Helicopter Door Gunners in Vietnam - The Shotgun Riders | US Army Documentary | ca. 1967

● Please SUPPORT my work on Patreon: https://bit.ly/2LT6opZ● Visit my 2ND CHANNEL: https://bit.ly/2ILbyX8►Facebook: https://bit.ly/2INA7yt►Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Lz57nY►Google+: https://bit.ly/2IPz7dl✚ Watch my "Vietnam" PLAYLIST: https://bit.ly/2IN26mjThis US Army Documentary is about the helicopter door gunners, nicknamed the "Shotgun Riders". The film shows them as they performed some of their various duties in Vietnam, after a rigorous training program.About the helicopter door gunners:A helicopter door gunner is a crewman tasked with firing and maintaining manually directed armament aboard a helicopter. The actual role will vary depending on the task given on a particular mission.The personnel who served as early door gunners aboard CH-21, UH-34, and UH-1 helicopters in Vietnam, were enlisted men, serving as both the aircraft's maintenance manager and a door gunner. Normally, a second enlisted soldier served as a second door gunner (such as on a UH-1, and UH-34 helicopters, which both used two gunners – one on each side of the aircraft). Later, the helicopter door gunner position sometimes used a non-aviation trained soldier or marine, that volunteered for door gunner duties.The principal weapon of the helicopter door gunner was a medium machine gun (MG), initially, the M-1919A4 .30 caliber MG, and soon thereafter, the M-60 7.62mm MG became the standard helicopter door armament system. Initially however not all helicopters were armed with a machine gun for door armament. The helicopter door gunners sometimes used an M1 Carbine, an M14 rifle, or an M16 rifle, as their only weapon.The door gunner position was not a popular one in Vietnam, due to the exposed position of manning a machine gun in the open door of a helicopter. According to popular legend, the helicopter door gunner on a Vietnam era UH-1 Huey gunship had a life-span of 5 minutes. This was exaggerated but displays the hazards of this military job at the time. The UH-1 helicopter (still in use by the U.S. Marine Corps, as the UH-1Y helicopter) is still manned as it was in Vietnam, with the gunner firing from the open cabin door.
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