|
Given some of the "lessons learned" in Afghanistan, are we sure going to the 5.56 was the "right direction." The gun and cartridge were sold to the mililtary on hype, lies and bullhockey. Colt and Cooper-Mcdonald lied and exaggerated the capabililty of the cartridge from day one; a repeated claim was that one hit anywhere on the body, even a finger, would kill instantly from shock. No knowledgeable person accepted such drivel, and Army Ordnance knew better, but Congress didn't, and promoted what became the M16, as did JFK.
The fact is that the 5.56 is a pretty good varmint cartridge, and can be very accurate out of a good rifle, but it has been outclassed by the 7.62x39 and outranged by the old 7.62x54R. But at the time, the AR-15/M16 was the only thing we had readily available that was controllable in full auto fire, so it was that or make do with the M14 and semi-auto.
As for the .276 Pedersen, there is no doubt that it would have been lethal against personnel in the open, but the enemy was rarely so co-operative, and action in WWII often required a round that could penetrate cover and, as important, outrange the enemy cartridges.
Maybe the average GI was not a long range sniper, but he would have been a fool not to realize that German machineguns could reach him while his .276 bullets were dropping short of the enemy position. Maybe today's theorists can't see any problem with that, but I bet a GI at "the Bulge" would have.
Jim
|