Congressman claims M 16 rifle is defective
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.
