Weapons of the Vietnam War
By Michaela Gerner
Both U.S.-allied and communist forces in the Vietnam War utilized weapons that were more deadly and destructive than those used in any previous war. Technological advancements led to major improvements in the firearms, armored vehicles, helicopters, airplanes, bombs, and boats used by both U.S.-allied and Communist forces.
The opposing parties of the Vietnam War deployed two storied rifles: the M16 and the AK-47. Decades after their introduction, militaries around the world still use them in modern warfare today. By the 1960s, the M16 had replaced the M14 as the standard service rifle for U.S. troops, boasting a lighter and more compact design. Known as the “peasant’s rifle,” the AK-47 was cheap to manufacture, durable, and reliable, and it was easy for militaries to train their soldiers in the use of the weapon. Supplied by the Soviet Union and The People’s Republic of China, The Viet Cong and the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) heavily relied on the AK-47 during combat. U.S. troops also commonly operated the M60 machine gun, able to fire almost 600 rounds per minute from just under 2,000 yards. Soldiers also mounted the M60 on helicopters and naval vessels.
Students of the Vietnam War associate the M-48 Patton armored vehicle with the conflict. The U.S. military employed the Patton as an infantry support vehicle, primarily designed to safely transport a combat infantry squad. Utilized mainly by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, the Patton came outfitted with a 90mm gun and reached a top speed of 30 miles per hour. Some variants of the tank were also equipped with a flamethrower. The PAVN commonly made use of the T-54 tank. Comparable to the M-48, the T-54 came equipped with a 100mm gun and also reached a top speed of 30 miles per hour.
Historians also heavily link the Vietnam War with the use of helicopters, especially by United States forces. By their nature, helicopters are useful instruments of war, able to take off and land vertically, eliminating the need for a long runway. Helicopters aided in the rapid transport of soldiers and equipment, and served as ambulances and gunships, providing necessary air support in battle. The U.S. deployed thousands of UH-1 and AH-1 Cobra helicopters during the war. The PAVN made frequent use of the MiG-21, a supersonic fighter jet designed and produced in the Soviet Union. It was the most technologically advanced piece of equipment utilized by the communist forces in Vietnam.
Other common weapons popularized by U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War were hand grenades and grenade launchers, chemical weapons like napalm and the herbicide and defoliant Agent Orange, and landmines. U.S. marines also commonly used flamethrowers. The PAVN, and the National Liberation Front (NLF) in particular, made use of captured explosives from U.S.-allied forces, and learned how to craft their own crude bombs based off the designs. They also employed booby traps triggered by tripwires. The punji stake trap, a concealed pit of sharpened bamboo stakes, menaced U.S. troops. In Iraq and Afghanistan, enemy forces utilized similarly improvised devices against American forces with lethal impact.