Shotguns in Vietnam
A Remington 870 Express
In nearly
every conflict in American history that soldiers marched off to war, some
packed their shotguns. The Shotgun proved itself in the in jungle warfare
during WWII when American soldiers involved in savage battles with the
Japanese on islands throughout the Pacific used the weapon. After WWII,
British soldiers involved in the counter-insurgency battles in Malaya also
found shotguns effective. In-country the Shotgun was used by US Army,
Helicopter crewmen, Brown Water Navy, Marines, Air Force, ARVN and even
the VC! The weapon was not particularly favored by Australians forces.
Shotguns are essentially
a close range weapon making it ideal for Vietnam. Most encounters in Vietnam
and in most guerrilla wars averaged around less than 75 yards. Your
typical shotgun has an effective range of 50 yards. For the lone individual
assigned point who slowly moving along in the boonies pausing occasionally
the shotgun gave him a firepower advantage against in enemy that
could appear. One shot would win the day in these situations and it was
then that a shotgun that mattered.
The tunnel rats also put
shotguns to good use. Sgt. Flo Riviera was able to get a 4-gauge riot shotgun
approved; "real handy that four-gauge, the noise blew your eardrums out
but if there was anything at all infront of you, you hit it." With testimony
like that it's easy to see why the Tunnel Rats grudgingly nicknamed their
shotguns "Cannons." In the tight underground passages the weapon was ALWAYS
effective, many a NLF soldier learned this the hard way.
Outside the jungle, shotguns
were also effective for perimeter protection at airstrips, FSBs,
and other strategic locations. Here the shotgun's lack of range was not
a problem. Charging NLF/PAVN proved an easy target for buckshot. At night
the shotgun's wide spread also helped "find" enemy who were hidden. Shotguns
were also came in handy in the infrequently occurring urban battles of
the war.
Shotgun's received a mixed
response from the ARVN. The stout ARVN soldier found the shotgun to be
rather cumbersome and to large to sustain a high rate of fire. The NLF
scavenged and stole everything from empty C-ration cans to entire tanks
during the war. Thus, they eventually acquired a few shotguns. A double-barreled
shotgun encountered in 1968 had several few modifications. It was sawed-off
and had been fitted with the "paratrooper-style" folding stock of a US
M1 Carbine. The VC also manufactured crude shotguns out of sections of
pipe.
A wide variety of Shotguns
were used in Vietnam by US forces, due to the large number of shotguns
grunts would have shipped to them from home. A shotgun from home gave a
grunt an unparalleled familiarity with his weapon and thus a tactical edge.
The most common shotgun was Remington 870; a 12-gauge pump action weapon,
still in production today. It got off to a rocky start in Vietnam. The
shells initially issued contained 8 "00 buck" pellets. A weapon with #4
buck (41 pellets) would've been more useful. Later as things improved a
special adapter was added to help focus the spray of pellets. Other shotguns
used included the Winchester Model 12, Steven's 12-gauge and the Ithaca
Mod. 37 all pump actions.
Many US weapon systems copied
the success of the shotgun. With either pellet or flechette rounds. The
90mm gun on a M48 Patton the standard anti-infantry weapon was "canister"
and on the M551"shotshells." The M79 Grenade Launcher received a flechette/pellet
round so did the Grenade Launcher attachment of the M16. The Limited Warfare
Laboratory even came up with a shotshell round for the tunnel rat's
.44 Magnum! But; to the US forces who used a shotgun their was really no
substitute.
Sources: Weapons: An International Encycopedia From 5000 BC to 2000
AD, The Tunnels of Cu Chi, Fire & Movement(1967)
Shotgun Links
US
COMBAT SHOTGUNS(book)