ARVN Weapons Platoons

The M18 recoilless rifle is a 57 mm shoulder-fired, anti-tank recoilless rifle produced by the US from 1945 through 1960. The weapon was crewed by a two-man team, the gunner and the loader, who fired it from either a prone or kneeling position with the weapon mounted on a tri-pod.

Although obsolete as an anti-tank weapon, following the Korean war the M18 was still used by the ARVN in an anti-personnel role in Vietnam. It was able to use the NATO-standard M74 tripod, and proved with its HE and white phosphorus rounds it was the perfect weapon for the hard fighting that took place against dug-in emplacements, and Bunkers.

Mortars have been used for hundreds of years. The earliest mortars were used in Korea in a 1413 naval battle, and during the siege of Constantinople in 1453. During the First World War that the modern mortar transportable by one person was born. Known as the Stokes mortar the change from large immobile siege engines to infantry support weapons easily repositionable was made. Mortars are a high angle, indirect fire weapon employed to give direct fire support to the infantry. A crew of five enlisted personnel operate the Modern 81mm Mortar: the squad leader, the gunner, the assistant gunner, the first ammunition bearer, and the second ammunition bearer.

Contains a full strength Weapons Platoon and Anti-tank Platoon