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AK47 Assault Rifle; Stealing the Show in the Vietnam War - By: Randall Graham  The Vietnam War remains a difficult and controversial subject. It left nearly 60,000 American military personnel dead, many others that were missing in action, and many thousands with disabilities. It was an unpopular war that pitted U.S. soldiers who served in it against protesters stateside. Even some who fought in it eventually became protesters. All of this culminated with the Fall of Saigon in 1975, and the resulting rise of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, initiating a bloodbath that killed as many as 2 million in Cambodia and South Viet Nam. Most will agree that the Viet Nam was not the United States' finest hour. Far too many American casualties in Vietnam were caused by equipment failure in the field. The M16 assault rifles issued to American troops in the Vietnam War quickly gained a reputation for jamming in the heat of battle--a problem the North Vietnamese regulars, armed with AK47 assault rifles, didn't have. At least the American troops could rely upon their M1911A Colt Government .45 automatic sidearms. The trusty .45 was the official sidearm of all American military forces from 1911 through the Viet Nam War. It was and is a highly reliable weapon that certainly earned more respect and affection from the troops than the ineffectual M16. The Communist-manufactured AK47 assault rifles used by North Vietnamese regulars proved themselves reliable and highly effective in jungle warfare. Developed during the twilight years of Josef Stalin's reign of terror before his death in 1953, the AK47 became a definitive symbol of the Cold War that endured into Vietnam and beyond. Though there were also AK47s of Chinese manufacture, it was the Russian version that was exported to Communist Bloc nations worldwide. The design was so successful that a great many AK47s are still in use today, worldwide. Though this rugged assault weapon has undergone numerous modifications over the years, it has remain largely unchanged, owing to its legendary reliability. The streamlined design of the Russian-made Avtomat Kalishnikova 1947 (or AK47) allowed for fast, easy stripping and cleaning, ease of use, and strong, durable construction. It was a very cost-effective small arm for mass production and known for rapid, fully automatic delivery of 7.62mm cartridges in a tumbling trajectory that made it a very effective close-range assault rifle. As is true with all assault rifles, minimum skill is required for effective use. Even when its parts were fouled with mud or sand, it remained operational, and could withstand moderately severe overheating of the muzzle during heavy firing, without jamming. The fall of Saigon was the culmination of a lot of factors--not the least of which were undue interference in the war's combat operations by inept civilian politicians and ultimately the American people's loathing for an apparently unwinnable conflict that seemed likely to drag on for years to come, at a horrendous cost in human lives. And while it certainly can't be said uncategorically that the outcome of the conflict in Viet Nam hinged on the effectiveness of the combatant's respective assault rifles, it's interesting to speculate: What if positions had been reversed, and the American forces had been using the AK47, while the North Vietnamese had the temperamental and jam-prone M16s? Would the outcome have been any different for the United States in Viet Nam? Very likely not, given all the other factors that prevailed, but at least the American military learned from sorry performance of the M16, and one thing can be stated with certainty: U.S. small arms developed since the Viet Nam era have been far more effective and reliable. Far too many American casualties in Vietnam were caused by equipment failure in the field. The M16 assault rifles issued to American troops in the Vietnam War quickly gained a reputation for jamming in the heat of battle--a problem the North Vietnamese regulars, armed with AK47 assault rifles, didn't have. Randall Graham is an internet marketer and author and fan of history. He is also a co-author of the blog, "The Non-Smoking Gun". Reenactors, history buffs and gun fanciers will find authentic non-firing, black powder and blank-firing replicas of historic and classic firearms of the American Revolution, Civil War, Old West, both World Wars and the 20th Century at GunsOfOld.com. Other items of interest include Old West badges, Civil War and World War reenactor gear, holsters and other leather goods. |