What military equipment have you actually seen?

I shot with AK-47, M-16 and K-54 at some shooting range. Playing around with some old tank and artillery (don't know what model) in military museum. Be seated in a Vietnamese MiG-21, taking a clear look on a MiG-19.

A few years ago on my last visit to Vietnam, I had a photo taken with a F-5E in the previous South Vietnam's president house. This aircraft is claimed for bombing exactly on the helo stern on top the president house in 1975 (I wanted to post that photo here, but I can't find it any more). More than that, what you guy haven't mentioned about, I visit the command center in the underground base of the president house. The base has two stories, and we are allowed to visit the upper one only. There is a lift that goes directly from the president's office to the base. The upper story is said to be able to withstand a bomb of 600kg, and the lower can withstand a bomb of 2000kg. The upper base is seperate in rooms, what we can see are only radio and maps, nothing else.

Steelbird just reminded me: I completely forgotten about the two military training I had in high school and in university.

The training in high school was conducted in a HQ-2 (SA-2 copy) SAM Battalion about 100km away from my hometown. I stayed in the base for three weeks and spent most my spare time watching the missile site. We were allowed to see inside the command & control centre of the battalion inside several truck-mounted shelters. The unit did a demonstration of loading a HQ-2 from the tranportaion truck into the fixed launcher. The officer of the unit told us that it should take only no more than five minutes under the training standard, but the the actual process took about 15 minutes :rofl: .

My training in my university was conducted in a Chemical Defence Regiment near Beijing. They did not have any equipment for me to watch apart from few old trucks. However, one day we were allowed to visit an underground nuclear-protection shelter nearby. The unit officer told us that the shelter would be used by the government and party officials during a nuclear war. The part opened to us was only a small part. In fact, a whole mountain was emptied to build these facilities. The part we visited looks pretty like a hotel with corridors and empty rooms. I remember the room number was something like 501, 502, 503, suggesting that there were at least five stories in the facility.

OK, finally found the photos that I had them taken inside the ex-South Vietnam President House.

The overall view of the President House. The flag is a current flag of the Republic Society of Vietnam. Of course before April 30, 1975 it wasn't that flag.


The tank (pls identify its model) is said to be the one that hit the gate of the President House on April 30, 1975 23:30 marked down the liberation hour of the South Vietnam.


The F-5E that is said that bombed onto the helo stern of the President House.

I`ve fire glock, mp5, g3, mg3, m2 50cal, Sig3000 sniper rifle, open a doors with remington 870 and another nameless shotgun.
Since i am in the reserves i have a G3 under my bed.
I`ve handled without shooting M4, Minimi, Barrett 82, M72, Carl Gustav 84mm

I`ve been shown around inside Foxtrot, kobben and Ula subs, Hauk facs, E-3, C17, Sea King, Oslo ffg, One of the triple turret from Gneisenau (coastal fort), NASAMS, Leo 1 and M48.

I`ve seen F5, f15, f16, F18, Su27,Mig29, Torn ado, Hawk, C5, An124,and a lot of other aircraft in airshows
Also leo2,cv90, m113,Tows, Mistral, RBS70, NOAH etc
And a lot of ww2 stuff (museum)

Coolest moment was when i was in a trench just off the strip as a An124 took off on full power. The earth shook. (it landed in Trondheim with a DSRV in connection with the Kursk accident)

MrClean said:

When I was in 5th grade my class took a field trip to the Pima County Air and Space Museum, and there you could see everything from the best of what the US has to MiGS and every other mentionable plane in US history.

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MrClean: I was at D-M from 1973 to 1977, working at the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing public affairs office, then at the 12th Air Division public affairs office until TAC took over the base from SAC. Working with the 355th, I got tied into the "aircraft spotters" and "tail number collectors" network, taking visitors out on the ramp and alongside the runway for photographs. I also had free rein on taking visitors through the "boneyard," so I was a favorite contact for many of our international visitors. Of course, this also got me tied into what was then the Pima County Air Museum, so I got to see many of the things that were still "not ready for prime-time." Among the cooler things I got to do was sit in the dust-filled cockpit of the XF-107, the F-100 derivative that competed with the XF-105 Thunderchief, where I could see for myself the joys of having that intake right behind and above the canopy. Had one's canopy failed at power, that pilot would have been in extreme trouble! Of course, after the combined wind-blast and intake suction ripped the helmet off, hopefully without taking one's head with it, the engine would have stopped, having gone through catastrophic failure from swallowing the helmet! I also got to clamber around inside things like the Indian Air Force B-24 Liberator, the Martin Mars flying boat, etc. For someone trained as a historian, the Pima County Air Museum and the "boneyard" qualified as sheer bliss. You were lucky to grow up where you did, because few kids ever get to see things like you did up close!

I'm in Hawaii for two weeks, so I saw a flight of F/A-18s over the International Airport in Honolulu doing some impressive manuvers, and taxing to the runway the plane passed 3 F-15s in their shelters about 100 yards away. I also saw 3 Perry class frigates. However I did not get into Pearl Harbor (yet) so I have not seen a lot of the other "good stuff" although the F/A-18s in formation flight then breaking right at about 2000 feet was very cool.

In addition there were quite a lot C-17s and other transport aircraft at the airport.

I've fired the M-16 A2, FN Minimi LMG, FN MAG GPMG, Browning M-2 HMG, and M-72 LAW (fired at an old Kangaroo tank). Fired M-19 60mm mortar in hand-held (light) role with training inserts (not live rounds, and aimed at a pair of old tanks no less - a Sherman and a Centurion with a Bren Carrier nearby.)

Been in M-113 APC, and rode in LAV-1 Grizzly wheeled APC (a loathsome experience) and LAV-25 Bison wheeled APC (very comfy, until you start going at higher speeds).

Trained on but not fired the M-2 Carl Gustav RR, Claymore remote-detonated mine, Elsie landmine, and stripped and cleaned (but not trained on because it had been replaced in service by FN MAG) Browning M-1919 A4 MMG. Also handled Browning Hi-Power 9mmm pistol.

Handled but not fired Bren LMG (my Regiment kept a lot of old friendly and captured enemy weapons and equipment in its two museums - Regimental HQ had a big one one and my battalion had a small one of its own as well), FN FAL (SLR), Lee-Enfield, Ross rifle. Seen and touched M-4 and M-4 A3E8 Sherman and Sherman Firefly, and seen (and nearly touched with a mortar training round) a Centurion MK 3 or 5. Also seen an in-service Leopard 1 (but not touched, it was roaring its way up a little distance behind us as I was riding in the back of a deuce-and-a-half).

Seen (but not touched) AK-47/AKM, SVD Dragunov, possibly RPD and RPK and PK (my memory is growing a little fuzzy now), PIAT, 3.5" Rocket Launcher, and a T-55 sitting out front of some guy's surplus store in Kitchener, Ontario, M-101 105mm howitzer, M-109 155mm SPH, 40mm Bofors AAG, 25 pdr, 17 pdr, 6 pdr.

Been on a then in-service Navy destroyer, HMCS Saguenay (I think its a man-made reef off the West Coast now), and WWII destroyer and museum ship HMCS Haida.

Flown in C-130, CH-47, and UH-1N Twin Huey.

Seen F-4, F-14, F-15, F-16, F/A-18, B-52, B-1, B-52 (and touched!), maybe F-5 (I don't remember for sure), A-10, I think Tornado, C-5, C-141, E-3 AWACS, etc.

Probably a bunch of other stuff, but my memory is grower dimmer these days.

i've seen F-16 n Flanker, n really want to see Foxhound n Yak-130.

The only vehicles I can remember seeing is a Stuart light tank on Kinmen and some other old ROC vehicles and artillery.

Though I have seen P-3s flying around Brunswick in Maine. Shame about what's happening to the Naval base.

Been in Singapore military many years back. There I have seen and play with the M16S1 rifle, hand grenades and had seen our SM10 (I think that is what that tank is called), M113 Ultra and Bionix APC/IFV. Seen alot of Light Attack Vehicle (LAV) too.