[megatronrules]

I was talking to someone today who told me that the SKS was used in greater numbers than the AK47 was in NAM. This was news to me. Is this true?Im curious is all. Thanks.

[BHP9]

I just finished watching some rare footage taken by the Vietnamese themselves in what they called "The American War". In the film they used just about anything they could get their hands on and there was quite a few of them lugging around U.S. M60's, M16's, M1 carbines along with Com Block nation weapons. I suppose it would depend which section of the country you fought in wether you fought farther north or farther south. Probably farther north their would have been more Com bloc weapons and farther south a lot more U.S. weapons but I do not think it would be possible to prove if one weapon was used more than another.

[SteyrAUG]

I really don't think anyone has the numbers. The VNs didn't really keep track of such things. BHP9 is correct about them using anything they could get their hands on. Keep in mind most VN booby traps were built with salvaged US mines, etc.

It is probably that SKSs were in greater quantity since at that time the larger commie bloc countries would have been disposing of them as obsolete in favor of the AKMs.

[Hkmp5sd]

I don't know of the specific numbers involved, but from my understanding the VC/NVA didn't start receiving communist weapons in mass until 1967. Prior to that, they used captured Japanese, French and American arms.

The primary issue weapon for the VC/NVA was the Russian AK-47 and copies made in China, North Korea, Czechoslovakia, Hungry, Poland, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, East Germany and Romania.

They also received large numbers of Russian and Chinese SKS carbines, which were just as popular and common among the troops as the AK.

My guestimate is they used more AK's than SKS's simply because more AK's were manufactured than any other infantry weapon. The individual GI's perception of which was more common probably depended on what area of the country he was assigned and what VC/NVA units he fought.

[Deadman]

I've seen footage of the Vietnam war which showed VC using Thompson's and WW2 BAR's.....


And I'm sure there were plenty of 'never fired and only dropped once' French small arms early on in the war. :p

[DonP]

As previously listed, they used a lot of different weapons, including a bunch of ours. Anything they could get their hands on cheaply.

We found a lot of really old well worn bolt action M-N's here and there, I didn't know what they were then, but looking back, probably 91-30's and M-44's that the Soviet Bloc people were dumping on them.

The AK was the high profile weapon for the news media and for the front line NVA and some VC units that saw a lot of action.

Don P.

[SodaPop]

The majority of rifles I've seen used were Mosin Nagant and SKS's. Later I'm sure the AKs were popping up.

That was a very transitional phase of military rifle service. The US was using the M14 at first.