Vietnam Era Weapons by Trae Mishler

The M1911

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 04:55:42 UTC

The Colt M1911A1 was an extremely common American sidearm that was introduced in the early stages of World War I. This pistol was used heavily and barely changed as it progressed through WWI, WWII, Korea, and again in Vietnam where it was depended on heavily for it's reliability and extreme durability.

M16 Rifle

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:02:57 UTC

As shown below, the M16 was a long rifle carried by United States and South Vietnamese forces. It was said to be more accurate than the AK-47, and more reliable. Both of these claims were later disproved. The M16 was an adequate rifle but was known to malfunction frequently; the malfunction was called the "brass low", and occurred when the round fired off but the spent cartridge stayed in the receiver of the rifle, not ejecting as it was supposed to.

Stoner 63

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:08:41 UTC

The Stoner 63 was another commonly used assault rifle in the Vietnam War, mainly carried by the United States Navy SEALs and certain Marine strike teams. Made in 1963 by Eugene Stoner, this assault rifle was a vast improvement in reliability over the M16 that most infantry carried, but the higher price tag meant the government spent more money on the less reliable M16.

M1 Garand

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:12:34 UTC

The M1 Garand was a commonly used infantry rifle in World War II, and it did make its way into the beginning of the Vietnam war before being discarded due to it's slow fire and reload rate.

M40

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:16:52 UTC

This bolt-action sniper rifle was used by the United States Marine Corps and was introduced in 1960. While the rifle itself was generally reliable and easy to use, there soon came multiple problems, including rust on the mechanism causing it to jam or in some cases explode, and warping of the all wood stock.

The Tommy Gun

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:23:51 UTC

The Thompson sub machine gun, or the "Tommy gun" as it was dubbed, was developed in 1918 by John T. Thompson. It was a favorite among mobsters in the Prohibition era, which led to its widespread popularity. The sub machine gun, chambered in .45 ACP, was well liked for its large magazine capacity and high rate of automatic fire. It was carried commonly in both the South Vietnamese and US forces.

M3 Sub Machine Gun

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:28:09 UTC

The M3 was an American .45 caliber sub machine gun adopted for US military service on December 12th, 1942, as the United States sub machine gun, Cal. .45, M3. The M3 was chambered for the same .45 round fired by the Thompson sub machine gun, but was cheaper to produce, and lighter. The M3 was commonly referred to as the "Grease Gun" or simply "the Greaser," owing to its visual similarity to the mechanic's tool.

Remington Model 870

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:37:01 UTC

The most commonly used shotgun in United States history, the Remington Model 870, or the M870 as it was commonly termed, was a brutal firearm in close quarters. United States embassy security personnel sometimes used this but it was more commonly seen in United States Marine Corps raid teams.

M60

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:41:09 UTC

This light machine gun was a general purpose machine gun fed with a disintegrating belt of ammunition. It was operated in teams of three, the gunner, assistant gunner, and the ammunition bearer.

M79 Grenade Launcher

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:45:49 UTC

The M79 grenade launcher was widely used by all branches of the US military in Vietnam. This grenade launcher was used to fire explosives, incendiaries, and chemical payloads and was mainly anti-personnel.

M9A1-7 Flamethrower

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:49:17 UTC

This flamethrower was a late variant of the M2 Flamethrower used by Allied forces in WWII. It was a light backpack variant and used to "chuck" napalm at enemy personnel.

Makarov Pistol

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:52:36 UTC

The Makarov was a Russian pistol supplied to the Vietnamese soldiers. It was their variant of the M1911, a sturdy and easily concealable sidearm that was reliable and deadly.

AK-47

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 05:56:29 UTC

The AK-47 was the most common assault rifle used by the Communist forces in almost any war, Vietnam included. It has been said that the AK-47 has the most accurate first shot in the world, and this Kalishnakov rifle has taken more lives than any other assault rifle.

SKS

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 06:02:09 UTC

This semiautomatic carbine was a precursor to the famous AK-47, not used as often and not nearly as deadly, but still as reliable.

SVD

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 06:04:21 UTC

The SVD, or the Dragunov was one of the most common sniper rifles used by the Communit forces in Vietnam. It was, like almost all of the weapons used by the Soviet forces was extremely reliable and deadly.

Vz. 24

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 06:06:55 UTC

The Vz. 24 was a bolt action rifle from Czechoslovakia. It was mainly used by the rag tag group of Viet Cong rebels because of it's reliability and extremely cheap components.

PPSh-41

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 06:09:45 UTC

The PPSh-41 was a cheap Russian sub machine gun used in WWII and in turn Vietnam. It was another hand me down weapon from the Soviets, extremely reliable and very cheap. The name is short for the Russian word papasha meaning, "daddy".

RPK Light Machine Gun

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 06:14:07 UTC

The RPK light machine gun was a drum fed machine gun used in Vietnam to clear massive amounts of personnel and lay down suppressive fire. This was a model based off of the AK-47, just as all of the Kalisknakov variant rifles.

RPG 7

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 06:16:56 UTC

The RPG 7, or the Rocket Propelled Grenade of the 7th model was used as anti vehicle and personnel explosive transport. Firing a rocket propelled grenade, this was an exceedingly inaccurate but still devastating weapon that the Soviets fed to Communist forces in the Vietnam war.

Molotov Cocktails

trae_mishler18 — 2017-12-14 06:21:32 UTC

Molotov Cocktails were the fanciest contraptions known to kill in Vietnam. That was a lie. In this point of my project, I've resorted to lying. A mixture of alcohols, sometimes gasoline or diesel, there was a rag stuffed in the top of a glass bottle, lit on fire, and thrown. Thus, the fire was spread. Thus, the soldiers were burnt. Thus, some of them died. Thus, this made the molotov cocktail a deadly weapon. Heh heh, fire, cool.

Wow, I hope this doesn't get points taken off. (4th wall break inside of a 4th wall break? That's like... 16 walls!) <-- Deadpool jokes, always the best.