What was the life expectancy of a M60 machine gunner in Vietnam?

What he was trying to tell me is the average life span of the machine gunner in Vietnam was seven seconds from the moment you pulled the trigger. There were three individuals that the Viet Cong would shoot for. Of course the officer, the radio man, and the M60 machine gunner.

What is the life expectancy of a machine gunner?

“The average life expectancy of a machine gunner in a battle was 15 minutes.” His unit moved from hilltop to hilltop nearly every day to establish high ground before enemy troops attacked each night.

How long did lieutenants last in Vietnam?

six months
They’re just boys.” It was his way of rationalizing why he had spent his entire six-month tour avoiding combat. His troops had not mattered — victory had not mattered. All that mattered to the lieutenant was to survive for six months.

How long did radio operators live in Vietnam?

The life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War ranged between five to six seconds all the way up to a slightly-more-optimistic thirty seconds, depending on your source.

How many door gunners were killed in Vietnam?

Being a door gunner was NOT a very high casualty job in Vietnam. Were there casualties, yes, but no where near that rate. Roughly 2,700 non-pilot helicopter crewmen were killed during the entire war. During the war we logged over 10 million flight hours in helicopters.

What was the M60 machine gun used for in Vietnam?

The M60 was ubiquitous in the Vietnam War. U.S. Army photo. It was a fixture in Vietnam. Second only to the Huey helicopter as the “most recognizable” weapon of its era according to a poll by the trade journal Army Times, the M60 machine gun was everywhere in the Southeast Asia conflict.

What was the life expectancies of the Vietnam War?

It had a crew of 4 (forward gunner, the coxswain (steering and driving) and the two aft gunners. They also had a 12 gauge, and a M 79 grenade launcher and M 16. We went out typically in two boat patrols one lead one cover . Our patrols were typically about 14 hours 24/7 We operated of old LSTs and large barges.

What was the mortality rate of Vietnam Helicopter Door?

One lucky guy. Helicopter crews had some of the most dangerous work in the war. About 8000 helicopters were shot down and the loss rate waas one man killed per accident. The average crew of a helicopter wes two pilots and two gunners ot one gunner with the crew cheif manning the second gun.