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Posted: 7/11/2001 5:20:43 AM EDT
[#1]
Quoted: I remember seeing XM177E2 to designate the shorty/carbine years ago in the 60s 70s 80s for the M16. But where and whom started the M4 designate thingie? I believe it came about in the early 1990's when it was found that a 14.5" barrel was the best length for the shorty. The distance from the gas port to the muzzle on the M-4 is the same as it is on the full sized M-16's, they still however eat up extractors. I carry a complete spare bolt in the storage handgrip for this reason. The better M4 is with the standard selector, "safe, semi, full", the burst packs appear to fail when you need them most! |
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Posted: 7/11/2001 6:38:48 AM EDT
[#2]
I think it's just an incremented number. M1 carbine, M2 carbine same as M1 but select fire I believe, M3 carbine I think has rails for some hug IR scope, so I would think they just added 1 and came up with M4 carbine.
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Posted: 7/11/2001 7:05:15 AM EDT
[#3]
It was first called the XM4 Abu-Dhabi Carbine-They deleted the FA option, added burst option, and called it the M4.
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Posted: 7/11/2001 7:54:58 AM EDT
[#4]
ConnYankee is correct. The M-1 Carbine is the one we all know and love, the M-2 carbine is select fire version of M-1, and M-3 is an M-2 fitted for the hugegigantic infra red scope. M-4 was the next logical step in carbine nomenclature.
The XM's were never type classified, hence the "X" designation. Don't know where the 177 came in. Like the bayonets, M-1 through M-9, although I am not sure if I have seen or know what an M-2 bayonet is. Tim |
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Posted: 7/11/2001 8:17:31 AM EDT
[#5]
M-numbers are only granted by DOD and may not make any sense [;)].
There was a mythical M15 rifle, a heavy barrel squad automatic weapon built on the M14 receiver, hence the AR15 was adopted as the M16, the next non-used number. The M15 rifle was approved, adopted, and never made it to the field. The M4 Carbine nomenclature has already been noted. This sure seems logical. The M9 pistol [aka Beretta M92FS], however, seems to have been named for it's caliber as I can't find 8 earlier pistols starting with M1. The XMnumbers seem to be just in sequence. Sometimes they just remove the X and the item is adopted with the same number. The XM203 under barrel grenade launcher being an example. There certainly weren't 124 other grenade launchers between the M203 and M79 [;)]. -- Chuck |
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Posted: 7/11/2001 8:26:06 AM EDT
[#6]
from what i understand this is what happened:
the 14.5 bbl m16 was simply called the colt m16a1 carbine, the only official adoption of this varient was the phillipine army. only when the arab client wanted to stuff a marshmellow shooter under it, they colt, went to the stepped semi heavy barrel and then it became the model r727 abu dubai. so in reality we have some nameless arab prince to thank for the current configuration idea for our pet rifles. m4 was because the rifle was supposed to replace the aging m3 45cal submachine gun being used by tank crews. this way it could be sold better to jcos and the bean counters as a necessary item. steve |
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Posted: 7/11/2001 8:36:44 AM EDT
[#7]
I've actually seen an M-15....
When my unit was deploying to the JRTC at Ft Chafee in 1988 (B 2/327th Infantry NO SLACK!) the compnay snipers were issued NIW M14A1's to use with blanks in leiu of their M-21's. They got the whole kit-bipod, etc, all brand new or rebuilt/unissued. One of them was marked M-15. One of the guys asked me about it, knowing I was a gun nut. I think a guy in Alpha had it (Eric Rudolph was in A co at the time, BTW). I wish I had spent more time examining it, but I was nutso over belt feds a the time and didn't spend much time looking at it. It looked just like an M-14A1. If the barrel was heavier it was just under the handguards. The M-4 is from the carbine, not the SMG designation. IIRC, the M-9 came from the JSSAP trials, they niumbered the pistols M-1 to M-10. Remember the A-9? It lost to the A-10 Warthog, or the F23 which lost to the F-22 Raptor. Anyway, FWIW, Tim |
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Posted: 7/11/2001 11:50:22 PM EDT
[#8]
I think it's just an incremented number. M1 carbine, M2 carbine same as M1 but select fire I believe, M3 carbine I think has rails for some hug IR scope, so I would think they just added 1 and came up with M4 carbine. You are right with the M1 - M3. Makes sense. Just the 4th carbine the US Forces use. |
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Posted: 7/12/2001 7:00:39 AM EDT
[#9]
This just dawned on me. Maybe the prefix XM stands for experimental model? I remeber an XM something grenade launcher, under the barrel model. M as in M1 etc. i assume stands for model.
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