Vietnam Russian advisor 70's loadout

[Animal-Mother]

What sort of kit do you think they would wear?would love some sort of special forces look, advice people?

[Fizzy]

Re: Vietnam Russian advisor 70's loadout

Many were technicians giving training on radio, AA, AAA & SAM sites and mechanics for aircraft and ground based hardware

[Random_Bloke]

Re: Vietnam Russian advisor 70's loadout

What sort of kit do you think they would wear?would love some sort of special forces look, advice people?

Soviet advisors in vietnam they wore no military clothing that would associate them to the ussr.
If you want some further info here are two theread from redalliance (soviet militayry fotum talking about the matter)

http://www.red-alliance.net/forum/in...?topic=12585.0

http://www.red-alliance.net/forum/in...?topic=12585.0

But I also rember another one somewhere that had another picture of one teaching exploxsives, (not on those threads) but again he was just wearing normal clothes.

I would imagine that an advisor for any later would be pretty much the same. Hope I have been of some use.

If your are looking for more of a special forces look, you want to look at a RD 54 Chicom (to early for russian chest rigs) with probably a KLMK camoflage suit. But this would only be one option you would have to reasearch more, and this would not be vietnam then but would be around that time.

[demoncase]

Re: Vietnam Russian advisor 70's loadout

Firstly, forget Rambo II :D

I've seen but a couple of period photos- they were generally wearing light khaki shortsleeved shirts and slacks....Not even an obvious pistol holster, which is kinda logical as they were among friends (whereas the US Advisors were in the South and potentially a target for insurgents at any time).

From evidence I've read, the overwhelming majority of the Russian advisors were truly advising and training, rather than the broader mission (or 'scope creep' as it should be called) that the US Advisors got stuck with after 1962...

Now, if you want to talk about Chinese 'advisors' and support troops, then you're more likely to come up with a usable front-line impression- Chinese pilots were flying Migs over North Vietnam and manning AAA and SAM batteries as imbedded advisors to their 'fellow travelling' Communist nation....But, considering that much of the NVA's uniform was not only copied from the Chicom 'model' but frequently supplied directly by the Chinese, then it's not going to be a 'stand out' loadout....if you get my drift

[demoncase]

Re: Vietnam Russian advisor 70's loadout

If your are looking for more of a special forces look, you want to look at a RD 54 Chicom (to early for russian chest rigs) with probably a KLMK camoflage suit. But this would only be one option you would have to reasearch more, and this would not be vietnam then but would be around that time.

Mmm. I tend to struggle with this kind of thing:

There's stuff that was issued at the time
Then there's stuff that was definately documented as used in the conflict.

There's a degree of overlap between the two, but they aren't automatically the same..... The KLMK suit is a case in point- It wasn't being issued generally to the majority of USSR line troops, so it's unlikely in the extreme it went to Vietnam.

North Vietnam received aid and support from all over the 'communist world'- but what they mostly got was the Warsaw Pact's leavings from the 1950s- barring the notable exception of SAM equipment....

A case in point is the VZ61 Skorpion- Absolutely about at the time but unlikely in the extreme Czechoslovakia crated any up and shipped them to Vietnam, People's Republic Of....Not when it was brand new kit to their own forces.

[Animal-Mother]

Re: Vietnam Russian advisor 70's loadout

so are we looking at something khaki, a bit like dolph lundgren in red scorpion before he 'goes native' ? the reason i ask is because the vietnam weekend is coming up, and we would like something a bit more 'unique' tan or black are the main nva colours iv been told by the people running it, OD being american of course...
so either tactical blacks or khakis i guess..
were the spetz about then?

[demoncase]

Re: Vietnam Russian advisor 70's loadout

so are we looking at something khaki, a bit like dolph lundgren in red scorpion before he 'goes native' ? the reason i ask is because the vietnam weekend is coming up, and we would like something a bit more 'unique' tan or black are the main nva colours iv been told by the people running it, OD being american of course...
so either tactical blacks or khakis i guess..
were the spetz about then?

I don't recall that film having only seen it once 20 years ago or so

Look at some average pictures of tropical locations in the 1960s for the civilian attire typical of the time- light cotton and twill slacks and shirts in light beige shades...

If you watch We Were Soldiers Once, you'll see the NVA's early uniforms were tan.....Or similar to the kind of things worn in The Quiet American by Micheal Caine and Brendan Fraser- non-descript 'tropical suits'.

FYI the NVA never wore the black pyjamas.
The VC wore the classic peasant pyjamas- not because it was a uniform, it was just what the average male farmer in Asia has for clothes.

And Spetz?- Definately not.

[Lardassmonkey]

Re: Vietnam Russian advisor 70's loadout

As others have said the majority Soviet or other Warsaw pact agents in Vietnam were there simply as advisors, primarily involved in air defence. They were not meant to even press the fire button on SAM systems, nevermind get involved in actual combat. Hence why they only wore civilian clothing- officially they were simply there as diplomats, or even on holiday.
If they ever did cross the border they would have done it either dresses as Vietnamese or as Americans; certainly not in anything that would make them stand out from anyone else unless they got close enough to see they weren't who thye were pretending to be! So basically in an airsoft sense you're best sticking to VC or PAVN if you want to be a bit different (as most just go VC)

A case in point is the VZ61 Skorpion- Absolutely about at the time but unlikely in the extreme Czechoslovakia crated any up and shipped them to Vietnam, People's Republic Of....Not when it was brand new kit to their own forces.

Actually I do believe a small number of Vz61s were sent to Vietnam. However it was very late on and they were basically used to arm bodyguards and not used in combat. The issue of ammunition supply vs combat effectiveness would have put a stop to take pretty quickly.

but what they mostly got was the Warsaw Pact's leavings from the 1950s-

RPKs and SVDs are prime examples of this. Everyone thinks they were a common sight in Vietnam but in reality very few every actually made it to Vietnam as they were new issue to Soviet forces. The PAVN made do with the older (& better) RPD and Mosin Nagant. Even AKs were quite rare until 1966.

FYI the NVA never wore the black pyjamas.
The VC wore the classic peasant pyjamas- not because it was a uniform, it was just what the average male farmer in Asia has for clothes.

No the PAVN did wear black PJs , either to blend in with the local population as the VC did or post Tet to pretend to actually be the VC. The ranks of the VC were so badly decimated in 68 that the PAVN took over their role to maintain the illusion that the VC were still active whilst they recovered from their losses.

we would like something a bit more 'unique' tan or black are the main nva colours iv been told by the people running it,

As DC says only early PAVN uniforms were tan. From 65 onwards the PAVN actually wore reed green rather than tan so that should be ok too; as long as it is in the appropriate style of the PAVN uniform so it stands out for the US uniform.
Of course the colour varied hugely due to the less than strigent QC on the dyeing process...The same can be said of VC clothing- they wore many colours from white to black and everything in between so you can get away with alot. It may be best to avoid OD although if people get shot by their own side for looking similar then it is their own fault AFAIK.:D

were the spetz about then?

'Spetsnaz' is not a unit only a desciption so its kind of a matter of opinion what constitutes spetsnaz. However the GRU did have special operations units in the 60s that can be considered the first true 'spetsnaz' units. They would not have been deployed in Vietnam though. Their purpose was covert strikes against NATO early warning and nuclear facilities, non of which were in Vietnam. There was no doubt GRU agents in Vietnam but only in their intelligence role.

[demoncase]

Re: Vietnam Russian advisor 70's loadout

Actually I do believe a small number of Vz61s were sent to Vietnam. However it was very late on and they were basically used to arm bodyguards and not used in combat. The issue of ammunition supply vs combat effectiveness would have put a stop to take pretty quickly.

Care to state your source?....I'm intruiged as the VZ61 as found little widespread take-up in the Warsaw Pact per se, so why send a tanker's sidearm, designed for sticking out gunports at approaching infantry to a conflict where the majority of tank use was on the opposing side until 1971?

[Lardassmonkey]

Re: Vietnam Russian advisor 70's loadout

Well like I said it was late on and only a very small number. Probably sent for trials like the SVD and RPK etc but got nabbed by certain individuals for personal use. I doubt they got anywhere near the front line.
I can't remember where I read it tbh. There is also a photo of a Vietnamese plain clothed 'policeman' in Hanoi armed with one dated 74/75.