The M16

Osprey Weapons #14

by Gordon L. Rottman, Johnny Shumate (Illustrator), Alan Gilliland (Illustrator)

The M16 was first introduced in 1958 and was revolutionary for its time as it was made of lightweight materials including special aluminium and plastics, which had previously not been used in mainstream weapons. It was first adopted by US Special Forces and airborne troops in 1962 before it was issued to Army and Marine units serving in the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Its use spread throughout the following decades and a number of variants including submachine and carbine versions were also fielded. It was not only the rifle itself that proved revolutionary. The 5.56x45mm cartridge was also ground-breaking and was eventually adopted as the standard NATO cartridge. As a result it is now amongst the three most used combat cartridges in the world while over 10 million M16s and variants have been produced making it one of the most successful American handheld weapons in history . But despite its undeniable success the M16 is not without its detractors. Indeed, the "black rifle", as it is known, is one of the most controversial rifles ever introduced with a long history of design defects, ruggedness issues, cleaning difficulties and reliability problems leading to endless technical refinements. The story is not over either. The M16 is still in production to this day ensuring that its use in future conflicts as well as its impact on world affairs is assured. This volume, written by a Vietnam Special Forces veteran, provides a technical history of the M16 and the struggle to perfect it together with an assessment of its impact on the battlefield drawing on over a decade's combat experience with the rifle.

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction, History

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Gordon L Rottman served for 26 years in the US Army in Special Forces, airborne infantry, long-range reconnaissance patrol, and military intelligence assignments in the Regular Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve. He has worked as a Special Operations Forces scenario writer for 14 years at the Army' s Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk , Louisiana where he developed training exercises for Special Forces.
Gordon began writing military history books in 1984 and is currently a full-time author. He has written 50 books for Osprey.He is married with four children and lives in Cypress, Texas.

Reviews

[Eddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of the M16 assault rifle and its effect on the military culture and logistics. The book goes into detail the birth of the rifle and its effect in the military both positive and negative. I enjoy that the book also gives the M16's ammunition, the 5.56x45 mm, as the ammunition was a big part of the rifle's impact to the military.

[nicholas kreiling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative book about one of the world's most iconic weapons. Well worth the time it takes to read in its entirety

Well written and informed book about one of the worlds most iconic weapons. Well worth it for the rich history lesson if nothing else.

[Steve Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dry, but informative. If you own the AR platform, or carried the weapon in the service, it's worth reading.