M16

   It was designed by Armalite to meet the US Army requirement for a new assault rifle, chambered for a new intermediate cartridge. This rifle was designed by Eugene Stoner and designated as the AR-15. The first Armalite AR-15 rifles were delivered to the US Army for testing in 1958. Initial tests revealed some reliability and accuracy problems. In 1959 all rights for the design of this rifle were sold to Colt. Later the original designer of this rifle left Armalite and joined Colt. In 1962 Colt company sent a batch of 1 000 AR-15 assault rifles to Vietnam for field trials. In 1964 the US Air Force and the US Army officially adopted this rifle as the M16. Currently variants of this assault rifle are still in service with the US Military, as well as over 50 operators worldwide. It is still manufactured in USA, Canada and China.

   The M16 is a gas operated, selective fire weapon, chambered for the 5.56 x 45 mm (.223 Remington) round. At the time of it's introduction the M16 had many flaws, however many of them were fixed and this weapon is considered as one of the best assault rifles in the world. It is a reliable, accurate and comfortable to fire weapon, however it can not match reliability of the famous AK-47 or AK-74.

   First production models of the M16 had an effective range of only 450 meters. The main reason for this was an unstabilized bullet. Later models were adapted for a new round and have improved range and accuracy. One interesting feature about the M16 is it's progressive design, as weapon's barrel is in the same axis with buttstock. This feature reduces muzzle climb and increases accuracy, as the recoil force is directed backwards, rather than upwards.

   The safety / fire mode selector switch is located on the left side of the receiver, above the pistol grip. It has three positions for "safe", "semi-auto" and "full-auto". A cocking handle is located at the rear of the receiver and does not reciprocate when the gun is fired. Ejection port is located on the right side.

   The original M16 rifles were fed from a box-shaped aluminum magazine, holding 20 rounds. New 30-round curved magazines were introduced in 1970.

   Standard adjustable iron sights of the M16 are of diopter type. Range adjustments are made by rotating a rear knob. First production rifles had a sighting range of 500 meters.

   This assault rifle has a solid buttstock. It is worth mentioning, that because of internal design this weapon can not be adapted for a folding stock. Alternatively a telescopic stock can be used.

   The M16 and it's variants are compatible with the M203 40-mm underbarrel grenade launcher, mounted in place of the standard handguard. A knife-bayonet can be attached. Some types of flash hiders can be used to cut barbed wire by placing the flash hider over the wire and firing.

Variants

   M16A1 improved version of the original M16. It has been adopted by the US Army as a standard rifle in 1967;

   M16A2 a variant of the previous M16A1, adapted for the new SS109 5.56 x 45 mm standard NATO round. This assault rifle had heavier barrel and different rear sight. A full-auto firing mode was replaced with three round burst mode. It's ejection port also has a spent case deflector. The M16A2 has been adopted by the US Army in 1982 and by the US Marine Corps in 1983. Soon it became the general issue rifle;

   M16A3 improved version, fitted with Picatinny-type rail instead of the carrying handle, which accepts a variety of scopes. A detachable carrying handle can still be installed. Weapon's trigger mechanism has a semi- and full-auto modes only;

   M16A4 similar to the M16A3, however has a three-round burst mode instead of the full-auto mode;

   M4 carbine, a shortened version of the M16A2, fitted with a telescopic buttstock. It was adopted by the US Army in 1994.