03A3 Vietnam War Trophy used by Viet Cong

[littlejake]

An 03A3 Vietnam War trophy taken from the VC in the II Corps AO. Note the makeshift sling made from woven native grass. The oiler contained a piece of parachute cloth for cleaning. Dispite its warts and very eroded throat, this rifle still puts a bullet on target.










More photos at:

http://s923.photobucket.com/albums/ad76/NETTUEMsc4V92qMY/03A3/

[double_action]

Cool rifle. Did it come with bring back papers?

[littlejake]

Cool rifle. Did it come with bring back papers?

Sure did. -- Jake

[Milsurp Collector]

Very cool. Did the VC rechamber it?

[littlejake]

Very cool. Did the VC rechamber it?

It's still .30-'06. There was plenty of ammo available to the VC and NVA. The Kalishnakov and SKS were most widely used by enemy forces; but the VC would use anything that would shoot.

[Seesm]

Cool stuff... I wonder how hard by Vietnam how hard it was to carry back firearms...? I woudl love to see a pic of the bring back paperwork...

[Mike A]

Very likely captured by the Viet Minh from the French, and then hidden until the next war. The French forces used a lot of WWII US weapons against the Viet Minh, including M1 Carbines, Thompson SMGs, 1917 "Enfields," and 1903 and 1903A3 Springfields. They originally got them from us in WWII to fight the Nazis. Even Colt 1917 revolvers showed up in Vietcong hands (they must have found them a tad large....).

Since we also gave large numbers of WWII weapons to the Nationalist Chinese, this '03A3 might have come from Chinese Communist sources. But I rather doubt it; "The Old Man's Trail" was long and dangerous and they didn't waste people or resources bring antiques down it.

[Saigon1965]

Beautiful rifle with a lot of history -

[Eddie1965]

I've seen footage of VC armed with Thompsons.

[smle-man]

Very likely captured by the Viet Minh from the French, and then hidden until the next war. The French forces used a lot of WWII US weapons against the Viet Minh, including M1 Carbines, Thompson SMGs, 1917 "Enfields," and 1903 and 1903A3 Springfields. They originally got them from us in WWII to fight the Nazis. Even Colt 1917 revolvers showed up in Vietcong hands (they must have found them a tad large....).

Since we also gave large numbers of WWII weapons to the Nationalist Chinese, this '03A3 might have come from Chinese Communist sources. But I rather doubt it; "The Old Man's Trail" was long and dangerous and they didn't waste people or resources bring antiques down it.

It could easily have come from the SVN; I have a couple pictures of SVN Navy personnel with 03A3s early in our involvement in Vietnam.

[bigstick61]

Interestingly, a U.S. Army Special Forces captain serving in Vietnam carried around an M1903 Springfield (not sure what type) rather than a more modern weapon because he was very used to using bolt-action rifles in combat, having been a partisan in Europe during WWII. On a mission his helicopter was shot down and when they found the helo, neither his body nor his Springfield were found.

[Mike A]

smle-man, that's interesting. Hard to imagine what they were supposed to actually DO with the Springfields, which are a little oversized for most Asians, but I suppose they mostly did guard duty (i.e. not much) with them. Before "Vietnamization" set in, most of the ARVN had M1 and M2 carbines and cut down M1 Garands. Those were PLENTY big for them to handle!

I wonder how many of those Garands were actually cut down, and what happened to them? I have never seen one that "came home." Was the work done here, or in Asia? Anybody know?

[Astig Boy]

Hard to imagine what they were supposed to actually DO with the Springfields, which are a little oversized for most Asians, but I suppose they mostly did guard duty (i.e. not much) with them.

Oversized?...yah I can see that, but not impossible or "rare".

Heres a group of Filipinos from the inland regions of the southern islands...I would say they are small in size and stature, comparable to most Asians you mention.









This is a recent photo. And no they are not the Philippine terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. They are a Christian militia group that patrols the Moro regions protecting their communities property from the Abu Sayyaf. The Abu Sayyaf and the MILF claims this group is a terrorist organization out to kill them.

I been to the Philippines many times and visited many different regions. WWII rifles are scattered everywhere throughout the islands. I would say 75% of the militia carry Garands.

[Mike A]

VERY interesting pix. I know a little about Abu Sayyaf and the successors to the old Huks (Can't remember their name right at this minute) since my son is a Marine serving with (at times) MEU 31. But now that you mention it, I remember that some of the Philippino guerrillas that fought against the Japanese in WWII carried US 1917 "Enfield" rifles, a heavy brute. If they could handle those, they could handle Springfields and Garands.

[smle-man]

The standard rifle of the Philipene army at the beginning of WW2 was the 1917. Many had broken extractors and the fired cases had to be poked out with sticks.