During the later part of World War 2, Springfield Armory (Massachusetts) developed the T20-series of rifles based upon the M1.  These rifles were in the standard .30 caliber (or 7.62x63mm) and added features wanted by the Army Ground Forces: selective fire, a 20-round magazine, and a muzzle compensator.  None of the T20-series rifles was entirely satisfactory and the war ended before any standardization could be undertaken.

 

Colonel Rene Studler was the Chief of Ordnance in the post-war years.  Studler had two pet projects: a product-improved .30 caliber cartridge [T65] and product-improved M1 Garand [T44].  In competition for the Army's new rifle was the Harvey T25.  The T25 (and T44) attempted to reconcile two opposed functions: a light weight select-fire rifle that fired a main battle rifle caliber equivalent to the standard .30 caliber round.  Meanwhile, the NATO allies were evaluating the Belgian FN FAL rifle.  There was a lot of politicking that went on over the new standard NATO rifle.  The T44 rifle won the competition over the T25.  However, it faced a serious challenge from the FN FAL (called T48 by the Americans). 

 

During the Korean War years and immediate post-war period, the T44 and T48 rifles went at each other in head-to-head competitions by selected Army units.  Neither rifle had a clear-cut advantage over the other and neither had all of its teething problems completely eliminated.  Also, the Army specified that the T48 had to be produced by American manufacturers.  Prototype T48 rifles were manufactured by Springfield Armory and by the firm of Harrington and Richardson. 

 

In the early 1950's, the British were championing their .280 British cartridge as the "optimum" cartridge for NATO.  The .280 shot flat, was accurate, was controllable in full automatic fire, but it did not have the range of the U.S. T65 (essentially a repackaged .30-06).  A sort of quid pro quo was established with the British, they would drop the .280 cartridge for the T65, and the U.S. would adopt the FN FAL (T48) for its standard rifle.  In this, the British got "Studlered"; they adopted the T65E3 cartridge as the 7.62x51mm NATO and the U.S. adopted the T44E4 (product-improved M1) instead of the FN FAL (T48).  The latest 1956 rifle trial were essentially a draw and the ball was handed off to the Secretary of the Army.  In 1957 the Secretary of the Army type classified the T44E4 rifle as the M14 rifle "because it was more suitable to American production methods."  As it turned out, Springfield Armory was wrong about the amount of M1 tooling that could be used for its new M14 rifle.  Most of the M1 tooling couldn't be used and had to be replaced with new tooling, but this was only discovered after the Secretary's decision -- a decision based upon flawed information.

 

In any event, the new M14 rifle went into production at Springfield Armory, Winchester, and Harrington and Richardson.  While the Springfield product was well-produced, both Winchester and H&R had problems getting the new rifle into production.  Teams from Springfield were detailed to both Winchester and H&R to get acceptable rifles produced.  Three years later, both contractors were having problems.  The Army started looking about for another vendor and the firm of Thompson-Ramo-Woolridge (TRW) stepped up to the plate.  TRW told the Army that it could build its new rifle cheaper than either of the other two contractors and was willing to put its money where its mouth was.  TRW set up a new factory with state of the art equipment to build the new rifle.  TRW did its homework and by 1963 was delivering a superior product to the Army.

 

However, the fact was that in all this flurry of production, the Army and Marine units were still using M1 rifles (with non-NATO standard ammunition).  This got the attention of the new Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara.  Meanwhile, Army Ordnance was pushing a new wonder weapon to replace the M14 -- a rifle still being issued to the troops.  The new wonder was called the Special Purpose Individual Weapon that shot 13-grain flechettes (look like nails with fins) either single shot, burst fire, or full automatic.  The rifle was also to have an "area fire" weapon -- a 40mm grenade launcher.  The problems with the SPIW were numerous and not solved.  The rifle finally died in the early 1970's.  Instead, the U.S. military got involved in a ground war in South Vietnam and soon discovered that: (1) it did not have enough M14 rifles to equip its troops, and (2) the enemy was using a weapon that was better suited for jungle combat -- the Russian AK-47.

 

After a lot of fussing and false starts, the M14 found itself being replaced by a smaller, lighter rifle -- the AR-15 (now called the M16) rifle.  The AR-15/M16 was controllable in full automatic fire due to its small, low recoil cartridge, the .223 Remington.  The new rifle used plastics and aluminum to cut weight instead of the traditional wood and forged steel.  It looked like a toy in comparison to the muscular M14.  However, the new rifle would have a tempestuous introduction to service caused by the Army's total mishandling of things.  Culpable negligence is the correct term for this, but no one was ever held accountable. 

 

The M14 was superseded by the M16-series rifles by ground combat units in Vietnam.  But it did not go away; it found a new life as the M21 sniper's rifle.  In that role, the long range punch of the 7.62mm cartridge and the superior optics have made the rifle a valued tool on the battlefield.  In the years since the end of the Vietnam War, the M14/M21/M25 sniper's rifle has undergone extensive modifications to suit the needs of modern day users.  It is still issued as a sniper rifle by the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.