The tale of the creation and adoption of the M16 is super interesting and hilarious, due to all the army politics and even sabotage at times. Although I think the AR15 came first and was then adopted by the USAF and finally the Army.
Yeah, I should have clarified, "M-16" is just the military designation that was applied to the AR platform. It's not actually the manufacturer's terminology. The AR was created, chosen by the military, and then a civilian, semi-auto only version was released. And you're right, it was first employed by the USAF. It was initially meant as a replacement for the M1 Carbine, which saw heavy use among paratroopers, tankers, and air crews. It served alongside the M-14 for a while, but as the AR platform was refined and the M-14 was phased out, it became the standard issue weapon.
The tale of the creation and adoption of the M16 is super interesting and hilarious, due to all the army politics and even sabotage at times. Although I think the AR15 came first and was then adopted by the USAF and finally the Army.
Yeah, I should have clarified, "M-16" is just the military designation that was applied to the AR platform. It's not actually the manufacturer's terminology. The AR was created, chosen by the military, and then a civilian, semi-auto only version was released. And you're right, it was first employed by the USAF. It was initially meant as a replacement for the M1 Carbine, which saw heavy use among paratroopers, tankers, and air crews. It served alongside the M-14 for a while, but as the AR platform was refined and the M-14 was phased out, it became the standard issue weapon.