycled into new powder - and McNamara *loved* his cost-saving.
@@kylebrady969 where’s your source on that? Eugene Stoner was interviewed and stated Ball Powder was used for REM .223 (when first deployed to field test to advisors) as it’s original specifications before Army Logistics specifically chose IMR.
@@griz312 He is right about McNamera though. The scumbag loved cost cutting so much he basically pushed for so many programs to be canned. This included proper training for the M16, and the F-4 Phantom. Thus, when rookies went into battle with these things, they got their asses handed to them. It wouldn't be until the USAF/USN started their own fighter weapons schools, and the Army/Marines started properly training their troops that the Phantom and M16 started doing what they were supposed to. The upgrades to both were certainly welcome, but the training was what saved lives.
@@Tank50us Oh without a doubt he was. He took advantage of low IQ enlisted men and turned them into cannon fodder in a twisted way to combat poverty.
I appreciate the run down of every issue the original M16s faced before the A1. I have tried to recall by memory each of those when discussing the weapon, and I always come up a few short.
Another good video. The M-16A1 was my first weapon in the military and I still have my comic book manuals that would never be issued today.
The "color"-version..as in, red/white/&black-font..for the M60-"pig" was just stupidly-shitty, even for the time of issue, in '69. Very first page: "Hey!!! Lookie-here!!!" , with his eyeball stuck in the receiver, LOL!🙄
Perfect time to play rising store 2 Vietnam, I hate the 20 round magazine.
Sure is still a good game, what with Battlefield Vietnam and Bad Company 2+Vietnam being gone from a lot of stores and servers.
Is it still played or are the servers empty?
@@beatzbyato76_65
Has a lot of players, just don't go to custom servers, they mess up the game.
@@beatzbyato76_65
Still has a lot of players, just don't go to custom server, they mess up.
The 20 round magazine in RS2 actually has only 18 rounds.
galvanic corrosion:
when two disimilar metals meet and the two metals interact with each other (and thus form a form of “rust”).
this rust then “eats” the two metals.
In a c141b multiple screws and other things had to be the same metal (thus it is bad for something to go “snap” while in flight. If a major thing goes “snap” while in flight, it may cause the plane to crash. that is not a good thing.)
M16a1 is such an American ass weapon
And would continue service through the Gulf War as the A2, The Gulf War would mark America's first victory since the defeat in Vietnam
@@CrossOfBayonneGrenada?
@@CrossOfBayonne The Vietnam war was as much a defeat to the US as was the war against the Taliban. The US withdrew, they weren't defeated.
@@CrossOfBayonne The A2 was one of the finest rifles of that generation, just my opinion though
@@wulfheort8021 That's like running away from a fight when you're losing and saying that it technically doesn't count. A defeat is a defeat. There's no shame in losing if you fought well.
Awesome video!!! Used only the M16A1 & M16A2 while in US Army from 1981-2001. Must admit, liked the M16A1 way better than the A2 - primary reason was the TRIANGULAR forward handgrips!!! That style of handgrips fit the palm of the hand just right, so was able to have better control of the weapon when firing. Usually qualified as a low expert on ranges due to the M16A1. Sometime in the mid-1980s the M16A2 was introduced. Since we still had a turd-load of ammo left for the older weapon, after qualifications one time we had the mission to SHOOT as much M16A1 ammo as possible for it had to be eliminated. The newer ammo for the M16A2 was just a tad bit too short to properly fit the chamber of the M16A1, thus the reason to get rid of as much of the older ammo as possible. After firing what seemed to be about 10,000 rounds or so (probably not actually, but we were out on the range for a long time) of continuous firing, rodding the barrel, lubing, and firing, and repeat the barrel of my weapon actually became warped. Also, we were told that our weapons were supposed to be sold/transferred to the guerilla's fighting in Nicaragua at that time, so going out and shooting another crap-ton of ammo through the weapon and warping the barrel some more was a good motivator (you could tell the barrel was warped because the cleaning rods would no longer easily go through the barrel like it should).
Then came M16A2: round forward hand grip, selector switch for a 3-round burst, slightly lighter, and newer ammo. My qualifications with this weapon went from low expert to high sharpshooter. Really did not like the round hand grip, so the reduction in qualification was most likely mental for me.
Then, in the very late 1990s, the Army went out and purchased what was then called GREEN AMMO. Yep - the bullet was actually GREEN (or at least the tip) and supposedly was more ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY to the dirt and trees and whatever else it may happen to hit. The GREEN AMMO was a bit lighter than the older ammo and supposedly did not have the copper coated core of the original bullets. Supposedly that new ammo was a bit more accurate and whatever else stuff we were told. Also, because the new ammo had a GREEN tip, it was supposed to be harder to intermix the older ammo with the new, but it did happen at times. You were supposed to be able to SHOOT the new ammo from the M16A1 but unable to SHOOT the older ammo from the M16A2 (or vice-versa, cannot really remember after 20+ years) because of the slight difference in round size. The Army was into cleaning up their weapons ranges bigtime back in the late 1990s (at least the installation I was on) and actually was digging up decades worth of old expended ammo from the ground/berms. Yep - was on many a detail just to go out to a certain range and pick expended bullets out of the ground for a few weeks at a time (would have an MRE, canteen of water, and a bucket to place the bullets in - that was your main mission for the day).
Anyways, enough of that dribble. THANKS!!! for the memories!!
Also do NOT forget about that TV shows from the late 1980s called, "Tour of Duty" or "China Beach". Was an OK series that can be seen on the H&I Channel (Heroes & icons).
I have some M855 Green Tips. With 62 grains at 2920 fps, it's a bit heavier and slower than standard FMJ but contains a steel component that increases penetration at shorter ranges.
The chamber in the A1 will chamber and fire the later ammunition no problem. The problem is the rifling twist rate in the A1 is too slow to stabilize the bullets used in the later stuff (M855).
I like how everyone compliments the A1 here but bats no eye to the mention that the US government gave guns to Nicaraguan guerillas.
Explains the amount of cursed original M16a1s Ive seen from central and south America.
The M16A1 can chamber the ammo for the M16A2 I think you're a little confused there unless you had an out of spec chamber/ammo. But the faster twist rate of the rifling in the M16A1s barrel will cause the M855 to keyhole and be horribly inaccurate most of the time. M16A2 can user either ammo type though.
" After about 10,000 rounds or so of continuous firing" -There is NO way an M16 will last 10,000 rds of continous firing; People have done tests and they are lucky to fire 750 rds auto without your issue; The Australian army was selecting a new small arm,, Steyr vs m16, the m16's (semi and auto) shot out the barrels after about 6,000rds on average, the Steyrs last 8500 on average (approx), the M16 failed most of the test, did better in one test (can't remember ATM)...
Loved your comment at the end Johnny when you say ARA stands for "Assault Rifle". Right up there with RPG standing for Rocket Propelled Grenade .....LOL! Great video on history of the M16!
The A1 has Always been my favorite American Weapon
Johnny, I am so happy you finally made this video. Very well done love your content
If there's things that pretty much represent the Vietnam war, it's Fortunate son, Huey Helicopters, and the M-16.
And if I have my hand, I'd rather use them less in case I make my own warfare fiction.
@@michaelandreipalon359 Hueys and M-16s are extremely common, unless you are in the very early stages where M-14s and Bells where still in service. As for music I've always had the same thought, instead of anti-war hippie protest music, I'd use music the troops where actually listening too in theater. That being surf rock, and country music.
@@bakomushaMost Vietnam War movies were at their core anti-war by design so using a protest song makes sense. Over time it just became a trope.
@@cm275 And a tiring one for me.
I think of the song 2+2= great song
since you mentioned movie armorers, a video revolving around movie guns, procurement and alternatives would definitively be something i'd watch
If he ever makes that video, he should mention Red Dawn. Since it was produced during the Cold War, they couldn't just buy all the Eastern bloc weapons and vehicles they needed, so they had to improvised. This included mocking up Egyptian Madi AKMs as AKS 74 rifles for the VDV, using a Finnish Jatimatic SMG to stand in the PM 63 rak and making fake hinds out of Aeropostale helicopters
@@ahmadsuleman9045 Some of the fakes were so accurate to the real thing, the CIA had a meeting asking where they got them.
I was a 11B Infantry troop in Viet Nam. Regardless of who used it be it’s Senior Sargent or a 19 year old new troop the M-16 proved unreliable as the shell casing would get stuck and that made it impossible to eject the round. We used Rifle Cleaning rods to push it down the barrel to eject the stuck casing. We nick named a muzzle loader. Some people should have gone to prison over this tragedy. Sgt. E-5 A Co. 1/26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division-RVN
They also changed the charges on the ammo to make it fire cleaner and the rifle is pretty near recoilless good rifle with many variants.
My research into why the M-16 had jamming problems when it was introduced is because they loaded the wrong type of gunpowder in the bullet cases. However, they figured it out and have used ball-powder with the right burning rate to address this problem. It has a distinctive smell.
Very cool video, please more about the Vietnam War
greetings from Germany
Due to idiots the American forces were outclassed in weapons except for the m 60 machine gun .
@@garypiont6114 M16 was still a good gun
@@jamesedwardladislazerrudo1378 excellent for indoor target use, maybe airforce guard duty. But I sure it has a cult following.
Just rewatched Full Metal Jacket this weekend, funny coincidence :D
Gunny Hartmann. Yes Sir!
Ah, the Mattel-16. Thankfully, later variants worked out most of the problems. Too bad for the folks who were killed because of those problems.
The main problem was the use of the wrong powder in the ammo, not the design of the rifle.
@@absolutmauseryep, Remington was making the ammo before the Army took over production. The Army used IMR last updated from WW2.
There NEVER WAS a "Mattel"-16, or ANY subcontracted parts; that is a MYTH, as confirmed by Chris Bartocci in his BR vol2, right in the introduction; although I THOUGHT of MAKING a rifle WITH that laser-etched "Mattel" TM, just for giggles.
Thanks for the Video!
I've always wanted to own an M16 kinda wanna build an M16A1 variant
Had a toy M-16 as a kid. It had a rattler inside that spun and "fired" a 3 round burst, it was pretty sweet. Especially as two buddies got the same toy and we'd run around the woods playing.
Had a Glock too that took strips of 20 caps in to the handle, probably my fave toy of all time, so of course my teacher took it after only two weeks.
Haven't seen a cap gun in over 30 years. I was of the last generation that got to enjoy them. I don't know how it is in the U.S. But at least Finland made them illegal to sell in the 90s.
Love how you said of course my teacher took it after 2 weeks 😂you must be from a good era my friend when you could show your hunting rifles to your gym teachers and show up with your guns to school not having to worry about them thinking your a shooter . This comment made me smile like a mf 💪@@VikingTeddy
Also I used to have those orange cap guns growing up they where revolvers with cap rings me and my buddy's used to hollow out the barrel and you'd feel a good umpfh when we pushed it up against each other small burns etc good kid fun though taught us about gun safety
PSA sells H&R “clones.” Right around $1200 and it’s not gonna be a pos based of reviews. Plan on getting one for my dad whom was a Nam vet.
You can do this pretty easily by just getting any civilian AR-15 and swapping out its furnituring with M16A1 parts.
Excellent and very informative video. Thank You so much ✨
Great video as always
Its alwayd a good day when Johnny Johnson uploads 🏆👏🏻
So good. Thanks for the awesome content
Nice video as always keep up the great work man! And question will you ever do a video on the fn fal?
Ahhhhh…The video I’ve been waiting for 😀
The M-16A2,A4, & M4…My best war buddies (Iraq-03, 07, & 11)-(Afghanistan 2012-2013 & 2014)
superb content as always 🙂
Nice work JJ. You took a big old subject and got it down nicely there, mate. Good work.
I had been dreading making this video for some time. Lots of technical information beyond my knowledge and lots and lots of opinions and experience on the firearm out there. I think it worked out okay.
The M16 has become one of my favorite action movie firearms, and the first movie I ever saw it in was Predator where Arnold Schwarzenegger used the M16 with the grenade launcher attachment. To me, that's the best look of the M16.
Yes siree
The M16's in Predator were honestly the best cinematic versions of the rifle as a whole. I will always remember Billy's unique underbarrel Mossberg attachment.
You mean the M203. First introduced in 1969
The only problem I ever had with the M16/M203 combo is its not made for left handers. The early M16s would throw hot brass down your shirt or in your face. The quadrant sight on the M203 was mounted on the left side and could not be mounted on the right. More evidence of anti lefty bias. Lol
@@mikebowen3315our military back then had way more bias than it does today. Back during Vietnam not even 20 years earlier blacks were finally allowed to serve in the military. But that didn’t mean they would defend them against racism. They probably only allowed it so they could conscript more people into their military. Without a shadow of a doubt I wouldn’t be surprised if lefties were treated the same way. Back then they probably thought that they didn’t need to change a weapon system to be used by both right handed and left handed people considering the whole platoon as well as their drill sergeant would bully them into using it right handed
I’m glad I’m early to another amazing video!
this was a great video!
learned a lot of context
We have a hot comment section! Lay down some covering likes, men!
Yessir!
Some of these movies I watched in the second half of 80's as a poor quality VHS copy
Fun facts, members of Australia army both during and after vietnam referenced to M16 as the Armalite
As did many in the IRA.
@@mbryson2899Yep, there's a whole song about it.
@@DarkElfDiva ??? What song?
@@DarkElfDiva It weren't "Johnson's Motorcar," no Armalites back then...
@@mbryson2899My Little Armalite
Another great video
Ive been looking foward for this one, also what a way to trigger some with the AR trivia lol
The US Board of Ordinance was responsible for those American deaths by changing powder, not chrome lining the chamber not giving out cleaning kits or proper training. It's done well since they corrected these errors and has become the most modular weapon system out there. I carried an A1 in my four year tour in the Marine Corps Infantry. I believed the bad hype at first but never had an issue with mine.
It was the DOD that prevented the chrome cambering because of what Stoner said..
I didn't know about the negative impact during the Vietnam War. That's very sad. Very informative. Thank you.
YOUR VIDEOS ARE AWESOME!
Maybe FAL next?
Great video.
Always good to see a Vietnam vid from you j
I was issued an XM-16E1 when I was at Camp Pendleton in 1977. I never knew the significance of that until years later.
I carried an an XM16E1 as a Paratrooper of A Co (ABN)3/5 INF in the early 1980’s, but the 3 prong flash suppressor had been replaced with the birdcage type. It had seen a lot of use, but it was an excellent weapon.
10:30 don't even joke about that. We might have to pull your card.
Great video...👍
Good video! I’d say it was a good summary of the M16, you should make a video on the M14, i do know it does’t make as many appearances in film, but it is a good topic about the last american battle rifle!
I walked point in Vietnam in and around the DMZ and Con Thien in Vietnam. I never had a problem with my M16. Every chance I had I cleaned my bore and chamber and my rounds in my magazines.
Video on the m4 carbine? Btw great videos like always.
7:27 is there something wrong with that barrel or is it just me?
It's just happy to see you lmao
Looks bent, for sure.
I wonder what Kubrick meant by that.
NOTHING in his films is accidental.
It is the MGC rifle. The outside barrel does not go to the breech and the thin metal tube (yes, tube) that joins them can bend!
Say hello to my little friend. - Tony Montana. 😅😊
Yes the toy gun industry was strong into the 80s. Had a olive green toy m16.
Whoever came up with the idea of calling it self-cleaning should be remembered forever, because they probably got too many people killed.
FINALLY, HES DONE THE VIDEO!
...the original barrel twist was 1 in 14 which just barely stabilized the 55 grain bullet and when it his flesh the rapid deceleration coupled with its instability, caused devastating wounds...later when the Army decided to standardize the M16, it found that a twist of 1 in 12 was necessary to stabilized the slightly heavier tracer round...and this faster twist reduced the previous 'spectacular wounding properties of the round,leading to further criticism of the rifle/round - especially frtom GIs who'd been trained with - and used the M14...
Yes finally I've been waiting for Soo long can you make an AK or m4 next?
I have a 1971 Colt SP1, LOVE it!
Great to see this come out! Especially with Primitve war film production announcement. Vietnam War x Dinosaurs. What's not to love?
Good video Johnny, you put a lot of research into that and I’m sure you had to sift through a lot of myth and misconceptions. I even learned a couple things from you.
My M16A2 with the M203 launcher was my favorite weapon in the army. Lots of fun, you Otta do a video on that next
You forgot to mention that the M16s in movies filmed in the Philippines like Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and Hamburger Hill used real M16A1 and CAR-15 rifles made under license by Elisco Machine and Tool. Thats because the Philippine military contributed military equipment, arms, personnel, vehicles, and even aircraft to the film crews.
Nice one ,sir....
Went thru basic in 1981 and the cleaning kits issued still had the comic style cleaning instructions
We also were eating surplus C rations that were from the Vietnam era
Love the Rushmore clip
The M16 Rifles have a rough history during Vietnam war.
I was with First Recon, Chu Lai and was issued an M16 to replace my M14 sometime in early 1967. On Patrol we were going down a hill and stopped to see if we were being followed. I was tail end Charlie. When I rolled over to take out those following us the M 16 jammed after three rounds fired. After our extraction I turned in my M 16 for my old trusty M 14.
Left Arm of the Free World...?
l know this war very well.....Thanks Johnny for this very accurate video on the M-16......lt is always good to see one of your video's....
Your friend Old F-4 2 Shoe🇺🇸
I bought a copy of m16 comic book manual to read last year.
Loving the bait right at the very end.
Man a late as 2014 i was trained with the M16A1 for small 5'9ft Asian the gun was very good.
I had to compete on a 3 man team assemble disassemble didn't win but had a hell lot fun.
So the m16 has a special place in my heart.
You didn't really bring up the whole ammo sabotage going on with the M16, where they used inadequate powder for its design. The design relied on using a higher quality powder that burned cleaner. This meant the remaining debris could be expelled by the high gas pressures. The AR was designed to pressure wash itself, but bad powder impedes flow through the gas tube. The cleaning kits were unnecessary because Stoner showed if you use the right equipment, the most you have to do is oil the thing every now and then. I haven't cleaned mine in nearly 2 years and it's put a few thousand down range in that time.
Isn't this issue the one addressed in 3:29 ?
I was trained on the T65K2 rifle (the Taiwanese made M16A1) during my military service so I have quite a lot of memories with it haha.
This is the M16a1, it jams.
The switch to a different powder type, the removal of the chrome lined chamber, and the manufactures understanding that magazines were to be “one time use” all lead to issues in the field.
thanks for the ISO metrics!
Haha i remember a comment from another video mentioning to make a vid about the m16 and here we are!
Also, the formula for the propellent changed from a clean propellent to a dirty one. this also caused excessive dirty weapons.
The rifle was not set up for ball propel ant..The A1 version was and they still use ball propellant today in the M4/M16
one would think that after some 50 plus years of operation, they would change the propellent formula to the original.
That would not be difficult (in my opinion).@@hairydogstail
You can say that modern warfare started in Vietnam. There were some thing in WW2 that made it happen such as CQB and the STG-44, but they were still at there infancy. Vietnam is where most weapons and tactics got there first shake such as the M16, AKM and so on that we still use today albeit modified and updated.
What about Korea?
@@michaelandreipalon359 it was pretty much the same as WW2 but with more emphasis on destroying human wave attacks.
9:10
Ah yes, the Colt Model 653. Licensed in the Philippines by Elisco, where it popularly became known as "Baby Armalite".
Just got to shoot the A1 Vietnam era at my cabin with a few friends was an absolute blast
2:00 I wonder what the logic behind this was. Just low inventory perhaps? It must have been weird going from a heavy 7.62mm battle rifle to a more intermediate weapon. Hopefully most of the training they recieved on one system was applicable to the new weapon. That's not to mention to technical problems the early models of the m16 had. Always been interesting to me how the system had so many bad problems at first, but continued to evolve and went on to serve until quite recently. From what I understand, the U.S. military is only now rolling out truly different weapons as successors
The main problem was the army using the wrong powder in the ammo and telling the troops the rifle was self-cleaning. The reason it's been in use so long is that it's a terrific rifle.
I was drafted in Jan 1969 and trained on both the M14 and M16, I had no combat experience but loved the M16 after moving on from the M14.