The HORRORS of the Stoner 63 in Vietnam - The Rifle 50 Years Ahead of Its Time скачать в хорошем качестве

The HORRORS of the Stoner 63 in Vietnam - The Rifle 50 Years Ahead of Its Time

#VietnamWar #Stoner63 #NavySEALs #MilitaryHistory #EugeneStoner #ModularWeapons #WarDocumentary #FirearmsHistory #SpecialOperations #SEALTeam #MilitaryProcurement #WeaponDesign In the Vietnam War, Navy SEALs carried a weapon the Pentagon built 4,000 of — then crushed 2,400 into scrap in the 1990s. This is the story of a rifle that was 50 years ahead of its time, and the bureaucratic decisions that made it disappear. This documentary explores the untold history of the Stoner 63 weapon system, a revolutionary modular platform designed by Eugene Stoner that could transform from rifle to carbine to light machine gun to belt-fed vehicle weapon — all from the same receiver. While modern militaries now embrace modular weapon platforms like the FN SCAR and SIG MCX, Eugene Stoner designed this exact concept in 1962, and the Pentagon refused to adopt it. *EDUCATIONAL VALUE - WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:* *Firearms Design Innovation:* How modular weapon systems work and why they revolutionized military logistics The genius of Eugene Stoner's gas piston design that fixed the M16's reliability problems Why the Stoner 63 was the world's first belt-fed 5.56mm light machine gun How one receiver could become seven different weapon configurations without special tools The engineering challenges of creating a weapon that could fire inverted (upside down) *Vietnam War Special Operations:* Navy SEAL Team operations in the Mekong Delta and "Forest of Assassins" How 14-man SEAL platoons generated "company-sized firepower" with Stoner 63s Specific combat actions: Barry Enoch's Navy Cross mission, Lt. Michael Collins' operations Why SEALs chose Stoner 63 over M16, CAR-15, and M60 despite its demanding maintenance The tragic death of SEAL Walter Pope and the "dead man's pin" redesign that came too late *Military Procurement & Bureaucracy:* How the Army Materiel Command rigged tests against innovative weapons Why the Marines ordered 300,000 Stoners but were blocked by Senate committee The difference between "doesn't work" vs "too complicated for wide issue" How the XM207 upgrade passed every test but was cancelled due to Vietnam withdrawal timing Why only 4,000 were built while M16s were produced in the millions *Weapons Technology Legacy:* The direct lineage from Stoner 63 to modern platforms (SCAR, MCX, XM7) Why the M249 SAW took 20 years to achieve what Stoner did in 1963 How Jim Sullivan continued refining Stoner's designs decades after his death Why the 2022 Army XM7 selection validated Stoner's 1962 vision The engineering brilliance required to make modular systems actually work in combat *Historical Context:* Eugene Stoner's background: machinist's son, no college degree, Marine ordnance specialist The M16 jamming disaster that drove Stoner to leave ArmaLite Why Stoner abandoned his own direct impingement gas system for piston designs The 1990s destruction of 2,400 Stoner 63s at Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane How the weapon survives today only in $400,000+ collector auctions This video breaks down: The complete history of Eugene Stoner's design process and motivation after the M16 failures How the receiver could flip 180 degrees to become different weapon types (M69W ambigram design) Technical advantages: 11.7 lbs vs M60's 23 lbs, 6-800 rounds vs heavy 7.62mm belts Why Navy SEALs loved it: "company-sized firepower" from 14-man platoons The weapon's demanding nature: frequent malfunctions, 2-3 cleanings per day required Specific reliability issues: cyclic rate climbing 70% during sustained fire, link separations Real combat stories: Barry Enoch's 1970 firefight, Michael Collins' operations Why the Army rejected it: rigged testing with weak ammunition Marine Corps evaluation: positive results but blocked by procurement politics The cruel timing: passed all tests 1969-1971 but cancelled when Nixon announced withdrawal Modern vindication: FN SCAR (2004), SIG MCX, Army XM7 (2022) all use Stoner's concept The collector market: surviving examples worth $400,000+ How it compares to M16, M60, CAR-15, and modern modular rifles *CRITICAL LESSONS ON:* How military procurement can kill innovation despite field success The cost of "lowest bidder" mentality when lives depend on equipment Why special operations units need different procurement processes The 40-year gap between invention and institutional acceptance How one engineer's vision can shape warfare decades after his death 📍 Featured: Eugene Stoner biography, Barry Enoch Navy Cross action, SEAL Team ONE operations, Lt. Michael Collins, SEAL Walter Pope tragedy, Cadillac Gage development, Marine Corps testing, Army Materiel Command rigged tests, modern SCAR/MCX/XM7 evolution