Kalashnikov RIP

[Stealhead]

They also did 82mm mortar shells which I think was a wiser choice as the likelihood of a mortar being put into action by a friendly is lower than a common small arm which is much more likely to be used in a dire situation.

I read in a book by an SOG SFC that his team once found a crater along the Laotian border the crater was a former mortar crew that had dropped an Eldest Son shell down the tube.Of course SOG did a lot more recons and POW grabs than plant Eldest Son "surprises". Of course the goal was to plant just enough because too many exploding guns and tubes and they are gonna figure that something is up.The goal was to cause the typical NVA/VC to doubt his supply which I am fairly sure Project Eldest Son failed in that respect.That or NVA NCOs where very good at inspiring their troops.

Of course another little known Vietnam fact is that a South Korean company secretly made 7.62x39mm ammo which sheds light as to just how common use of the AK-47 was at least with SF.

[August]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

Of course SOG did a lot more recons and POW grabs than plant Eldest Son "surprises"

The way I read it Eldest Son was more like something that can be done to enemy ammunition caches that are discovered while on other missions and which cannot be secured or destroyed.

...which sheds light as to just how common use of the AK-47 was at least with SF.

Well a 12 man SF team operating far behind enemy lines, relying upon remaining undetected for their survival is vastly different than an Infantryman using a discarded enemy weapon in a conventional military action.

I can easily see an SF team choosing to use AK's over M-16's (they can use any weapon they want, unlike the average grunt) if for no other reason than M-16 gunfire where they are going is like holding up a big neon sign saying "we're right here, come kill us!". AK gunfire would introduce a degree of uncertainty as to who is doing the shooting but even still they'd rather not have to use their weapons at all.

An Infantry company on the other hand has 150-200 troops spread out over a much larger area and is fighting a completely different type of war. There's a lot more noise and confusion and what they call the "fog of war". In that situation I think there's a lot bigger chance of receiving friendly fire if one uses an enemy weapon.

[Oberon]

Mentioned Eldest Son on the first page...

[August]

Nobody reads your posts Oberon!

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by August

Nobody reads your posts Oberon!

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by August

The way I read it Eldest Son was more like something that can be done to enemy ammunition caches that are discovered while on other missions and which cannot be secured or destroyed.

Well a 12 man SF team operating far behind enemy lines, relying upon remaining undetected for their survival is vastly different than an Infantryman using a discarded enemy weapon in a conventional military action.

Of course SOG and LRRP teams fairly regularly worked with Cambodian and Chinese(ROC) mercenaries who also had the choice of more exotic than average weapon selection so I recon that a good amount of those South Korean made rounds where being used by those guys.Heck some of the non SOG SF camps "Mike Forces" where pretty large 100~200 men so you figure half of them might use an AK.

Of course the Cadillac of SF weapons was the Swedish K.I heard they became a bit of a status symbol for regular officers and many SF units would trade them off.