The first confrontations between the AK-47 and the M14 came in the early part of the Vietnam War. Its NATO partners adopted the FN FAL and HK G3 rifles, and the FN MAG and Rheinmetall MG3 GPMGs.
also adopted the M60 general purpose machine gun (GPMG). In the end the United States Army chose the T44, which entered service as the M14 rifle, which was an improved M1 Garand with a 20-round magazine and automatic fire capability. Initial comments by Springfield Armory test staff were favorable, and some testers commented that the AR-10 was the best lightweight automatic rifle ever tested by the Armory. For a 7.62 mm NATO rifle, the AR-10 was incredibly lightweight at only 6.85 pounds (3.11 kilograms) empty. The final prototype, featured an upper and lower receiver with the now-familiar hinge and takedown pins, and the charging handle was on top of the receiver placed inside of the carry handle. It had rugged elevated sights, an oversized aluminum flash suppressor and recoil compensator, and an adjustable gas system. The ArmaLite AR-10 featured an innovative straight-line barrel/stock design, forged aluminum alloy receivers and with phenolic composite stocks. ĪrmaLite AR-10 made by Artillerie Inrichtingen (A.I.) ArmaLite entered the competition late, hurriedly submitting several AR-10 prototype rifles in the fall of 1956 to the United States Army's Springfield Armory for testing.
Springfield Armory's T44E4 and heavier T44E5 were essentially updated versions of the Garand chambered for the new 7.62 mm round, while Fabrique Nationale submitted their FN FAL as the T48. The United States Army then began testing several rifles to replace the obsolete M1 Garand. This culminated in the development of the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. 30 caliber cartridge be developed, that could not only be used by the new automatic rifle, but by the new general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) in concurrent development. However, senior American commanders having faced fanatical enemies and experienced major logistical problems during WWII and the Korean War, insisted that a single powerful. American weapons designers concluded that an intermediate round was necessary, and recommended a small-caliber, high-velocity cartridge. However, combat experience suggested that the. During the Korean War, the select-fire M2 Carbine largely replaced the submachine gun in US service and became the most widely used Carbine variant. However, early experiments with select-fire versions of the M1 Garand proved disappointing.
military as the M16 rifle, which went into production in March 1964.
Colt marketed the redesigned rifle to various military services around the world and it was subsequently adopted by the U.S. After modifications (most notably, the charging handle was re-located from under the carrying handle like AR-10 to the rear of the receiver), Colt rebranded it the Colt 601, however it still carried the Armalite markings due to contractual obligations to Armalite/Fairchild Aircraft Co. In 1959, ArmaLite sold its rights to the AR-15 to Colt due to financial difficulties and limitations in terms of manpower and production capacity. The ArmaLite AR-15 was designed to be a lightweight rifle and to fire a new high-velocity, lightweight, small-caliber cartridge to allow infantrymen to carry more ammunition. Designed by American gun manufacturer ArmaLite in 1956, it was based on its AR-10 rifle. The ArmaLite AR-15 is a select-fire, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed rifle manufactured in the United States between 19, and adopted by the United States Armed Forces as the M16 rifle.