Tulecreeper
Well-known member
Those ceramic plates were not much good. Even if you did catch a round and it stopped it, it got destroyed and you had to toss it and go without until you got back to base.
Vietnam
- Thread starter DonTom
- Start date
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HueyPilotVN
Well-known member
I used them a few times but never saw one that got hit. We would sit them in front of our chest for only a brief time near the ground.
They were OD green and were covered with some kind of woven material.
The bottom and back of the seats and sliding side panels were made out of similar material.
We would also set as far back in the seats as we could for protection.
Here are better pictures.
They were OD green and were covered with some kind of woven material.
The bottom and back of the seats and sliding side panels were made out of similar material.
We would also set as far back in the seats as we could for protection.
Here are better pictures.
Attachments
CharlesinGA
Well-known member
The British command in Indochina were quite successful at suppressing the Communist insurgency and were within 6 months of totally wiping them out, using Indian troops and a large Japanese contingent who, along with their officers agreed to stay and fight the communist rather than go home in disgrace (their perception of it at least). But London eventually had other ideas and finally ordered the repatriation the Japanese troops and send the Indian troops home, (or to Malaya, not sure which), and the communist were able to build back up by the time French troops arrived. Many of the first French troops were Algerian.
Charles
Charles
Rene T
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PancakeBill
Well-known member
We shared come Nam time, I was there May 70 to May 71. First half being in Bien Hoa, second in Da Nang. However I was Air Force. Ammo troop, worked in the bomb dump, different tasks different times. Bien Hoa building the 500 lbers and transporting to flight line, Da Nang ended up building the rockt pods with the 2.75's the grunts liked calling for. We were issued the flak vests as well, usually worn around the waist.
We sure appreciated the grunts in the field keeping us safe.
We sure appreciated the grunts in the field keeping us safe.
The French Army invaded Indochina in '46 with US support and were defeated at Dien Bien Phu in '54. There was no British Command in Vietnam, nor was there much of a British presence in Indochina after the Japanese summarily ran them out of the region by '42. The British Army in Singapore surrendered to a Japanese invasion force half their size in '42 and after the vastly superior Japanese Navy fleet outgunned the mighty British Navy in every fleet surface engagement in '41 and '42.
CharlesinGA
Well-known member
Prior to the return of the French in 1946, the British were carrying on counterinsurgency operations in Vietnam, and were using Japanese troops to do so. This is a little known part of the history of the Indochina region.
The easiest reference I can give you is this video by Dr. Mark Felton who is a noted British historian.
I misspoke that the French troops were Algerian, got that crossed up with something else, and the British pulled out without disarming the Japanese troops, leaving that to the French.
The Brits proved in Malaya how effective they were at defeating the communist. They developed tactics that were effective, and by the 1957 creation of Malaysia the communist were all but defeated. The Malay military, having learned the British tactics were able to continue suppressing the few communist left.
Charles
The easiest reference I can give you is this video by Dr. Mark Felton who is a noted British historian.
I misspoke that the French troops were Algerian, got that crossed up with something else, and the British pulled out without disarming the Japanese troops, leaving that to the French.
The Brits proved in Malaya how effective they were at defeating the communist. They developed tactics that were effective, and by the 1957 creation of Malaysia the communist were all but defeated. The Malay military, having learned the British tactics were able to continue suppressing the few communist left.
Charles
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DonTom
Well-known member
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DonTom
Well-known member
We were told every MOS the army has only has one purpose--to support the infantry. So thanks for the support.
-Don- Reno, NV
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DonTom
Well-known member
What we seem to be very bad at is understanding people from other countries. Expecting them too often to have the same wants and needs of Americans.
-Don- Reno, NV
None of which is fact.
Vietnam was turned back over to the French just months after the Japanese surrender. The notion that Japanese troops would be assisting the British prior to that is not exactly in keeping with the historical fact the British had been effectively neutralized in Indochina after early ‘42. The British run counterinsurgency operation in Malaya, which occurred in the 50’s is however the one and only example of a successful anticommunist operation in the region, but was an outlier.
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CharlesinGA
Well-known member
Believe what you wish, watch and listen to the video I linked to. There are other sources also. Dr. Felton is quite a noted historian and is so respected in some circles that the Crown very recently granted him access to records in the Buckingham palace private archives for research he was working on about King George VI. He is not a quack.
This WIKI article with references tells the same basic story.
Charles
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CharlesinGA
Well-known member
Actually, more specifically, the area that would later become South Vietnam, below the 16th parallel, as that was where the Viet Min were operating.
