"Viet Minh AA" Topic

I've seen the AA units of the 351st Heavy Division. I have located AA Cos belonging to the 304th Division armed with 12.7mm HMG. But what about other VM units, especially the 148th Regiment at Dien Bien Phu. Was every VM regi equipped with the same HMG. One other question. Where do the 20mm AA guns mentioned in the French attack by Bigeard in April at DBP come from? I've never seen those listed in any TO&E. Any help would be appreciated.

Dear Duncan
From the photographic evidence I've seen the VM fielded both M2 Browning 12.7mm, (captured from the French or supplied by the Chinese…weapons from KMT stocks or captures from Korea,)and DShKs. So every unit wasn't equipped with the same HMG although I'd be surprised if they were mixed within units, at least at company level. Either way the DShKs would predominate.

The 20mm gave me pause to ponder and for years I thought that maybe Fall had made a mistake. But I was lucky enough to get a copy of Bigeard's report, (it is a sort of lecture note,) that Fall used. Bigeard is specific, and we can take it Bigeard knew a 20mm when he saw it.

I would speculate that these were either Oerlikons from Chinese supplied KMT stocks, or captured from French Dinassauts. One intriguing, (but I think unlikely,) possibility, is that the dinassauts used a fair number of Rheinmetall 2 cm flak guns and perhaps some of them were captured and used… so you would have interesting possibility of French pilots flying American aircraft into German flak fired by Vietnamese gunners. Nice idea, but I think Oerlikons are a safer bet.

Cheers,
Bertie

Thanks Bertie. So you would think that each VM regiment would probably have some HMG for limited AA defense?

Dear Duncan,
Ah sorry, I thought when you said "the same" that you were talking about types of weapon, not distribution.

Chu Luc Divisions were supposed to have organic AA Bns but not all did. Whether the companies from those Bns were spread around the regiments would depend upon the mission and I doubt that there would have been permanent attachements given mobility issues and other priorities… the AA defences of Viet Minh LOCs had to come from somewhere.

Some Chu Luc divisions had organic artillery bns as did some regiments, and all regiments were supposed to have heavy weapons companies so those would make a home for AA weapons. But, for example, there are no accounts of AA fire during "Castor" although HW Coys 226 and 656 were present; whilst there are plenty of examples of AA fire in Lien Khu V with TDs 84, 108, 120 and 803, at least two of which Grintchenko identifies as having artillery bns.

So the short answer is really "I don't know for certain" but certainly some did, and this wasn't limited to the Main Force divisions.

Cheers,
Bertie

Thanks again Bertie, appreciate the assistance