Since I mentioned some of the issues that arose with the M14 in my post yesterday, I thought I would add this video from Forgotten Weapons where Ian goes over the problems that showed up with the M14 after it was adopted, most of which came down to poor quality control.
VIDEO: "M14: America’s Worst Service Rifle - What Went Wrong?"
Forgotten Weapons (36 min.)
The presence of teething problems in the production of any complex mechanical device, whether it is an aircraft, automobile or a service rifle - is de rigueur and to be expected. The production of the M-14 was no different. Indeed, in comparison to the initial production runs of the M-16, the M-14 program ran reasonably smoothly, especially considering that production was spread across multiple contractors and not at one firm (Colt) as in the black rifle.
ReplyDeleteThe video is making my case for me, that the M-16 was introduced way too soon, and was not ready for battlefield use - which is how so many men in Vietnam ran afoul of its initial defects. Keeping the M-14 in service would have been the responsible decision - at least until the problems with the M-16 had been properly sorted out, as indeed they had been in the M-14.
In Colt's defense, the teething problems with the M-16 was primarily due to the military rather than Colt, such as the decision to change the powder used in the cartridges, not use chrome lining, and to not issue cleaning kits.
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