M16 A1 assault rifle Vietnam 1133

Impressive replica of an M16 A1 assault rifle, USA 1967 (Vietnam War). It is made of metal, made in Spain, and measures 90 cm.

The M16 assault rifle was designed by Eugene Stoner in the 1950s under the original name AR-15. Made of steel, aluminum and various plastic components, it is a self-loading, gas-operated, rotating bolt assault rifle, fed from detachable 20- and 30-round 5.56 mm magazines. It achieves a rate of fire of 800-900 rounds per minute and an effective range of 500 m.

It entered service with the United States Army and was first deployed for operations in the Vietnam War in 1963. In 1967, after some modifications the M16 was renamed the M16A1, becoming the standard issue rifle of the US military in 1969.

The Vietnam War was a war fought between 1955 and 1975 to prevent the reunification of Vietnam under a communist government. It was fought by the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), with the support of the United States and other nations, against the local guerrillas of the National Liberation Front of Vietnam (Viet Cong) and the army of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), backed by China and the Soviet Union.

Since the Vietnam War, the M16 family of rifles has been the primary weapon of the U.S. military. The M16 has been widely adopted by militaries around the world and total production of M16 rifles since its inception is approximately 8 million, making it the most produced weapon of its caliber.