Why did Navy Seals Hunt for Soviet RPD-44 and Wear Blue Jeans in Vietnam
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- Опубліковано 21 лис 2023
- Today, when we imagine a Special Forces squad, we think of tough guys in camouflage or monochrome uniform with a ton of equipment and top-notch weapons. But if we look at how the Navy Seals looked like 40-50 years ago, we will be greatly surprised. Why did they wear jeans during the operations? Moreover, from time to time they tried to get hold of the Soviet RPD-44 machine gun.. and used it! What’s even more, before using it they sawed off a part of the barrel - including the front sight!
Only a squad of ST1 wore jeans. Now everybody thinks that every SEAL in Vietnam wore them. They are far more pictures of SEALs wearing full ERDL uniforms than jeans. Also, SEALs were far from the only people to use RPDs. At least five teams of MACV-SOG operators used them. Regarding the front sight, It was often re-welded to the cut-down barrel.
Jeans were very common through out the war. If you look closely you’ll see entire platoons wearing jeans. It was more of a ST-1 thing to do. But I’ve met and talked to many nam era team guys and for the most part all wore jeans at some point over there. It was all personal preference.
@@tacticalhyvecadre1049 what a load of crap.
This guy was using Special Forces and Navy Seals interchangeably. I don't really think he knows.
SEALs hardly ever used RPDs if ever, I’ve got hundreds of pictures of SEALs and none have RPDs.
Doesn’t help the only pictures he showed were of SOG when he talked about RPDs.
SEALs had the Stoner and didn’t do extended missions. No reason for them to carry one or switch out a standard issue gun for it.
They did have their chopped M60s as well.
@@Horsemanray They were typically Levi 501 and 505s
I watched a pod cast that had a spec op vet from Vietnam and he said that the blue jeans they used had zippers in the crotch, which prevented leeches and they would also tape the bottom the blue jeans to prevent leeches as well.
Mr. Roger Hayden
Some guys also worr pantyhose under their levi because leeches wouldnt stick to the fabric
yea we tried the tape in CA jungles, did not work. pants legs tucked into socks, locak sourced zippers flys, 10% perminthine soak ALL fabric gear and air dry. only exposed skin was bitten.
They wore nylons underneath the blue jeans that kept the leeches away!
LEVI 505's right? L501's had button fly/leech GATES...Eeeeeeeek!!!!...;)
Gotta love the SEALS were purely practical and not at all above using a weapon designed and produced by their enemies if it suited their needs.
sooooo pragmatic. lol. Like anyone cares who made the gun?
It also means you can pick up ammo along the way
Soviet hardware is still so efficient
@@MrJackie899 ....that's more important than you think. Have you ever fired a weapon?
This is still a thing that happens with sf
Fun fact, the levi jeans of today would never fit the role that Navy Seals used them for in Vietnam. Due to capitalism, levi's that were once proudly made in U.S.A with White Oak Denim are now made in China with sub par "denim" that willl at best, last a year where as the jeans my parents had would last long enough to be handme downs for other kids, sometimes multiple times.
Facts, I have a pair of my dads old Levis and a flannel as well.
It's such a shame. I can never find a good durable pair of jeans, they all wear out within a year. I would gladly pay the extra for a durable quality product but I can't seem to find one.
I've been in the manufacturing business for years, the problem is Levi Jeans pay for cheap prices to Chinese factories not because Chinese factories can't make good quality products. That is the misunderstanding most people have when they are not in the business. You pay for cheap shit you get cheap shit simple as that. If you pay a little more the Chinese factories can make great quality products too.
@@LP18888 True, Chinese industry usually made stuff by using the most durable goods they had, and I've seen some Chinese copy product that is far more superior than the original product.
Kinda ironic, then, that the seals fought for the very capitalism that ruined the jeans they wore.
My uncle was a LRRP in the Vietnam war. He told me some stories that corroborate some of the information in this video. He also said that the teams would also load Russian tracer ammunition, which I believe, was green, instead of red, to confuse the enemy in an ambush.
So NCR Veteran Rangers wearing jeans into battle DOES make sense!
Depending on who is making them, modern levi's fucking suck. I only buy the cheap ones from costco for about 20-25 bucks. The price they demand at designer stores is fucking ludicrous at best.
@@peepongdingdong9208go to thrift stores man, I’ve found 2 pairs of very good quality jeans.
True. Most of the jeans I buy are the heavy work wear kind. There are some really good ones coming out of Mexico made of heavy denim. Lightweight denim is for women IMHO. But I have to admit, ever since I got duck canvas pants, I've been wearing denim a lot less. I think you shouldn't pay more than $30 for a sturdy pair of jeans.
Jeans are op
Was not expecting a New Vegas reference here.
Regardless of the reasons mentioned in this video as to why they would source RPDs which may be just as valid. The SEALs would sometimes prefer RPDs and AK47s instead of their own militaries counterparts was that they could get resupply of ammo in the field if they came across any from an engagement or from a found cache. Also the weapons would be harder for the enemy force to easily distinguish if the fire was coming from a friendly unit or not which their own weapons distinctive chatter would single them out on the battlefield. An approaching force wouldn't be sure that they weren't firing on their own men until they were joined with their comrades conversely the small SEAL team wouldn't be hampered in the same way as everyone else near them were definitely not friendlies.
Also, AK's were far more reliable than Vietnam era M16's.
Seals 🦭 are gay
the confusion from using enemy weapons also works against you for the same reason.
@@13christbane only if you have friendlies close to you. Not when you are a 4 man LRP or SEAL team well behind enemy lines and far from your own men. Which is what I was referring to with my comment.
@@shonemumythats what i was gonna say
My father, may he Rest In Peace, was a US Naval Special Warfare operator during Vietnam. He has shared his training and stories with me extensively with me over the decades. From what my father has told and taught me, the info in this video is spot on!
Thank you very much! It is an honor and great joy for me that I, a person who, from a practical point of view, is very far from such worthy people as navy seals, was able to correctly and accurately convey information about their difficult service. With respect
couldnt think of anything worse than wearing jeans in the jungle
The reason why they chose to wear jeans was because they were much more resilient and protected your legs a lot better than the quality of uniforms back then. The SEALS and other ODA groups had to buy their own Tiger Stripe camo uniforms. They were never issued.
I will say even more. Some operators sewed side pockets from army trousers to these jeans)
Not tight jeans, mind you.
Wool jersey with nothing underneath
These weren't the type of jeans you have nowadays. They were quality made and resilient.
Also, blue is a good color for camouflage if conducting night operations. Japanese historians pointed out that ninjas actually wore blue outfits while carrying out raids on enemies at night. It actually camouflaged them better than solid black.
Interesting.
Dude. Any color is better than black for camouflage because every color becomes gray in the dark while black remains black.
Sorry but you misunderstood ninja warfare (:D) as well. Yes, comics style ninjas are cool, but the genuine battle tactics of the ancient days just did not had much use for action movie stealth.
Back to the blue denim, I don't think there are any advantages of blue denim instead of camo uniform. Some american soldiers most likely wore it because they had thought it was cool and because they could get away with it.
you guys forget how dark, dark gets... either color is good
Specifically navy blue. It blended with the night better than a stark black silhouette.
@@014Dare you basing any of this on anything it all or just completely guessing
It basically did the job the M249 did. That the M60 and BAR just couldnt.
Not to mention the stoner machine guns just werent ready yet.
Yes, it's true. The M-249 appeared literally immediately after the end of the Vietnam War. Navy seals were actually one of the main users of the Stoner 63 machine gun, but why it did not go into mass production is not very clear to me
@@casperarms Probally due to the price and maintence issues.
Would dare say the M249 was developped out of the Stoner LMG. Then bought from FN Belgium. Probably a first in many small steps to undermine the US small arms industry and your 2nd Amendment
@@casperarms Great video, perfect length while being extremely informative. I subscribed right away. One thing about the M249, though, is that it was adopted in the mid-'80s. The Minimi, which it was adapted from, came out in the late-'70s, not too terribly long after the U.S. departed Vietnam, so you're not entirely wrong on that.
The Stoner 63 System was innovative but far from perfect, hence why it was never widely adopted by the US military. The trials leading up to the adoption of the M249 saw Colt and other companies submit test weapons. The Minimi won out, and with some minor changes became our light machine gun (LMG)/automatic rifle (AR). I carried an early production M249 into Iraq over 20 years ago. The receiver was Belgian, with the FN scroll characters, not the US (Columbia, SC) manufactured FN weapons we've gotten since the '90s, so I'd venture to guess it was from one of the original contracts. As for the LMG/AR difference, we're usually trained as Automatic Riflemen, but the M249 is employable as a tripod mounted LMG. I had to teach myself the principles of being a machine gunner when we were originally tasked with a defensive counter-armor mission in March 2003. That didn't happen and instead, I took the much more active AR role clearing buildings and such.
@@casperarms It was a weapon ahead of its time. You could do a lot with it, but it was a pretty complex weapon. Forgotton Weapons does a pair of videos on it.
ua-cam.com/video/vCNw9Z2Q3T0/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/8LVWNGRjD0g/v-deo.html
The RPD was really a good weapon. Lovely magazines, for carrying ammo. Still used 20 years later in Angolan war.
The RPD is belt fed so its just a belt holder not a magazine which contains springs which the belt holder does not have
If not mistaken, nylon-cotton (NYCO) material was one of the many innovations to come out of the Vietnam War. NYCO military uniforms utilize both a twill and ripstop weave, the 50/50 NYCO weave (50% nylon/50% cotton) was featured prominently in the ERDL woodland pattern seen in this video, and went on to serve (and still serves) as the basis for fatigues and uniforms used by US military and LE, usually in a camouflage pattern but occasionally in solid colors as well. In this user's experience, 50/50 NYCO is the finest weave/material for outdoor use ever invented. It excels in tactical applications and arduous physical duty across a range of climates and terrain. It has a natural resistance to heat and melting, provides a degree of resistance to wind, tends to insulate in cold conditions and cool in hot. In its 50/50 ripstop variation, it dries extremely quickly when wet i.e. from sweat or inundation. In twill form, e.g. the NYCO M-65 field pants, it is as tough as denim in underbrush conditions. Very surprised to see SOF, esp. NSW members, wearing jeans in the conditions of southeast Asia. Wet denim is nasty & living in it for weeks on end must have resulted in many trips to the infirmary for jock itch.
Cotton is bright in IR/FLIR, it’s outdated now, the good stuff is 500D NIR or higher with a vat print
Great info, thank you.
@@d.i.m.eproductions6925 In our experience testing multiple patterns and materials in mixed-foliage, semi-arid, tropical, and sub-tropical flora, IR-aided ocular visibility and detection in darkness and night is virtually impossible, regardless of material, print, pattern, etc., w/o external illuminators and knowing exactly what is being looked for. These tests were conducted using PVS-14 and/or both second and third-generation NVD equipment. Uniforms/kit utilizing popular pattern configurations i.e. M-81, Multicam, OCP (Scorpion), etc., simply disappear in the undergrowth. Woodland patterns, though not in vogue, are highly effective in reduced-light conditions. Have also seen few problems related to the issue of clothing and kit laundered with detergents containing phosphates, contrary to popular opinion on this subject. Movement and open terrain are another matter entirely, as is the employment of thermal detection, something that has become much more common in the last two decades. Our experience, outcomes, and opinions may be different than yours due to ambient environmental conditions, equipment, test variables, etc. Thank you.
@@d.i.m.eproductions6925 Only under NIR active illumination, not passive, and so is grass and foliage. NIR reflectivity is worth considering but it shouldn't be the one thing you think about above all else.
@@sluttybutt no, I focus on cutting edge technology that is used by special forces around the world, so yeah the best while being the most affordable happens to be VAT print NIR, with a 500D NIR fabric. Only 3 companies make the clothing as of right now. And obviously you’re to couple it with natural vegetation if you’re wanting to actually conceal. You see, the idea is to limit how bright you glow on thermals from your heat signature, anything to help you blend in, and also all of this is relative. Time of day, air temperature, exertion, climate factors, range/distance from thermal device, cloud cover, vegetation, rocks, shadows, ambient temperature and temperature of the ground, wind and dust, moisture, all of these can affect thermal imaging, so if you want to dive into the meat of it all, let’s go then. Please elaborate and share in detail if you have problems with my gist comment about clothing
Being sailors, a SEAL would've also been familiar with Navy dungarees. They aren't really that far off from jeans. I found dungarees quite comfortable to work in.
That's what I thought?
Wearing jeans in a tropical environment, while doing intense physical activity would be a special type of miserable.
South East Asian construction workers: "This mi pajamas"
When I was a seabee in Cambodia in 2010 we were storing our water well equipment in a warehouse on a Cambodian military base. Not much in there besides some shelve units in rhe back. When we were done we walked around and I saw a rack covered by a tarp. Under it was 12 M16A1s 3 AK wirh milled reciver and 2 RPG2 launchers. Beneath rhat was rockets for RPG. Spam cans of ammo and RPD drums with belted ammo. I went hunting for the RPD but couldn't find it. Was disappointed
Just found this channel and gotta say this is well put together. Will be sharing and keeping an eye on your work!
Well done, making this video!
Does anyone here remember when Navy SEALs Surrendered to the Irainian navy without firing a shot? I do.
Well done. Very informative
Thanks for this very interesting snippet of history.
Cheers!
Great channel. Subbed. First the PU21 and then this video. Production quality is great.
Great format, I think you nailed it!
Keep making these :)
All your RPD pics are SOG not seals. The stoner 63 system was used in the LMG roll starting in 1962. Jeans were worn because they worked better in the wet muddy conditions of the delta through out the war.
I knew someone would write about it) But the fact is that MACV-SOG consisted of many units, including Navy Seal operators)
@@casperarms true seal team members were tasked by Macv sog. Mike Thorton’s medal of honor op, for example. But there is little to no evidence to support seal team members being on the lookout for RPD’s.
The seal platoons wore jeans throughout the entire war. Which wasn’t that big of a deal to them because the regular navy was wearing denim Jean utility pants with their standard working uniform aboard ship anyway.
Very well made video by the way.
@@tacticalhyvecadre1049 Good old bell-bottoms. My recruit year was the last partially issued them as they were cleaning out the warehouses.
Your thumbnail is a reenactor photo from the modernforces group. And like the commenter above said, all your RPD pics are from SOG guys. Not sure where you get your infos but you're saying a lot of false or speculative infos. The vast majority of SOG men were Army Special Forces green berets, with a few non Special Forces army guys, and even less Seals. The chopped off RPDs were only used by SOG as far as everyone knows, I have yet to see evidence or hear Seals Nam vet speak about using RPDs, let alone chopped one, maybe one or two did, but the supposed "hunt for RPD" that you base your video on is bs imho. There's a reason why most Seal photos you'll find they have either M60 or Stoners and not RPDs. @@casperarms
@@snafu1969Thanks for pointing all this out.
Can't wait for more uploads! Legit can't get enough of this content, so well researched!
Thank you so much! Now I am preparing a new issue on the Kalashnikov assault rifle. I will tell you about models that are practically unknown to anyone. I hope it will be interesting)
@@casperarms If I may suggest a future video idea. The VSS Vintorez "Thread cutter" project 6P30. Perhaps on design origins and how the project came to be all these years later it was ahead of its time. I know many that would be interested in this. Cheers!
Just found your UA-cam channel. Great work, thank you!
The US NAVY issued Blue Jean Jumpers and Trousers starting back in 1901 and by the early 1960 the pants were every similar to the contemporary Jeans from Levi's along with a Light blue Denim button up shirt which according to Sailors from the 60 to late 90s when the Navy switched to a polyester shirt and pants were the BEST Working Uniform EVER! I came into the Navy in 2003 when the 50/50 Digital Camo Uniform was being studied but did not get the Camo till 2007. The old school Denim Navy Uniform are worth large amounts of money today because people really love the Denim blend used by the manufacturers of the time.
Rarely do you get such accurate and detailed information from a video like this. Great job!
Very good and informative video, good job man! Thanks to you I now know why Navy Seals wore jeans.
Yes, but not any blue jeans. It was the good old Levis 501
yessss i see this channel taking off lots of information thats over looked by many ak enthusiast..
Good work Casper, that gets you my sub.
All the best. Semper Paratus.
I buy my Levi’s at thrift shops and look for details in the stitching and tags to be sure they’re pre-1990s and the older the better. So much better stitching and denim quality/thickness. Even the cuts and amount of denim used per pair is way more. Definitely no “skinny jeans”. Lots of room.
My uncle Sol "Mean Macine" Atkinson was UDT and was anointed by JFK to create Seal Team 1 and also train the first Astronauts. My uncle was cooler than the first man on the moon.
He has signatures from the first seals and astronauts on a plaque at his home in Metlakatla Alaska. Rest in peace uncle
Also there was a rare custom M-60 with the barrel cut in half& buffer system removed & replaced with an aluminum piece, called the Death Machine,very rare tho handful made & used by a handful literally
Another fun fact about the blue jeans is that the denim blocked mosquitoes which were very prevalent in Vietnam.
Fun fact I live in the Deep South, mosquitoes will not only bite through blue jeans but are attracted to dark blue.
Got to fuck around with a rpd during a foreign weapons brief, I was shocked at how light it was, Made the 249 feel like a pig in comparison
Hands down the coolest war ever, period. The napalm, the music, the Levi's, the choppers.
Oh yeah, war is bad.
Vietnam was definitely the coolest war. Just badassery all around
@remington5978 if that's what lets you sleep at night, then keep believing that.
Agreed on that, the same for WW2, we can still discuss things such as weapons and equipment and units
@remington5978 the USSR got their asses handed to them in Afghanistan too
And both sides supplied both belligerents, but here we are
Based. So much regurgitated war info. Goodnjob bro got my sub.
Thank you!)
Very interesting thanks
bless algorithms of UA-cam. Now I can know more on what West says about some military things and that's very interesting. Liked and subscribed
Whats cool about Vietnam war tactics is that they can still be utilized today. How neat is that!?
war tactics from the 1400s are still used today.... it's not a crazy concept
@@oneballwizard406guerilla tactics are prehistoric
If it works, you keep doing it.
Nope. Not at all.@@oneballwizard406
Amazing video let’s go
Excellent subjects that need more time each. Concerning the Jean, I heard about regulation trousers shortages, slimmer operators after a while in the field and again supply issues. The so human and so basic reason, then, is the fact that every unit in the field tries to appear as it feels to be, Unique! It true for every unit, especially the elite ones (even if it’s a tactical nonsense). Thank you for the nice views and the great summary.
I have read accounts that the Stoner LMG was somewhat problematic to run as the links for the 5.56 ammo were not always readily available as it was the only weapon which used such a feeding system (linked belt 5.56), which helped keep the RPD more practical to use.
So the Soviet RPD-44 was the M249 SAW back in the day?
Uh, yeah? I mean your comparison is kind of stupid NGL.
"Wow guys, I just watched a 6 minute long video answering my exact question. So, is x (good design) like y (also good design)?"
@@bombcat5517 lol, yes. 🫣 Am ASVB waver and carried SAW for way too long. 😬
Yeah it did the same role that the M249 also did
Look up Stoner 63
@@edd1e22 Just looked it up. Interesting. 👍
Excellent video! Thanks! Do Seals wear jeans nowadays?
Thank you very much!) No, today they no longer wear jeans during combat operations)
A lesson for all … you don’t need an arsenal, just enough to get you the next loot drop. Travel light, and stay grey boys
This has actually made me want to buy a pair of Levi's... but I'm concerned about their durability nowadays.
My Dad was a Tank Commander in Vietnam.
One night his Troop was hunkered down in a area of jungle waiting for orders. My Dad got out of his tank and walked a little ways away to take a leak.
He said the night was overcast and so dark you could barely see 2 feet in front of you. As he was relieving himself by a tree he suddenly felt a knife touch his throat. He said his only thought was "I'm dead.'
He then heard an American voice say "Who are you?"
Turns out he had stumbled across a group of SEALs returning from a patrol. He ID'd himself and the SEAL said "You shouldn't walk alone in the jungle man. Dangerous out here."
My Dad chuckled and said "I brought backup." He then yelled "Banko!" Which was his gunners name, and the lights from his tank came on illuminating him and the SEAL.
The SEAL looked at the tank with the 90mm main gun pointed at them and laughed and slapped my Dad on the back and disappeared back into the jungle.
They don't make Levi's like that anymore.
This was a very interesting video
MACVSOG also hunted for and chopped the RPD...they also modified the drum to hold more rounds,and they would load every round a tracer so that the enemy thought there was a greater volume of fire from more people...they were ususally in 7 man squads and trying to escape and get bac"over the fence" and out of Cambodia or 🇱🇦 Laos
Wearing Levi jeans in combat was extraordinarily rare in Vietnam. 9/10 operators wore their standard fatigues or whatever the navy had available to them. This video makes it seem like they all wore jeans during every mission which is absolutely not the case
I remember some documentary saying a typical SEALS team had two M16 or the equivalent (commander and radio operator), two M60s and the rest had Stoner M63s or RPDs.
The radio guy had a car15, because as it turns out, radio’s are heavy.
Allthough I knew some of the things of both the RPD and jeans I got presentet with more information I didn't know, thank you! Also, what song was used in the end of the video?
Rpd and Levi jeans… that’s straight up gangster and cool
Similar to M16 and Adidas shoes (Soviets in Afghanistan)
Alright, not to be rude, but there were a lot of seals who brought captured RPD guns to their armorers to have the barrel shortened and the front sight re-welded or pinned to the barrel again.
Also, something you may have missed: the RPD used 7.62x39mm, a round that US DoD could not logistically supply. Since the average Seal had a 100/1 kill/death ratio, however, acquiring enemy ammunition was a breeze, and using the enemies equipment and ammunition put *zero* strain on friendly logistics; if a seal needed more rounds, he would just have to kill more Charlie.
US Navy Seal use RPD-44 firstly for the fire power of course... but secondly because 7.62x39mm were easily recovered from enemy... Not for "sound" consideration...
Brilliant
As long as they weren’t “skinny jeans”. I wouldn’t want the enemy laughing at them.
i'd love to see more vietnam stuff!!
They weren't civilian "jeans", but actually just standard navy dungaree uniform trousers.
Early ChiCom weapon nomenclature is nuts. They had no less than 3 weapons designated type 56: the SKS, the AKM and the RPD.
Not only Navy Seal's but other special forces used RPD's and other captured weapons, we even can see front line soldiers using AK's.
The RPD didn't use a box magazine. It used a belt box that rattled with every step. The special forces would glue layers of soft cloth to the inside to at least try to quiet the damn thing. To answer the reason that they carried these Soviet weapons was because they didn't sound like the weapons the Americans used. That puts the NVA more at ease. Especially when you are a long way from home, you might want to access ammunition from alternative sources.
See? This is why you should always watch the whole video before you comment. I wouldn't have had to write most of that shite if I'd just watched the whole video.🙄
@@mikeblair2594 Wanted to clarify as a person who is not a native speaker. Aren't these machine gun boxes called "box magazine" for? As far as I can understand (even by the names of other videos and articles), for machine guns it's "box magazine", for rifles it's just "magazine" (for example AK or AR-15), or "drum magazine" if we are talking about a round thing from the RPK
Из за проблемного барабана оружие было нестабильным, давало осечки и клины. Этот пулемёт быстро сменили на РПК.
I met a Rhodesian vet who spoke about the RPD in just the same terms: it was a choice weapon for bush patrols, since it is light, extremely sturdy, and with a massive firepower. Rhodesian army seized tons of those guns in guerrilla camps and promptly re-used them. A further advantage was that you could always find ammos for it, since in jungle skirmishes, the rebels tended to drop all guns and ammos to run away faster. Considering that the RPD was meant to be a squad-support weapon to be used on short-medium distances, and that it is easier to use and much lighter than a M60 or a FN MAG, that on short distances is just as effective, and in a jungle or bush fight is certainly more useful, it's small wonder that RPDs are still widely popular amongst african soldiers.
I've been on the wrong end of a RPD at close range. That's a very confusing and terrifying place to be even when you know it's not friendly fire.
Suppression is a hell of a thing
I couldn't imagine the chaffing from the wet denim, definitely need balls of steel.
i can say this, if i was doing missions and whatnot behind enemy lines i'd want an "enemy" gun. simply for the fact that if i have to use it i'd be better off with a sound the enemy knows and not one that identifies me
Remember when Gen Noriega's air plane guard killed about half of the SEALs assigned to secure his private jet & utterly failed in that mission? Hmmm anyone? I DO.
The way you say sabotage is hilarious. What accent is that?
Great vid by the way
Damn it, this word needs to be pronounced in English, but it's French. It's not that easy!)) Especially when you have a Russian accent, and there is a similar word in your language)
Jeans in the jungle is a vibe 😂
Working as an outdoor pursuits instructor we were always told to avoid denim as it retains water n gets super heavy, also takes ages to dry.
True, BUT, SEAL missions in Vietnam were 12-16 hours, the vast majority of time, so the weight and water retention didn’t matter.
One correction: RPD didn't use a box/drum magazine. That thing that very much looks like a drum mag is just an ammo belt holder. It can functionally be used like a magazine in a sense as it has a little flap that allows the belt to come out and be fed into the receiver, but you can toss the can away and run belts thru like one would with an M60 (don't know why you'd do that, but you could, lol).
Great video though. Decent amount of footage I'd never seen before!
Thank you! 🔥When I called this mag a box mag, I meant exactly a simple iron box with a belt inside 🙂
It's because if they bump into soviets they can say you want to trade that RPD for Levis?
😆no sht huh
The Rhodesian special forces also loved their chopped down RPD`s...and they actually did wear shorts...short shorts...
"Vietnam is actually a big thicket". LOL
The M60 may not have had a box magazine but I always liked those canvas bag magazines.
TLDR: they preferred RPD-44 as a compromise beween compactness of lightweight M-16 and a firepower of heavy M-60 machine gun, making it ideal for short and medium range gun fights, which constituted majority of battles in Vietnam.
Regarding jeans, 1 guy brought it from home and after couple of months, all other guys from SF used them as well, as they were very durable.
Cool
wondering about those jeans didnt they create hotspots at groin and so on quicker than regular ripstop ?
Breaking contact!
I cant figure out if you have mixed up the SEAL's with SOG or the Stoner with the RPD ;)
Nice information I enjoy that part of History. I wish our Government would learn from it
The Navy Seals of that era also wore women's nylon stockings to repel leeches from attaching to their skin...🙄
They wore women's thongs too because it made them feel sexy during combat
Now they wear high heels , not for badass reasons tho
The guy in the Thumbnail is a Green Beret in MACV-SOG
They had their little sailor suits on too…
You beat me to it. As you say, if a contact with the enemy is initiated by the RPD gunner the enemy may recognise the sound and hesitate for a second in the belief that they've bumped a friendly unit? Another plus is you can take ammo from eneny KIA. Are you sure about them buying Levi's? I always assumed the jeans were just navy work jeans (which US sailors wore sometimes)?
Every Soviet RPD kit comes with a pair of stone washed Levi's and a can of Pepsi Clear standard.
They frequently used clamp on front sight posts. They weren't target shooting, but they still needed some rudimentary point of reference
Chopped RPD is peak Chad.
Well i havent seen the blue jeans before. I heard they really liked the old school Converse Chuck Taylor Sneakers for hitting the beaches, no joke they are good for wearing under swim fins and have drain holes for the water
I'm a logger.
I remember an old timer saying loggers in the 1950's-60's wore 501's because they'd last forever.
Back then, they were WORK pants called "waist overalls".
They weren't the pos they are now.
idk whats true or not but Richard Marcinko claimed in Rogue Warrior that Jeans were his idea, he said the BDU pants make friction noise like corduroy pants and the big side pockets would fill with Water.....he also said they would go barefoot at night to snatch soldiers so not to make noise which apparently coined the term "the men with green faces"......again dont know whats true or not as alot of people have said he exaggerates alot and so many people just dont like him......i must say though "Rogue Warrior" was an awesome read and i went out of my way to obtain the DVD Documentary of "RED CELL".....tons of fun :)
Imagine going to the club with jeans on let alone the jungle in a combat operation
Blue jeans and chuck Taylor's what a tims to be alive
And that ladies and gentlemen is why outlaw bikers vets wore their denim blues until they deteriorated.
Great LEVIS commercial
SEALS had the Stoner 63 LMG which was not bad either...