The M16 was a spin-stabilized unguided rocket developed by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Entering service in April 1945 to replace the earlier fin-stabilised 4.5-inch M8 rocket, it was used late in the war and also during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

before being removed from service.

Development

Developed during the latter stages of the Second World War, the M16 was the first spin-stabilized rocket to be standardized for production by the United States Army.Parsch 2006 in length, it could hit targets as far as from its launcher. The M16 was launched from T66 "Honeycomb" 3x8 24-tube launchers,Zaloga 2007, p.19 M21 5x5 25-tube launchers, and could also be fired from 60-tube "Hornet's Nest" launchers. The

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

developed launching systems for the M16 rocket as well, capable of being fitted to standard 3/4 and 2.5-ton trucks. A version of the M16 rocket for single launchers, the M20, was developed as a derivative; practice rounds designated M17 and M21 were also manufactured. During the

Cold war The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

years, various state and privately owned scientific institutions were engaged in the

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

projects, concerning development and enhancement of the U.S. Army spin-stabilized rockets, to mention

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, North Carolina State College of Agriculture of the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

Operational history

A unit of "Honeycombs" was deployed to the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

in May 1945, and saw limited action in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

before the end of the war; only being used in a single engagement. Two of five battalions equipped with the M16 were deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations, being stationed on

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

and in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, however the war ended before these units could see combat. The M16 remained in service with the U.S. Marine Corps following the war, with a single 18-launcher battery equipping each Marine Division; these saw combat service during the

, as did U.S. Army launchers, the M16 fired from the T66 launcher being considered one of the "principal artillery weapons in the Korean War inventory".

Variants

; M16 (T38E3) : Baseline version adopted by U.S. Army ; M16E1 : M16 rocket with deeper fuze cavity for V.T. Fuze M402 (Mk 173). ; M16E2 : M16E1 with purge pellets of 411E to eliminate chunks in burning ; M17 : Practice round for M16 rocket. ; M20 : M16 variant with ignition wires attached to spools instead of contact rings. ; M21 : Practice variant of M20 Rocket

Photo Gallery

File:M8 and M16 rockets 1.png, M16 and M8 rockets. File:The Rockets Red Glare-U.S. Marines launch a 4.5 rocket barrage against the Chinese Communists in the Korean fighting. - NARA - 532422.tif, M16 24-tube launchers in Korea. File:Biggs in the Marines.jpg, M21 25-tube launchers used by the USMC. File:War Memorial of Korea (summer 2013) 062.JPG, M16 launcher at the War memorial of Korea.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{USA missiles Rocket weapons of the United States World War II weapons of the United States California Institute of Technology Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1945