Didn't the M16 have the solid flash hider rather than the three prong type by 1969?
shareThere would have been many units still getting issued the older models. By 69 most of the RTOS and squad leaders where issued Car-15s, but i guess they couldnt get any of those either.
shareIt would depend on whether they had M16A1s or M16s. The most visible difference between the two was the closed suppressor and forward assist on the A1.
share
The three-prong flash suppressor transcended the M-16/M16A1 improvements. The primary visual difference between the two is the forward assist. I used the 16A1 with both types of suppressor. By the 80's, the three prong was gone.
Push the button, Max
Interesting, I didn't realize the A1 ever had an open suppressor.
shareInteresting, I didn't realize the A1 ever had an open suppressor.None of them did, unless someone decided to screw one on there. They were never issued that way. The M16A1 (standard Model 603), which entered service in early 1967, had the "birdcage" flash hider from day one. The earlier XM16E1 (experimental Model 603) had the 3-prong flash hider, and since it had a forward-assist it is often conflated with the M16A1.
Was this called a flash hider all this time? I only ever heard it referred to as a flash suppressor throughout the 80s and 90s.
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I blame autocorrect.
You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas.
Yes, by 1969 the Army had moved away from the pronged flash suppressor version, although support units might still have had them.
Also, although they were called flash "suppressors", all they did was spread the flash out in all directions from the end of the barrel; they didn't "suppress" a thing. The newer version just made it easier to keep the plastic protective cap on the suppressor, to help keep dirt, mud and grit out of the barrel. (If you remembered to take it off before firing, great; otherwise, it would be burst apart by the first shot and you'd have to use a new one.)