M21 (rifle)
| M21 | |
|---|---|
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| general information | |
| Military designation: | M21 |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Army Weapons Command, Combat Development Command Limited Warfare Agency |
| Development year: | 1969 |
| Manufacturer country: | United States |
| Production time: | since 1969 |
| Model variants: | XM21, XM25 / M25 |
| Weapon Category: | Sniper rifle |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | 1118 mm |
| Weight: (unloaded) | 3,950 kg |
| Barrel length : | 560 mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | 7.62 × 51 mm NATO |
| Possible magazine fillings : | 10 or 20 cartridges |
| Number of trains : | 4th |
| Twist : | Right |
| Visor : | Rifle scope, 3 to 9 times |
| Closure : | Turret lock |
| Charging principle: | Gas pressure charger |
| Lists on the subject | |
The M21 is a self-loading - sniper rifle in caliber 7.62mm NATO .
development
Before the beginning of the Vietnam War , the US Army used the M1D from WWII as a sniper rifle , which was equipped with the M84 telescopic sight. When the M14 was introduced, no successor to the M1D was planned - sniper training was only of minor importance in the US Army. However, the fighting in Vietnam soon showed that there was an urgent need for suitable rifles. In 1966, the M14 rifle was tested with the 2.2 times magnifying M84 rifle scope. The final report concluded that:
- the standard cartridge is not suitable for sniper use,
- the M84 rifle scope is insufficient,
- the M14 according to national match specifications with glass fiber reinforced shaft and the M118 match cartridge is sufficiently accurate for use.
The US Army Marksmanship Training Unit (USAMTU - a unit that trains competition shooters and also has its own workshops and gunsmiths) revised the M14 National Match even further; Instead of the M84 telescopic sight, a new telescopic sight was tested, the functional principle of which was patented by Army Lieutenant James Leatherwood. The new rifle scope was based on the commercial Redfield 3–9x “AccuRange”. In addition to a crosshair, the reticle had two horizontal and two vertical bars. The horizontal bars were used to adjust the range - the shooter took hold of his target and adjusted the zoom of the riflescope until the bars met with the top of the head and belt of the target. A control curve shifted the reticle so that it was adapted to the measured distance. It was called "ART" (Adjustable Ranging Telescope).
The rifle was now designated as the M14 "USAMTU Accurized National Match"; In the summer of 1969, the rifle-rifle scope combination was provisionally introduced as the "XM21 Sniper Weapon System". In 1972 the "X" was dropped.
In 1988 the M21 was officially replaced as a sniper rifle in the US Army by the M24 SWS.
General
The M21 is a gas pressure charger with a rotating head lock . The cartridges are fed in via a rod magazine. It is largely identical to the M14 , but has a synthetic resin-impregnated shaft and fiberglass bedding for the system. The trigger, flash hider, gas system and recoil spring guide have been revised so that they do not negatively affect precision. The fire dialing device is permanently blocked.
Despite the replacement as a sniper rifle, the weapon is still in the service of the armed forces as a so-called Designated Marksman Rifle . It is used where the range of the assault rifle is too short and thus serves as a support weapon in the group (smallest infantry unit of around ten men). For this purpose, further changes such as retrofitting a Picatinny rail for mounting various telescopic sights were made. One result of these modifications is the M25 - an improved M21 - which was developed in 1980 for the special forces of the US armed forces.
Web links
- fas.org to the M21 engl.
literature
- R. Blake Stevens: Modern US Military Small Arms Series - Volume One / US Rifle M14 - from John Garand to the M21. Collector Grade Publications, Cobourg / Ontario, Canada, 1991, ISBN 0-88935-110-4 .