North+Vietnamese+Weapons

=__Weapons of Vietnam__=

North Vietnamese weapons

• Fragmentation stick-grenade

Created by the Chinese, this grenade functions like a German stick grenade, and can be used by ways of immediate explosion or by timing the explosion by turning the head of the grenade.

• AK-47 7.62mm assault rifle

Comes with a high front sight, a large safety switch on the right side, and a long, curved banana clip. This gun used the Soviet Union version with the wooden buttstock. It is gas operated, magazine fed, and is has automatic range of fire of 40 rounds (400m). This range of fire increases to 100 rounds on fully automatic (300m). The AK also can vary between the banana clip, and the 30 round detachable bow clips. Renowned for its durability, it is shorter and heavier than the M-16, but with a lower range of fire and muzzle velocity.

• SIMINOV 7.62 self-loading rifle

This semi-automatic carbine has an effective range of 400 meters and has a 10 round integral magazine and an ROF of 30-35 rounds per minute. The SKS resembles a conventional bolt-action rifle but is equipped with an integral folding bayonet under the muzzle. Used extensively by the Viet Cong, it weighed 3.86 kg, had a length of 1020mm and a muzzle velocity of 735m per second


 * RPD-7.62mm GPMG

A standard infantry squad support weapon, the RPD was analogous to the US M-60 and fired a 7.62mm slug from a 100 round belt, which was usually contained in a drum mounted below the gun. The drum itself could be changed in a matter of seconds by an experienced gunner and protected the ammo from dirt and hence jamming. With a maximum rate of cyclic fire of about 150 rounds per minute, an effective range of 800m and rapid reload time, this light and uncomplicated weapon was capable of laying down sustained heavy fire. The gunner was usually accompanied by an assistant acting as an ammo carrier, loader and capable of taking over as the primary gunner in the event of the main gunner becoming a casualty. The RPD was approximately 1036mm in length (521mm barrel) and a muzzle velocity of 700m per second.


 * MAT49 modified 7.62mm SMG

Produced by the //Manufacture d’Armes de Tulle// (MAT) in 1946 and using the 9mm Parabellum cartridge, this SMG was adopted by the French army in 1949 (hence the designation MAT49). The weapon was widely used by French forces in Indo-China and many found their way into the hands of the Vietminh and eventually the Viet Cong The Vietnamese modified the weapon to fire the Soviet 7.62mm x 25P ammunition and its PRC equivalent by fitting a longer 7.62mm barrel. However, they did keep all the essential features of the MAT49 except for replacing the 32-round box with a 35-round magazine. One of the remarkable features of the weapon was the sliding wire butt stock which could be pushed forward out of the way for carrying and pulled to the rear if it was to be used in firing. The magazine housing on the receiver could be rotated forward through 90-degrees (even with the magazine fitted) to lie along the barrel. These features made the MAT49 particularly suitable for troops who required compactness in carriage. At the back part of the pistol grip was a grip safety, which was operated by the action of squeezing the pistil grip when firing a round. This released the safety catch. When the grip safety was not squeezed, it locked the bolt in the forward position, and locked the trigger when the weapon was cocked. The lock was released by the pressure of the palm of the hand. The weapon could not be accidentally discharged The Vietnamese modification increased the cyclic rate of fire from 600 rounds per minute to 900 rpm.


 * PPSh41 7.62mm SMG

Designed by the Soviets in 1940 and adopted for issue in 1941, the PPSh41 met the Red Army’s need for an easily mass-produced, rugged weapon. It became very popular with German soldiers fighting on the Eastern front and was converted by German armories to fire 9-mm Parabellum rounds. The weapon had a fire-rate selector lever positioned just in front of the trigger, allowing ate of fire to be changed rapidly without the weapon moving off the point of aim. The two-piece bolt handle allows the bolt to be locked in either the forward or the rear position. The original weapon had two different magazines: a 71-round drum or a 35-round box. Most of the weapons used in Vietnam used the box magazine but this may have been a result of the Chinese connection since the PRC type 50 differed only slightly from the PPSh41, mainly in that it only fitted the 35-round box magazine. The most interesting variant of the weapon was the K50M, which was the Vietnamese modification of the PRC type 50. the Vietnamese removed the wooden butt stock and replaced it with a wooden pistol grip and a French-style sliding wire butt stock similar to that on the MAT49 the K50M was about 500-g (1.1lbs) lighter than the PPSh41 at 3.4-kg (7.5-lbs) as opposed to 3.9-kg (8.6-lbs).


 * Chicom Type-56 7.62mm assault rifle

The Chinese copy of the original Soviet AK-47, the type-56 has a folding metal stock.


 * Type-24 7.92mm heavy machine gun

A Chinese copy of the German WWI vintage Maxim machine gun often used in an air defense role.


 * RPG-7 rocket launcher

The RPG-7 is a muzzle loaded, shoulder fired anti-tank grenade launcher. The VC and NVA used the RPG7V; a Soviet produced short-range, anti-armor, rocket-propelled grenade, from 1967 against armored vehicles, defensive positions, personnel and even helicopters. This smoothbore, recoilless weapon consists of a launcher tube fitted with a simple iron sight or a more sophisticated telescopic range-finding sight, and a heat a heat rocket grenade projectile with a caliber of 40mm.The RPG-7 has an effective range of 300 meters against moving targets and up to 500 meters against stationary targets. The projectile explodes either on impact or at its maximum range of 920 meters.


 * TOKAREV TT33 7.62mm automatic pistol

First introduced in the 1930’s and utilizing the self-cocking design from colt, the tokarev TT33 was used extensively by Soviet forces in WWII and was produced in nearly all Warsaw Pact countries and the PRC. The Chinese type-54 could be distinguished from the soviet TT33 by the serrations on the slide and by the Chinese ideograms on the pistol grip (Soviet weapon had a star in the center of the pistol grip). The Soviet TT33 had alternate narrow and wide vertical cuts, whereas the type-51 and the type-54 had uniform narrow marking, to aid gripping the slide when manually cocking the weapon. There was no safety mechanism but the hammer could be locked at half-cock and the weapon was normally carried around with a round in the chamber. Production of the weapon in the USSR stopped in 1954, but continued in other Communist countries, notably the PRC. The pistil was widely used by VC and NVA officers. The tokarev TT33 fired the Soviet 7.62mm x 25 type-p pistol cartridge. It operated on a recoil single action and was semi- automatic, feeding ammunition from an 8-round box magazine. Maximum ROF was 32-rpm and with a maximum effective range out to about 50-meters The pistol was quite heavy, weighing about 1-kg (2.2-lbs) when loaded and was 196-mm (7.72-inches) in length.


 * MAKAROV PM 9.5mm automatic pistol

The pistol markarov (PM) replaced the tokarev in the early 1950’s in the Warsaw pact countries and was produced in the PRC as the Type-59. Originally copied from the West German Walther PP (police pistol) of the original pistol and used Soviet 9-mm x 18 ammunition rather than the original NATO 9-mm x 19. Following its introduction the makarov became the standard pistol in most Euro-Asian Communist forces. The pistol was operated by a blowback, self-loading double action, and loaded from an *-round box magazine. It measured 160-mm (6.3 in.) in length and weighed 800-g (1.8-lbs) when loaded. The pistol grip was slightly bulky, making firing it a little uncomfortable. Soviet manufactured weapons had a star in the center of the pistol grip. There was a simple safety catch at the rear of the slide, and a slide stop on the outside of the receiver, both of which could be operated by the firer’s thumb if right handed.


 * 81 mm Mortar

81mm mortar. Manufactured in North Vietnam and is a copy of the US 81mm MI mortar. Very popular with the VC as it could be broken down into three one-man loads.


 * 75 mm Recoilless Rifle

75mm recoilless rifle. Again, very popular with the VC forces because of the combined firepower and light weight. A direct copy of the obsolete US M20-it was quite adequate for the needs of the VC.

=**US Weapons**=

M16 The M16 was the most commonly associated US weapon its full name is the 5.56 mm M16A1. It was gas operated, magazine fed, and capable of semi-auto and automatic fire rates. It fired at a rate of 60 rpm and was effective at a range of 300 meters.

CAR-15 The CAR-15 also known as the XM-177E2 and commonly called the Colt Commando. It was the shortened version of the M16 and was very popular with special operations troops but was limited with line units.

M60 The M60 was a 7.62 mm and a general-purpose machine gun. It is built with a bipod and has an effective range of 500 meters. It was used as a protective weapon for vehicles and helicopters. It was gas operated, air-cooled, belt fed, and had a quick range barrel to counter overheating during sustained firing. It also shot at a rate of 200 rpm.

M14 It was a 7.62 mm rifle and was the standard rifle until the M16 was manufactured. The M14 was introduced as the M1-Grand successor but the production ceased in 1964. It is 11.22 lbs and the fire rate is only a semi-auto.

M79 The M79 was a 40mm grenade launcher and commonly known as the “thumper’ or “blooper.” It is closely resembled as a large barrel, single barrel, saw-off shotgun. It was delivered to the US in 1961 and shoots 50-300m. It is 73.7 cm long, 6.5 lbs, 40mm in diameter, and shoots 75m per second.

M72 It was known as the light anti-tank weapon or (LAW). It was 5.2 pounds complete and fired a 1-kg rocket 300m (max). It was 66mm in length and used as a bunker buster.

M203 The M203 was a combination of the M16 auto rifle and the M203 grenade launcher that was produced to avoid the problem of having a grenadier having to carry a grenade launcher, and a self-defense weapon. It could shoot grenades 400 meters and it had a 5 meter casualty radius.