page_title: Weapons of the Vietnam War
section_title: Infantry rifles
hierarchical_section_title: Weapons of the Vietnam War / Weapons of the South Vietnamese, U.S., South Korean, Australian, and New Zealand Forces / Infantry rifles
caption_attribution_description: ARVN Rangers defend Saigon during the Tet Offensive.
context_page_description: Nearly all United States-allied forces were armed with U.S. weapons including the M1 Garand, M1 carbine, M14 and M16. The Australian and New Zealand forces employed the 7.62 mm L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle as their service rifle, with the occasional US M16.
  The PAVN, although having inherited a variety of American, French, and Japanese weapons from World War II and the First Indochina War, were largely armed and supplied by the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union, and its Warsaw Pact allies. In addition, some weapons—notably anti-personnel explosives, the K-50M, and "home-made" versions of the RPG-2—were manufactured in North Vietnam. By 1969 the US Army had identified 40 rifle/carbine types, 22 machine gun types, 17 types of mortar, 20 recoilless rifle or rocket launcher types, nine types of antitank weapons, and 14 anti-aircraft artillery weapons used by ground troops on all sides. Also in use, primarily by anti-communist forces, were the 24 types of armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery, and 26 types of field artillery and rocket launchers.
context_section_description: L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle – used by Australian and New Zealand soldiers in Vietnam
  M1 Garand – used by the South Vietnamese and South Koreans
  M1, M1A1, & M2 Carbine – used by the South Vietnamese Military, Police and Security Forces, South Koreans, U.S. military, and Laotians supplied by the U.S.
  M14 rifle - issued to most U.S. troops from the early stages of the war until 1967–68, when it was replaced by the M16.
  M16, XM16E1, and M16A1 – M16 was issued in 1964, but due to reliability issues, it was replaced by the M16A1 in 1967 which added the forward assist and chrome-lined barrel to the rifle for increased reliability.
  CAR-15 – carbine variant of the M16 produced in very limited numbers, fielded by special operations early on. Later supplemented by the improved XM177.
  XM177 (Colt Commando)/GAU-5 – further development of the CAR-15, used heavily by MACV-SOG, the US Air Force, and US Army.
  Stoner 63 – used by US Navy SEALs and USMC.
  T223 – a copy of the Heckler & Koch HK33  built under license by Harrington & Richardson used in small numbers by SEAL teams. Even though the empty H&R T223 was 0.9 pounds (0.41 kg) heavier than an empty M16A1, the weapon had a forty-round magazine available for it and this made it attractive to the SEALS.
  MAS-36 rifle - used by South Vietnamese militias
  AK-47, AKM and Type 56 - Captured rifles were used by South Vietnamese and U.S forces.
caption: Vietnamese Rangers with M16 rifles in Saigon during the Tết Offensive
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