Snubby in Vietnam

[jpage]

Can You elaborate on the “can” , on the minigun muzzle ? I’ve never seen that before.

 

[Triggernosis]

SF VET, this is some good stuff, sir! Please keep sharing.

 

[SF VET]

it is a 7.62 six barrel Gatling gun. Totally mechanical, all it it needs is electrical power to the motor that spins the barrels, then loading and ejection and feeding is all mechanical. So if somehow the motor is engaged, a lot of bullets can fire in just a few seconds, with resulting mayhem and danger. In fact, if one is just turns the the barrels somehow, it will fire. Thus the "can" on on the muzzles.

If you have ever heard miniguns fire, they fire so fast, something like 6,000 rounds a minute, that sound is just a loud "hummmmm'.

Thanks for the complements.

You can imagine what kind of fire power this C119 (a Korean War vintage plane called a Flying Boxcar; I made my jump school training out of these) with also sometimes also a 105 howitzer can put down. I think this is a search lite. The flat panels just ahead of the side door are parachutist wind deflectors, they would come out to let the jump master hang out to see the drop zone. I was an SF Jumpmaster, and have some hilarious stories about troops climbing out on the plates and just hanging on for dear life.

The first gunships were C47's, called "Spooky", then they armed up an assortment of planes. The streams of tracers at night from the gunships was truly impressive.

 

[SF VET]

On a sadder note, later as a physician, I met a lady who lost her husband in Desert Storm, when he was killed with 17 other US when they stayed out past dawn in an AC130 and were shot down by Iraqi antiaircraft fire just off the coast, and went into the water.

One of my very best friends, CPT Gregg H is stilll MIA in Vietnam, we were good friends stateside, and went over together, he left a wife and two young daughters. I fly my flag in memory of him.

All the best, and stay safe, SF VCET

 

[SF VET]

An AC 130 gunship was lost over the Ho Chi Minh trail in '72, and in a unique set of circumstances, I had a personal interaction/relationship with this loss over the next 30 years, even with Steve McQueen, Ali McGraw, a US Embassy secretary, and a magazine. A long story, maybe another time perhaps.

SF VET

 

[Gamecoc430]

Around Danang the flavor of the day was most often National Bohemian, can still see those pallets of rusted cans in my mind.

Our CO had the responsibility of inspecting cardboard covered pallets of beer at the PX to insure the cans were not TOO rusty for consumption. If they were deemed "too rusty" we would haul them up and take them to our company area for disposal. We disposed of them, all right! We did trade some for steaks from the AF and traded some for shrimp and lobster from the Navy. Sunday's were cookout day - "rusty can" beer, steaks, and seafood. Probably the only good time I had in VM.

 

[Gamecoc430]

Our CO had the responsibility of inspecting cardboard covered pallets of beer at the PX to insure the cans were not TOO rusty for consumption. If they were deemed "too rusty" we would haul them up and take them to our company area for disposal. We disposed of them, all right! We did trade some for steaks from the AF and traded some for shrimp and lobster from the Navy. Sunday's were cookout day - "rusty can" beer, steaks, and seafood. Probably the only good time I had in VM.

Should have typed VN, not VM. By the way, this was at DaNang.

 

[SF VET]

was coming out a grocery the other day, down on the SC coast, and saw cases of Fresca, and I recalled when up in Saigon, saw a bulldozer crushing thousands of cans of Fresca in a dump. Itr was one cent a can in the PX. I still like it when I rarely find it for sale.

All the best, and stay safe. SF VET

 

[SF VET]

This is the link to the AC with which I had a relationship over a 30 year period. Will explain later..

All the best, and stay safe. SF VET

Aircraft Down | HuffPost

 

[LoboGunLeather]

it is a 7.62 six barrel Gatling gun. Totally mechanical, all it it needs is electrical power to the motor that spins the barrels, then loading and ejection and feeding is all mechanical. So if somehow the motor is engaged, a lot of bullets can fire in just a few seconds, with resulting mayhem and danger. In fact, if one is just turns the the barrels somehow, it will fire. Thus the "can" on on the muzzles.

If you have ever heard miniguns fire, they fire so fast, something like 6,000 rounds a minute, that sound is just a loud "hummmmm'.

Thanks for the complements.

You can imagine what kind of fire power this C119 (a Korean War vintage plane called a Flying Boxcar; I made my jump school training out of these) with also sometimes also a 105 howitzer can put down. I think this is a search lite. The flat panels just ahead of the side door are parachutist wind deflectors, they would come out to let the jump master hang out to see the drop zone. I was an SF Jumpmaster, and have some hilarious stories about troops climbing out on the plates and just hanging on for dear life.

The first gunships were C47's, called "Spooky", then they armed up an assortment of planes. The streams of tracers at night from the gunships was truly impressive.

Many of us who served on the ground remember the planes we called "Puff the Magic Dragon" (title of a popular song of the 60's). C119 and C130 aircraft equipped with 7.62mm mini-guns. Cyclic rate of each gun was reportedly 6000 rounds per minute, but as I recall they were "tuned down" to around 2000 rounds per minute, and even at that the firing bursts were kept fairly short and controlled to avoid burning out the barrels from excessive heat. Even at that I suspect barrels required frequent replacements.

From the ground at night we could hear the aircraft engines as the plane orbited the site, then the mini-guns opened up with a solid streak of red tracers (although only every 5th round was tracer) that looked like what I imagined a laser beam would appear. The sound of the guns was nothing like machineguns, more like a giant zipper being pulled rapidly creating a solid buzzing sound.

The mini-guns were mounted at the sides of the aircraft, requiring an orbit of the target area to keep the guns trained on the intended target. Fairly low level attack as I recall, but that was difficult to even guess from the ground at night.

I don't recall the designation "AC130" being applied until after my time in Vietnam. But I was one of the grunts on the ground, not an airman, so I was just happy that they were on our side.

We heard about C130's equipped with 105mm howitzers on the rear loading ramp. I never witnessed that, but it must have been something to see in action.

 

[REM 3200]

This is the link to the AC with which I had a relationship over a 30 year period. Will explain later..

All the best, and stay safe. SF VET

Aircraft Down | HuffPost

Tchepone was a bad place to fly. Had a friend, now gone, who used to fly Blind Bat missions
around that area. He told some hair raising tales.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

This is the link to the AC with which I had a relationship over a 30 year period. Will explain later..

All the best, and stay safe. SF VET

Aircraft Down | HuffPost

I can't "like" this story, it makes me want to cry. My gut tightened up as I caught my breath. Even today these young, tough kids face death every day for us. When they are hit, they hurt, bleed, and die. And those of us who have been there, or not, feel the hurt almost as if it is our own sons and daughters.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

 

[ISCS Yoda]

USAR 1969 - 1975 USNR 1987 - 2007

No combat. Love all of y'all for your dedication and service.

We could haul over 6 or 7 cases of canned beer, strap them into the bombardier-navigator seat, let a Marine pilot take them up to 35,000 feet or so for a half-hour. Bingo! Cold beer! The Marines kept half, we took half back to the hootch. Of course, at about $30,000 per hour for F4 operation I should add sincere thanks to the American taxpayers for chilling our $2.40 per case beers.

That wins the prize for "Humor in Uniform" in this thread.

For the beer record herein, I found that Balboa beer in Panama was pretty doggone good and Schwabenbrau beer in Vaihingen, Germany was outstanding!

 

[18robert]

let's not forget the c-47 " puff "". i flew on many missions, starting in early 1964 and the noise was ear shattering..

 

[18robert]

i mis spoke early 65...

 

[Kinman]

When I was posted to Vietnam, MACV, the Advisory command, in Oct of '71, my only photography experience had been with the popular Instamatic 126 cameras. One of the first things I did in-country was to buy my first 35mm an Olympus Pen F, a half frame 35mm. It was and still is considered a fine small SLR. But I soon sold or traded it for something, and shortly there after it was stolen from the other chap.

I then bought a simple Ricoh semi-automatic 35 mm, and started shooting Kodachrome 25, which I would buy at the PX. Some of my earlier slides were with the Ricoh. Later, looking at the PACEX catalogue, which had items not available stateside, like high end music systems, cameras, Rolex's for $200, and Nikon, Cannon, Minoltra and Pentax (actually Asahi) cameras. Ordered and was sent a "Pentax" Spotmatic II, with the 1.4 and a 28 mm, all in nice leather cases. At that time, Asahi had the best anti-reflective coatings.

I had to be pretty choosey of what pic's I took, as my supply of Kodachrome and occasionally Ectachrome 160 was very limited. I had these little Kodak mailers, and would send my slide film back to the stateside lab, to be returned to my Nebraska home. I never knew until I returned if they were any good or not, having never seen any of them 'till then. I was lucky.

I learned a lot about basic photography with that manual camera, which has stood me well in my continued hobby of photography and darkroom work with different formats.

I took my "Pentax" every where with me, in a plastic bag, then and later all over the world, and to Desert Storm later. Eventually lots of lenses and bodies, and more. Even parachuted with it.

I have probably 5 or 6 hundred slides from Vietnam, and a few years ago selected some for hi-resolution digitalization, which are the ones I post here.

This is one of my bodyguards, an X-VC, we are about to go somewhere in my Whaler, with the two Johnson 40's. That is his silenced XM203 with a 40mm launcher under the barrel. My PRC 77 and rifle too. I never carried any grenades, just too much chance of catching one on some vines or the like.

One thing about the Vietnamese, they had NO radio discipline at all. They talked constantly on the radio, they never quit communicating. Once, the VC jammed my own radio with repeated playing of the Beatles Yellow Submarine song. I just enjoyed listening to it, and left it on.

When I was an A team CO, we had two Leica M2's for our team.

Anyway, stay safe, and all the best... SF VET

Harbor Security in Danang ran around in those Boston Whalers with dual 40hourse Johnsons, we called them "skimmers" just the props in the water. They could get just about anywhere fast, if anything larger was needed they called up a Swift boat, there was always one out in the harbor somewhere. When the Vietnamese took over you could look down at the pier and see all of the Swift boats tied up, little kids and pigs running around on the decks, laundry flapping in the breeze.

 

[Sistema1927]

I can't "like" this story, it makes me want to cry. My gut tightened up as I caught my breath. Even today these young, tough kids face death every day for us. When they are hit, they hurt, bleed, and die. And those of us who have been there, or not, feel the hurt almost as if it is our own sons and daughters.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

Yeah, that story was a real gut punch.

Reminds me of one my Father-in-law shared before he died. He was a radio operator on B-24's in the 8th Air Force. He came down with a case of dysentery, and ended up in sick bay. The crew that he had flown with for a long time went up with a replacement RO. That ship never came back, all men on board were KIA, and he suffered serious survivor guilt.

The only upside was that while being assigned another permanent crew he did fly a couple of missions with Jimmy Stewart as PIC.

This was during his bombing days, earlier in war he flew with the "Carpetbaggers", the air arm of the OSS. As such, they flew unarmed B24s, painted black, and dropped assets and equipment at night in support of the Resistance prior to D-Day.

 

[SF VET]

The Cat, the Rat, and the Meat Cleaver, pt 1

I was out on an op with the Vietnamese, and we stopped for lunch at a rice farmer's, way out, he was just trying to stay alive between two warring sides. Very few locals did not live in semi-protected hamlets. Anyway, he wanted to offer us lunch, and I saw his prized morsel, a really big shrimp. I was just hoping he would offer it to me, and he did with bowing and gestures, as it was his only real "meat". He had had a water buffalo, but some time before, a US 'chopper killed it, and it had been hard for them since.

So I accepted the shrimp. I don't know what it tastes like if one were to scrape the inside of a foul aquarium, but that is what that shrimp tasted like to me. But I had to smlle and eat it with apparent relish. I did so, it was part of my advisor job.

He had a small black kitten, tiny thing, and I offered him a nickel's worth of piasters, and bright that cat home in an ammo much, the little guy poking his head out and looking at all the muck and water.

For some reason, that cat seemed to me to be a tiny bit of Americal in our hootch, and we took great care of him, although he never grew much at all and just laid around like cats do.

But he had the heart and courage of a true warrior, we were to find out one night.

All the best and stay safe.... SF VET

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Back in my Okinawa days Was out with my Green Beret Buddy Don and wives.
A guy walked by and Don spoke to him.
Then he says see that guy going there.
One day he went into Laos with some S Vietnamese Rangers.
They got hit at the landing.
The Helios started lifted and the Rangers started piling on.
Our SF guy got left as the Helios departed and the Rangers scattered.,
So he decided it was time to leave, picked a route and ran.
Got away but was now stranded in Laos.
So he got his bearings and started walking.
Days later he showed himself at one of those SF border camps waving his M-16 and identifying himself.
They looked him over and finally went out and walked him through the Mines.
Just like in the Movie!
He’s my Buddy Don.

 

[SF VET]

The Cat, the Rat, and the Meat Cleaver, pt 2

The day I was dropped off at my second 6 month home, a district HQ, the then Major and SFC Tom C were constructing a new house inside a metal roofed building. We made it out of wood and screens, had basically two rooms, a bedroom, and a "parlor", part kitchen. Then built our shower/latrine/kitchen wash sink up a few steps .

The Major soon left, and did not return , so I as a CPT was the District Senior Advisor, with one or two SFC's. One Moonlite night, heard the pots and pans from our dinner rattling up in the "sink" area, and got up and stepped up and there was the rat eating our left over rice. The rats in the compound were big as footballs, hairless, and mangy creatures.

I grabbed a big meat cleaver, and went to hacking at the rat, slashing my way thru the pans, and the rat went for a hole in the screen, then bolted down the stairs to our bedroom. The SFC's were coming out from their mosquito nets, all of us hollering, and at that moment, our companion, leapt on the rat, and they engaged in a horrendous screeching battle. Our cat let out a terrible cry in pain, and I yelled "...the rat has him by the balls, save the cat!"

We lit into the battle, and the rat disengaged and ran for the corner of the front room, me hacking and slashing with the cleaver right behind him, across the commo stuff, and then its was over, the rat blew thru a hole in the screen.

When the sun came up, our place was a mess, and I had hacked thru our commo cables, so told the Vietnamese HQ to have our HQ up in Camau send us new cables, as ours didn't seem to work anymore.

We gently comforted our faithful patriot, and then remembered he was a female! We nursed him back to health and his wounds healed.

Not long after, I came back from an op, and Pop, our Vietnamese handy man had cooked and eaten him. The little hero deserved a medal.

Here, a pic of our bedroom, my bunk on the right, SFC T's on the left. His Playboy pics. On my side are pics of the Pan Am stewardess I was pen pals with .

Next, the saga of the three legged dog.

All the best, and stay safe. SF VET