U.S. Weapons in the Vietnam War

Nearly all United States-allied forces in the Vietnam War were armed with U.S. weapons in, some of which, such as the M1 Carbine, were substitute standard weapons dating from World War II.
By 1969 the US Army had identified 40 rifle/carbine types, 22 machine gun types, 17 types of mortar, 20 recoilless rifle or rocket launcher types, 9 types of antitank weapons, and 14 anti-aircraft artillery weapons used by ground troops on all sides. Also in use, primarily by anti-communist forces, were the 24 types of armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery, and 26 types of field artillery & rocket launchers.

155 mm Howitzer (Artillery Gun in the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

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Photos and Videos of the U.S. Weapons in the Vietnam War

Mesingan American digunakan semasa Perang Vietnam — American Machine Guns used during the Vietnam War

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Fotos und Videos der US-Waffen im Vietnamkrieg

M.132 A1 Flammenwerfer (War Remnants Museum in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt, Vietnam) — M.132 A1 Flame Thrower (War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

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Photos et Vidéos des Armes Américaines dans la Guerre du Vietnam

Shells at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

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The American M16 rifle, which replaced the M14, was lighter and considered more accurate than the AK-47 but was prone to jamming. Often the gun suffered from a jamming flaw known as “failure to extract,” which meant that a spent cartridge case remained lodged in the chamber after a bullet flew out the muzzle. According to a congressional report, the jamming was caused primarily by a change in gunpowder which was done without adequate testing and reflected a decision for which the safety of soldiers was a secondary consideration.