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Weapons of Warfare in the Vietnam War. 1959 - 1975 By Nathan Payne. Main Conflict Belligerents. The U.S. Republic of South Vietnam (AVRN) People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF) commonly known as the Viet Cong (VC). The NVA.
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Weapons of Warfare in the Vietnam War 1959 - 1975 By Nathan Payne
Main Conflict Belligerents The U.S. Republic of South Vietnam (AVRN) People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF) commonly known as the Viet Cong (VC)
The NVA The NVA (or the PAVN) inherited a miscellany of American, French and Japanese weapons from WWII and the First Indochina War ( aka French Indochina War ), but were also largely armed and supplied by Red China, the U.S.S.R, and it’s Warsaw Pact allies. Among the weapons supplied were K-50Ms, a variant of the PPSh-41 sub-machine gun, and many ‘home-made’ RPG-2 rocket launchers. Also common were AK-47s and RPD-7.62mms.
The U.S. Until the introduction of the M-16, the M-14 was the standard rifle of the U.S. soldier. The CAR-15, 5.56mm assault rifle was a compact version of the M-16 with a telescoping stock. It was popular with spec ops troops. The M-72, 66mm Light Anti-tank Weapon (LAW) was designed as a one-man operated rocket launcher for destroying tanks. But in Vietnam it was mainly used as a bunker-buster.
Weapons of the War The M-16 rifle The LAW The M-14 rifle The Thompson sub-machine gun
The AVRN The AVRN were armed with mainly American cast-offs, including weapons from before World War Two. So a lot of their weapons were common among U.S. troops. They also used American vehicles such as the Chance-Vought F-8 Crusader and the Dodge M37.
The NLF or Viet Cong The NLF largely supplied themselves with weapons they captured from the AVRN. These would include old WWII weapons such as the Thompson submachine gun and the M-1 Garand rifle. Other such examples would be hand grenades, .30 calibre fixed machineguns, bazookas and the M-1 Carbine.
Weapons of the War (cont.2) Browning 50.cal M-1 Carbine AK-47
Chemical Weapons of the War ‘Agent Orange’ was the code name for a herbicide developed by the American military, for use in tropical climates. The purpose of the weapon was to deny cover and concealment in dense terrain by defoliating the forest where the enemy could hide. Unfortunately, Agent Orange was found to be extremely contaminated with a man-made dioxin called TCDD. TCDD is seriously harmful to man, and the civilian population of Vietnam suffered from illnesses caused by TCDD. Whether the contamination of the agent was deliberate or otherwise remains to be seen. The American government described it as an accident, but denied deliberate contamination to win the war. This is a man who’s mother was exposed to Agent Orange.
Vehicles of the Vietnam War Chance-Vought F8 Crusader Dodge M37
Weapons of the War (cont.3) PPSh-41 RPD-7.62mm K-50M
Weapons of the War (cont.4) RPG-2 M-1 Garand CAR-15
Bibliography The U.S. 1: 14/01/11, 11:29, www.173rdairborne.com The NVA 2: 14/01/11, 11:13, www.wikipedia.com The AVRN 3: 14/01/11, 12:07, www.bookrags.com The NLF 4: 17/01/11, 14:25, www.answers.com Agent Orange: 21/01/11, 11:27, www.members.tripod.com Weapon pictures: 17/01/11, 14:37, www.173rdairborne.com Agent Orange picture: 21/01/11, 11:49, www.wikipedia.com Weapon pictures (2,3,4): 23/01/11, 11:35, Google Images