Vietnam Loves American Booty; What Did the VPA Do With All The Captured Weapons?
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- At the end of the Vietnam War the Vietnamese found themselves with a vast stock of captured material. What did they do with it all and what is still in use?
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During the Cold War portion of my history class, we had a Vietnamese classmate that grew up in modern-day Vietnam and got to explain how the Vietnam war was taught. In their view it was less a war for communist rule and more a war against foreign aggression. They were under control by the Chinese, Japanese, French and by then the US, and all they wanted was a country of their own. It's no wonder they fought like hell. Who wants to be controlled by foreign powers?
In Vietnam, they call it the American War. And there are still some places they won’t allow American tourists to visit. Not everything is forgotten or forgiven.
@@MrDino1953 They don't shove it (the hatred) down the new generation's throats means they are already better than Korea and China in that regard.
@@rpk321 Well said man, I swear some Americans are still, til this day, way more bitter about the war than the majority of modern Vietnamese. I’ve had some unpleasant encounters with Americans whenever the war was brought up, and they keep yappening on about how they didn’t lose and they killed millions of Vietnamese (as if that’s something to be proud of). It’s unsettling how Americans were taught on the war in contrast to how us Vietnamese taught it.
The thing is, their leader, ho chi minh had hoped America, being the land of liberty, would help rid them of the French. Instead, we supported a continuous corrupt southern regime til the end that the people didnt want. They had suffered under continuous foreign occupation, france, japan, and then america, no wonder they were so angry and intent on independence even if it meant a communist regime. Imagine how they felt suffering occupation under france and japan, only to have france again return, then america? The whole thing could have been solved by negotiating! Stupid. Just plain stupid. Continuous war is good for western economies
@@PhongTran-km1mx yeah like America used chemical attacks to clear the forests but ended up effecting civilians and new born children. they are the real war criminals
I spent the past 12 years in Vietnam and there are still some Huey's flying around and I happened to chat to a guy in a bar who was just finishing up a contract to refurbish a load of them. And while in Hanoi the office in which I was working was next to a Tank regiment who had quite a number of Russian and American tanks and armoured personnel carriers on display, all of which where apparently fully serviced and operational. The Vietnamese are a very resourceful nation and something has to be really far beyond repair before they will scrap it or break it for parts to be used to refurbish some thing else.
The B52s that were shot down were turned into cookware that has been passed down for generations now.
The mindset that wins wars.
It's cool that they didn't actually end up becoming what we thought they would which is a state similar to North Korea and China. They are definitely not ideal and there are problems but they are nothing like those other two. I think it has to do with psychology. The Vietnamese state actually won their war and it didn't end in unfinished business like the North Koreas and Chinese (who feel like they never got justice for WW2 crimes committed by the Japanese and they also took part in North Korea's shame which became their own). The Chinese and North Koreans have a chip on their shoulders that causes them to lash out internationally because of past humiliation.
@@SALTrips The mindset to pop out millions of your own kind, so when someone attacks, you can send your people in like waves without weapons and still win due to literally overpowering them with personnel and your lack of empathy towards your dead friends. Pretty weird mindset lol.
@@xxxxpandaxxxx The weird mindset is always telling people about peace but still going invade other country around the world and stealing oil
what most people don't know is: Ho Chi Minh approached the US for recognition after WW II, he wanted to make friends with the America, he was rebuffed, and we supported French as they returned to Indochina, we might have never fought in VN had we done things differently--read The China Mirage by James Bradley
Of course . You seem to imply US supported the French for the wrong reason(s). I live with Viet people since 1975 . Check Wiki : pedia means to learn ,i.e. Viêt Công is the contraction of Viêt Nam Công Sân ( communistes vietnamiens in French ).
Actually , uncle Hô founded the Vietnamese Communist United Party as soon as Feb. 1930 . Until today , pls. talk about how many communist - led nations the US of America succeeded to make friends with ?
Vous me rappelez la blague de Nixon /Kissinger/ Zhou Enlai/ Mao Zedong en 1972 et Pingpàng wàijiào , la diplomatie du ping-pong avant le Watergate ...Et the end , by April 1975 of war there.
En 2021 , la façon de gérer les intérêts communs ( I intend to mean the global situation ) permet à votre pays d'abattre un drone au-dessus de l'ambassade en Irak , d'avoir échoué ( avec Rex Tillerson ) vos projets de forages de la toundra de Putin , d'envoyer sur vos plans le HMS Queen Elisabeth début 2022 rejoindre l'USS T. Roosevelt + l'USS Nimitz en mer de Chine où passe déjà le "Tonnerre" bâtiment de surface/porte-hélicos et le sous-marin d'attaque nucléaire Emeraude ... L'enrichissement d'uranium iranien à 20% , avec des centrifugeuses suisses je crois , l'abandon de la Turquie pour le F-35 joint venture fighter , promis à la Suisse , c'est bien aussi , is not it ?
@@williamdargelas5585 Ho Chi was a nationalist than a communist. He tried to seek help from Americans twice. He thinks the Americans will sympathize and help him because the America also gain its independence from the British. First in 1919, after ww1 peace treaties were being signed up at Versailles.
Ho Chi Minh went to give a letter to US President Woodrow Wilson. He demanded that his nation be set free from French colonialism and be given independence. He didn’t allow to meet the President, of course. And the letter never would be shown to the President. So he had to seek help from the communist. His primary goal always the liberation of Vietnam.
@@phuloc4655 well, the US really only helped the French because they wanted stability in the region in order to fight China. They were worried at the time that if Vietnam became independent then China would invade and conquer the country. Ironically, the Vietnam War is what saved Vietnam FROM China! Because the Vietnamese became skilled in guerilla tactics and warfare from fighting a superior enemy, the Chinese were no match for them when China backstabbed them and broke their alliance.
@@phuloc4655 You are correct. Ho Chi Minh was a nationalist first and foremost. But he was educated & trained in Paris in revolutionary Marxism. Same with many other communist leaders. A certain international 'tribe' based in Europe (and now headquartered in Israel), financed and trained Mao Tse Tung, Josef Stalin, Pol Pot, Ho Chi Minh, etcetera. Their school of ideology is based in Frankfurt, Germany and their financial power is based in Wall Street/City of London & Basil Switzerland. They finance & manipulate both sides of every conflict. They blackmailed Woodrow Wilson in fact, into committing the U.S. into Europe in WWI. They hoodwinked America yet again in WWII. General Patton knew all about 'them', so did Henry Ford, hence why they had to be 'silenced'. They set up the Federal Reserve racket in 1913 and weild immense power in international high finance capital, mass media of news & entertainment and have the most powerful political lobby in Washington. They own this platform also, along with Face Book. The censorship is so Orwellian, that I cannot even spell out who 'they' are, without getting auto-censored by 'their' f*cking algorithm. A tribe that resides in many nations, yet loyal to none of the nations in which they reside.
Yes Sir you are totally correct! Ho Chi Minh even wanted to copy our US CONSTITUTION.
Interesting that they have a better attitude to keeping equipment in good shape
Why would they destroy it? That wasn't just one tank or two rifles
@@Clancy192 That's why VPA doesn't use those US tanks much and store them at the depot only. There are also rumors that they store the engines separately in the oil tank to prevent oxidation. Furthermore, I heard that the VN gov is waiting for the US to lift the lethal weapon sanction so they can buy those replace parts for old US helicopters, aircrafts and tanks from a third country like Israel.
Hallo Mrs.erika ich zu are ze really deutch Medel (girl)?
Poor country, you have to keep your equipment in the best shape.
@@mediocre_tuba_player The main problem for the VPA is about the US lethal weapon sanction not the money. Vietnamese is kinda good with military. You can compare VPA with Philippines army which have the same budget and you will see the big difference
LOL, I think that's over twice the size of the entire *current* Australian Armed Forces.....
Who came second in this war, Aus or NZ?
Except that they only gave up not lose.....
@Andy Man However, in 1991, a drunken, poorly trained Serbian AA missile crew blew a brand new F-117 "stealth" fighter ut of the sky using a Soviet SA-3 NEVA missile the Russians gave them in 1960, and don't forget the Vietnamese beat the most powerful military on the planet using bolt action rifles, inferior Chinese copies of a 1947 vintage rifle, and booby traps using pointed bamboo sticks dipped in shit, your theory holds no water in the real world. BTW, the Serbs told the US, "Sorry, we didn't know it was invisible".
@Andy Man did you really expected that Irak, a country that was defeated by Iran, a weaker country, could have a chance against USA and their fella?
Most of Iraki tanks were chinese versions and even CIA said they were lucky the anti tank ammo they were using were usless because the last soviet ammo could make the things go diferent.
Anyway the Iraki army wasnt even a good army, do i have to say again that they losed against Iran?
@Yair Correa Azerbaiyán superiority was on their drones, not their air force. Armenian had good anti air systems however they werent meant to deal that kind of threat.
As a former guerrilla fighter from El Salvador I can attest to the fact that our M-16's were provided by Vietnam via Nicaragua to our forces in and around 1982. They would be smuggled across the Gulf of Fonseca at night. We already had the Ak-47's rifles but we had lots of 14 and 15-year-old boys in our forces and the recoil kickback was too rough. The M-16 had a very smooth and soft recoil and it was also more accurate for sniping at long ranges. But it was not as sturdy and reliable as the Ak-47. The Salvadoran army also gave up their powerful H&K G-3 german rifles because they were too rough and clumsy for their young teenaged soldiers. They got newer versions of the M-16 from the U.S. government. The UH Huey helicopters were used against us too by the Salvadoran army. Some of them were fitted with rocket launchers, some of them had the .50 cal machinegun and some of them even had the M-60 machine gun as the main weapon.
The Salvadoran army also gave up their powerful H&K G-3 german rifles" Dude seriously? Send the little pricks to the gym or fatten them up. When you have this gear use it. 7.62 NATO (I assume) is frigging awesome, just get another kid to carry the ammo.
Cap
Very cap
🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢
crap
Imagine the shit that an individual soldier would be in for misplacing their weapon! Then you get THIS!!😮
Very good point.
Everything that was Seized by the North Vietnamese had been given or Sold to the ARVN/AFVN, When American Combat forces were removed in 1973, the equipment was give to South Vietnam en mass. The North just took it all as spoils of war, as they were in charge now. On the Plus side the Huge infusion of equipment Ended up eventually giving them a leg up in fighting off the Chinese later on. Interestingly enough, at one point in recent years, due to the Chinese Incursions into the South China Sea, and the US no longer having much presence in the SWPac area, there were talks going on with the Vietnamese Govt about bringing the US Navy back into Cam Rahn Bay and refurbishing the facilities there to provide Basing, since we no longer have the use of Subic, and the other Closest basing is either Guam or Japan. I haven't really hard any more on that in a few years now.
@@toadman506 I have the feeling that the Philippines is going to start regretting kicking the US out of Subic Bay and Clark pretty soon, now the Chinese fishing fleet has parked itself in the West Philippine sea.
@@toadman506 The American Navy back in Cam Rahn Bay would be mind blowing. Todays enemy ,tomorrows ally.
@@toadman506 nope sorry ; nó foreign military base in Vietnam mate ít out 4 nó policy ; but your ship or anyone include china can come to cam ranh bay for refurbish and repair if need
The US literally left enough equipment in vietnam to fully arm the new military.
Edit- as its apparently unclear, Yes, I too indeed watched the video.
Funny you say that considering they were given to South vietnam to arm their army to fight the north.
Because carrying them back is a very expensive idea. Same as to why there are whole mountains of equipment from WW2 under the ocean...
@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 that's soo freaking true too, but I don't think that's quite it in this situation. You would at least make an effort to scuttle the equipment rather than let it fall to the enemies hands.
@@andypozuelos1204 I don’t know if they had it then but countries today can make their vehicles/weapons obsolete if it were to fall into enemy hands. It was left for South Vietnam after the war they probably didn’t care if they used the weapons or not they fought hard.
@@andypozuelos1204 yeah, I think the main difference is that when the US decided to call it quits with Vietnam, South Vietnam was still fighting the war, as such the US can't scuttle most of their weapons in the country since a lot of them were still in use by the South all the way to the fall of Saigon. But apparently the US keeps forgetting just how incompetent the South government is in countering the North by itself
Imagine Chinese conscripts in 1979 wandering into the sights of Uncle Sam's leftovers.
According to multiple sources with a research consensus that the Chinese didnt even get to meet NVA regulars who were armed with Uncle Sam's leftovers.
@@johnny5896 It is true. At the time, most of the NVA regulars were in the South and Cambodia. When the Vietnamese decided to bring their troops up North, the Chinese withdrew instantly because they realized their troops were so inexperienced againts the Vietnamese.
@@ngohung745 Vietnamese had some Elite Division stationed in the North But most of them were keep around Hanoi to protect Capital and keep the war limited. The only Elite Division which fought Chinese was Yellow Star 3rd Division stationed at Lang Son. They Fought with 3 Chinese Army Corps in one month. The Chinese not even fully captured Lang Son, but some parts of it. At that time, Vietnamese began Mobilizing some Army Corp to the Frontline, Chinese retreated afer that.
@@ngohung745 The pla is just a political army for the party not the country
@@yourfriendlyneighborhoodcl4824 Uh huh. Cool story, bro.
I especially love this "political army" bit. Newsflash: ALL ARMIES are "political" armies. War is an inherently political act. You know what "non-political" armies are known as? Bandits and warlord gangs.
Im a PAVN Armorer and i work in one of the capital armory. I mainly work on fixing/refurbishing AKM/Type 56 and sometime upgrade them to more modern model like STL series.
The majority of M16 are still being use and have been given to southern militia and coast guard, a small amount of them have been refurbish to M18/K18 model and given to the marine corp.
WW1-2 firearms are still being kept in storage in case of wartime (i spent a decent amounts of time cleaning and fixing this stuff)
Vietnam became pretty strong after the U.S. left lol
Love the VPA
Thanks for sharing on YT. It is amazing on this one comment section the amount of intersection from specialists of history, logistics, warfare, and equipment:'. US Vietnam War vets, current PAVN armorers, former arms brokers, present-day military contractors, former SoCal aircraft techs, and others who had some personal experience with this USG/ARVN equipment.
Very cool! Thanks for the info!
Lol stop saying fake stuff on weebo stl are just protype and it haven't been accept and no majority m16 are refurbish but they are not all covert to m18 lol
Interesting to know!
Having lived in Vietnam for 3 months I highly recommend going to The War Relics Museum in HCM City. But it is not for the faint hearted, it is very in your face and it will haunt you.
Agreed. It is excellent.
@@EdNashsMilitaryMatters Also the Cu Chi tunnels is an awesome experience, especially trying to crawl through some of the tunnels.
@@chrisjohnston9454 Next time I'm in Vietnam Ill have to check it out!
@@EdNashsMilitaryMatters not likely for a while until Europe stops hoarding Astrasenica vaccines... 35 deaths among 90+ million here in VN and we get penalised for Uurope and USA's stupidity in the handling covid... not a good look Europe!
@@EdNashsMilitaryMatters yeah and VN is also handling it better than Australia.
Seeing the old M48 and M41 tanks in such amazing condition makes me happy, i love both and it's amazing to see so many of them in museum-like quality
Happy...??.....happy for what.....???seeing your weaponry in the hands of the enemy.......reminding you ....your country lost that war...????...strange way to show your happiness...!!
@@kingalfred3902 Bro what are you on lmao
@@kingalfred3902I'm sorry, was your comment supposed to hurt someone?😂
@kingalfred3902 dude nobody cares that we "lost" (barely lol) we have lost one or two wars ever and nobody cares anymore its over and done with for 50 years so what. Vietnam is actually almost a US ally now so not like they are "in the hands of the enemy" just calm down
@@kingalfred3902lmao this clown 😂
I came home in one piece. I shed no tears over leaving my weapon behind.
That's all that really matters
@@EdNashsMilitaryMatters True. I didn't want my rifle in the first place.
@@BackSeatHump i bet you are popular on veterans day.
@@johnm3907 are you calling him a coward for leaving his weapon behind and saving his own life? Does that make him any less of a servicemember?
@@ALFA-sm2nm nope. But its the opposite of 90% of the gung ho veterans that wouldnt like him saying he didnt want the rifle. I think he is a bigger man than all of them.
North Vietnamese Army after seeing all that ordnance:
"It's free real estate" 😎
Sadly 90% of it were turn to scrap as we did not have components to maintain them. Although the m60 and m16 are still in use
@@phamkhoa0105 Still free metals 🤣. And yeah the maintenance of all this equipment is very costly.
@@phamkhoa0105 so are M113’s and other items listed in the video
@@W.Stryker they repowed a lot in the 80,s with russian engines
@@wack66 no, Vietnamese don't replace the engine. They only repair the old engine and replace some simple stuff by the Russian one, or buy from third country. If you watch QPVN show you will know about the modernized program of the old Vietnamese M113, the biggest update is the NSV HMG with NV scope and rounded shield, and one SPG 9 added.
I visited Vietnam for the first time in the fall of 1996. When my plane landed at TSN airport you could still see the revetments built to house and protect American aircraft during the war. I visited the War Remnants Museum and the Cu Chi Tunnels, among other places. While exploring north of Saigon on my rented motorbike in the Long Binh area I was surprised to see old American trucks and other equipment still in use like an old Air Force fuel tanker truck, a road grader and other highway construction equipment and an old Army dump truck with nothing left of the cab but the steering wheel driving down the road. The Vietnamese can fix most things with some bamboo and twine and keep it running forever.
When we left SVN, and the NVN took control, for a short time they became the 8th or 9th largest Air Force in the world. most of all of that has been cannibalized or scrapped now.
I love all booty not just American ❤️
well they had no choice but to learn didn't they?
Those concrete shilds for housing military aircraft still there.
@bisnuto They were as of August 2019, which is the last time I was there. You can still find old French defensive positions from the 1950s at river crossings in the countryside. Saigon is an incredibly vibrant city with lots of construction going on, so it's very hard to find remnants of the war in the city proper. However, you can still visit the old Presidential Palace from the war. It's a perfectly preserved time capsule from 1975.
I flew two tours in Vietnam. When Saigon fell, we were told, on national news, that the Vietnamese had little to no ammo to fight back against the north's invasion. It sure as hell didn''t sound like there was a shortage according to this video... Were we lied too again???
Yeah but at time most were flowing the country the south Vietnam could not have had use for it in 1975 as most trained personal flees the country
lets me tell you this according to some NA soldiers that actually capture some out of nowhere ARVN base, do you know what they found, 7000 rounds of mix ammunition. guns, arty, you name it and guess what? they were like WTF this is the amount that we will have to make use of for this final campaign, and this out of nowhere base has it???? later on when they talked to ARVN soldier, they finally revealed that its not that they dont have enough ammo to fight back. first and foremost. Leaders already fled, what is the point of fighting??? second their war doctrine copied US style one, firepower superiority, which will not work even before US left vn, South vietnam economy and manufacturing just doesnt support that amount of firepower
Yes, we were lied to again.
Many countries have the industry to make their own ammo, the video self said the only stuff they couldnt afford for was to keep the complex weapons on.
News never lies. Just go back to sleep after you eat your handful of prescription meds.👍🤸🤡
Of course the big irony is that the Vietnamese have invited the Americans back as tensions continue to grind against China.
@Gavin Quick your smart
@Gavin Quick true
Mainly because america has had only one war against them, China on the other hand have been against Vietnam countless times, even after the Vietnam War, they had a war against each other when China invaded in the north.
@@Cossack110 i think china tried to invade this 28 times now?
@Gavin Quick facts
You know as a history buff and tank enthusiast I’m just glad too see how well kept these historic vehicles have been taken care of
If our new friends in Vietnam want to upgrade their equipment I think we have some packages for that.
Right on the nose. Sorry we fucked up your country, but now we are here to help. The Vietnamese and the Chinese are historically bitter Enemies. They saw little help from Mao with most of it coming from Moscow. I turned my Father on the war, he being a decorated WWII Vet, when I brought up the subject of the ban on bombing Russian Ships in Haiphong and asked would you have wanted to fight if the Allies had banned attacking Axis supply lines? BTW no peacenik, Ret USAF Colonel 1975-2015 including Reserve.
@@itsjohndell z
@@itsjohndell in fact the mig21 fighters going to Vietnam through China had there advanced Russian radars replaced with crappy Chinese radars.
@@itsjohndell Well, we told them we were there to help back then too, so don't be surprised if they don't jump for joy.
The only american weapon we still used are 105-155 gun ; m16 and other small arms for militia ; m113 and it cargo variant and that all ; the f5 upgrade is Bs made up we have su27-30 which much more advanced hence we even retire mig21 ; uh1 was retire since 2015 american military truck been retired and replace by kamaz and other truck ( kamaz now being domestic made same for ural and Belarus truck ) but in recent years Vietnam did buy few small amount of american weapon include equipment for sniper spotter vv )
I was talking to a colleague of mine from the Army. He told me on a previous rotation to Iraq they had captured an M79 grenade launcher. They did some research and were stunned to discover it was written off as a combat loss in Vietnam! And it had come from their same infantry battalion! I asked what they had done with it. He said, "What do you think we did? We added it to our property book and we used it."
Going back to the video, I was surprised to learn the Viets still used so much American weaponry and equipment. Kind of strange/interesting to see how the Viets had come to appreciate the UH-1 as well.
If it's ain't broke don't fix it. Why would they throw something simple , tough and abundant for other stuff that needs money to buy ? I had been over there many times. In a tourist location you could buy .303 to shoot the M1 for 10 bucks .
True
In Vietnam, I worked closely with two ROK units. They had some American trucks that I believe were from WW II.
@@BackSeatHump I wouldn't be surprised . Back in early 2000s I am in ROC for some stuff , they are still using 2 1/2 ton truck .
@@MarkzOng Yep. That's what I thought.
As a Vietnamese, I got to say the research for this video is pretty spot-on, with authentic materials. Nice job!
Many thanks! I found it a fascinating subject.
Are you in the military and are in position to confirm all this? Being Vietnamese doesn't mean anything.
@@blushihtzu Well I'm just another CZcams military enthusiast. I'm just saying that the materials used in the video are from QPVN and stuff, really authentic. The fact that militia in the South are armed with American weapons is also confirmable.
Thank You for your service. I appreciate the video. My father served 26.5 years 18 of which were in the 101 and 82nd airborne U.S. Army. He served 2 tours in Vietnam. He served, bled for his country yet was lucky to come home when many other good brave men did not come home. I was told by one of his fellow Sergeants he never asked the men to do something he would not do first including going into the tunnels with a .45 caliber pistol and a flashlight. I miss him very much. he was a kind and loving man. I hope you have a great and wonderful Life.
@@LP-mo3sh that's pretty brave spouting off that someone's father is a war criminal when you don't know jack about that person. His father served in a war that he may or may not have agreed with. I guess if we're going to spout off I'm going to assume you're nothing more than a keyboard warrior. If you're going to be a moron at least keep your mouth closed..."mate".
@@LP-mo3sh Head over there to do some good work disarming mines, on the job training. Easy to cast judgements or crap on about how "responsible" your people are when you have no intention of doing anything about it outside of generalised internet commentary.
@@LP-mo3sh Oh sure, I could be wrong, but I doubt it. Only you, the poster, knows the truth and has to look in the mirror. I find comment threads are seldom a place for truth. Lies, sanctimony, blanket statements and self aggrandizement yes, truth..well that's a much rarer beast.
@@LP-mo3sh aren't one of those gross Hippies that dodged the draft?
We shud take good things frm everything, n lesson is one shud not invade a country just thinking they r poor peasants that can hardly fight. Great Vietnamese did all they cannto defend their motherland against an evil force that stepped in thier country just to kill. Amazingly predator became the prey n learnt lesson for life
Stone clubs and sharpened bone will still kill a human being as easily today as they did 20,000 years ago. As long as we are flesh and bone, no weapon is ever truly obsolete...
Why, just today, I read, someone, knocked out a knife attacker with a rock. Yes, all the violence began with Cain....not cavemen. The human heart alienated from our Creator is more dangerous than stone, bullets, or critical mass.
I lived in New Guinea yrs ago, stones were used as weapons including bows, arrows, spears, clubs & machetes.
Yes, look what trump's people did on Jan. 6,2021.
@@countd5955 Yeah, look at what Antifa did last year.
Did you write that? That's some nice pros.
Never should have went to war with Vietnam.
Never.
have gone not have went
The reasons to go were valid. The application of the method was flawed
Well this channel is one of my favorite together with Mark Felton Production
Ed Nash haha 😂, I just accidentally click on your videos and know I am searching and watching them, I really love it.
Same here.
Felton is excellent. Love his stuff.
@@maximusextreme3725 I agree, love Mark's stuff.
The US not only lost the war but also their equipments.
DeHavilland Beavers are highly valued in Alaska. A number of them were left in Vietnam when the US left. in the early 80s a group of Alaskan aviators approached the Vietnamese about buying the Beavers. They made a deal and flew them all out. They were then loaded on freighters and shipped to Alaska. I got the impression the number was around 20.
The NVA was well trained and highly motivated and they chased the Chinese out of a contested area while fighting us. It is a shame the Allies gave France their Colonies back rather than allow them to become their own country once again.
I'm surprised that they've got any working M-60 machine guns left. When I was in the Army, from the early 90's, we were phasing out the M-60 and I can tell you, they don't age well. An old, beat up '60 is a right pain in the ass to keep running in the field, for sure.
Well this video states that most of the light weapons except the M16 and M79 became reserve and back up weapons. Not used on a regular basis. So they are used lightly and last longer.
M60 used mostly for militia and in opfor weapon in exercise
We were still using M60s on active duty in the early 2000s. We had them on the M981 FISTVs assigned to 2-17 FA in Korea in 2000, and I was working on FISTVs in 3rd ACR around that same time that had them. I also carried one in PLDC in Vilseck Germany in 2002. That was the last time I ever got to handle one.
The old saying runs true about ARVN weapons. never been fired and only dropped once.
I was with a Navy Seabee Battalion from '95-'99, and we still used M-60s. I never heard anyone complain about them. They were a defensive weapon for us, so we didn't lug them around on patrols.
There was a rumor in the 80s that the Eastern German Army had a special Service Battalion in their Elite Paratrooper Division which was equiped wie from Vietnam delivered M113 APCs and M48 Tanks to impose/Mimic Western German Units like Unternehmen Greif during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.
It's just a rumor
Yeah, but impersonating enemy uniforms, vehicles and symbols are a war crime.
With the exception of training purposes.
Yeah, but who played shortstop for the 42 Yankees?
@@blademirlima4708 Skorzeny was found not guilty. Depends if they use enemy uniforms and national symbols and if they discard them prior to opening fire.
Thank you for an informative video. When you read about the history of the Vietnamese it stands out that they have to be one of the most resourceful people in history. To hold off the Chinese, the Mongols, various other threats and eventually expel the French then the USA is astonishing. Always out numbered and out gunned yet coming out on top is amazing.
I'd admire the resiliency of the Vietnamese people especially in their struggle against the American titans .
The Vietnamese have a talent for fixing or refurbishing old equipment and for repurposing things. That's why American soldiers were told to be very careful about leaving anything behind when they left an area since it could and would be used by the Vietnamese.
Typical of our politicians to leave billions of tax payers money in equipment in these countries for the enemy to use just like Afghanistan politicians in Washington don't care about all that money wasted and Americans that died wounded and mentally messed up for the rest of their lives
That’s insane that all of that equipment and arms was left. My father is a Vietnam vet. He was a mechanized infantry and he was a gunner on a m113. I’m going to show him this video. Instant fan and subscriber now lol.
Yeah, its all written off, already paid for by the tax payer, Imagine the equipment used in the Pacific in WW2, all dumped in the ocean, makes for great dives, it was cheaper than carting it all back.
reminds me of Yorktown, British surrendered their arms to us, cannons and stacks of rifles etc.
This captured equipment wasn't actually 'left', but was instead the property of the South Vietnamese government. The U.S. left South Vietnam in 1973, and took it's gear with!
@@j.b.macadam6516
Exactly, this video is full of the same nonsense as the lie that the Taliban is running around in Afghanistan with US military equipment that was left behind there.
The truth is what's in this video wasn't US military property that was left behind in Vietnam, it was South Vietnamese military property that they left laying around when they fled in the face of an invading force just the same as what the Taliban laid their hands on wasn't US military property, it was Afghan military property that they left laying around in the face of an invading force.
Literally 10 seconds into this video as soon as I heard a British accent I stopped it because I already know all the nonsense and lies that are going to be in it as soon as I hear that accent, what really kills me is that the British who love so much to cast a bad light on America love to do it because for some strange reason they resent America's part in WW2, I mean it's just amazing that for some reason they feel compelled to do that at every given chance, if I had a bunch of their youth buried in my back yard I don't know if I'd feel compelled to do that to their country, I never will understand that kind of thinking, I grew up under the impression that our countries were friends, then I got a smart phone with CZcams capability and started reading the comments from people over there and what they have to say about America and now I'm not so sure we're friends.
@@dukecraig2402 Yeah, I've had that same discussion with People claiming that the U.S. abandoned equipment in Afghanistan. The Afghan Military lost that equipment (much of it damaged or destroyed) when it collapsed in the face of the Taliban assault. According to stats, the Taliban did not obtain tanks, jet fighters, or any heavier weapons, such as the Vietnamese did.
If I remember correctly we lost every 175mm self-propelled gun we had over there, good gun, heavy shell, and long range.
We must have had a terrible shortage of Thermite over there.
Thermite can only weld and angle grinders can remove welds.
@@garywheeler7039 Hard to get an angle grinder inside of a gun barrel.
@@darkstormy1545 A Dremel tool would fit in a 175 mm opening (6.9" diam). Nobody said it was easy. They have mini angle grinders too.
they (not all) were lost because they were obsolete with the M110 and the extremely high maintenance they required. Without a supply of tubes and a corps of maintenance technicians to service them they would easily fall into disrepair. They simply were not viable for return or surplus nor could NV keep them in service in any capacity so they were no real threat. they were out of US inventory completely before 1977. They were great guns with the proper fire team and service crew. Without them they would not function, something the NV had little to none to operate them.
@@garywheeler7039 500 # bomb does the trick, should have bombed all of left overs.
The irony is the VPA turned out as a stabilising influence and factor in that part of the world.
and also for the sake of Vietnam
The irony is that they helped Cambodia turn communist then went to war against it until 1991 when they retreated for things to be stabilized without getting a communist puppet ally.
@@tritium1998VPA main purpose was against foreign invasion.
One thing I want to correct. Vietnam didn't invade Cambodia. Vietnam has done the international obligations to put the end to the brutal massacre of
Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
That was a good effort. Well done.
Too true!
I belirte to you. They will always say invasion. My country liberated Northern part Cyprus island but they call it invasion.
@@RO8s and with the huge cost
@@phantaivinhtien7153 I know nothing about that campaign, but Vietnam seems to be doing okay now.
I don't think to much of myself as being a large influence on the world, but my work at McDonnell Douglas aircraft in Long Beach, CA. allowed me to work with a number of South Vietnamese individuals. They were really good people to work with. As good friends what ever they need to keep their solvency is alright by me.
My father worked for Douglas as well, he was part of RAMS and had worked a couple of times in SEA on various contracts, he too was out of Long Beach.
You worked on airplanes?
@@globalnetizen956 I don't know.
@@globalnetizen956 I never died. That was my stunt double that got caught.
Thanks. That was interesting.
I enlisted in the US Army in December of 73 and served in Germany for two years.
I would return to the army from 78-80 and 83-92.
Three tours of Germany, jungle school in Panama and the Desert Shield/Storm all as a grunt.
Glad to hear that our equipment has stood the test of time.
Người Mỹ xâm lược Alaska của người Nga .
B-52: * Get shot down *
Vietnamese people: It is free real estate
Edit:
To anyone who doesn't understand:
It is Vietnamese people scraped down the planes and sell the scrap(it only happened when the government didn't know about the crash site yet)(There is also some case the B-52's(or anything that get shot down) scrap get turned to some tea set)
Trời ơi! XD
Lmao jk kiểu j vậy ông
@@nguyenkimvv7686 Máy bay: *Làm bằng nhôm *
Người dân Việt Nam cần đồng nát để bán: "Ồ hay đấy"
@@tunguska2370 tui tưởng người VN cưa bom thôi chớ lmao
P/S: tui ko bt ông có phải meme chúa ko chứ free real estate dead meme rồi ong ạ;V
@@nguyenkimvv7686 Tôi khá chắc dead thì có dead trong nước thôi chứ đến mấy cái meme từ 2012 còn comeback được cơ mà
I remember in San Francisco back in the 1980s I was in a restaurant on the Embarcadero . Some brits were sitting at a table joking about America's involvement in Vietnam. I think the phrase they used was "Here comes a Yank, don't mention Vietnam" and they'd laugh. We ignored them but when the staff in the kitchen heard what was going on, they came out and made them get up and leave. Apparently they had all been refugees from South Vietnam. Good Folks those Vietnamese.
theyre traitors that had to gruble as exiles in the oppressor's land- land the oppressors stole, btw.
@@elgrandisimojoe that's rich that you're referring to the United States as an oppressor. Considering Vietnam was and still is an oppressive regime.
@@elgrandisimojoe The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo only stole the Mex gov ownership rights, not the resident Mex residents who got to keep their land and got automatic US citizenship. I don't like the term "stole" but the English and Russians would have snagged that area if the US didn't. You are also oversimplifiying history. Lot of nuances here.
@@drew4087 ya bendito... dont tell me you dont know that the US has been at war everywhere for the last 70 years.. killing poor poeple of color for the Amerikan oligarchy.. You want a list of AmriKKKan coups to democratically elected goverments. Wake Up, Amerikkka is the most evel country in the last 70 years... gluttony and its own internal racism. s killing it and I cannot wait. Pleple will finally be free... then we'll have to deal with China.. but wont live between the sword and the scalpel
@@elgrandisimojoe
Learn how to spell before you play moral arbiter
A great deal of it was collected and stored at Da Nang, where it was offered up for sale. You could visit it like a supermarket. A fellow in my office from Canada had done so. He found tons of equipment still in the original shipping crates.
My father in-law was a huey mechanic in the South Vietnam air force at Nha Trang, he was spared from the reeducation camps because he was one of many the North Vietnamese used to bring the Huey's back to and keep in flying condition. As soon as they had enough of their own people trained he was dumped and got rid of. He is more bitter with that than the south losing the war.
god bless him from lancashire england
@Chí Thiện Nguyễn Huey is the nick name for the helicopter used by the USA. No I'm not Vietnamese, I'm Australian but my wife is Vietnamese.
Just to clarify Young is a Scottish family name, my ancestors came from Scotland
Damn, that sucks
😂😂.cay
In the war museum (or maybe land mine museum) in Siem Reap, Cambodia, there is a mural of Viet Namese M113s mounting flamethrowers in use against the Khmer Rouge during the 1978 invasion.
This takes spoils of war to a whole new level. Really impressed how well the Vietnamese keeps everything in storage.
Bet the equipment came in handy when fighting the Chinese just a few years later
Indeed, though they only faced the civilian forces and quickly made the decision to withdraw, they knew then what a disaster it is if they were to face the real Vietnamese military forces.
The Chinese also left behind a lot of weaponry as they dropped what they had and ran to the border in absolute terror of the battle hardened Vietnamese.
@@dickowilley2642 yep, the Vietnamese had just won a war against a foreign army that is far superior than them and a civil war at the same time, this was 4 years before china invaded Vietnam
@@tericng7900 Or your regular army was too scared to fight or even go near the Chinese. Since when does a country not have a regular army on both ends? You had border skirmishes trying to retake positions until you gave up in 1990.
@@johanmikkael6903So your “far superior” army did worse when they dropped their weaponry and ran away in absolute terror despite all their technology and time fighting.
I was a flight engineer on the C-130. Strangest thing and feeling was seeing the Iraqi Air Force students across the hall getting the same training I was getting... Wonder how the Vietnamese did it? Pretty resourceful and impressive.
Former South Vietnamese crewmen were employed to maintain and train future crews. Many actually volunteered when the Khmer Rouge (and later the Chinese) attacked despite any disagreement they might've had with the new government. When 3000 innocent villagers are massacred by a madman you step up and help the war effort.
The VPA dislodged and neutralized the Khmer Rouge which can be rated as a great service to all.
They helped the Khmer Rouge come to power.
@@tritium1998 No, China did.
I bought your book a couple of years ago, Ed, and frankly, couldn't put it down. I guess it was a great personal experience but at the same time a selfless act of bravery and service in the fight against ISIS. I offer you my thanks and respect.
Thanks man
"If they want war, we could do this for 30 years or more
If they want peace, we will tell them to sit down and have a tea party "
That what Ho Chi Minh says
Vietnamese people is chill af
I don't know that, now I know
As an American I would love to see us allied with Vietnam. The Vietnamese are good people and very tough in a fight. Much respect to them.
Là một người Mỹ, tôi rất muốn thấy chúng tôi liên minh với Việt Nam. Người Việt Nam là những người tốt và rất cứng rắn trong một cuộc chiến. Rất tôn trọng họ.
you are. USA is selling weapons to Vietnam thorugh Japan, in anti-China effort to keep South China Sea free from a military occupation by Beijing. by the way, in the book about vietnam war by Karnow, american officers and sodlier learn to respect "Charlies" fdar more than corrupted South Vietnam occupation. weird: Ho Chi Minh, bakc in 50s, would have rather american peacemaker to control reunification than fight USA. but McCarthysm was too strong in US administration... what a waste of lives...
Think they are now, against China
You wish
@@frankezane583 Not necessarily so.Vietnam is already the 7th largest trading partner with the US, the largest importer of manufactured goods in Vietnam ( $109,4 bill ).China is the largest exporter of goods to Vietnam ($ 50,1 bill) .
Là người Việt Nam tôi cũng mong muốn điều đó.có rất nhiều người Việt Nam cũng có suy nghĩ như tôi
I hope america and Vietnam can stand together in modern times,I've met many Vietnamese folks and every single one has been a beautiful soul.
we should be the standard for America foreign policy. a Vietnamese model if you will. America influence should not be enforced through military occupation or political ideaology, it should be done via trade and and cultural exposure.
@@xuanquang9815 absolutely,as an American we should of never militarily been involved. We should of seen hindsight and realized kindness will always prevail.
@@xuanquang9815 I agree with you on that (as an American). A certain nation in Europe in the 1930s wanted the same thing that you've described. To be autonomous from the clutches of international high finance capital, printed their OWN currency and used the barter system in trading with other nations in goods and materials. They were destroyed unfortunately in 1945 for doing so. The U.S. military industrial complex has been the vehicle in the past century, for spreading 'freedom & democracy' (banker/corporate imperialism), around the world. General Smedley Butler had it right in the 1930s 'War Is A Racket' and his message is just as valid today.
@Billy Bob......every single one? These vietnamese communists tortured American POWS. I wouldn't call them beautiful souls
Went there once, never again, not nice people
Wow, I knew gear was left/lost over there but I didn't realize it was that much.
Maybe you have known but US ARMY left A LOT OF equipments and vehicles for south army ( you can find on YT “ tổng kho long bình “ ) but none of them can help south army win this game
its cheaper to leave it all there instead of spending the money to bring it back
Yeah u were right , and the US army have to do their promise with south people for the evacuation so they dont have much time left and decided to left everything . They burnt all of money when they left the embarrassment.
One of the most accurate videos I've seen lightly. Thanks
Another Sterling piece.
Grew up w/ my dad going to VN twice. As an American, I still have "Hard" thoughts & feelings. Again Mr. Nash, many thanx 👍, be safe 🦊
Sharing your "Hard" sentiment as a patriotic American but taking pride in the prowess and durability of our obsolete arms still being of relevance after all this time. If the VietNamese want to turn some dollar$ and a new Administration makes a comeback some day, there would be an import market for legal civilian ownership of the WW2 vintage small arms. Collectors prefer verifiable pedigree.
@@richardkluesek4301 many thanx 👍. This whole endeavor is over. I served in DS. As far as the idea of repurchasing some of the equipment. That would be a choice line of thinking. Be safe 🦊
I saw a documentary years ago where crashed aircraft were converted into kitchen utensils and plates by the villagers.
And drop tanks into small watercraft.
Yup you are right we call it Sky Copper , the ones make from B52 was the best
those must've been the best utensils ever if one were to go by the quality of the material.
At the end of WW2, a German factory that made steel hemets for the Wehrmacht modified the stamping and steel presses to make cookpots. You could see from the shape and enamel coatings that they were originally German M40 pattern helmets. They are very collectable today, and worth more than the helmets.
@@JasonLee12419 sky copper 😆
It was a total disgrace the way politicians forced this disgraceful exit from Vietnam. A clear example of how not to end a war.
Don't learn, do they?
This channel should be watched
There is still a lot of lost/abandoned/damaged munitions lying around in the bush.
I worked with a young bloke who had been brought up in Vietnam.
Him & his mates used to
rob the explosives out of this stuff to make fireworks.
It's a wonder he & his friends survived to grow up!
Lol some old arvn guy when surrender hide grenade in a nearby tomb and by the time pass sometime it blew up dual to heat and corrosion ; some folk in hanoi few month ago when digging to made house found a huge ass bomb that can blew half the hood ; pretty common thing ; while some region in central vietnam when they dig the ground for the foundation to built the house found iowa shell lol 😂
Some poor folks here still make a living on salvaging unexploded bombs, mines left over from the war for scraps to sell.
And you guess it, a lot of times it ended horribly.
Người Việt Nam chúng tôi lấy xác máy bay b52 làm nồi để nấu và cưa bom lấy thuốc làm pháo 😂 các bạn có tin điều này?
My father worked for the Panama canal Company as a boarding officer after the Vietnam war was over , He would tell us that he had boarded Cuban ships that came from Vietnam loaded with u.s. military gear including Milvans they where full of everything you name it. My father was Dutch and always greatfull for being liberated during ww2 and couldn't beleave that the u.s. military would let these ships through the canal. I'm just glad I'm not a U.S. tax payer.
The French used Grumman Bearcats early in the war. That would be quite a find. Talked to a guy a few years ago who knew of a line of derelict Douglas Skyraiders there. Great video!
Some of those Grumman Bearcats were left up north by the French when they left. Since America didn't bomb the North's airbases, those old Bearcats remained untouched , until the 1990's when American Warbird hunters bought some back the the U.S. (there's an A-37 flying in Australia that was ex South Vietnamese AF).
The Vietnamese Army LOVE American's equipment, they really do.
After 1975, most of US/South Vietnam's equiments were use to fight the Khmer Rouge, the F-5 and A-37 played a significant role in air support, as well as US's artillaries and small arms like M-16. VPAF even use the left over 7 C-130 to transport soldiers from the South to the North to fight the Chinese in 1979. Nowadays, Vietnam army's M-16s are still use in the local militia for training purpose, most were storages and use to develop into M-18 ( Vietnamese XM-177 type of rifle which use M-16 body and cut off the barrel and with retractable stock). UH-1s were reuse in 2010 but were retired again in 2018 cause of a lack of spares. M-113 still being one of VNPA main APC, with some further modification. M-48 tank and M-107 are still in storage.
Deep respect for this country about forgiving !!
We just trashed everyone include ourselves so to us everyone is equal
We don't equate "American" with "American invader", because a lot of Americans oppose the war
Forgetting. It's politically risky there to talk about The American War in any depth, because whatever one has to say will likely get one in trouble with one of the Party clícs which jockey for power behind the curtain.
@@havu-oj4qhwe wanted S. Vietnam to prosper just like S. Korea and Japan, enjoying your “Communist” paradise?
They need the foreign aid to develop so they can’t cry about it too much.
I can't help but think these numbers are a gross underestimate. I was in VN in 1969 and went to the beach in Cam Ran Bay. There I saw tanks, armored personal carriers, artillery pieces, trucks and jeeps lined up on the sand, hundreds of each type. The old Sarge who was with us told us that they had been there for years and the boats kept bringing in more. There were other areas such as Da Nang, Chu Lai, Long Bin, where there were even more. Well, I was told some went to Isreal, some went to Yugoslavia. Possible. But I believe most stayed there. Even the most optimistic person saw the end coming by 71 or so and the fall of Saigon was still 4 years away. Still, we were bound to keep the equipment there to support the South Vietnamese in what was a lost cause. Also, what about the naval vessels? The river Patrol Boats could not have been removed. One has to wonder how much of this equipment was used by the Vietnamese in 1979 to crush the Chinese invasion. 23000 Chinese casualties. Looks like the equipment wasn't a total loss after all.
Just stashed there For later use
Your right, the Brown water Navy was handed over to SV, the whole lot.
Against China, it was local Militia with 2nd rate weapons that gave the Chinese a bloody nose, Vietnams Regular Army was engaged in Cambodia against Pol Pot, Chinese did take a little ground but paid a terrible price for supporting Pol Pot.
@@uhhineedaname Well, true but I have to wonder, in the grand scheme of things if this wasn't thought out in advance and the powers in charge didn't make some sort of deal with the NVA. We'll leave the stuff here and you stop attacking Americans so we can get out with lower casualties. They didn't give a damn about the South Vietnamese who really carried the brunt the last 2 years. They went north, met the NVA coming down and really had some early success. But they were poorly trained, poorly equipped, no radar, little armor and no real Air Force. They were doomed from the start, but fought on bravely and never got credit. If you think the US is above sacrificing it's allies for political gain, think again. We should have taken counsel from the Australian military, who in 63 told the new Prime Minister "don't go, we can't win". He didn't listen either. I once met an older Colonel in a bar and I learned more from him in 30 minutes than you can believe. He said he had been in VN since the mid 50's and was involved in just about everything. Until that time I didn't know that the Japanese had troops in Vietnam until almost 1948 and they were used to support the French and British against the Vietnamese. Talk about a man who could write a book.
@@dbeaus lol the south have 3 largest air force by the time you left ( mostly helicopter ; but they do have a matching amount of f5 ; no air force my ass :) ) radar they do have them aka the longest range radar station was in da nang and we still used them to this day but I think we have change the radar since 2000s ; the south is full fledge army ; they only lack morale and good leader and a cause to fight lol
@@jerryle379 the 3rd largest Air Force compared to what? Certainly not the world. Many of the planes were not south Vietnamese but US and were taken there to be flown by Americans and remained the property of the US, not Vietnam. When the pullout began, actually in 70/71, the south Vietnamese began to run short of parts and trained people to fix the planes. Could these planes and other things been removed? Certainly. Why weren't they? Well, lets say these kind of deals were made well beyond the knowledge of normal people. I was told by a fellow that we were sending equipment to Israel in the late 60's from Vietnam. Possible? Definitely. The South's military had many brave and capable leaders, many of them died. Problem was the war was unwinnable and the US knew it. The Australians tried to tell the US that as early as 1962. To this day, I have the greatest respect for the Vietnamese people on both sides, they were brave, loyal, adaptable and dedicated. Some of the Vietnamese I knew didn't seem to care who was in charge, especially in the country. One farmer told me, I don't care who takes 30% of my rice, I just don't want all of them to each take 30%. Contrary to what some say, I believe that most Vietnam US vets, and I am one, are happy to see that Vietnam is doing well and we are pledged to help them. I am no communist, and I am sure there are many people in VN who are not happy with the current government, but it is their country and their decision, which it should have been form the start. Leaving that equipment behind to arm the new government against the Chinese and help secure Vietnam's future was something that could have been part of the whole withdrawal plan.
both my grandfathers served in Vietnam... to this day, I firmly believe the conflict could have been avoided. Ho Chi Minh himself pleaded to the US government NUMEROUS times for aid and political assistance, to rid the French from his country. when that failed... well.. he turned to the next best thing.
Totally agree - The north wanted to reform their whole country back. They wanted to wrestle it from the Imperialist French. The US should have stood with Vientnam and not concern about the spread of communism drove US (and other contry's) actions. It was in effect a civil war. No way the west should ever have been there including Australia (my country). Such a beautiful country and wonderful people.
@@cafts1 Ho Chi Minh and his followers, who were driven by nationalism as much as if not more than communism, was very anxious about China, a country that had ruled Vietnam for a thousand years. In addition to this, they didn't receive any help from the Russians during WWII against the Japanese and Vichy France, in fact the only substantial aid they got was from the OSS. Given this, if the Americans played their card right and told the French to piss off, Vietnam could have been what Yugoslavia was, a socialist state that was allied to the US,
Finally somebody has a great overview on the situation.
@@thomaznay9109 My thoughts exactly.
Ho Chi Minh wrote to Truman numerous times before the end and after the end of WW2.He wanted Vietnam to be a US Protectorate like the Philippines, Cuba and the Panama Canal Zone was and Marshall Islands, Federal States of Micronesia, Palau,American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands ,etc are yet.
Truman ignored Ho's letters just so he could suck up and jolly old roundmouth to the stinking Frogs.Both the Indochina and Vietnam Wars,all the dead and wounded are on Truman's and his administration's heads.When when the French went to war in Indochina guess who handled most of the bill......The US taxpayers...Truman made poor decisions after poor decisions,just like the Dems are still doing today.
I lived in Ho Chi Minh City a while back. Watching and hearing the Hueys flying low over the city was pretty damn evocative. I worked there as an airline pilot and would see a lot of Mig 21s being operated, frequently performing circuits and touch and goes at Hanoi and Da Nang. But not much else. I think the really interesting stuff was out of sight at places like Bien Hoa.
It's really impressive how well to use they put all that equipment!
They are master warriors. Awesome people.
The US was so generous to Vietnam. Not to mention the Saigon Air Base which the US built. Amazing donation to the Vietcong. The Vietnamese people are extremely frugal people and who faced scarcity in resources. When things are no long serviceable, instead of junking them in the scrapyard, they cannablised and refurbished them until it cannot no longer work. Then, they turned them into museum pieces to be displayed and they charged visitors an admission fees to view them. Ingenious and very resourceful people who use their brains. The Vietnamese have very strong survival instinct.
Are you stupid? It was not free, their was a great price to pay
They were embargoed or too poor to get new technology. When Cuba or some other country is profitably frugal with old stuff, dudes cry about it being a national failure in need of regime change instead of tokenizing it as ingenious and strong.
I admire Vietnamese they are ready to fight Chinese incursions within their territory.
Yep, already gave them a bloody nose several times in the 80's.
but this time if they go war theyll be matching and actually last long enough for ppl to care
Fun fact is that communists want to be so great that they can’t come to agreements.
China was the one backing the Vietnamese.
@@brianlong2707 you are so stupid...Vietnam is China's enemy..China went and invaded after the US left, Vietnamese defeated them and now are very wary against all Chinese
If I remember, There was an attempt by the Vietnamese to return the capture stuff back for they believe it was not theirs, The US government refused it and Then it was claimed by the Vietnamese for their use.
Ho chi min Actually went to Washington after WW2, To try secure support from the US government for Vietnam's independents from the French, But was rejected because he was a communist.
Both nations would of saved a lot of lives if the US government talked to Ho!
Amen
It is even worse than that! There was one guy in the CIA who understood Ho was a nationalist. He was killed by Viet Min thinking he was French. (Details maybe wrong, going from memory of something I saw or read years ago)
everyone should read The China Mirage by James Bradley, he covers this and how we got into Korea also
@@tonyromano6220 Nah, he didn't die. The CIA group's medical expertise proved to be highly valuable when President Ho got some health complications. Back then, the CIA was still looking for potential resistance groups who can help them recover American pilots landing on Indochina and also to build up resistance movement against the Japanese. It is the CIA operative along with the recovered pilots who recommended turning Viet Minh into a future allied.
This of course didn't work because the French didn't want the US to tell them what to do with their colonies, even pressure the US to help them retake Vietnam or they will turn socialist ( French had quite a big socialist movement post WW2). So we had to turn to the Soviet for help and the rest is self explanatory, French got kicked out, the US joined in and stuff.
This military equipment was captured from the South Vietnamese army, not from the Americans.
Djees!
This seems to have been swept under the carpet.
Thought they only had some damaged relics in museums.
This information was hidden from the American public in Library books.
@@richardm3023 Shame
@@richardm3023 LMAO good one
As bitter of a fate it may seem for these American weapons (from the perspective of an American) to be used by our former enemies, it does seems though that we have inadvertently armed an enemy of the PRC, which is our biggest current external threat. I am glad that the Vietnamese have taken such great care of these service weapons & vehicles.
And these weapons helped stopping Pol pot a notorious Mass murderer by invading Cambodia... So it's not all bad
@@16jan1986 Imo, that's based af
It would be interesting to hear how the Vietnamese got on with that equipment against the Chinese in the 1980s.
....the Filipinos also did good stuff with ww2 jeeps .
70 years ago you would have been called a communist sympathiser! Comrade they are still communist period & what country made China what is today . America is so naive! THEY ARE & WILL ALWAYS BE COMMUNIST 1ST.
The Vietnamese army are actually known for having top-notch maintenence culture. They can keep these "relics" in decent condition for decades.
I read somewhere (I wish I could remember), that when the Berlin Wall fell and Germany reunified, they found an entire East German unit that had American equipment (M-48, M-113) from Vietnam painted to look like Bundeswehr units. This was to cause confusion and disruption in case WWIII broke out.
Now that's an Epic Loot Box!
@ZephyYT "It's a legendary, holy shit!"
@@ls200076 oh my god omg omg omg!?!?!?!(!?!
Easy game easy life
I'm glad to see the equipment is being so well handled
It kinda late but in fact there's more than equipment we contain got demolishing there is a grave yard for weaponry we stack up there after the fight against Chinese in 1979-1989
The M1 carbines is probably the most well-known gun to most, I think. It can be seen not only in the hands of militaries but also in the hands of private security agencies as well.
It was used by the citizen militia in the Gwangju movement
My father served 2 tours during the American involvement in Vietnam. So I grew up learning about the war he fought in because I simply wanted to know about what my dad did, just as I learned about my mother and her job as a speech and language pathologist. However as I got older I realized that everything I had learned took place before 1975 and more and more I wanted to know about what happened after that, but as the title of Dave Bushy's book The World Looked Away explicitly states, people just didn't give a shit. This means it is far harder to learn about what happened in the years following American withdrawal. We need more videos like this talking about what happened after the world started to look the other way.
addendum: The World Looked Away is a book about a South Vietnamese military officer who stayed in country when America left and what happened to him as well as his family in the following years. For anyone like myself who is interested in what happened in Vietnam after America left, I truly recommend reading it.
Mỹ Lợn 👎🏻
@@btl86-ctckgm68 Got anything better than half century old insults? Or are you too dumb to think for yourself?
Wow! Pretty informative - thank you!
Honestly, after finding out that the Soviets like our jets, I think that's pretty cool.
1:18 the M48 has a little hat on the muzzle brake lol
What M48? All I see is two GI’s and a nice little rice farmer :D
Butta_dawg 58 strange, those guys are floating
LOL I didnt notice that
Our unit's A3s had them too. Now replaced with black panther.
2:58 Good to see the instructor put his fingers over the breech block whist adjusting the positioning of the weapon.
The f5 wasn't much good for ground attack as it lacked the hardpoints for weapons and it couldn't stay on target for long because of the little fuel it carried. this why most of them were handed over to the VNAF. the A1E was the go-to aircraft for local ground attack also the A37
The A1. The grandfather of the A10 Warthog.
After 1975, a USN FF intercepted a cargo ship from Vietnam and confiscated US military equipment destined for a foreign buyer.
CUBA
@@JamesSmith-ui2hv Cuba? At the time Cuba were getting newer Russian weapons. There are always arms dealers ready to provide cash to strapped countries for extra weapons that aren't being used. It's just business.
@@donaldmikulec4332 DID YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE VIDEO , THEY MENTION THAT VIETNAM GAVE OR SOLD 1000'S OF M16 TO CUBA , AND CUBA TOOK THOSE WEAPONS TO COMMUNIST TERRORIST IN LATIN AMERICA , 6000 OF THOSE RIFLES WERE CAPTURED BY THE CHILEAN REGIME AT THE TIME , THE COMMUNIST IN CHILE STILL HAVE THE OTHER 6000 HIDING SOMEWHERE AND REFUSE TO GIVE THEM TO THE AUTHORITIES .
@@JamesSmith-ui2hv James, cut the CAPS LOCK crap. You are right. Weapons did go to Cuba and were forwarded to revelutionary movements. There are also arms merchants that inquire about buying weapons from areas where peace broke out. The movie "Lord of War" is based on stories from real arms merchants.
Your point being ISIS is using amerikan airdropped weapons.
just stumbled upon this doc--informative, and with a historically painful past connected to Cambodia. Thank you, sir.
as far as I can recall, every single aircraft and weapon in this doc was heavily used in Cambodia, too.
So now we know that Mig-28 that attacked Maverick and Goose in Top Gun,was actually an F5 captured in Vietnam and painted to soviet livery!
Damn good point 🤙
The good thing is, Vietnamese and American relations have been warming for the last few decades. From what my friend said, that travelled there recently, they are very nice people, even though many in the south still hold resentment toward the policies in the north. Hopefully, instead of war, we can use negotiations and common goals to get passed that war. It is great to see all of this historic equipment in good shape. Some day, when only a few demilitarized models of these weapons exist in the majority of the world, it will be countries like this that hold a treasure trove of history, as they already do. Even though there may be many that hold bitter resentment toward the conflict, blame the politicians, not the soldiers or the South Vietnamese that were left out to dry.
Politicians being in charge of military planning led to some terrible consequences like the fall of S. Vietnam, which has been used as a primer for every country that has faced the US since, save Russia and China-Wear them down enough and the people will be weak and submit. This has led to every insurgency that the US has faced since when the country did not respond with the appropriate show of force. From the invasion of Panama to ISIS, smaller countries smelled blood in the water after Vietnam. Not to say that the USA is infallible, but it did cause more casualties then needed when those countries weren't under the direct influence of a US adversary.
The prime example is ISIS, which managed to get on both the US AND Russia's bad side. Who would even think of fighting that? Of course, after the failed Vietnam campaign and the Soviet's own Afghanistan folly, who could think otherwise? Honestly, you have to be pretty stupid to get the USA and Russia to cooperate in some sort of way, militarily, on a semi large scale, since WW2. When you have both of the leading arms research/producers in the world against you and you are a 10-25k strong force of crazies, you have to have forgotten history. I believe if the leading powers even form a loose alliance, further global conflict could be avoided outside of localized wars. They would not have to worry about being undermined by the opposition but at least have their non-participation and cessation of weapon/training sales to these countries provide a deterrent against extreme coups or rebellions. But that is unlikely to happen since the US and NATO kind of see eye to eye, but Russia and China see things differently.
Perhaps it will take a third group to shift this balance of adversarialism to the mix. Maybe then we can focus on the inward and outward improvement of national and global society then on making the next best thing to slag the opponent. Coming from a person born from the 80's and having served(ing) in the military(not representing at all), a contest between countries based around space races and colonization of distant moons and planets is a lot more interesting than creating the next best way to turn someone into minced meat in order to further political interest.
Pretty much agree with most of what you say (and have just realised I wrote probably the most liberal sentence ever). However one salient point is something of a myth:
"Politicians being in charge of military planning led to some terrible consequences like the fall of S. Vietnam"
The USA's failure in this conflict was mainly due to their military not having any clue as to how to conduct their campaign. No real strategy, no effective concept of what they were fighting against (or, indeed, for), and really nothing beyond pouring in lots of manpower and weaponry. The military wanted this war, got it, and for the most part, the politicians gave them whatever they said they needed - even to the extent of covert bombing in Cambodia after Congress finally said no. Small wonder everyone else's military told them not to (ie, 'Don't fight a ground war in Asia').
Political failure was mainly on the civil side, overturning any popular vote and handing the South to a succession of military dictators.
I'll admit that any discussion is contentious, but ultimately the military created the myth of politicians being to blame only once they had failed so miserably and so destructively.
The Vietnamese used communism to get rid of colonialism so there's no reason for them not to become more capitalist going forward.
GREAT COMMENT!!! A FORMER SOLDIER
@Gavin Quick I think we're still doing that! Bitter opposition to "communism" is the key. It's not what they support, it's who they're willing to murder on our behalf. Seems like the same story over and over.
There is a guy here in Saigon who refurbishes old US Jeeps. He does a fantastic job and you'll see them around town on weekends. The last time I talked to him a few years back, he was selling them for 7500USD.
Considering the relations of the U.S. and Vietnam today I now want to go to Vietnam and make some purchases.
Times have definitely changed - the US and Vietnam should have an enhanced security relationship now. Not an alliance, but much closer.
Mainly because of a common adversary, China. Whom both countries aren't fond of.
@@cleeiii357 You are correct.
After getting there ass kicked by rice farmers. Yeah I agree
Thank you for this incredibly fascinating video. Many talk about wars, but few discuss their effects.
Surprised the VPA didn't snatch a carrier too.
Almost 800,000 M-16 rifles? That's more than enough to equip an entire army!
What did you think the ARVN was? A gun club?
@@W.Stryker No way.
A gun club would have been more effective
no shit sherlock
@@AudieHolland obviously not if they surrendered
We have 5 mil reserve not include millions more can be train in fast period if need ( cause we have basic training in high school + university) btw the 5 mil are ex military folk not militia
M16 be like: I was supposed to be used by the people that created me but I've been replaced but my enemy took better care of me than the people that created me
People surprised the VPA still use Vietnam era American weapons.
Me: Remembering when I got to my first unit in the Army back in 96 and being issued the 45 Cal "GREASEGUN" M3A1 lol. Six months later I got issued a new M4 the unit had gotten. But up till that moment. The Greasegun was still MTOW for M88a1 operations in some units lol. I did get to take it to the range 2 times before I turned it back in for good.
Years later I was deployed to Iraq as part of the first rotation there. We took over a Iraqi Air base but all that was left was an engine on a stand and concrete hangers. But I did find a Iraqi Army helmet that was still never worn. The leather headband was still new as was the helmet and camo netting. Also allot of WW2 submachine guns and pistols were floating around.
Other FOBs had weapons left over from the Iran Iraq War. There were old British tanks and American 113a1's and Paladin artillery tracks as well as the usual Soviet garbage and tanks. Also some WW2 tanks and tracks were found. Including a very rare pocket tank in great condition. That went to a museum back in the US. Iraq was a treasure trove of multiple wars hardware.
It still disturbs me the amount of WW2 and even WW1 weapons still killing people. Quite a few mentioned here were used in both wars or developed during. The BAR was used by Pershing's troops for trench clearance in 1918. So even the great grandchildren of it's designers are dead and gone.
Almost like...they were built to serve ,and last a while.
You run the chance of catching a lead ball from an ancient French muzzle loader in some places.
The "disturbing" part is that there still seems to be a need.
weapons old it may be obviously lacks practicality in todays standards but rest assured that those old things still can kill people.
@@jansandman6983 In 2018 ;a friend acquired a US Rifle 1917 in .30-06. The gun was original ;and all that had been replaced were a few small parts on the exterior*.
It shoots as well as the day it left the factory.
The barrel is dated "MAY 1918"
*Little things like barrel band ,floorplate had signs of refinishing.
Great grandchildren? That may be a bit of hyperbole. There are still widows of WW I veterans alive. My own grandfather was of draft age in 1914, and I’m in my 40s.
For me the most impressive is the Mosin naggant, american troops are still finding them in Afghanistan.
A desing from 1891
Provenance on M-16 and AK-47 could make the Vietnamese wealthy. If they were to start a bidding war on captured weapons, especially the M-16 they could make alot of money.
You think? Those old M-16s are pretty much junk. They didn't even have chrome plated chambers. At 50+ years old I bet they barely even fire!
@@TheLoyalOfficer only early M16s didn't have chrome lined bores. That changed during the war. Chrome lining isn't an issue if the weapon is maintained. I have many milsurp rifles much older than those M16s that function just fine.
@@jcoolG192 That's not what I heard from vets... How do you have an M-16 "much older" than the Vietnam era?
@@jcoolG192 Chrome linings were replaced with stellite linings IIRC
@@TheLoyalOfficer They are HIGHLY valued by collectors. They could actually make a shit ton
"One man's trash is another man's treasure."
"Something is better than nothing."
These pieces of military equipment are of high value to the VPA and to Vietnam in general, a still developing country. Every single bullet counts.
The tanks, IFVs, artilleries/howitzers, and even the small arms are kept in, this I must say, VERY good conditions, as seen in the images. Because they have not been in service for a long time, the army have been focusing heavily on regular maintenance as well as operating them periodically to make sure that they always function to the best of their potential. If any of them can be used, made and maintained with ease, the military will extend their service, manufacture their spare parts & ammunitions, even upgrade them as can be seen in the Soviet T-54 tank and the American M-16, or master the technologies to create variants. Being resourceful is always necessary.
The vietnamese and finns are quite similar during war. Both are masters at "borrowing" equipment from an invading super power.
Those m1 carbines from ww2 they are using are probably m2s. The full auto version.
ahh no, it is m1 carbine captured from ARVN Police so it was M1 version. the M2 only used limited in Vietnam by that time because most of M2 was ditch after Korean war, and the ARVN got M16 before the US army got it, hence there was little m2 carbine used by ARVN only, mostly was WW2 refurbished and supplied for ARVN in early 1956 which was M1 garand, BAR, m1919A4, and M1 Carbine with little M1 Thompson. Only little amount of M2 Carbine was used by South Korean troops left in Vietnam
@@boocomban why would they still be using a semi auto for combat? They wouldnt. Unless it was a sniper rifle. Which the m1 or m2 do not make good sniper rifles. I bet they just copied the m2 kit and converted everything to full auto which would make them m2s. Thus making it a viable option for modern combat which is why they are still using it. Almost every m2 was a converted m1 anyways. Even 4th world afghanistan (kyber pass which is technically pakistan) is capable of producing pretty nice guns from scratch using a rock for a anvil, so making a simple parts kit in vietnam which has a ligitimate and decent amount of production capacity compared to either Afghanistan or Pakistan is not out of the question. So, those where probably m2s.
It’s interesting how this story intertwines with so many experiences from all over the world.
Contrary to your vid, we Vietnamese still love our AK, from USSR or China or homemade, but we are not picky about guns to shoot invaders, FYI :) From VN with love!