In 1966-67 the Army developed what became known as the Tunnel Exploration Kit, consisting of a silenced .38 S&W, special holster and a mouth/teeth bite-switch activated head lamp. Looks pretty cool, but the Army found it to be unwieldy. See the test report below. This revolver was an earlier attempt to provide a quieter, more effiecient weapon for the Tunnel Rat and it came immediately before the Tunnel Gun/QSPR. Thanks to KWill1911 for the photo of a 25th ID Private equipped with the TEK.
Enjoy
Chuck
Synopsis of the test report, source unknown, but it is a good summary. See complete final report at link below.
THE TUNNEL EXPLORATION KIT:
Due to the specialized nature of tunnel warfare, priority was placed with ENSURE (Expedited Non-standard Urgent Requirements for Equipment) program for the development of special "Tunnel Exploration kits". Six kits were requested by USARV on the 29th of April 1966, and then passed on to ACTIV (Army Concept Team In Vietnam) on the 7th of August. ACTIV then distributed the six kits, two went to the 1st In Div at Di An, a further two were dispatched to the 25th In Div at Cu Chi. Of the remaining kits one was given to the 1st Cav at An Khe, whilst the last remaining kit went to the 173rd Abn Bd at Bien Hoa.
Each kit cost 728 Dollars and consisted of a .38 caliber pistol which was fitted with a suppressor and a spotlight sighting device. This was all carried on a standard pistol belt in a specially designed holster. On the wearers head was a baseball cap which had a miners lamp mounted on it which was switched on and off via a mouth operated bite-switch. At the back of the cap was a bone conduction microphone communication system which was connected to a small ear piece. The power pack for the lamp and a communication wire reel were also hung on the pistol belt, but was situated on the wearers back.
Tests on the exploration kit in Vietnam soon revealed its short comings. The silenced .38 cal pistol was not liked because of its length with the suppressor, and because it lacked balance and was awkward to handle. The special aiming light was found to be unnecessary given the tight confines and short ranges the tunnel rats were operating in. The huge pistol holster was also a failure as it was too big and unwieldy to be used in the tight confines of a tunnel. The head mounted miners lamp fared no better! This was obstructed by the baseball cap's visor and could be shorted out by switch malfunctions rendering it useless. Furthermore the lamp tended to slip down over the wearers eyes. The earpiece part of the communication system was also troublesome as it kept falling out of the wearer’s ear!
USARV requested 250 tunnel kits on the 21st of March 1967, but because of a mix up in the ordering quantity (500 instead of the original 250) and year end budget problems, immediate funding was slow in coming. Natick labs were not asked to produce the sets until the 30th of September; this situation was further frustrated by problems in the communication equipment for the kits. Eventually the requested 250 sets were delivered to Dover AFB between the 22nd and the 29th of May 1968, and from there immediately flown to Vietnam.
With their patch with its nonsense Latin motto "Non gratum anus rodentum - Not worth a rats ***" the tunnel rats were among the bravest in Vietnam, doing a job that not many others could, or would dare to do.
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=AD804859&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf
Enjoy
Chuck
Synopsis of the test report, source unknown, but it is a good summary. See complete final report at link below.
THE TUNNEL EXPLORATION KIT:
Due to the specialized nature of tunnel warfare, priority was placed with ENSURE (Expedited Non-standard Urgent Requirements for Equipment) program for the development of special "Tunnel Exploration kits". Six kits were requested by USARV on the 29th of April 1966, and then passed on to ACTIV (Army Concept Team In Vietnam) on the 7th of August. ACTIV then distributed the six kits, two went to the 1st In Div at Di An, a further two were dispatched to the 25th In Div at Cu Chi. Of the remaining kits one was given to the 1st Cav at An Khe, whilst the last remaining kit went to the 173rd Abn Bd at Bien Hoa.
Each kit cost 728 Dollars and consisted of a .38 caliber pistol which was fitted with a suppressor and a spotlight sighting device. This was all carried on a standard pistol belt in a specially designed holster. On the wearers head was a baseball cap which had a miners lamp mounted on it which was switched on and off via a mouth operated bite-switch. At the back of the cap was a bone conduction microphone communication system which was connected to a small ear piece. The power pack for the lamp and a communication wire reel were also hung on the pistol belt, but was situated on the wearers back.
Tests on the exploration kit in Vietnam soon revealed its short comings. The silenced .38 cal pistol was not liked because of its length with the suppressor, and because it lacked balance and was awkward to handle. The special aiming light was found to be unnecessary given the tight confines and short ranges the tunnel rats were operating in. The huge pistol holster was also a failure as it was too big and unwieldy to be used in the tight confines of a tunnel. The head mounted miners lamp fared no better! This was obstructed by the baseball cap's visor and could be shorted out by switch malfunctions rendering it useless. Furthermore the lamp tended to slip down over the wearers eyes. The earpiece part of the communication system was also troublesome as it kept falling out of the wearer’s ear!
USARV requested 250 tunnel kits on the 21st of March 1967, but because of a mix up in the ordering quantity (500 instead of the original 250) and year end budget problems, immediate funding was slow in coming. Natick labs were not asked to produce the sets until the 30th of September; this situation was further frustrated by problems in the communication equipment for the kits. Eventually the requested 250 sets were delivered to Dover AFB between the 22nd and the 29th of May 1968, and from there immediately flown to Vietnam.
With their patch with its nonsense Latin motto "Non gratum anus rodentum - Not worth a rats ***" the tunnel rats were among the bravest in Vietnam, doing a job that not many others could, or would dare to do.
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=AD804859&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf
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