Russian Life & People Digest
Question by Johnnie H: Did the American special forces during the vietnam war used ak47 / ak47s?
I was wondering if the American during the Vietnam War used the standard AK47 and the AK47s (foldable butt)?
thanks in advance.
Answers and Views:
Answer by responder
Nope…wrong side
M16 I think
AK 47 are kalishnikov soviet arms
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conranger1 says
American SF did use Communist equipment the reason being they could take the ammo of dead VC and NVA which meant they could get lots of ammo without worrying about a resupply behind enemy lines.
Also the sound of an AK being fired would not worry the local VC and NVA so much as the sound of M-16s and M60s or the Stoner which would be a dead give away that the Americans were nearby.
Some SF & MAC-SOG teams carried Swedish 9mm Karl Gustaf sub-machine and Danish sub-machine guns on deep undercover missions, so if they were captured they could deny any American connection.
Too Old For Idol says
Yes we did. We took the other guys because they worked a heckuva lot better. Damned M-16's of the early years were guaranteed to jam and, for us lefthanders, when it did work there was no proper shell deflection causing many, many dents in my face that people now refer to as character.
buzzy70a says
well the answer is yes ,we used the AK47 in certain operations during the VIETNAM WAR as well as weapons from WWI1 as well as ww2 ,during this war the m-16 was a problem weapon during it's early years ,when our forces came across the aks they like the way they took a beating and continued to work and when behind the lines they had plenty of ammo to use ,also the m-16 and the ak sounded different ,so when we used the ak behind the lines they could not tell where we were ,and they thought it was their troops firing guns at a target,this action also worked against us also the VC started using the m-16 the same way as we were using their ak …you can surf the net for more info under military weapons and history……HISTORY CHANNEL has a show i think it is called THE HISTORY OF THE GUN..check it out if you want to know more
EVIL says
I have hear of one story about the Vietnam LRRPs, or Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols, that they would take and shoot the ak47s from dead Vietcong to make them think it was there own soldiers they were firing at so that way they would stop shooting at the LRRPs so they could escape.
Lonnal W says
AK 47's were mfg'd by the Russian and the Chinese, among many other countries. In the event an American had problems with his piece, yes, he would use what ever was available!!! That being said. In the early day's, the name was "FRENCH INDO-CHINA"!! At that time, the Garand M1 .30 caliber (30.06 civilian) was still in use. I personally prefered the M1 D model, and equipped with "add'l accessories"! Not many D models were produced, and today a TRUE D MODEL, brings a high price!! Many Imitations are available !!!
AK47 ? The .30 (x37) Russian caliber did kill a lot of GREAT MEN, 58,207, in fact !!! Not known for long distance accuracy, but at less than 400 yards, it can put the hurt on you!!!!
Uncle Wil
here to help says
not issued,but some troops were trained on the use and care.
jscangel18 says
They used the M14's and M16's on the American side
kevw25 says
As a general rule soldiers were not allowed to use AK-47s because they may be mistaken for the enemy and be shot at. But I am sure if the special forces wanted to, they could have.
Jim K says
The AK47 is/was a Warsaw Pact (Russian) weapon, not a US weapon. The only way an individual soldier would have one is if he "liberated" it from communist soldier. They were not issued by the US to it's soldiers.
Mark A says
I doubt they used that weapon on a regular basis, but may have if they picked up weapons if theirs' fell or ran out of ammo.
tegidfoel says
Answer: WELL…As the communists were being supplied from Russia and China you can be sure that they were shot at by those weapons.