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Difference between revisions of "Hamburger Hill"
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[[File:HamburgerHillM60B.jpg|thumb|none|500px|Same M60 and actor during a pause in the fighting. This time the actual projectiles appear real, though going by the rounds in the belt carried on his person, they are in fact dummy rounds with an already expended blasting cap. It is also safe to assume that the dummy rounds do not contain any gunpoweder for safety reasons.]] | [[File:HamburgerHillM60B.jpg|thumb|none|500px|Same M60 and actor during a pause in the fighting. This time the actual projectiles appear real, though going by the rounds in the belt carried on his person, they are in fact dummy rounds with an already expended blasting cap. It is also safe to assume that the dummy rounds do not contain any gunpoweder for safety reasons.]] | ||
[[Image:HH-NVALine-02a.jpg|thumb|none|500px|NVA soldier uses an M60 in defense of his bunker.]] | [[Image:HH-NVALine-02a.jpg|thumb|none|500px|NVA soldier uses an M60 in defense of his bunker.]] | ||
| − | [[ | + | [[File:HamburgerHillM60NVA.jpg|thumb|none|500px|A very determined looking NVA soldier manning a captured M60 during the assault.]] |
[[Image:HH-M60HillFinala.jpg|thumb|none|500px|Bienstock fires his M60 machine gun during the final assault on Hill 937 - 7.62x51mm]] | [[Image:HH-M60HillFinala.jpg|thumb|none|500px|Bienstock fires his M60 machine gun during the final assault on Hill 937 - 7.62x51mm]] | ||
Revision as of 18:45, 14 June 2016
Hamburger Hill was a competing 'Nam movie to Platoon and was released in 1987, only a few weeks following the release of Full Metal Jacket and only a few months following Platoon's Academy Award win for Best Picture. As a result of this, there were invariably many comparisons to these other bigger budget films, however, Hamburger Hill did not achieve the same success as Platoon, however it did respectably at the box office.
Since Hollywood does everything in groups, Hamburger Hill was part of a slew of Vietnam War-themed movies released in the mid-1980s. Uncommon Valor (1983) was one of the early successes of these strings of movies, but generally these films were either critically acclaimed "A-list" movies, like Platoon (1986) or low budget "B action films" like Missing in Action (1984).
Hamburger Hill refers to the infamous 'Hill 937' in the A Shau Valley , Thua Thien province, which was a major point of supply by the enemy from the north. At the north end of the A Shau Valley was a major North Vietnamese Army (NVA) staging area known as Base Area 611. Hill 937 is so named because the number lists the number of meters 'above sea level'. (Hills with identical heights are given additional name identifiers, but there were few hills that had the exact same height in Vietnam. )
Though the film shows a majority of the platoon being killed in the ascent to the summit, the 101st Airborne actually suffered 4% KIA during the 10 day assault. It is interesting to note that many motion pictures depict much greater casualties than actually occurred during an historical battle (Gallipoli is a stark example).
The following weapons were used in the film Hamburger Hill:
WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Rifles
XM16E1
The majority of the 101st Airborne troopers in the film carry mockups of XM16E1 Rifles, the interim variant of the M16 rifle which combined the 3 prong flash hider with the A1-style upper receiver. In reality, the 101st AB, at this stage of the war, did NOT carry the XM16E1, but had the M16A1 with birdcage flash hider, a fact pointed out by Hamburger Hill Veterans when the film was released. The rifles, while featuring the older flash hiders, have full magazine fences, which were not on actual XM16E1s, but rather on later M16A1s.
MGC Replica M16
Soldiers in the beginning of the film have ModelGun Corp replica MGC M16s slung to their backs as they load wounded onto helicopters. One of the giveaways is the 'blued' 20 round magazine (the real 20 round magazine is anodyzed aluminum), the shape of the pistol grip and the rear sling swivel. The most obvious detail is not seen here, the fake forward assist of the replica rifle.
AK-47
Some of the NVA troops are seen carrying carrying standard AK-47-style rifles throughout the film.
Type 56
Other than the milled receiver AK-47s (which are probably Poly-Technology Legend series rifles), there are obvious stamped receiver Norinco Type 56 style AK rifles with underfolder spike bayonets (aka "PigSticker". This variant has a stamped receiver, the version in the film has a milled receiver.)
SKS/Type 56 Carbine
The Chinese variant of the Russian SKS, the Type 56 Carbine with spike bayonet, is used by the NVA combatants in the film.
Machine Guns
M60
The M60 is first seen used by Duffy (Harry O'Reilly) and then by both Gaigin (Daniel O'Shea) and Bienstock (Tommy Swerlow). NVA forces are also seen using the M60 in defense of the hill. This is not somewhat inaccurate as Viet Cong used captured American weapons, and some could have easily have found their way into the NVA arsenal as well.
M60D
The M60D is seen mounted on the Huey helicopters in the film.
Browning M2HB
Browning M2HB machine guns are seen in the distance on some of the perimeter shots of the base camps and mounted on M113 APCs.
Launchers
M79 grenade launcher
The M79 Grenade Launcher is first carried in the film by McDaniel (Don James), and then later by Pvt. Joe Beletsky (Tim Quill)
Fake RPG Training Aid
When Sgt. Frantz (Dylan McDermott) is lecturing the new members of the platoon, he uses a former NVA crossover (a participant in the Chieu_Hoi program [1]) named "Han" to demonstrate how 'not paying attention' will get them killed. Han is 'armed' with a long empty tube made to resemble an RPG launcher of sorts (most likely the RPG-2, given the single pistol grip and the prevalence of the weapon in Vietnam). It has a dud Warhead on it. "Han" demonstrates his skill and ability by avoiding the noisemakers, trip wire and barbed wire of the perimeter to get within striking distance of the G.I.s
M72A1 LAW
Some of the Airborne soldiers are seen carrying M72 LAW rockets, but not seen used. Since the enemy at this stage had no armor to defeat, the M72 LAW rockets were used primarily as 'bunker busters', though they are not effective against soft earth targets like the tunnel entrances on Hill 937.
Pistols
M1911A1
The M1911A1 was standard issue in the Black leather holster of officers and NCOs, however, the handgun is only seen holstered and not seen fired. (Note: I am not 100% sure but I caught no instance of the M1911 used in combat in the film MPM)
Grenades
M26 Fragmentation Grenade
A variety of 'lemon grenades' are seen on soldier's web gear throughout the film. They are often seen from a distance on webbing or in men's hands as they are thrown. In real life they are supposed to be M61 Grenades (virtually identical to the M26A1 lemon grenades most associated with Vietnam), however, these have a slightly unusual shape, implying that they are some sort of 'trainer' grenade that is not often used to impersonate the M26/M61 series of grenades.
M18 Smoke Grenade
M18 Smoke Greandes are generally seen on soldiers' gear, primarily NCOS like Sgt. Frantz and RTOs like Murphy (Michael Dolan).
Chinese Type 58 Stick Grenade
Throughout the film, the enemy uses the Chinese Type 56 (aka Type I) stick grenade. It is an oval pineapple style grenade on a short wooden stick and noticeably shorter than the famous German Stielhandgranate of WW2 fame.
Other
Gun Platforms
M41 Walker Bulldog Tank
An M41 Walker Bulldog tank can be seen parked in a field during a visit to a rear area, away from the fighting. The fact that this tank has U.S. Armored Division markings is a bit of an anachronism, since the M41 was only supplied to the ARVN and was an obsolete tank for U.S. Forces. In fact, the M41 was perfect for the ARVN Armored units, since its interior was too small for tall "American" tank crews but perfect sized for the small statured Vietnamese tankers. The Bulldog's secondary armament was one Browning M2HB .50 Cal machine gun and an .30 Cal Machine gun
