M16 Rifle®

M16 Rifle® Patent Print "Gas-operated M16 Pistol" Robert C. E. Schuetz, Brian D. Schuetz, September 12, 1995. The M16 is a lightweight, semi-automatic rifle that was first introduced into the United States military in 1963. The development of the M16 began in the late 1950s, when the U.S. Army began to explore the possibility of replacing its existing M14 rifle with a lighter, more modern weapon. The development of the M16 was largely influenced by the experiences of American soldiers during the Korean War and the early years of the Vietnam War. During these conflicts, U.S. troops frequently encountered heavily-armed North Korean and Chinese soldiers armed with AK-47 rifles, which were far more effective than the American M1 Garand and M14 rifles. In 1958, the U.S. Army contracted with the Armalite Corporation, a small arms manufacturer, to develop a new lightweight rifle that could fire the newly-developed 5.56mm cartridge. The resulting weapon was the AR-15, which w