Browse North Vietnam and Allied Armed Forces

"Enemy clothing, personal equipment and Russian-made sighting device are inspected by U.S. Navy river patrol boat crewmen who captured them early this morning. Crewmen of the PBE-753 and PBR-754, based at Nha Be, eight miles South of Saigon, killed at least 15 enemy troops believed to have been involved in the rocket attack on U.S. Army airfield at Vung Tau, 35 miles southeast of Saigon." A group of American soldiers stand around a pile of clothing and equipment.

American soldiers inspect Russian-made enemy equipment

"Lieutenant (junior grade) James F. Morgan, Jr., USN, of Havertown, Pa., examines an enemy sighting device recovered from sampan in which at least 15 enemy soldiers were killed by U.S. Navy Forces early today. The action occurred as the sampan attempted to cross the Mo Nhat River in Phuoc Tuy Province, 27 miles southeast of Saigon. Carrying case for the Russian-made weapon sight is at lower left." An American sailor holds a piece of sighting equipment. More equipment sits in front of him, including some metal equipment cases. Another American sailor is in the background in the right of the frame.

Captured enemy sighting device

"Saigon - Soviet-Built Tank - This Soviet-built tank was sight on Feb. 7, in the vicinity of Khe Sanh, by U.S. Air Force reconnaissance pilots." A very poor quality aerial photo of a vehicle in a field.

Soviet-built tank

Original caption: "Shown here is a Russian made 140mm rocket and launcher, used for the first time in Vietnam against the Da Nang Air Base on 27 Feb. The rocket is 43 inches long, weighs approximately 90 pounds and has a range of over five miles." A missile sits on a table.

140mm Rocket

Original caption: "Shown here is a Russian made 140mm rocket and launcher, used for the first time in Vietnam against the Da Nang Air Base on 27 Feb. The rocket is 43 inches long, weighs approximately 90 pounds and has a range of over five miles." A missile sits on a table.

140mm Rocket

"During the week of 28 Apr., U.S. Forces fighting in the A Shau valley have captured various Soviet-built weapons and components from the North Vietnamese. The sophistication of these captured weapons and the firepower that they represent pose a definite increase in the threat to allied forces. In addition, the recovery of these items reflects the continued support of North Vietnam by the Soviet Union. Soviet transistorized mine detector. This detector is a newly developed portable, lightweight instrument with transistorized circuitry. It uses standard 'D' type dry cell batteries as a power source and is more efficient than the Chinese copies previously captured from the enemy. The photograph shows component parts o the detector." A mine detector and headphones.

Soviet transistorized mine detector part

"During the week of 28 Apr., U.S. Forces fighting in the A Shau valley have captured various Soviet-built weapons and components from the North Vietnamese. The sophistication of these captured weapons and the firepower that they represent pose a definite increase in the threat to allied forces. In addition, the recovery of these items reflected the continued support of North Vietnam by the Soviet Union. Soviet 37mm anti-aircraft weapon. This captured weapon was designed in 1939 and probably manufactured around 1945. It is effective against aircraft to a maximum altitude of 19,000 feet and is manned by a crew of five." A machine gun in a storage facility.

Soviet 37mm anti-aircraft weapon

"During the week of 28 Apr., U.S. Forces fighting in the A Shau valley have captured various Soviet-built weapons and components from the North Vietnamese. The sophistication of these in firepower that they represent pose a definite increase in the threat to allied forces. In addition, the recovery of these items reflect the continued support of North Vietnam by the Soviet Union. Ammunition for the Soviet 122mm Field Gun. Projectiles and cartridge cases were in the original Soviet packing crates. The Soviet 122mm Field Gun is a light, mobile field gun weighing approximately 18,000 pounds. It is normally towed by a medium tracked artillery tractor. This weapon has a maximum range of approximately 22,000 meters (14 miles) The photograph shows two rounds, one HE and the other APHE-T." An explosive broken into two pieces.

Ammunition for the Soviet 122mm Field Gun

"During the week of 28 Apr., U.S. Forces fighting in the A Shau valley have captured various Soviet-built weapons and components from the North Vietnamese. The sophistication of these captured weapons and the increase in firepower that they represent pose a definite increase in the threat to allied forces. In addition, the recovery of these items reflect the continued support of North Vietnam by the Soviet Union. Ammunition for the Soviet 122mm Field Gun. Projectiles and cartridge cases were in the original Soviet packing crates. The Soviet 122mm Field Gun is a light, mobile field fun weighing approximately 18,000 pounds. It is normally towed by a medium tracked artillery tractor. This weapon has a maximum range of approximately 22,000 meters (14 miles). The photograph shows two rounds, on HE and other APHE-T." An explosive broken into two pieces.

Ammunition for the Soviet 122mm Field Gun

"During the week of 28 Apr., U.S. Forces fighting in the A Shau valley have captured various Soviet-built weapons and components from the North Vietnamese. The sophistication of these captured weapons and the fire power that they represent pose a definite threat to allied forces. In addition, the recovery of these items reflects the continued support of the North Vietnamese, by the Soviet Union. Soviet 37mm M1939 antiaircraft ammunition. The Soviet 37mm AA Gun Fires a 1.6 pound projectile to a maximum AA range of 20,000 feet. The gun uses an optional fire control, manual tracking and elevation, and closely resembles the U.S. 40mm AA Gun of WWII vintage. The projectile is equipped with a point detonating, contact type fuse with a self-destruct element. There is no capability for regulating the height of the burst. This photograph shows a clip holding five rounds." A clip of ammunition rounds.

Soviet 37mm M1939 antiaircraft ammunition

"During the week of 28 Apr., U.S. Forces fighting in the A Shau valley have captured various Soviet-built weapons and components from the North Vietnamese. The sophistication of these captured weapons and the fire power that they represent pose a definite increase in the threat to allied forces. In addition, the recovery of these items reflects the continued support of North Vietnam by the Soviet Union. Soviet 23mm HEI-T ammunition for ZU-23 Antiaircraft gun. The ZU-23 is a light, automatic antiaircraft weapon with twin barrels. The ZU-23 is a replacement for the older series of light automatic antiaircraft weapons like the ZPU series of 14.5 machine guns. The photograph shows a round and the container it is packed in." Ammunitions in a wooden box.

Soviet 23mm HEI-T ammunition

"During the week of 28 Apr., U.S. Forces fighting in the A Shau valley have captured various Soviet-built weapons and components from the North Vietnamese. The sophistication of these captured and the increase in fire power that they represent pose a definite increase in the threat to allied forces. In addition, the recovery of the these items reflect the continued support of North Vietnam by the Soviet Union. Soviet Infrared Periscopes from PT-76 Tank. This device allows the tank to operate and fire its armament during hours of the darkness with ease. The photograph shows the eyepiece on the periscope." A periscope.

Soviet Infrared Periscopes from PT-76 Tank

"During the week of 28 Apr., U.S. Forces fighting in the A Shau valley have captured various Soviet-built weapons and components from the North Vietnamese. The sophistication of these captured weapons and the increase in firepower that they represent pose a definite increase in the threat to allied forces. In addition, the recovery of these items reflect the continued support of North Vietnam by the Soviet Union. Soviet SGM-T 7.62mm Machine Gun. This weapon is a modification of the standard Soviet SGM7-.62mm machine gun. The SGM-T has a cyclic rate of 600 to 700 rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of 800 meters per second. The SgM-T is equipped with a solenoid so that the gun can be fired electrically. This weapon was mounted coaxially with the main gun on the Soviet PT-76 Tank. The photograph shows the solenoid and electrical connection on the SGM-T." Butt of a machine gun.

Soviet SGM-T 7.62mm Machine Gun

"During the week of 28 Apr., U.S. Forces fighting in this A Shau valley have captured various Soviet-built weapons and components from the North Vietnamese. The sophistication of these captured weapons and the increase in fire power that they represent pose a definite increase in threat to allied forces. In addition, the recovery of these items reflect the continued support of North Vietnam by the Soviet Union. Ammunition of Soviet 76mm Guns. This Soviet 76mm ammunition can be fired from the Soviet 76mm M1942 Field gun or from the 76mm Tank Gun mounted on the Soviet PT-76 Amphibious Tank. The photograph shows two rounds, One HE and the other APHC-T (Armor Piercing High Explosive-Tracer)." Two explosives.

Ammunition of Soviet 76mm Guns