![]() ![]() Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. The M21 was criticized by an internal Fort Benning publication in 1989 warning that "The M21.cannot be maintained under field conditions, and its inflexible design makes it highly susceptible to malfunctions" due to the scope not being easily removable if needed and the glass bedded action that made disassembly in the field problematic. military never officially authorized or purchased magazines in any other capacity, although 5- and 10-round magazines are available. In standard military use, the M21 uses a 20-round box magazine as the other members of the M14 family and weighs 11 pounds (5.27 kg) without the scope. The M21 remained the Army's primary sniper rifle until 1988, when it was replaced by the M24 Sniper Weapon System some M21s were later re-issued and used in the Iraq War. An improved version with a fiberglass stock was designated the M21 in 1975. This version, designated as the XM21, had a specially selected walnut stock and was first fielded in the second half of 1969. military found itself losing servicemen to Viet Cong snipers who had the home field advantage in terrain that was, to say the least, difficult. The innovation came just in time as the U.S. Army), combined rangefinding and bullet drop compensation. The ART scope, designed by 2nd Lieutenant James Leatherwood (U.S. The Rock Island Arsenal converted 1,435 National Match (target grade) M14s by adding a 3-9x Redfield Adjustable Ranging Telescope (ART) and provided National Match grade (7.62 Lake City Long Range XM-118) ammunition. Marines were issued bolt-action hunting rifles, U.S. Army snipers were trained in country in South Vietnam at Division. " However, units could train and deploy snipers on a limited basis depending upon.requirements. Snipers became optional and no table of organization and equipment (TOE) authorized sniper organizations. The conflict in Vietnam revived the need for snipers. With the adoption of the M14 service rifle no provision was made for an M14 sniper rifle, the designation of a sniper in the rifle squad was discontinued. The prevailing military attitude then envisioned any future conflict as nuclear with defeat or victory decided in hours. From 1955–1956, the United States Army Marksmanship Training Unit undertook a program to "reiterate the lessons learned" from past wars. military action since that time has required the special talent of such men. military history from the time of the Revolutionary War of 1775–1781. The use of " sharpshooters" (or snipers) can be traced in U.S. ![]() Vietnam War era sniper rifles, US Army XM21 (top) and USMC M40 (bottom) It is chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The M21 uses a commercially procured 3–9× variable power telescopic sight, modified for use with the sniper rifle. ![]() The M21 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) in the US Army is a national match grade M14 rifle, selected for accuracy, and renamed the M21 rifle. Rear: Match-grade hooded aperture with one-half minute adjustments for both windage and elevation. Maximum effective range 460 meters/ maximum effective range with 3–9× scope 900 yards/maximum range 3,725 meters ĥ-, 10-, or 20-round detachable box magazine Rock Island Arsenal, Springfield Armory, Smith Enterprise, Inc.
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