The “China Lake 40 Mike” The Forgotten Grenade Launcher
The United States’ quest for a repeating firearm action grenade launcher during Vietnam War resulted in the creation of China Lake 40mm Grenade Launcher.
M79
M79 Grenade Launcher of Vietnam War: Either You Love it or You Hate it
When the M79 grenade launcher was developed in the 1960s and saw use during the Vietnam War, its users either instantly fell in love with it… or despised it with their being— there’s no in-between.
American Grenade Launchers – Bloop and Boom
Grenade launchers are awesome weapons that intimidate anyone within their radius. These bad boys end gunfights quickly.
You don’t get a medal for being shot by enemy wildfire
Read part I here. A few hours later we were allowed back onto the range, cleared hot to commence our night shoot. There was still fire in the valley and it had spread across the terrain, but it was considered under control. As before, we shot into the night, firing all of our weapons, including […]
That time when a bunch of SWCC candidates tried to burn down Camp Pendleton
It was Summer 2012, and I was in the Crewman Qualification Training (CQT) phase of the SWCC training pipeline. Part of CQT included going to Camp Pendleton, CA, to partake in two weeks of weapons training; the first week was dedicated to small arms and the second week to heavy weapons. The first week went […]
Old Habits Die Hard: Why Special Operations unit use old-school weapons
Have you ever heard the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? Well, this adage comes to mind when I think about the M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun and the M79 grenade launcher. Both of these weapons have a very long, respected history and are still in service. They have been used by […]
When a Marine Recon patrol got into a firefight with an American Viet Cong
Corporal Charles House led his Marine Recon patrol through thick undergrowth under the jungle canopy forty feet above. The country was Vietnam and the year was 1968. Team Dublin City had been inserted three days prior, North of Phu Bai to reconnoiter the area for signs of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troop buildups, […]
