The Next Rifle / Movements in Space
The Next Rifle
Recorded Conversation Between President Nixon and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force Curtis Lemay:
Nixon: “Alright, and this last thing… what about this?”
Lemay: “Yes, the new rifle, the AR-15’s.”
Nixon: “80,000 from what this request says is that right?”
Lemay: “That is correct sir.”
Nixon: “I’m uh… I’m inclined to go ahead and push this through because sooner or later we’re going to have to adopt a new rifle design, but there is one problem that I can see that we may have to deal with or look at.”
Lemay: “That would be?”
Nixon: “I’ve been informed that such a rifle… with differences… in caliber could be a problem…” *clears throat*
*Papers shifting*
Nixon: “That being said… I think you and your boys over there have… well, you guys know what to put in a gun and what not to… that is your damn job after all *laughs*”
Lemay: *laughs* “That we do sir.”
Nixon: “Well then, I’ll tell you what I’m willing to do. I will sign off on 40,000 for the air force, and if they do what they’re supposed to, we’ll talk again about them.”
Lemay: “Yes Sir.”
Nixon: “You can expect that request to go through quickly Curtis you have my guarantee on that.”
Lemay: “Thank you sir.”
Nixon: “Mhmm. Have a good day.”
Lemay: “You too sir.”
*End Recording*
President Nixon would sign off on the procurement of 40,000 AR-15 rifles for use in the United States Air Force under request by Curtis Lemay. And would order an additional single shipment of 1,000 AR-15’s to be supplied to South Vietnam, in order to view and receive reports of the rifle’s performance in action. The action, which was overseen by numerous military advisers already within the nation, proved to be immediately worth the costs of the operation. Reports of praise of the rifle’s performance by advisers and South Vietnamese soldiers alike piled in by the end of 1961 and it soon became evident that the rifle had much to offer to the US armed services.
One noticeable attribute to the rifle was the damage it very noticeably caused due to its caliber size. The 5.56mm round, or the “varmint” as it was called, led to severe and horrifyingly large wounds on North Vietnamese soldiers. It was due to these wounds that all photographs taken to study the rifle’s performance were immediately classified. Regardless, South Vietnamese troops began pushing for the rifle to be adopted by their armed services all too willing to take firepower over more “humane” rounds.
The success in South Vietnam lit a fire in the minds of a few high ranking individuals in the US Armed Services, most prominently Curtis Lemay. There was already talk of beginning an adoption of the AR-15 by the end of 1962 if things continued to go well. Its light weight, high firing rate, and firepower were simply too great for many to attempt to ignore.
“Those that were inspected were found to have suffered massive wounds, the likes of which produced cavities internally that resulted in large exit wounds on corpses. Should a wound not kill, it would undoubtedly lead to horrible debilitations and disfigurements. It is truly effective in its purpose.”-Military Adviser stationed in South Vietnam- 1961
The United States military variant would be called the M-16 and would be adopted near the end of 1962 as the next likely standard service rifle following the M-14’s lifespan.
The Acceleration of the Space Race
Andriyan Nikolayev - 1961
“Я спокойна” (“I am at peace”) - Andriyan Nikolayev
Vostok 3 would leave the Launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8:25 A.M. on August 29th 1961. The Cosmonaut program’s next in line after Titov, Andriyan Nikolayev, had been chosen to pilot the mission that was scheduled to last a full day, unlike the previous Soviet mission’s which were scheduled to last a single orbit.
After entering orbit, things would proceed smoothly for the next 25 hours, as Nikolayev proved that the Soviet Union was for the time being superior in their space program when compared to the United States and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. For the second time, the Hammer and Sickle was orbiting the planet when the United States had yet to bring a man further than a suborbital flight. For now, the USSR was on top, and Nikolayev had the world’s greatest view to their victory.
When Vostok 3 re-entered the atmosphere, it had circled the Earth for 1 day 1 hour and 31 minutes, it had completely orbited the Earth 17 times.
The fact that the Soviet Union had now put 2 men into orbit while the United States had simply launched men into space, caused an embarrassment for NASA. Public ridicule and statements by interviewees in America that the United States was falling behind the Soviets was prevalent; and behind the scenes this outcry was causing the program to become stressed to show progress.
T. Keith Glennan, NASA. administrator since the creation of the organization, began making further changes once the Nixon Administration began focusing further on America’s space program. He acquired additional land on the outskirts of the Goddard Space Flight Center and deforested some of the campus in order to construct more facilities to allow expansion at Goddard.
Glennan and other administrators of NASA in 1958
Glennan also organized a vast extension of the Langley Research Center that saw the acquisition and development of many acres of land that would be used to construct an all-weather airfield, a telecommunications facility, and a new mission control center among numerous other facilities and complexes that would greatly expand Langley’s ability to be a valuable player for NASA’s goals. In committing to this expansion, the Langley Research Center would be incorporated into the larger complex now underway. The complex now planned would share the Langley Research Center with the Manned Spacecraft Center drafted by Robert Gilruth, head of the Space Task Group. The new complex would be named the National Air and Space Center, and Gilruth was slated to take the role as the director of the N.A.S.C., but Langley would maintain a level of autonomy within this new complex. With the movements towards America’s space program picking up speed, and public interest growing higher and higher, construction of the NASA’s expansions and the N.A.S.C were expected to be completed by the end of 1963.
The last expansion NASA saw in 1961 was the acquisition of land that would be dedicated to the construction of the Launch Operations Center (LOC). The LOC was to be built right to the North of Cape Canaveral and its main focus was to handle the future rockets for the moon missions that Nixon had set as NASA’s current endgame. Kurt Debus would become the director of the LOC upon its completion in January 1963.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The AR-15 and subsequently the M-16 are adopted several years earlier due to Curtis Lemay's request being answered and given the greenlight, whereas Kennedy denied it OTL.
2. The Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston Texas is never built. instead, Langley Research Center is expanded and renamed the National Air and Space Center, essentially meeting much of the same requirements.
Recorded Conversation Between President Nixon and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force Curtis Lemay:
Nixon: “Alright, and this last thing… what about this?”
Lemay: “Yes, the new rifle, the AR-15’s.”
Nixon: “80,000 from what this request says is that right?”
Lemay: “That is correct sir.”
Nixon: “I’m uh… I’m inclined to go ahead and push this through because sooner or later we’re going to have to adopt a new rifle design, but there is one problem that I can see that we may have to deal with or look at.”
Lemay: “That would be?”
Nixon: “I’ve been informed that such a rifle… with differences… in caliber could be a problem…” *clears throat*
*Papers shifting*
Nixon: “That being said… I think you and your boys over there have… well, you guys know what to put in a gun and what not to… that is your damn job after all *laughs*”
Lemay: *laughs* “That we do sir.”
Nixon: “Well then, I’ll tell you what I’m willing to do. I will sign off on 40,000 for the air force, and if they do what they’re supposed to, we’ll talk again about them.”
Lemay: “Yes Sir.”
Nixon: “You can expect that request to go through quickly Curtis you have my guarantee on that.”
Lemay: “Thank you sir.”
Nixon: “Mhmm. Have a good day.”
Lemay: “You too sir.”
*End Recording*
President Nixon would sign off on the procurement of 40,000 AR-15 rifles for use in the United States Air Force under request by Curtis Lemay. And would order an additional single shipment of 1,000 AR-15’s to be supplied to South Vietnam, in order to view and receive reports of the rifle’s performance in action. The action, which was overseen by numerous military advisers already within the nation, proved to be immediately worth the costs of the operation. Reports of praise of the rifle’s performance by advisers and South Vietnamese soldiers alike piled in by the end of 1961 and it soon became evident that the rifle had much to offer to the US armed services.
One noticeable attribute to the rifle was the damage it very noticeably caused due to its caliber size. The 5.56mm round, or the “varmint” as it was called, led to severe and horrifyingly large wounds on North Vietnamese soldiers. It was due to these wounds that all photographs taken to study the rifle’s performance were immediately classified. Regardless, South Vietnamese troops began pushing for the rifle to be adopted by their armed services all too willing to take firepower over more “humane” rounds.
The success in South Vietnam lit a fire in the minds of a few high ranking individuals in the US Armed Services, most prominently Curtis Lemay. There was already talk of beginning an adoption of the AR-15 by the end of 1962 if things continued to go well. Its light weight, high firing rate, and firepower were simply too great for many to attempt to ignore.
“Those that were inspected were found to have suffered massive wounds, the likes of which produced cavities internally that resulted in large exit wounds on corpses. Should a wound not kill, it would undoubtedly lead to horrible debilitations and disfigurements. It is truly effective in its purpose.”-Military Adviser stationed in South Vietnam- 1961
The United States military variant would be called the M-16 and would be adopted near the end of 1962 as the next likely standard service rifle following the M-14’s lifespan.
The Acceleration of the Space Race
Andriyan Nikolayev - 1961
“Я спокойна” (“I am at peace”) - Andriyan Nikolayev
Vostok 3 would leave the Launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8:25 A.M. on August 29th 1961. The Cosmonaut program’s next in line after Titov, Andriyan Nikolayev, had been chosen to pilot the mission that was scheduled to last a full day, unlike the previous Soviet mission’s which were scheduled to last a single orbit.
After entering orbit, things would proceed smoothly for the next 25 hours, as Nikolayev proved that the Soviet Union was for the time being superior in their space program when compared to the United States and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. For the second time, the Hammer and Sickle was orbiting the planet when the United States had yet to bring a man further than a suborbital flight. For now, the USSR was on top, and Nikolayev had the world’s greatest view to their victory.
When Vostok 3 re-entered the atmosphere, it had circled the Earth for 1 day 1 hour and 31 minutes, it had completely orbited the Earth 17 times.
The fact that the Soviet Union had now put 2 men into orbit while the United States had simply launched men into space, caused an embarrassment for NASA. Public ridicule and statements by interviewees in America that the United States was falling behind the Soviets was prevalent; and behind the scenes this outcry was causing the program to become stressed to show progress.
T. Keith Glennan, NASA. administrator since the creation of the organization, began making further changes once the Nixon Administration began focusing further on America’s space program. He acquired additional land on the outskirts of the Goddard Space Flight Center and deforested some of the campus in order to construct more facilities to allow expansion at Goddard.
Glennan and other administrators of NASA in 1958
Glennan also organized a vast extension of the Langley Research Center that saw the acquisition and development of many acres of land that would be used to construct an all-weather airfield, a telecommunications facility, and a new mission control center among numerous other facilities and complexes that would greatly expand Langley’s ability to be a valuable player for NASA’s goals. In committing to this expansion, the Langley Research Center would be incorporated into the larger complex now underway. The complex now planned would share the Langley Research Center with the Manned Spacecraft Center drafted by Robert Gilruth, head of the Space Task Group. The new complex would be named the National Air and Space Center, and Gilruth was slated to take the role as the director of the N.A.S.C., but Langley would maintain a level of autonomy within this new complex. With the movements towards America’s space program picking up speed, and public interest growing higher and higher, construction of the NASA’s expansions and the N.A.S.C were expected to be completed by the end of 1963.
The last expansion NASA saw in 1961 was the acquisition of land that would be dedicated to the construction of the Launch Operations Center (LOC). The LOC was to be built right to the North of Cape Canaveral and its main focus was to handle the future rockets for the moon missions that Nixon had set as NASA’s current endgame. Kurt Debus would become the director of the LOC upon its completion in January 1963.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The AR-15 and subsequently the M-16 are adopted several years earlier due to Curtis Lemay's request being answered and given the greenlight, whereas Kennedy denied it OTL.
2. The Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston Texas is never built. instead, Langley Research Center is expanded and renamed the National Air and Space Center, essentially meeting much of the same requirements.
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