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Germans in Vietnam and German Rifles!

J

Jaxon

virtually there
Not at all.
When Johnson asked the Germany Chancellor Ehrhard for help, he declined to send troops, but instead sent the coastal ferry Helgoland into duty.
The ship was normaly operating on the line Cuxhaven-Heligoland.

Some years before during building, the German Government had ordered to directly construct the ship to be able to operate as a Hospital ship.

And this she did and served in Saigon.

Sometimes history is so amazing.

(Source - Special edition: 120 years anniversary of HADAG http://www.hadag.de/presse/pm120jahrehadag04.08.pdf)

(5 Euro)
 
Yes it is amazing! Wonderful peace of history, had no idea.

Thank you Jaxon:ernae:

Skipsan:kilroy:
 
Interesting fact from history.

As I recall, the Australians, New Zealanders, Filipinos and South Koreans also participated in the fracus on the South Vietnamese side.
 
The Koreans

The rumor was, if given cause to hit a village during search and destroy, there wouldn't be a chicken left alive.
 
Yes, and even Spain sent an Army medical unit to the conflict.

Jagdflieger said:
Interesting fact from history.

As I recall, the Australians, New Zealanders, Filipinos and South Koreans also participated in the fracus on the South Vietnamese side.
Click to expand...
 
Germans were also directly involved in the conflict, but they were from "the other side of the wall", and fighting as technical advisors for "the other camp"........
 
Well this old Aussie was proud to serve alongside Brother Yank and Kiwi in Vietnam. South Koreans were located on our base at Phan Rang for a period too. Didnt know about the German involvement though, you learn all the time.
 
Brother Watchdog,

I went to Australia on R & R. Went up to the Barrier Mountains and did some hunting. Great place.

Xavier,

Thanks for the update on the "Ejercito de Espana."

Attached is a photo of my shooting team with the Spanish Army shooting team from earlier this year.
 
Hi Jagd, they are interesting looking rifles the guys in the forest cams are toting, I have not seen them before, folding stocks by the look too. I'm off to the range to re-qualify on the AUSTEYR 5.56mm this weekend so wish me luck
 
They must be the German-built H&K (Heckler und Koch) Gewehr 36 (G36), which replaced CETMEs as the standard assault rifle of the Spanish Army a few years ago. Caliber is of course the 5.56 mm x 45 NATO standard. A fine weapon.

http://www.ejercito.mde.es/materiales/fusil.html

watchdog22 said:
Hi Jagd, they are interesting looking rifles the guys in the forest cams are toting, I have not seen them before, folding stocks by the look too. I'm off to the range to re-qualify on the AUSTEYR 5.56mm this weekend so wish me luck
Click to expand...
 
Xavier is correct. It is quite a rifle and on the cutting edge of reliability and accuracy.

Have a good time at the range Watchdog. I'd love to try your AUG rifle sometime. Remember that a bad day at the range is still better than a good day at work!

In 1993, give or take a year, I was invited to the Australian Army rifle matches near Newcastle. I was a couple of weeks out from getting there when the unit in the New Hebrides that I was scheduled to work with did something very stupid. Needless to say, my trip was cancelled and my chance to shoot in Australia evaporated.

In two weeks I've got a two day rifle training event scheduled. Got to keep the troopers proficient. We're still using the M4 A1 carbine. It's hard to believe that it replaced the M-16 A2 rifle almost 15 years ago now.

It's interesting that we started this thread with a German ship in Vietnam and ended up with German rifles in Spain and Austrian rifles in Australia. Interresant saga ich.
 
You're right Jagd, any day on the range is a good day. Even if they were the muggiest most humid and hot days I can remember since Vietnam. Maybe I'm getting too old for this :icon_lol:. I'll let you judge from the photo. The Steyr is a great weapon and very versatile, very accurate and rugged. Thanks for the Rifle ID Xavierb too
 
WO Watchdog,

Is that an M-72 LAW strapped on behind your back? If so, you are ready to battle the Terminator!

Maulet,

Gracias por la informacion sobre los fusils de la infanteria marina Espanya.

Thanks for the informations about the Spanish Marine rifles. The CETME and the German version, the G-3, recoiled (retroceso) very hard. It was a real beast, but fun to shoot.
 
Since I was asked to reply as well, I will kindly follow that request:

When I joined the Army in 1993, the military service in Germany was down to 12 months, of which 3 months were basic training.

I was trained at the HK G3, the MG3, the UZI, Panzerfaust 2 & the pistol P1.

If noone had known before, just when reading that line one should know, changes in a military organisation need their time. The selection is the same, as nearly all the decades before and thus represents the state of the art during the Cold War which ended some years before.

Please note, that the G3 here has a later plastic handheld and the UZI is a finer example of a present box. But the ones I used were exaclty with these wooden ends (of course not in this condition). Only few times, I got one with retracting end (same for G3, these were only used by paratroopers)
 
Shortly after, the military service was set down to 10 month and thus the basic training was reduced to 2 months at all only.

The result was, the enlisted were only trained at their own weapon: The G3 and maybe the MG3 and the Panzerfaust, I don`t know anymore.

But since the UZI was the standard weapon for Unteroffiziere and such, and the Pistol was mainly used by officers, training for these weapons were added to the training time at the schools for these, who signed in for some years.

What very few know, the first G3s in the Army had wooden handhelds and rear ends.
These were replaced someday before my time by the lighter plastic ones.

Of course the other looked better, and thus you sometimes could see the brass appearing in the field with having their gun refitted with the old ones.
(Note, that unlike in other armies, even officers were not allowed to carry their personal weapons or think about taking the weapon home.) You were only allowed to carry weapons while on duty.

Because I was in the maintenance troop, I used my connections to get at least one of these replaced handhelds.
There was a huge demand, because you can use it as a pencil holder on the desk. I still have mine (not to sell ;-) )

The other souvenir I still have, is a plastic UZI I bought at a fun fair for DM 5,-.

Of course it is forbidden to sell toys that look like weapons today, and this one has the exact size, even the descriped wooden end fits perfectly (I have tried that!!)
 
The most outdated weapon was the Panzerfaust 2.
And roughly in 1995, the Panzerfaust 3 was introduced. Normally soldiers only shoot with training charges simulating the real rocket. They are much lighter and more or less harmless. We called them "Negerpfeil" what roughly tanslates into "bushmen' s arrow".

Because I was on the way to become an officer, I had the possibility to shoot the much more expensive training rocket. This one has the real propulsion, but an unarmed warhead (the large blue one), so there is no need to get another old tank for each marksman.

The rocket has a two stage propulsion, so you can fire the rocket out of rooms, unlike the M-72. When the second stage ingnites some feet in front of you, you really get to feel the blast!
Some of the earlier training ones had plexiglas protectors due to the blast.
I remember a few of my comrades had broken watches after shooting. The watch-glasses were ripped off!
---

In the last time of my active duty, the G36 was introduced and I was able to hold it in my hands and test the very cool optics with the red dot.
Also the weapon is not only lighter, but better balanced and thus better to carry. The semi-opaque plastic magazine is a smart idea as well.

My younger brother, who is again at Masar-Il-Sharif at the moment, has such a G36.
 
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