Quote:
Originally Posted by Abbott Shaull
Yes, Paul, I would tend to agree. The M16 should of never made it into the Army or Marines. As a former Paratrooper/Infantry I think I would of taken my chance with the M14 as the standard weapon. There are too many stories of the Carbines issued in WWII in which the round would be ineffective in killing the enemy. The M16 with lighter round seems to have similar, from what I heard have the same flaws in the field.
|
Just a comment on this.
The .30 carbine (7.62x33) round puts out 1173 joules at 579 metres a second, but has a reputation for not being a lethal round. Weirdly enough, the .45 ACP round puts out 474 joules at 250 metres a second but has never once been accused of not being a 'man stopper'. Yeah, I know it's a pistol round, but the ranges of the long-arms firing it are about the same.
I've read magazine where a guy claimed to have bent an M1 carbine 'into a U' in the crotch of a tree, and replaced with an M1A1 Thompson SMG so he would have a more lethal weapon. WTF? It does
less damage!
Actual combat reports would seem to indicate that the .30 carbine round was an efficient killer, and it's big problem was being a round-nosed bullet it lost velocity quickly. The .30 was a close combat calibre, and is still used for this by the Israeli police.
I'm not doubting Abbott, it's just this has always kind of fascinated me how the M1 carbine was maligned but when the army checked the records it was always 'some guy in another unit'.
The 5.56x45 puts out 1798 joules of energy, about half again, and it zings along at 1005 metres a second or about twice the speed. It's spitzer round is more aerodynamic giving it better energy carrying power. Considering this isn't much less than the vaunted Russian M1943 (7.62x39) fired by the AK47 - 1993 joules and a slow 710 metres a second - I can't really understand the dislike for the 5.56mm.
That said, I'm an armchair enthusiast with SFA experience.