Weapons Used in the Vietnam War

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The weapons that were used in the Vietnam War included: assault rifles, mortars, light weight machine guns, tanks, jets, helicopters, land mines, booby traps and poison gases that were meant to kill the plant life in the area. However, the poisonous gases lead to serious health problems. The weapons of the Vietnam War were lightweight and had further shooting range than weapons in previous wars. The United States and Vietnam both used extremely deadly weapons that caused tons of damage to the land and cost both countries many human casualties.
The Weapons that the United States soldiers used was the M-16, which is a “gas operated, magazine-fed rifle that fired a .223 caliber round. It could also fire 700-900 rounds per minute while in fully auto mode. The M-16 also had a secondary attachment called the m-203 which could fire a grenade up to 400m with a 5m casualty radius” (Meyerson). The U.S. Soldiers also used the M-60 light machine gun that could be mounted on tanks and helicopters and used as an artillery weapon. They also used the “105 mm Howitzer that shot explosive shrapnel bombs that have a fire rate of 3 to 8 rounds a minute” (History.com). The Howitzer was also used like the M 60 machine gun by being mounted to tanks and helicopters. The U.S. Soldiers used the M-79 40mm also known as the thumper which looked like a sawed of shotgun. It could fire up to 300 meters and fired a 6.5, pound grenade. The M-72 is a BBMM light anti-tank weapon that weighed 5.2 pounds. It was also used as a bunker buster and fired a 1 kg rocket that could travel 300 meters. (173dairborne)” “The US army used many different types of helicopters like the HU-1A. It had a T53-6-5 motor, which put out 700horse power and could hold up to 8,500 pound...

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...elicopters, land mines, booby traps, and poison gases. Each weapon had a different use they could be used to kill people or to cause devastation to the land and the plant life in the area. The weapons of the Vietnam War had some off the most devastating weapons ever used in warfare and because of the devastation those weapon were never used again.

Works Cited

Goldsborough, James O. “France, The European Crisis and the Alliance.” Foreign Affairs 52.3 (1974): 538-355. History Reference Center. Web, 3 Feb. 2014.
Bishop Chris. “Us Armaments of the Vietnam War.” Osprey publishing Ltd 2007 6-185 print
Meyerson, Joel D. “Machine Gun.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2014 Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
Weapons of the Vietnam War. History. Com. Vietnam War: Weapons of the Air. Web. 2/3/14.
Weapons of the Vietnam War. Millitaryfactory.comVietnam/vietnam_warweapons.asp.web.2/28/14.

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