23 MAY -- This Day in US Military History

2015-05-23T15:56:54-04:00

1967 – A public controversy over the M-16, the basic combat rifle in Vietnam, begins after Representative James J. Howard (D-New Jersey) reads a letter to the House of Representatives in which a Marine in Vietnam claims that almost all Americans killed in the battle for Hill 881 died as a result of their new M-16 rifles jamming.

The Defense Department acknowledged on August 28 that there had been a “serious increase in frequency of malfunctions in the M-16.” The M-16 had become the standard U.S. infantry rifle in Vietnam earlier in 1967, replacing the M-14. Almost two pounds lighter and five inches shorter than the M-14, but with the same effective range of over 500 yards, it fired a smaller, lighter 5.56-mm cartridge. The M-16 could be fired fully automatic (like a machine gun) or one shot at a time.
Because the M-16 was rushed into mass production, early models were plagued by stoppages that caused some units to request a reissue of the M-14. Technical investigation revealed a variety of causes for the defect, in both the weapon and ammunition design, and in care and cleaning in the field. With these deficiencies corrected, the M-16 became a popular infantry rifle that was able to hold its own against the Soviet-made AK-47 assault rifle used by the enemy.

https://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/may-23/

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made May 23 at 2015 4:33 PM

2015-05-23T16:33:50-04:00

Great piece of history on the venerable M-16. Thanks, once again SFC Robert White.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 23 at 2015 5:34 PM

2015-05-23T17:34:39-04:00

The venerable, and (now) reliable M16, I still prefer it over the M4 carbine.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made May 23 at 2015 11:21 PM

2015-05-23T23:21:08-04:00

It's just an example of politicians making service member's paying for their greed and mistakes. Sometimes the payment is blood and death.

Response by PO1 John Miller made May 24 at 2015 5:39 AM

2015-05-24T05:39:39-04:00

I wonder if SecDef McNamara profited from the sales of the M-16 to the US Military?

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made May 31 at 2015 10:49 PM

2015-05-31T22:49:34-04:00

To be fair .. the M-16 jamming / FTF issues malfunctions were mostly resolved with an ammunition change. The initial ammo just didn't have enough "umph" to cleanly cycle the mech when it started to muck up.

All the 11Bs I saw spent about 90% of the first 20 minutes of down time cleaning the little darlings.

When we moved a fire-support base once we found a M-16 in a bunker that had been sitting there for probably 2 weeks. The action was frozen closed and had to have a "boot-assist" to return it to operation. However the sucker operated just fine once fully cleaned.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jun 21 at 2015 5:55 PM

2015-06-21T17:55:40-04:00

I read the troops were given the M16 without any training and maintenance guidance.