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Inside The Vietnam War

WEAPONS OF THE ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM (ARVN) (1964-65)



In 1964 and 1965, the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) was structured more or less along the lines of its benefactor and advisor, the U.S. Army. The weapons of the ARVN and the techniques of employing them in combat also reflected the prevailing thoughts of American military scientists.

m1 rifle

U.S. Rifle, caliber .30, M1: a gas-operated, clip-fed, semi-automatic, .30 caliber shoulder weapon of U.S. manufacture. This weapon, in 1964, was the standard ARVN infantry rifle. The Vietnamese soldier, averaging five feet two inches tall and weighing 100 pounds, used this weapon with good effect, if he were trained properly. The ARVN acquired this rifle from the United States, who had replaced this excellent weapon with the M-14 rifle (see above). The M1 Rifle weighs 9.5 pounds, and is 43.6 inches long with a 24 inch barrel. It fires the .30 caliber (.30-06 Springfield) cartridge which was fed by a clip holding eight rounds.

    In my mind, and it appears to be the consensus among the Marines who had used this weapon during their military career, this rifle is the finest battle weapon ever devised for the combat infantryman. This rifle was known by the U.S. Marines as the U.S. Rifle M1, or simply the M1, never referred to as the "Garand" (John C. Garand was the inventor). Other services, when referring to the M1 usually mean the pea-shooter M1 Carbine, not the real rifle. No other weapon is so endeared, so revered, and so missed by the U.S. Marine Corps as is this rifle. In the hands of any Marine who had qualified with this rifle, it could deliver one-shot kills at 500 yards and beyond. From the mud of Guadalcanal, into the sands at Iwo Jima, through the frozen hills of Chosin, in the streets of Seoul, this rifle never failed us.

Caliber .30 Model 1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle: a gas-operated, selective fire shoulder weapon of U.S. manufacture. It is 47.8 inches long with a 24 inch barrel, weighs 19.4 pounds, and is fed .30 caliber (30-06) cartridges from a 20-round staggered-row detachable box magazine. Its slow cyclic rate is 300-450 rounds per minute and its fast cyclic rate is 500-650 rounds per minute. The ARVN table of organization, based on the U.S. Army T/O, also adopted the BAR as its squad tactical automatic weapon. Because of its weight and bulk, most of the ARVN soldiers assigned to carry this weapon often got rid of it at first opportunity and opted to carry the lighter weight, but much less effective, M-1/M-2 carbine. I carried the BAR up and down the hills of Camp Pendleton and, if I had a choice at that time, wouldn't have traded it for any other weapon in the world.

Browning caliber .30, M1919A4: a recoil operated, crew served, automatic weapon. The gun weighs 31 pounds and its tripod mount weighs an additional 14 pounds. Its overall length is 41 inches with a 24 inch barrel. It fires the .30 caliber U.S. military round which is fed to the gun in disintegrating link belts. In 1964, the Vietnamese Army had not yet been equipped with the M-60 machine gun and the M1919A4 (and M1919A6) was the standard small unit machine gun. Heavy, but reliable, this weapon had served as the standard U.S. Marine Corps small unit machine gun until it was replaced by the M60.

WEAPONS of the VIET CONG (VC) and the PEOPLE'S ARMY of VIETNAM (PAVN)
  

Under Construction

During my combat tour of duty in Vietnam (1964-65), and later in various civilian employment capacities (1966-70), I knew very little about the type of weapons possessed and used by the enemy. To me, a firearm was a firearm, and if it was capable of shooting, it was capable of killing. The VC (vi xi) and the PAVN (not yet identified as the NVA in 1965) possessed a greater variety of weapons than did the US and ARVN forces due to the fact that the VC and PAVN were willing to use any weapon that they could lay their hands on. The majority of weapons that we encountered that were being used by the VC were of US, French, Japanese, and local village manufacture. The PAVN were equipped, whenever possible, from North Vietnamese arsenals and they were in possession of Soviet or Chinese manufactured weapons.

DPM Light Machinegun: This light machinegun of Soviet design and manufacture was encountered by HMM-365 throughout our combat tours of duty in Vietnam, 1964-65. The photo of the machineguns were of captured VC weapons taken during the Battle for Hill 159. Gas-operated and weighing only 26.9 pounds, this weapon could fire the 7.62mm cartridge fed from its round 47-round drum, at a cyclic rate of 500-600 rpm. Although of WWII design and manufacture, the DPM Light Machinegun proved to be a reliable and effective killer.

MAS-36: a 7.5 mm, manually operated one-piece bolt rifle. It held 5 rounds in its non-removable magazine, is 40.14 inches long with a 22.6 inch barrel, and weighs 8.29 pounds empty. The stick bayonet is housed in a tube under the barrel and is mounted on that tube when the bayonet is to be used. This French-manufactured rifle were left by or captured from the French prior to 1954.

Model 1949 (MAT 49) Submachine Gun: a French-manufactured 9 mm parabellum blowback operated fully-automatic submachinegun. Those that were captured from the hands of the Viet Cong, who in turn had captured it from the French, were fully functional and reliable, attesting to its excellent design. This weapon weighed 9.41 pounds loaded, and is 28 inches in length, 18.3 inches with its stock retracted. Its 32-round magazine is inserted into a magazine housing that also served as the forward grip. This grip/magazine housing can be swung forward when not in operation making the weapon more compact for carrying or storage. Some of these submachineguns were rebarreled by the VC to fire the Soviet 7.62 mm Type P cartridge, probably done because of a shortage of 9mm parabellum rounds in the Communist inventory. I don't recall which cartridge the specimens in armory used. Maybe one of our armorers have a better memory than me on this subject.

Moisin-Nagant rifles and carbines, M1891, M1891/30, M1910, M1938, M1944: These Russian manufactured rifles and carbines were shipped over the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the "regular" Viet Cong and PAVN forces in South Vietnam. Varying in length from 51.37 inches for the M-1891 to 40 inches for the M1910/M1938/M1944 carbines and weighing 9.62 pounds to 7.5 pounds respectively, these bolt operated shoulder weapons fired the 7.62x54 mm M1908 cartridge from a fixed 5-round magazine.

Samozaridnya Karabina Simonova Obrazets (SKS) carbine: This weapon comes closer to being the ideal individual firearm for a revolutionary army as any other produced during the Vietnam wars. It is reliable, lethal at ranges where close combat would normally occur, easy for people with little training to employ, relatively cheap and easy to manufacture, and it is semi-automatic (which meant it did not waste as many precious ammunition as full automatic weapons are wont to do). During HMM-365's combat tours of duty in Vietnam, the SKS was probably the main combat long arm of the "regular" Viet Cong and PAVN forces that we encountered. Weighing 8.8 pounds, 40.16 inches in length with a 20.47 inch barrel, it fires the M43 7.62x39 cartridge fed from a non-detachable 10-round magazine. A folding blade bayonet is attached. A variation of the SKS that were sometimes found in the Viet Cong/PAVN was the Chinese-manufactured Type 56 carbine. This carbine is identical to the SKS except that it has a spike bayonet instead of the blade.

Type 50 Submachinegun, Modified: Of Chinese design and manufacture, who copied the design from the Soviet Model PPSh M1941, this submachinegun was modified by the Viet Cong to accept and fire the 7.62mm type 50 cartridge. The modifications also included the addition of the wire stock obtained from the French MAT49 and used parts and components from the Type 56 (Chinese copy of the AK). The weapon weighed 9 pounds, had a length of 29.75 inches with its stock extended, and fired the 7.62mm cartridge at a cyclic rate of 900 rpm from a 35-round magazine. One of the captured Type 50s was demilled and presented as a war trophy to LtCol Koler by the DaNang Detachment of the U.S. Army 5th Special Forces Group in appreciation of HMM-365's assistance to the Green Berets' combat effort in I Corps.

A note about the AK-47: I never saw one in 1964. The first time I encountered one was in 1967 in Laos in the hands of Meo (Hmong) warriors. They referred to the rifle as the "Kalashnikov".

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Biệt Đội Trưởng Biệt Đội Tác Chiến Điện Tử

Năm 1970, mỗi Sư Đoàn đều thành lập một Biệt Đội Tác Chiến Điện Tử. Nhằm mục đích gài các thiết bị điện tử (gọi là Sensor) trong khu vực trách nhiệm; để kịp thời phát hiện sự di chuyển, sự xâm nhập của địch; bằng sự gây chấn động (Seismic Device) bởi các bước chân; nhiễu loạn điện từ (Magneticfield); hoặc Nghe được âm thanh (Acoustic Device), Nhìn bằng tia hồng ngoại tuyến (Infa-Red).

Khi địch di chuyển sẽ tạo ra chấn động nhỏ trên mặt đất, vũ khí đi ngang qua máy sẽ gây ra sự nhiễu loạn từ trường, địch nói chuyện hoặc tiếng động gần nơi đặt máy, sẽ được chuyển tín hiệu về đài kiểm báo. Tầm hoạt động trong vòng 25 cây số với ăng ten Định Hướng, nếu đài kiểm báo đặt trên đỉnh núi, thì tầm hoạt động rất xa.

Các máy Điện tử như Minicid thường được chôn trên đường xâm nhập, mỗi máy cách nhau khoảng một trăm thước, để thâu nhận tiếng động do bước chân của địch. Có những loại máy được thả xuống từ phi cơ, máy nầy hình dạng giống như trái bom tên là Asid, bề dài khoảng nửa thước, sau đuôi có cần “Ăng ten” màu xanh lá cây. Khi phóng xuống máy sẽ ngập sâu dưới đất chỉ ló đầu antenna lên thôi.

Ở đường mòn Hồ chí Minh, người ta thả máy Asid và những máy phát hiện kim khí đi ngang qua (gây nhiễu loạn từ trường), loại máy nầy hình dạng và màu sắc giống như viên đá nhỏ. Máy Acousboy, Acoustic (?), được treo dấu ngụy trang trên những cành cây, thân cây để thu nhận âm thanh. Hàng rào điện tử Mac Namara dọc theo vùng giới tuyến được thiết bị bằng những loại máy trên.

Có lần tại một vùng địch thường di chuyển, ở phía Tây Đồi 50 (La Sơn) 5 cây số, cách phi trường Phú Bài Huế khoảng 14 cây số về hướng Nam, Đại úy Hà Thúc Mẫn, khóa 20 ĐL, tiểu đoàn phó 4/54, chỉ huy lực lượng Action Force phối hợp với Lữ Đoàn 2/101 Không Kỵ Hoa Kỳ, Mẫn đã tổ chức phục kích bằng mìn định hướng Claymore.

Anh đề nghị toán TCĐT (Tác Chiến Điện Tử) đặt máy điện tử Minicid (sensor) và mìn Claymore dọc theo đường (mà tin tức tình báo nói địch thường hay di chuyển). Khi Việt cộng đi ngang qua, đài kiểm báo phát hiện tín hiệu, Mẫn ra lệnh bấm nổ (bằng remote control) hàng loạt mấy chục quả mìn. Ngay sau đó đơn vị đổ bộ bằng sáu trực thăng vào lục soát và thu lượm được thành quả vô cùng rực rỡ, hơn 30 vũ khí đủ loại nằm rải rác dọc theo bãi phục kích bằng mìn định hướng nầy.

Biệt Đội/Tác Chiến Điện Tử gồm có 11 Sĩ quan, 50 Hạ sĩ quan và 10 binh sĩ.

Biệt Đội trưởng: Đại Úy Trương Dưỡng
Biệt Đội Phó: Trung Úy Trương Ngọc Ẩn
Các Trưởng Toán Tác Chiến Điện Tử: Trung Úy Lâm Vỹ, Thiếu Úy An, Tường, Tám, Ân, Trốn, Liên, Việt, và chuẩn Úy Chinh.
Kế Toán Trưởng: Thượng sĩ Cầu
Thường Vụ: Thượng sĩ nhứt Khánh
Thủ Kho: Trung sĩ Hùng
Thư ký: Hạ sĩ Nguyễn Văn Hòa
Biệt đội trực thuộc Đại Tá Nguyễn Thu Lương, Trưởng P3

Sau khi thành lập xong Biệt Đội, tôi và ba sĩ quan Trưởng Toán là An, Ân, và Liên được đi thụ huấn chuyên môn tại Trường Truyền Tin ở Vũng Tàu. Khóa nầy quy tụ hầu hết Biệt Đội trưởng của các Sư Đoàn.
(Trích từ Hồi Ký Một Cánh Hoa Dù)
Trương Dưỡng - K20
http://hocday.com/trng-dng-mt-cnh-hoa-d-hi-k-hi-k-mt-cnh-hoa-d.html

Chương 14

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