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Boobytrapped Chicom/USSR 81mm during Vietnam

W

weberoed

Well-Known Member
Ordnance approved
For years I have read articles about US boobtytrapped 81mm mortars being left behind by SpecOps forces in Vietnam. That when they were fired there was an instant detonation. They, like the boobytrapped AK 47 rds appear in many articles and after much research the stories have merit. There is some tech data on the bullets, but nothing on the mortar rounds, like which fuzes were changed, how did they change them and by whom? If anyone has some tech data or more info on these mortar rounds please let me know.

thanks and take care
 
Hi Weberoed,Sorry I can't help regards the mortars but I have read about AK rounds being refilled with C4/plastic explosive then replaced for the NVA to use with dire results,it was a double edged sword due to the fact that some of the US troops brought back "souvenier"AKs and captured ammunition when I was in the RAF Airfield construction branch,in the middle east(Aden)a story went around the squadron that someone had put a small ammount of plastic in a SLR 7,62 round(while the squadron were at El Adam,)the rifle was damaged beyond repair and the bloke that fired it damaged his underpants,have you seen the sequence on Youtube where a mortar explodes on firing the fourth round,could this be the result of SpecOps tampering,
Regards,Don,
 
Thanks for getting back to me on this. First the Youtube vid of a 60mm exploding as it was b eing fired is one of several incidents like (currently in the mid east) that that I have collected info on. Nothing special just that the rounds go off way to soon for the gunner (ooh sad too bad). Now it maybe the barrel was too hot by the time the 4th round was dropped and it ignited the propellant too soon, but I doubt that would cause the round to detonate, just throw the round way short. As fro the 7.62 rounds, because I am fortunate enough to have access to a munitions manufacture with testing facilites, I have test fired both NATO and Soviet 7.62 with propellant removed and replaced with C4 - they would not detonate. But if I loaded them with cap grade PETN and used a larger rifle primer, they made a pretty nice bang. Am going to see if they will let me run the test again and this time take full vids and photos. Tests used a chamber machined for the cart's, a spring loaded firing pin and a short barrel.

It is easy to find articles about the 7.62 rounds, but you never see any tech manual or actual tech data on them.
 
Hi Webroed,Re the mortar explosion,there is a film on Youtube of some US troops firing 6 or 7 rounds in quick succsession with no apparent worries about premature detonation,that was what led me to think the round in question had perhaps been "modified"in some way or could it just be a case of "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing"and "finger trouble"combined to create a problem for the bloke that dropped the bomb in the tube,it would be interesting to find out what really caused the problem,re the 7.62 round,I have no way of verifying the story,it was just one of a number of such stories doing the rounds at the time,I must admit it did sound plausible,I look forward to seeing the results of the tests,many thanks,
Regards,
Don,
 
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