Posted on 02/20/2026 8:14:57 AM PST by MAGA2017
American soldiers fighting in Vietnam armed with WWII German MP40s? Sounds ridiculous, but it's absolutely true. One special forces unit used a few old MP40s on operations obtained via the CIA - the famous MACV-SOG.
Well, as those of you who have followed this channel for many years will know that I have made a video about this very subject though in the case of German World War II weapons from the perspective of their use by North Vietnam and the VietCong rather than by the Americans. Then I came upon this photograph taken in the mid 1960s in Vietnam, clearly showing a U.S. soldier carrying a World War II German MP40 machine pistol. His uniform is odd and his equipment is odder,but there is a logical explanation to this image.
The soldier in the photograph belonged to a very secret military organization active in the Vietnam War, known today by the acronym MACV SOG, which stood for Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observation Group. Sounds harmless enough, but in fact, MACV SOG was one of the most lethal and effective military forces deployed by the United States to Indo-China. And it's no surprise that it was directly linked to the CIA rather than the U.S. military...
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
I love how they call the “Nazi” MP40. It was a great CQB personal weapon, it had some flaws like all things do, but overall it was a fine piece of machinery.
My son, who has the most unusual taste in firearms, has a semi-auto MP40. He bought it at a pawn shop. It wasn’t very expensive.
And then another piece of irony… I had a Israeli KAR98K rechambered in 76.2 x 51 NATO…
The Waffenamt (inspector stamp) cartouche on the magazine well plate bottom had an original German stamp, which was struck out and a star of David placed over it.
So apparently, the Israelis had zero problem using “Nazi” weapons…
Stupid headline, though. A hunk of steel has no politics.
The M3 “grease gun“ share the stamped sheet metal construction technique with the MP40; but it was chambered in 45 ACP. I believe there was a conversion kit that allowed it to fire 9 mm Luger; and it also had an integrally suppressed kit to allow it to be used with the subsonic 45 rounds. A friend of mine has one, it cost him a small fortune since it is a class three weapon. A lot of fun to shoot.
And also cost about three dollars to make as opposed to the 65 or so dollars it cost for a Thompson submachine gun to be manufactured (that may be a low number). Was designed as a cheaper replacement for the Thompson. It also had a lower cyclic rate than the Thompson, spec out at 350 to 450 RPM. The M1928 Thompson had a rate of fire around 600 to 700 RPM, and the later M1 A1 was slightly higher.
My father was airborne. I’ve got pictures of him carrying a Thompson, an M3 grease gun, and M1 grand and an M1 carbine in various photographs.
Your post shows that you obviously skipped the video.
The general layout of the M-60 was similar to the MG-42, but the only system that was nearly identical in design was the feed cover/feed tray setup. The bolt and operating rod was copied from the WW I Lewis gun. (absent the notches for the clockwork operating spring) The barrel change system of the M-60 was rather awkward and cumbersome, and SHOULD have been copied from the MG-42, which had the best and quickest of any GPMG ever designed.
I can vouch for the M-3 SMG after my experience an M48A3 tank commander in Vietnam. Our tanks had 2 each as part of the OEM assignment for that tank. It was nearly unstoppable in almost any environmental condition, and was utterly controllable and easy to keep on target.
Don't know where these myths come from - certainly not from anybody who has taken these guns apart.
Wehrner Von Braun agrees
Some have harsh words for this man of renown
But some think our attitude
Should be one of gratitude
Like the widows and cripples in old London town
Who owe their large pensions to Wernher von Braun
-Tom Lehrer
Jammed a lot. That’s why Canada and other western countries went with the the FN 7.62. We call it a C6, Americans would say M240.
Doubtful. from AI:
Development of the M3 submachine gun began in 1941, prompted by the U.S. Army Ordnance Board's interest in creating a cheaper, mass-producible alternative to the expensive Thompson submachine gun. The design process was accelerated in response to the effectiveness of European submachine guns like the German MP 40 and British Sten.
I’d love to get my hands on a fully functional thompson. Always loved those.
Heck, in some circumstances the good guys (us) used the bad guys (vc) captured weapons. I think the objective was to go into battle with the best, most reliable weapon available.
I've also seen a lot of photographs of LRP's using M1/M2 carbines and AR-15's (prior to the adoption of the M-16) because of their lighter weight and manueverability in the jungle entanglements.
A lot of my old SF buddies from that era used a “Swedish-K”
HEY brother!!!!! Long time, no see!
My favorite Thompson is the M1928A1; it could take either the drum mag or the stick mags. Just from an aesthetic standpoint, it looks completely bad ass.
I’ve fired them, and if you pardon the pun, they are a blast to shoot… Unfortunately, it’s not just bullets coming out of the muzzle… It’s dollar signs!!
-Tom Lehrer
Schmeiser made the magazines for the MP40 and their name was stamped on them. Hence allied soldiers took to refering to the MP40 (mistakenly) as “Schmeisers.”
Interesting… I did not know that. Thank you for the fact.
I remember about 10 years ago, thereabout, someone found a couple crates of MP44 / StG44 Shturmgewehrs buried in the sand in Syria or Libya; that was another stamped steel receiver weapon. I’d love to have one of those. Probably impossible to find ammunition for it though.
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