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Weapon Series

By Gareth Williams, Mike Loades, Bill Harriman and

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About this series

The M4 carbine has become one of the defining military firearms of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Developed as a fusion of the XM177E2 Colt Commando and the M16A2 assault rifle, the M4 offered a more convenient battlefield firearm than the full-length M16 variants, and the US Army adopted it as the standard infantry weapon in the 1990s. Today, military and law-enforcement personnel of more than 60 countries have adopted either the M4 or the M4A1 variant, both of which have been tested and proven in major combat operations worldwide.

This study describes the development process in detail, from production of the first XM4 prototypes in 1984 through numerous modified types until it emerged into official use as the M4 in 1994. The M4 offered a weapon that was 1lb lighter and 6in shorter than the standard M16A2, yet could still deliver precision semi-auto and full-auto firepower up to an effective range of 500m. Over time, its capabilities have been enhanced by the M4A1 modifications plus an extensive range of tactical accessories, including optical day/night sights, laser/infrared designators, under-barrel grenade launchers and shotgun modules, foregrips, furniture options, mounting rails, and sound suppressors. Numerous M4/M4A1 combat operations are investigated to reveal why the weapon has received such high levels of approval by front-line combat troops, not only in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the M4/M4A1 has been intensively combat-tested, but also in contexts such as Colombia, India, Israel, and the Philippines. Profusely illustrated with photographs and artworks, and drawing its research from the latest declassified documents, this is a complete guide to one of the most important and widely distributed tactical infantry weapons of the last quarter-century.

LanguageEnglish

PublisherBloomsbury Publishing

Release dateMar 18, 2021

Titles in the series (1)

The M4 Carbine
77
The M4 Carbine
Chris McNab
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The M4 carbine has become one of the defining military firearms of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Developed as a fusion of the XM177E2 Colt Commando and the M16A2 assault rifle, the M4 offered a more convenient battlefield firearm than the full-length M16 variants, and the US Army adopted it as the standard infantry weapon in the 1990s. Today, military and law-enforcement personnel of more than 60 countries have adopted either the M4 or the M4A1 variant, both of which have been tested and proven in major combat operations worldwide. This study describes the development process in detail, from production of the first XM4 prototypes in 1984 through numerous modified types until it emerged into official use as the M4 in 1994. The M4 offered a weapon that was 1lb lighter and 6in shorter than the standard M16A2, yet could still deliver precision semi-auto and full-auto firepower up to an effective range of 500m. Over time, its capabilities have been enhanced by the M4A1 modifications plus an extensive range of tactical accessories, including optical day/night sights, laser/infrared designators, under-barrel grenade launchers and shotgun modules, foregrips, furniture options, mounting rails, and sound suppressors. Numerous M4/M4A1 combat operations are investigated to reveal why the weapon has received such high levels of approval by front-line combat troops, not only in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the M4/M4A1 has been intensively combat-tested, but also in contexts such as Colombia, India, Israel, and the Philippines. Profusely illustrated with photographs and artworks, and drawing its research from the latest declassified documents, this is a complete guide to one of the most important and widely distributed tactical infantry weapons of the last quarter-century.
The M4 carbine has become one of the defining military firearms of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Developed as a fusion of the XM177E2 Colt Commando and the M16A2 assault rifle, the M4 offered a more convenient battlefield firearm than the full-length M16 variants, and the US Army adopted it as the standard infantry weapon in the 1990s. Today, military and law-enforcement personnel of more than 60 countries have adopted either the M4 or the M4A1 variant, both of which have been tested and proven in major combat operations worldwide. This study describes the development process in detail, from production of the first XM4 prototypes in 1984 through numerous modified types until it emerged into official use as the M4 in 1994. The M4 offered a weapon that was 1lb lighter and 6in shorter than the standard M16A2, yet could still deliver precision semi-auto and full-auto firepower up to an effective range of 500m. Over time, its capabilities have been enhanced by the M4A1 modifications plus an extensive range of tactical accessories, including optical day/night sights, laser/infrared designators, under-barrel grenade launchers and shotgun modules, foregrips, furniture options, mounting rails, and sound suppressors. Numerous M4/M4A1 combat operations are investigated to reveal why the weapon has received such high levels of approval by front-line combat troops, not only in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the M4/M4A1 has been intensively combat-tested, but also in contexts such as Colombia, India, Israel, and the Philippines. Profusely illustrated with photographs and artworks, and drawing its research from the latest declassified documents, this is a complete guide to one of the most important and widely distributed tactical infantry weapons of the last quarter-century.

Author

Gareth Williams

Northern Irish composer Gareth Williams lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he makes work that seeks to find new participants, collaborators, and audiences for opera and music theatre to shed light on stories and communities that have been overlooked, and to explore ideas of vulnerability in vocal writing. His music is often site-specific and responsive, with performances happening in lighthouses, whisky distilleries, nuclear bunkers, and libraries. From 2015 to 2018, Williams collaborated with Oliver Emanuel to create the critically acclaimed 306 Trilogy, a collection of music theatre works telling the story of the British soldiers shot for cowardice during WWI, produced by the National Theatre of Scotland. The album from the trilogy, Lost Light: Music from the 306, was released in 2020. Rocking Horse Winner, produced by Tapestry Opera, was nominated for nine Dora Mavor Moore Awards in 2017, winning five, including Outstanding Musical Production. The opera was recorded and released in 2020 by Tapestry Opera. Currently, Gareth lectures in composition at the University of Edinburgh, and is working on new operas and musicals, as well as a new album as a singer-songwriter.