# Vietnam Gun Trucks



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)




----------



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)




----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Great topic RPD. I have read about these a lot, will have to watch your link after I post.

I like the old trucks, a friend had a tank retriever/wrecker, and another w/dump body.

From what I remember reading they got quad 50 BMGs from the navy for some.


----------



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Up north, running the roads to supply the outposts along the DMZ, a field modifaction was to take a Quad 50, which was a WW2 Army anti aircraft weapon, and mount the turret on the back of a 5 Ton.
They were originallly mounted on a little trailer during WW2.

A very awesome weapon, indeed.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

https://www.guns.com/news/2015/07/31/when-the-army-went-mad-max-vietnam-gun-trucks-16-photos


----------



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Thanks. There were several Quad 50's in there.
Youtube has a few vids of them, but I couldn't get the url's to work.
I suppose a "copy and paste" would do it, but that's something I just never learned.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

rice paddy daddy said:


> Thanks. There were several Quad 50's in there.
> Youtube has a few vids of them, but I couldn't get the url's to work.
> I suppose a "copy and paste" would do it, but that's something I just never learned.


This one might work?


----------



## RedLion (Sep 23, 2015)

The Smithsonian Channel had a special on gun trucks in Viet Nam a couple years ago. Pretty interesting.
These veterans and trucks set the stage for the trucks/gun trucks that we used in Iraq doing convoy security. We never had any quad 50's (wish we did), but we had different configurations. These were mostly M925 Five tons.









These had improvised armored bed (usually a double layered armored bed box with sand bags inside) and having either dual 5.56 saws, dual M240 - 7.62x51s or a M2 on a gun ring on the truck cab and a saw or M240 in the bed.
We, like veterans in Viet Nam built these truck armaments with the help of our mechanics. No formal support from those above or the Army.

These were a huge improvement over the shitty M818's that we had been saddled with at the start.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

RedLion said:


> The Smithsonian Channel had a special on gun trucks in Viet Nam a couple years ago. Pretty interesting.
> These veterans and trucks set the stage for the trucks/gun trucks that we used in Iraq doing convoy security. We never had any quad 50's (wish we did), but we had different configurations. These were mostly M925 Five tons.
> 
> View attachment 107433
> ...


It's sad that the lessons learned and solutions found in vietnam were ignored and dismissed by subsequent army leaders. These gun trucks should have been vastly improved by the time of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and readily available.

It's another sad commentary that those in the line of fire, had to resort to improvised vehicles again, just like vietnam. The US soldier has more insight into what is needed than the Pentagon pencil pushers, who cost the lives of many good men.

Those soldiers and mechanics should be placed in charge of design and building of adequate trucks to protect our soldiers.

I'd be interested to learn what else you guys came up with? If you had hard targets to contend with, I wonder if 1 truck with a 20mm M-61A1 Gatling Gun would have been of use?

Thanks for your service


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

A slide show


----------



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

A friend of mine drove a 5 ton delivering 155MM projectiles and gun powder to the artillery on fire bases A-4 and C-2, which are within a stones throw of North Vietnam.
To say Quang Tri Province was dangerous would be an understatement.
We put a layer of sandbags on the cab floors of our cargo trucks and jeeps, and we would drive sitting on our flack jackets.

But, I’m glad I was there instead of some soft, luxurious place like Cam Rahn Bay.
It built character.


----------



## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

God bless them and keep them.


----------

