Weapons of the Vietnam War

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A wide variety of weapons were used by the different armies operating in the Vietnam War, which included the opposing Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN) and People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) known as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) during the war, the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF), better known as the Viet Cong (VC), as well as all services of the U.S. military, the South Korean and Australian armies, and a variety of irregular troops armed and equipped by both sides. The ARVN and Koreans were armed with U.S. Army weapons, some of which, such as the M1 Carbine, were substitute standard weapons dating from World War II. The PAVN (NVA), although having inherited a miscellany of American, French, and Japanese weapons from earlier stages of the conflict, were largely armed and supplied by its Warsaw Pact allies. In addition some weapons were manufactured in Vietnam, notably anti-personnel explosives, the K-50 (a PPSh-41 variant), and “home-made” versions of the RPG-2.

Contents

[edit] ARVN, US, Australian, and New Zealand weapons

[edit] Chemical weapons

In 1961 and 62 the Kennedy administration authorized the use of chemicals to destroy vegetation in South Vietnam. Between 1961 and 1967 the US Air Force sprayed 12 million US gallons of concentrated herbicides (mainly Agent Orange) over 6 million acres (24,000 km²) of foliage and trees, affecting an estimated 13% of South Vietnam's land. In 1997, an article published by the Wall Street Journal reported that up to half a million children were born with dioxin related deformities, and that the birth defects in South Vietnam were fourfold those in the North. The use of Agent Orange may have been contrary to international rules of war at the time. It is also of note that the most likely victims of such an assault would be small children. A 1967 study by the Agronomy Section of the Japanese Science Council concluded that 3.8 million acres (15,000 km²) of land had been destroyed, killing 1000 peasants and 13,000 livestock.

[edit] Small arms

1. Edged weapons(Combat knives, bayonet)

2. Pistols & Revolvers

  • FNH Browning H-P Mk III pistol - used by Australian and New Zealand forces
  • Smith & Wesson Mark 22 Mod.0 "Hush Puppy" - Suppressed pistol used by SEALs, among others
  • Colt M1911A1 pistol
  • S & W Model 15 (USAF M-15) carried by USAF SPs (Security Police Units)
  • S & W models 12
  • S & W Aircrewman model (a models 37 with 2 inch barrels and alluminium drum)

3. Machine Pistols/Submachine Guns

4. Assault Rifles

  • Colt CAR-15, XM177, Colt m653, Short assault rifle
  • Armalite and Colt rifle AR15/M16 - main rifle since 1963
  • Harrington & Richardson T223 a copy of the HK 33 - used by U.S. Navy SEALs

5. Battle Rifles

  • M1/M2 Carbine in early time of the war, by ARVN, South Vietnamese Marine Corps and Republic of Korea Marine Corps
  • M1 Garand in early time of the war, by ARVN, South Vietnamese Marine Corps and Republic of Korea Marine Corps
  • M-14 rifle - used mainly by U.S. Marine Corps from the beginning of war to March - November 1967 but also US Army infantry (not Cavalry or Airborne) units in 1965, then replaced by M-16s
  • L1A1 Self Loading Rifle (SLR) - Used by Australian and New Zealand soldiers in Vietnam
  • Springfield M1903
  • Ithaca 37 pump-action shotgun
  • Remington 870 pump-action shotgun
  • Remington 11-48 semi-automatic shotgun
  • (The shotguns were used as an individual weapon during jungle patrol; infantry units are (were) authorized a shotgun by TO & E (Table of Organization & Equipment). Shotguns were not general issue to all infantrymen, but were select issue, such as one per squad, etc.)

6. Sniper Rifles

7. Machine guns

8. Grenades and Mines

  • Mark 2 Fragmentation Hand/Rifle Grenade
  • Claymore M18A1 is an anti-personnel mine
  • M61 Fragmentation Hand Grenade
  • WP M34 grenade White Phosphorus Hand Grenade is a smoke grenade that uses white phosphorus, which, when in contact with air ignites and creates white smoke. The white phosphorus was also a useful, if cruel way to dislodge the Viet Cong from tunnels or other enclosed spaces as the burning white phosphorus absorbs oxygen, causing the victims to suffocate or suffer serious burns.
  • M18 grenade Smoke Hand Grenade

9. Grenade Launcher

[edit] Artillery

  • 57-mm, 75-mm, 90mm, and 106-mm Recoilless rifle
  • 75 mm and M102 105 mm Howitzer
  • 60 mm, 81 mm, and 107 mm, commonly referred to as the four deuce (4.2 inch mortar)Mortar
  • M2 105 mm howitzer
  • M109 155 self-propelled howitzer
  • M107 175mm self-propelled
  • M110 8-inch self-propelled howitzer

[edit] Artillery ammunition

  • Beehive rounds
  • White phosphorus (marking round)"Willy Peter"
  • HE, general purpose (High Explosive)
  • Canister

[edit] Ground Attack & bomber aircraft

[edit] Fighter aircraft

Mainly used to protect (fighter escort) bombers over North Vietnam's sky. Some fighters also served as fighter-bombers.

[edit] Cargo & transport aircraft

[edit] Aircraft Ordnance

See also: List of Bombs in the Vietnam War

[edit] Vehicles

  • M38A1 1/4 ton jeep
  • Ford M151 MUTT 1/4 ton Military Utility Tactical Truck (jeep)
  • Dodge M37, 3/4 ton (pick-up truck)
  • Truck, cargo/troops, 2 1/2 ton (deuce and a half)
  • Truck, cargo/troops, 5 ton
  • M520 Goer Truck, Cargo, 8-ton, 4x4
  • Land Rover short and long wheelbase Australian and New Zealand forces.

[edit] Armoured fighting vehicles

Tanks

Other vehicles

[edit] Gunship

Vehicles ( commonly cargo ), armed with automatic weapons.

  • Boeing/ Vertol CH-47 Chinook Gunship
  • Gun trucks, 2 1/2 ton (deuce an a half), and 5 ton cargo trucks with quad .50 cal machinguns mounted in the back
  • M16 Halftracks with quad .50 cal machineguns in the back
  • Gun jeeps, 1/4 tons with mounted M-60 machineguns
  • Bell UH-1 Huey Gunships
  • Land Rover, short and long wheelbase, with single and twin M60 machineguns. Aust. and NZ forces

[edit] PAVN (NVA)(VC) weapons

The PAVN, or NVA (North Vietnamese Army), VC (Viet Cong-Southern communist guerrillas) as they were commonly referred to during the war, largely used standard Warsaw Pact weapons. All Warsaw Pact weapons used by the North Vietnamese, also included Chinese Communist variants, which were referred to as CHICOM's by the US military. This distinction was in recognition of Taiwan (Nationalist China), a US ally.

[edit] Small arms

1. Pistols

2. Machine-Pistols/Sub Machine-guns

3. Assault Rifle

4. Battle Rifle

  • Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifles and carbines - both Soviet (e.g. M-1891/1930 rifles, M-1938 carbines, and M-1944 carbines) and Red Chinese (e.g. The CHICOM Type 53 carbine (a CHICOM copy of the M-1944 carbine)) versions.
  • Mauser Karabiner 98k bolt-action rifles - came from various sources. A number of Mauser Kar-98ks that were in the hands of the NLF and the NVA were captured from and/or left behind by French forces from the First Indochina War. Later, Mauser Kar-98ks used by NVA and NLF came from the Soviet Union due to the Soviets capturing large numbers of these rifles from the Germans during and after World War II and were providing them as military aid to pro-Moscow nations and Marxist movements.
  • SKS semi-automatic rifles - both Soviet and Red Chinese versions. The Red Chinese versions of the SKS are known as the Type 56 Carbine.
  • Tokarev SVT-40 semiautomatic rifle

5. Sniper Rifle

6. Machine-guns

7. Hand-Grenade and Mines

8. Portable Grenade Launcher

  • RPG-2 rocket-propelled grenades
  • RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenades

[edit] Artillery

  • ZPU-4 quad 14.5 mm anti-aircraft machine gun
  • ZU-23 quad 23 mm anti-aircraft cannon
  • M1939 37 mm anti-aircraft gun
  • S-60 57 mm anti-aircraft gun
  • 82 mm and 120 mm mortars (M1938)
  • 122 mm Katyusha Rockets
  • 120 mm guns

[edit] Vehicles

[edit] Substitute standard weapons used by Irregular forces

[edit] Small arms

[edit] Other

M6 bayonet U.S. Used on M-14

M1 Bayonet U.S. and ARVN Used on M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, and M-14

M7 Bayonet U.S. Use with the M-16

Other types of knives, bayonets, and blades.

A wide variety of anti-personnel landmines and booby traps were used in the Vietnam war, including punji stakes.

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[edit] See Also