weapons of vietnam

kevinhalvey

hi there i was doing some research into vietnam war small arms what were the more obscure weapons used by the u.s i know the main ones such as the ones in this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54wNHi5mzGU

punchdrunk

im fairly sure the M3 "grease gun" would still have been in service with the m113/Sheridan crews etc...

kevinhalvey

thanks i know it was used by ww2 paras didnt know it was used in da nang

Beano

punchdrunk wrote: »

im fairly sure the M3 "grease gun" would still have been in service with the m113/Sheridan crews etc...

It was still being used by tankers up until the first Gulf war.

Delancey

Beano wrote: »

It was still being used by tankers up until the first Gulf war.

I'm amazed to hear that - I thought it was out of service by the time Korea kicked off
Thanks for that

Delancey

I believe the M1 Garand saw service in Vietnam as a sniper rifle.

punchdrunk

I guess the logic of giving the crappy old grease gun to tank crews was
If they were in a situation so bad where they had to use them then they were pretty much ****ed anyway
It would have to be some Custer-esque last stand before they came to the table

xflyer

Of course they also used the 'Swedish K' better known to us as the Carl Gustav sub machine gun. Special forces that is. Also used occasionally was the Browning Hi-Power.

Check out this photo, note the M3 with flash suppressor carried by the Captain. The pilot carries a Swedish K and both have what appear to be .357 magnums.

Manic Moran

That looks a lot more like a flash hider than a flash suppressor.

We had grease guns in our armoury until about 2000, but they were never really used. All tankers have a sidearm, be it a 1911 until the 1990s, or an M9. There was one grease gun and one M16 per tank as well. After Iraq, things got crazy, my tank had the four sidearms, two M4s, two M16s, a shotgun and an M249. Plus your standard tank weapons. I declined my bayonet.

NTM

punchdrunk

let's not forget the Navy Seal's brilliantly named "Hush Puppy"

(Smith & Wesson mk22 9mm)

Delancey

Manic Moran wrote: »

That looks a lot more like a flash hider than a flash suppressor.
NTM

Permission to ask a question ? What is the difference between the two ?

Manic Moran

Don't worry, they're terms which are very commonly cross-used. Even Wiki doesn't make the distinction.

Purpose of a flash hider is to avoid blinding the shooter at night. Most usually this is done by use of a cone, thus physically blocking the shooter's eyesight from the flash and hiding it. It has no effect at all on people at the other end of the weapon. May have an effect on hiding the flash from people to the side or an angle.

Here's one on sale for the M1 carbine.
http://www.keepshooting.com/firearmaccessories/add-ons/m1-carbine-flash-hider.htm

A flash suppressor attempts to reduce (if not completely eliminate) the flash from all angles by allowing a greater access of air to the explosion (and unburned propellant). This is done by using a greater-than-bore chamber, usually one which has slots or holes in it thus allowing even more outside air in. The flash still exists, it just is hidden within the chamber designed for it to occur.
As per the M-16/AR-15
http://www.stealthboy.com/images/AR15_DiagramB.gif
The new, clever, ones, have the slots drilled in at angles so that you can't see the flash no matter what angle you're looking at it from.

And, of course, you have muzzle brakes and compensators, which generally are closer to bore size, with holes drilled in to vent the gasses in a certain vector, usually up and backward to reduce recoil.

(Of note, the current M16A2/M4 device is officially categorised as a compensator by the Army)

NTM

Delancey

Thanks for the informative reply Manic - are compensators the things that were fitted to Tommy Guns to prevent ' muzzle climb ' ?

kevinhalvey

jus looked up seen the browning m1918 quite amazing that these ww2 guns were still being issued :rolleyes:

banie01

kevinhalvey wrote: »

jus looked up seen the browning m1918 quite amazing that these ww2 guns were still being issued :rolleyes:

The M1918 is actually a world war 1 issued design, the weapon is the still lightest full auto machine gun chambered in 30.06 ammunition.
A round which there were still substantial military stocks of early in the Vietnam conflict.
And later many were modified to nato 7.62 extending the service life even further.
Despite the designs age, the only serious impediment was the 20rd magazine.
As for the age of the design, it was a highly effective weapon with plentiful ammunition that could be made available for supply from surplus.

Manic Moran

You could argue that the AA/M2 "Stinger" would have been a better LSW than the BAR in Vietnam to use that cartridge, but it would have been hard to find them, or the ammo belts.

NTM

Delancey

Gee guys , next I'll be learning that the Springfield rifle was used in Vietnam - like the Grease Gun I thought the BAR was history the time Korea happened.
I understood the BAR was unreliable and weighed in at close to 20 pounds ?

punchdrunk

both the Model 1912,and 1897 trench guns were used in Vietnam
yes the model number denotes the year of its design

MajorMax

I heard of a 3 shot pump action m-79 grenade launcher that was built in limited numbers for the special forces, not sure if it was green beanies, rangers, lurps or seals.
Then there was the Stoner, kick-ass LMG used by the Seals.
The Aussies in Vietnam swore by their FN-FALs they considered the heavier 7.62mm bullet to be more effective in jungle conditions than the M-16.

kevinhalvey

yes it was used and it was issued to the seals

Delancey

MajorMax wrote: »

Then there was the Stoner, kick-ass LMG used by the Seals.

Is that in any way connected to the guy called Stoner who designed the M-16 ?
Waiting now for someone to tell me about weapons last used at Gettysburg seeing service in Vietnam

moondrizzle

That agent orange stuff is pretty nasty. That was Vietnam right....

kevinhalvey

ye eugine stoner designes both the m-16 (ar-15) and stoner lmg both 5.56 was the m16 the first small arm to use 5.56

Delancey

moondrizzle wrote: »

That agent orange stuff is pretty nasty. That was Vietnam right....

Yeah , that was used in Vietnam and manufactured mainly by Dow Chemicals.
The U.S Forestry Service has a cartoon character called ' Smokey Bear ' ( wears a forest ranger hat ) and is used to give tips to avoid forest fires , his motto is '' Help Prevent Forest Fires ''.
The U.S. set up a special air squadron to spray Agent Orange and they used Smokey as their mascot , his motto was '' Help Prevent Forests ''

Sorry guys - I possess a pretty black humour.

Beano

MajorMax wrote: »

I heard of a 3 shot pump action m-79 grenade launcher that was built in limited numbers for the special forces, not sure if it was green beanies, rangers, lurps or seals.
...

This one?