M21 Sniper Weapon System

The M21 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) "in the US Army is a national match grade M14 rifle, selected for accuracy, and renamed the M21 rifle."[4] The M21 uses a "commercially procured" 3–9× variable power telescopic sight, modified for use with the sniper rifle.[5] It is chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.

Rifle, 7.62 mm, Sniper, M21
M21 sniper rifle
TypeSniper rifle/Designated Marksman Rifle
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1968–present
Used bySee Users
WarsVietnam War
Laotian Civil War
Cambodian Civil War
Sino-Vietnamese War
Cambodian–Vietnamese War
Sino-Vietnamese conflicts
Soviet–Afghan War
1982 Lebanon War[1]
Iraq War (Limited use)
Production history
DesignerMarines Weapons Command,
Combat Development Command,
Limited Warfare Agency
Designed1968
ManufacturerRock Island Arsenal, Springfield Armory
VariantsM25
Specifications
Mass5.27 kg (11.6 lb)
Length1118 mm (44 in)
Barrel length560 mm (22 in)
Cartridge7.62×51mm NATO
ActionGas-operated, rotating bolt
Muzzle velocity853 m/s (2,800 ft/s)
Effective firing rangeMaximum effective range 460 meters/ maximum effective range with 3–9× scope 900 yards/maximum range 3,725 meters[2][3]
Feed system5-, 10-, or 20-round detachable box magazine
SightsFront: National Match front blade .062
Rear: Match-grade hooded aperture with one-half minute adjustments for both windage and elevation.
​26 3⁄4 in sight radius.

Overview
Vietnam War era sniper rifles, US Army XM21 (top) and USMC M40 (bottom)

"The use of "sharpshooters" (or snipers) can be traced in U.S. military history from the time of the Revolutionary War of 1775–1781. Every U.S. military action since that time has required the special talent of such men. After the war sniping became a lost art."[6] From 1955–1956, the United States Army Marksmanship Training Unit undertook a program to "reiterate the lessons learned" from past wars. However, "this program was short-lived because of the lack of understanding and appreciation for the value of a sniper throughout the United States Army. The prevailing military attitude then envisioned any future conflict as nuclear with defeat or victory decided in hours."[7]

"With the adoption of the M14 service rifle no provision was made for an M14 sniper rifle, [and] the designation of a sniper in the rifle squad was discontinued.[8] "The conflict in Vietnam revived the need for snipers."[8] Snipers became optional and no table of organization and equipment (TOE) authorized sniper organizations [units]." However, units could train and deploy snipers on a limited basis depending upon...requirements."[9] As a result U.S. Army snipers were trained in country in South Vietnam at Division[10] During the Vietnam War, U.S. Marines were issued bolt-action hunting rifles, U.S. Soldiers were issued XM21 rifles. The Rock Island Arsenal converted 1,435 National Match (target grade) M14s by adding a 3-9x Redfield Adjustable Ranging Telescope (ART) and provided National Match grade (7.62 Lake City Long Range XM-118) ammunition. The ART scope, designed by 2nd Lieutenant James Leatherwood (U.S. Army), combined rangefinding and bullet drop compensation. The innovation came just in time as the U.S. military found itself losing servicemen to Viet Cong snipers who had the home field advantage in terrain that was, to say the least, difficult.[11]

This version, was designated as the XM21, had a specially selected walnut stock and was first fielded in the second half of 1969. An improved version with a fiberglass stock was designated the M21 in 1975. The M21 remained the Army's primary sniper rifle until 1988, when it was replaced by the M24 Sniper Weapon System; some M21s were later re-issued and used in the Iraq War.[12][13]

In standard military use, the M21 uses a 20-round box magazine as the other members of the M14 family and weighs 11 pounds (5.27 kg) without the scope. The U.S. military never officially authorized or purchased magazines in any other capacity, although 5- and 10-round magazines are available.

The M21 was criticized by an internal Fort Benning publication in 1989 warning that "The M21...cannot be maintained under field conditions, and its inflexible design makes it highly susceptible to malfunctions" due to the scope not being easily removable if needed and the glass bedded action that made disassembly in the field problematic. [14]

Service

The XM21 Sniper Weapon System was issued to U.S. Army snipers during the Vietnam War, along with a commercially available sniper scope for day use, and a PVS-2 starlight scope for night operations. These men were trained at Army Division Base Camps; if a unit in country was a Brigade, Battalion, or smaller, and that unit requested snipers for their units, the requesting unit could send their sniper applicant to the next closest Division, such as Camp Eagle, 101st (Airmobile) Airborne Division, if that requesting unit was located in I Corps (Military Region 1), Republic of South Vietnam. The newly designated M21 saw limited actions during military operations after the Vietnam War ended in 1975. It was used by the U.S. Army Rangers during the Invasion of Grenada in 1983. There are limited numbers in some Army National Guard units and in a few specialized active units such as the OPFOR units of the Joint Readiness Training Center. The XM21 served from 1969 to 1975, and the M21 officially served as the main Army sniper rifle from 1975 to 1988 until the introduction of the M24, which had supplanted the M21 in Ranger Battalions by 1990. However, many M14 and M21 variants came back into favor in the Iraq and Afghan wars in the 2000s.[13][15]

Users

See also

References
  1. Katz, Sam; Russell, Lee E (July 25, 1985). Armies in Lebanon 1982–84. Men-at-Arms 165. Osprey Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 9780850456028.
  2. FM 23-8, April 1974, p. 7
  3. TC 23-14, Oct 1969, p. 17
  4. FM 23-8, "M14 and M14A1 Rifles and Rifle Marksmanship". Headquarters, Department of the Army, April 1974, p. 178
  5. TC 23-14, Sniper Training and Employment, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Oct 1969, p. 17
  6. TC 23-14, Oct 1968, p. 3, 4
  7. TC 23-14, Oct 1969, p. 4
  9. TC 23-14, Oct 1968, p. 5
  10. Note: During the Vietnam War, a U.S. Army Division was designated by the shoulder patch worn on the left shoulder, such as the Screaming Eagle patch of the 101st (Airmobile) Airborne Division; or the Big Red One (the number 1) patch of the 1st Infantry Division. If a soldier was assigned to that particular division, he wore the patch on his left shoulder. If he was in combat with that Division he was allowed to wear it on his right shoulder with his current Division on his left one. If he was never in combat with that Division, and he was no longer with it, he was not authorized to ever wear it again. Some GIs used to call it a "Combat Patch", if worn on the right shoulder. 2 or more Divisions make up a Corps, two or more Corps make an Army (such as General Patton's 3rd Army). 2 or more Brigades make a Division; 2 or more Battalions make up a Brigade. 2 or more Companies make up a Battalion, 2 or more Platoons make a Company. A Cavalry Troop is a Company. In the Artillery a Battery is a Company. Captains were the usual ranks of Company, Troop, or Battery commanders; Lieutenant Colonels (LTC) were the normal ranks of Battalion/Squadron (Cavalry) commanders. Colonels would normally command a Brigade. Generals commanded Divisions and higher. However, a General could command a Brigade if that Brigade deployed to a combat zone alone, without a parent Division.
  11. Graff, Corey, https://gundigest.com/gun-reviews/optics-reviews/leatherwood-art-scope-m1000-review, History of the Leatherwood ART Scope, Gun Digest, 2020
  12. http://world.guns.ru/sniper/sniper-rifles/usa/m21-e.html
  13. "U.S. Army M21 & XM21 Sniper Weapon System". Sniper Central. Archived from the original on December 12, 2006.
  14. "Infantry News" (PDF). 79. US Army Infantry School. March–April 1989. p. 5.
  15. M21 Sniper Rifle Archived October 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine – ArmyRanger.com
  16. Montes, Julio A. (May 2000). "Infantry Weapons of the Salvadoran Forces". Small Arms Review. No. 8.
  17. Johnston, Gary Paul; Nelson, Thomas B. (April 2010). The World's Assault Rifles (2 ed.). Ironside Intl Pub. p. 2374. ISBN 978-0935554007.
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