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Red Dawn (1984)

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Red Dawn (1984)

Red Dawn is a 1984 action thriller that dramatizes a Soviet invasion of the United States. Directed by John Milius, the film stars Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, and Jennifer Grey as a group of young people who become resistance fighters against the invading army. The film is notable for the surprisingly accurate depiction of modern Soviet armor and weaponry for a Hollywood film. A remake of the film is scheduled for release in 2011.

The following weapons were used in the film Red Dawn (1984):

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!

Handguns

Colt Single Action Army

A Colt Single Action Army revolver with ivory grips was used by Jed. The revolver used was a personal piece owned by director John Milius.

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Colt Single Action Army "Artillery" model with 5.5" barrel .45 Long Colt
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Matt Eckert hands over the Single Action Army to Jed Eckert
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Jed Eckert prepares to shoot Yuri (Sam Slovick) near the sign for the Arapaho National Park, with his Single Action Army
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"Because we LIVE HERE!!!!!!"
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"You lose." Jed Eckert announces his presence to Colonel Strelnikov, instead of just shooting him. This may be a manifestation of Jed's growing horror as to what kind of person he has become and what the war has done to him. Previously he had no problems shooting a man in the back, but now he feels compelled to give the Colonel a chance to face his death, a decision that will cost Jed his life.

Walther PP Pistol

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Post war Walther PP Pistol - 32 acp. .
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The Nicaraguan Captain (Judd Omen) holds a Walther PP Pistol as he hunts for Jed and Matt - .32 ACP. He would later be blinded by Matt's RPG back blast. The Walther PP was standing in for the Makarov, which was unavailable at the time of filming.

Smith & Wesson Model 15

A Smith & Wesson Model 15 (denote by it's tapered barrel) with Pachmayr grips is the 'survival pistol' for U.S.A.F. Colonel Andrew Tanner (Powers Boothe) but it is taken away from him by Erica. Interestingly enough, the Model 15 was the issued revolver to USAF Security Police from 1962-1985 so it is feasible for a USAF Colonel to wield one. Combat pilots were given a wide latitude of the personal sidearm they could carry, with many opting for small revolvers, like the Airweight, or traditional semiauto pistols like the M1911.

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Smith & Wesson Model 15 .38 Special
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U.S.A.F. Colonel Andrew Tanner sleeps with his Smith & Wesson Model 15 with combat grips at his side
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Tanner's Model 15 is confiscated by Erica
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Later, during the liberation raid on the re-education camp, Col. Tanner again has the Smith & Wesson Model 15 in a shoulder holster.

M1911A1

  • An M1911A1 pistol is first seen in the "cold dead hands" of an American who resisted the Soviet invasion. The pistol is pulled from the hand of the man and inspected by a Soviet Paratrooper who stuffs it behind his webbing belt. The M1911A1 seen in this scene is a commercial blued version. A parkerized M1911A1 is also used by Colonel Andrew Tanner during the final snow battle.
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Colt 1911 Series 70 .45 ACP
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In the lead up to seeing the first M1911A1 we see this iconic bumper sticker - this saying was popular during the 1970s and 1980s and indicated most American gun owner's disdain for draconian gun control.
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In one of the most famous (and morbid) twists on a pop culture phrase, a Soviet Paratrooper prepares to take a blued commercial M1911A1 from the dead hands of a Colorado resident who decided to fight back
  • Later in the film, despite having his Smith & Wesson Model 15 revolver, Colonel Tanner ends up with a military M1911A1 pistol, seen during the snow battle. It is assumed that he picked it up somewhere along the way, like the previous Soviet Paratrooper, since none of the occupying forces would be carrying that pistol.
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M1911A1 .45 ACP
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Col. Tanner fires at one of the Soviet tankers in the snow battle with his M1911A1 Pistol. His version appears to be parkerized, thus a military version.

CZ 75

When one expects a Makarov PM or at least a mildly out of fashion Tokarev TT-33 pistol, the leader of the Soviet Paratroopers in the attack on Calumet High School, motions to his troops, with a pre-B model CZ 75 pistol. This is the original CZ 75 handgun, and not the later B models.

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"Pre-B" CZ 75 9x19mm
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Soviet Paratrooper officers gestures with his CZ 75 pistol

Tokarev TT-33 Pistol

One of the officers does have an actual Tokarev TT-33 Pistol (several viewings of the clip verified it, even though the actor whips it back and forth). He stands next to another paratrooper firing an RPG - with those Bright yellow and Blue rockets.

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Soviet Airborne officer tells another paratrooper where to aim his RPG-7. The officer in the back holds up his Tokarev TT-33 pistol. This handgun was well obsolete by this time for front line troops in the USSR.

Submachine Gun

Jatimatic Submachine Gun

The Jatimatic SMG was used by Colonel Strelnikov (William Smith) when he is hunting Matt and Jed at the end of the film. It was supposed to represent the Polish manufactured PM-63 machine pistol as none were available in the country during the time of filming as this was the Cold War.

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Jatimatic 9x19mm
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Colonel Strelnikov actually wears the Jatimatic on a custom holster during his speech to the assembled Soviet and Cuban officers. It is a bit strange for the Colonel to wear his submachine gun on his hip when he is making a speech, however, always having the Jatimatic near him at all times, differentiated Col. Strelnikov from all other Soviet officers.
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Colonel Strelnikov brandishes the Jatimatic when he hunts for Jed and Matt at the train station.
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Colonel Strelnikov fires his Jatimatic submachine gun at Matt Eckert, who is hiding on a freight train
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Colonel Strelnikov reacts to being shot by Jed Eckert's Single Action Army revolver while firing his Jatimatic submachine gun

Shotguns

Mossberg 500 Field Gun

The Shotgun that Robert takes from his father's Gas Station/General Store is initially a Mossberg 500 with a field barrel (28"). Robert Morris (C. Thomas Howell) uses it in the first encounter with Soviet soldiers in the National park.

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Mossberg 500 Field Gun
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Robert prepares to fire his Mossberg 500 field shotgun

Remington 870 Wingmaster

In a continuity break, the Mossberg 500 previously seen morphs into a Remington 870 Wingmaster. The Remington 870 Wingmaster is first seen when Robert is sawing down the long barrel to a short barreled shotgun. The cut down 870 is used pretty much exclusively by Robert for the rest of the film.

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Remington 870 Police Magnum Riot Shotgun 12 Gauge

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Robert cuts down the barrel of his Remington 870 Wingmaster. Legal note: Viewers have often pondered as to the legality of actually sawing off a shotgun barrel for the film. Since the actual Remington 870 firing gun from the armorers was already a short barreled shotgun, installing a long barrel on it and then cutting it down (while being filmed by the cameras) is not an illegal act, since the gun is not being converted into a something that it is not already.
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Robert fires his short 870 along with Matt and his AKM.

Rifles & Carbines

Maadi ARM

According to Long Mountain Outfitters (http://www.longmountain.com/movieguns/RedDawn), the AKM rifles used in the movie were actually Egyptian Maadi MISR (imported into the US as the ARM) semi-auto rifles, some of the first semi-automatic Kalashnikov-type rifles ever imported into the United States (besides the Clayco AKM copies). 53 such rifles were used in the movie, 32 of which were converted to full-auto by Class 3 manufacturer Pearl Manufacturing specially for the film. These guns were later used in numerous other movies. Not to be confused with the post 1989 imported firearms called "MISR" which was modified to comply with the federal import ban.

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Maadi ARM (AKM) 7.62x39mm as used in Red Dawn (image from Long Mountain Outfitters)
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AKM 7.62x39mm
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Aardvark (Doug Toby) utters the classic line "Wolverines!" while holding a Maadi ARM rifle converted to Full auto fire.
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Jed (Patrick Swayze) delivers some hot lead to a Russian tanker via an AKM.

Fake AKS-74

Fake AKS-74s are used by Soviet paratroopers in the first attack on the school and Soviet Spetsnaz in the battle in the snow. They are actually Maadi ARMs that were very cleverly mocked up with bakelite plastic magazines, skeletal stocks, and custom-made muzzle brakes that resembles that of the AK-74.

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AKS-74 5.45x39mm
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Spetnaz Snow troopers advance with faked AK-74 rifles made from Maadi ARMs
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Several angles of the mocked up AK-74 with the custom Muzzle Brake and the non-folding Skeletal stock. These rifles also use orange bakelite 7.62x39mm magazines. As a contrast, the standard AKMs in the film used metal magazines

Valmet M78

The Valmet M78 LMG was standing in for the Soviet RPK since none were available in the country when this movie was filmed. The M78 LMG was used by Russian Paratroopers in the beginning of the movie and, and later by the Wolverines, most notably by Toni Mason (Jennifer Grey).

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Valmet M78 7.62x39mm
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Soviet Paratrooper fires the Valmet M78 LMG during the initial attack
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Toni Mason fires her Valmet M78 LMG during an ambush.
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A Valmet M78 LMG can be seen on a table along with the bright yellow RPG rockets with bright blue tubes.
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Jed (Patrick Swayze) holds a Valmet M78 with a drum magazine while sitting in the snow
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Jed carries the Valmet M78.

FN FAL

Cuban and Nicaraguan soldiers can be seen carrying FN FAL rifles as their main weapons.

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FN FAL 50.00 7.62x51mm NATO
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A quick but clear shot of the FAL rifle being brandished by the Cuban / Nicaraguan troops during an ambush. Most of the time the soldiers held the rifles close to their bodies, making a clear view difficult

Ruger Mini 14 GB

Briefly seen being handed out to freed prisoners at the re-education camp, and later seen obviously by an escaping 'political prisoner' during the night raid.

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Ruger AC556 Carbine 5.56x45mm. Full auto version of Ruger Mini 14 GB.
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Unidentified man with a Ruger Mini 14 GB runs out the gate

M16A1 Rifle

A few M16A1 rifles can be briefly seen being handed out to freed prisoners at the re-education camp, and later seen by another running 'political prisoner' during the night raid.

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M16A1 with 20 round magazine 5.56x45mm
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Unidentified man with an M16A1 runs out the gate


Marlin Model 336C

The Marlin Model 336C lever action rifle was picked up from the store just after the invasion. Arturo "Aardvark" Mondragon (Doug Toby) fires a single shot from the back of a pickup truck at Russian troops, after an American UH-1 helicopter attacks the Soviets on the ground using rockets. He also uses it in some of the ambushes later in the film. What is unusual is that the character Arturo Mondragon, nicknamed "Aardvark", is never addressed or identified in the film, despite having such a major role. The only time the audience hears his name is when Erica (Lea Thompson) screams "Aardvark" when he dies during the snow battle with the T-72 tanks.

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Marlin Model 336C .30-30 Winchester
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Arturo "Aardvark" Mondragon fires the Marlin Model 336C from the pickup truck.
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Aardvark fires the Marlin Model 336C during an ambush.

Savage 110

Jed picks up a Savage 110 bolt action rifle from Mr. Morris' store at the beginning of the film. He uses it as a sniper rifle during some of the ambushes. The Savage is a likely candidate since the tapered barrel seen in the film more closely matches the stock barrels of the Savage 110 series, more than rifles such as the Remington 700. He also appears to have mounted a .22 rimfire scope on the rifle but the caliber of the rifle is unknown.

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Robert Morris (C. Thomas Howell) borrows Jed Eckert's Savage 110 rifle to hunt deer, while Matt Eckert carries the Marlin Model 336C.
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Jed surveys the desolate battlefield with his Savage 110 Bolt Action Rifle.
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Jed says goodbye to Mr. & Mrs. Mason, the grandparents of Toni and Erica Mason, while holding his Savage 110 bolt action rifle on horseback.
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Jed on an ambush with his Savage 110 Bolt Action Rifle

Remington Model 572 Fieldmaster

Seen in the gun rack above Jed's Savage 110 bolt action rifle is a Remington Model 572 Fieldmaster pump action rifle. The 572 is a pump action 22 that will shoot 22 shorts, 22 long, or 22 long rifle cartridges. Ammunition is supplied by a tubular magazine under the barrel which holds 15-20 rounds depending on the caliber used. This ability to use all three cartridges is at variance with other pump action 22's which use only the long rifle. The Remington 572 is a popular plinker and small game rifle which would be ideal as a survival weapon although it did not see additional use in the movie.

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Machine Guns

Fake DShK Heavy Machine Gun

At the time of filming there were no DShK heavy machine guns available for use in movies, so the armorers mocked up DShKs from M60D machine guns. Apparently the size difference between a 7.62mm gun and a .50 cal gun wasn't enough to distract people during the movie.

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M60D machine gun 7.62x51mm NATO
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The first time we see the DShK Heavy machine guns, mocked up out of M60D machine guns is when one is mounted on a faked T-72 Tank. What is confusing is that there is an Airborne officer 'commanding' a Main battle tank, which would not be the case. Blue was the color of shoulder boards and collar tabs for Airborne soldiers, Black was the color for Armored Units.
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A better angle of the Fake DShK where we can see the M60 origins. The Airborne officer with the blue beret and goggles is Fred Rexer, the former Green Beret (and personal friend of Director John Milius), who trained all of the young actors playing the Wolverines in guerilla warfare.
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When American prisoners are executed, including Jed and Matt's father, Tom Eckert (Harry Dean Stanton), we see Soviet Tankers firing their fake DShKs into the line of men
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In the snow battle, we clearly see the fake DShKs mounted on the fake T-72 tanks that are made from M60Ds
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Erica (Lea Thompson) first uses a fake DShK during the ambush.
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In the ambush on the Spetnaz troops in the snow, Lea Thompson can clearly be seen firing a mocked up M60D, posing as a DShK.
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One of the fake DShK heavy machine guns is seen mounted as a door gun on the fake Hind helicopter gunships
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During the final battle we get a good look at just how LONG and slender the faked DShK barrel is, when mounted on the M60D as a platform

Fake Goryunov SGM Machine gun

Yet another Soviet-era machine gun that was mocked up from the venerable (and available) M60 machine gun is the Goryunov SGM machine gun.

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Robert (C. Thomas Howell) fires a Mocked up Goryunov SGM Machine Gun that was built up from an M60. The rate of fire was increased to around 1100 rpm versus the more standard 750 round per minute and the design of the gun was disguised by wrapping it in white cloth.
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Robert's position during the snow battle has a fake Goryunov, mocked up from yet another M60 Machine Gun. The white wrapping has fallen off, exposing the M60s' pistol grip lower receiver, whereas the SGM has spade grips.

Browning M2HB Heavy Machine Gun

Seen briefly but never used is a knocked out Browning M2HB heavy machine gun, mounted on a destroyed M42 Duster anti-aircraft vehicle.

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Browning M2HB on vehicle mount - .50 BMG
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Matt, Jed and Robert run past a destroyed M42 Duster with a Browning M2HB Heavy Machine gun, lying cockeyed off of it's mount, presumably inoperable, or else the Russians would not have left it out in the open

Mini-Gun

GE M134 Minigun

An abandoned GE M134 Minigun, possibly from a crashed vehicle/chopper can be seen on the abandoned battlefield. It is noteworthy that there seem to be many 'abandoned' weapons, from .50 cal machine guns to .30 cal machine guns, however, it must be assumed that these are damaged and inoperable, or else the Soviets would never just leave them for anyone to pick up.

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GE M134 Minigun 7.62x51mm NATO
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Visible to the right, on the ground is the GE M134 Minigun and the articulated belt feeding tray.
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Just to the left of Matt Eckert is an abandoned GE M134 Minigun

Man Portable Missile and Rocket/Grenade Launchers

Fake RPG-7

Fake RPG-7s are used by Soviet and Communist Bloc soldiers, and later Matt (Charlie Sheen). The weapon itself is a fabricated prop, utilizing a vintage 1950s era RPG-2 as a base. A flared rear blast cone and a second 'fake' pistol grip was added as well as a fake PGO-7 scope that was fabricated out of plastic (it's a bit too large and wrongly shaped for the real PGO-7 scope). The rocket warhead is a plastic and rubber fabrication and not an RPG-2 rocket head. The fuse tip itself is the cap from a Crest toothpaste tube!

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RPG-7 40mm
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Matt aims his plastic and rubber mockup of an RPG-7 (though no RPG at the time had a bright yellow warhead with a Bright light blue rocket tube.)
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Closeup of the rubber rocket head of the fake RPG-7
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Later in the film, the rocket heads are less bright yellow, now a more mustard color. Robert Morris (C. Thomas Howell) aims his RPG-7 at a Hind helicopter.

On another note, the rocket of the fake RPG-7 (like many other films that use rocket launchers) is a foam rubber fake when firing around actors. Prior to the advent of CGI in films, they were fired with real Estes rocket motors and guided along wires to their targets. Below we see a frame of film where we can clearly see the wire that will guide the foam rubber rocket head to its intended target.

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A view of the wire that guides the phony rocket head to its target.


Fake SA-7 Grail

  • A mocked up SA-7 Grail (built from metal tubing and plastic) is used by a Cuban soldier at an attacking American UH-1D Helicopter. The Mockup of the SA-7 is quite accurate. However, in the film a Cuban soldier, firing a heat seeking surface to air missile, cannot hit a slow moving UH-1 "Huey" (The post Vietnam "G" model with twin turbines). This is not likely unless he panic fires into a completely wrong direction.
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SA-7 Grail aka Russian Strela-2 Surface to air missile 70mm. The name "Grail" was a NATO Designation for the weapon, "Strela" was the Russian designation.
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Cuban Soldier readies to fire his mocked up SA-7 "Grail" Surface to Air Missile at attacking American UH1G Helicopters. This is an excellent movie mockup.
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SA-7 Grail aka Russian Strela-2 Surface to air missile is fired at night in the downtown suburb of Calumet, CO. (actually a street in the small town of Las Vegas, New Mexico).

Grenades

Fake RGD-5 Hand Grenades

In the film we see numerous fake Soviet RGD-5 hand grenades, however, the paint scheme is off and the scale is too large.

RGD-5 High-Explosive Fragmentation hand grenade
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Robert drops "RGD-5" mocked up grenades during one of the ambushes, off of the roof onto the Cuban & Soviet Soldiers.
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Toni Mason (Jennifer Grey) has an RGD-5 grenade placed as a boobytrap under her dead body after the helicopter attack, only to be tripped by an enemy soldier.

Fake RGD-33 Stick Grenade

  • Colonel Tanner uses a stick grenade to destroy one of the YAK-36 VTOL fighters parked near the re-education camp. Though it is cool, it seems strange that the Soviet Navy would have VTOL fighters parked so close to an internment camp, unless they were using the Americans as human shields against long range missile strikes or aerial bombardment. The stick grenade is a mockup, however it could be either a fake of the RGD-33 stick grenade or the RKG-3 anti-tank grenade.
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RGD-33 High-Explosive Fragmentation stick grenade
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Col. Tanner shows a stick grenade to a YAK-36 pilot moments before tossing it in the intake

Rocket Pods

Rocket Pods (on Fake Hind Gunship)

Seen on the mocked up Hind Model A Helicopter Gunship, along with wing mounted hard points with air to ground missiles.

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Fake Rocket pods are mounted on the wings of the Hind Gunship.

Gun Platforms

Fake Mil Mi-24 "Hind" Gunship

The "Mil Mi-24 Hind"s are excellent mockups of Hind-As (painted with winter camo) built up from French Aerospatiale Pumas and were later used again in other movies such as Rambo 2 and 3. The version depicted was the earliest incarnation of the Hind, the Model-A with the blunt angular nose. The Hind-A was also seen in the film Firefox however those were 1/12th scale Radio Control flying models. For the film Red Dawn, three Pumas were modified (and all seen on film) and all had a fake Hind-A 'nose' sections built with darked tinted windows that slipped over the front end of the real Puma helicopter. (If you looked closely, you could see the real nose of the Puma 'underneath' the Hind Nose section through the tinted windows. This limited pilot vision and also restricted motion - quick turns were not possible lest the fake nose front end be ripped off the helicopter. Later incarnations of the same modified Puma helicopter removed the extended Hind Model A Nose sections but kept the fake wings and rockets pods (as these were sturdy modifications and didn't adversely affect the aerodynamics of the Helicopter.)

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Two of the three faux "Hind" helicopters chase the Wolverines in the beginning of the assault.
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One part of the PUMA helicopter that could not be modified was the bulging pods for the rear landing gear/wheels. The real HINDs are smooth sided, with retractable landing gear, to make them more sleek and aerodynamic in attack maneuvers.
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Seen on the nose is a mockup of the single barreled 12.7mm heavy machine gun that was standard on the Hind-A helicopter. Only the later models of the helicopter upgraded to 12.7 mm YakB gatling gun.
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In real life, use of the Hind-As are a bit anachronistic, since the ubiquitous Hind-D (the version we see today with the twin tandem nose canopies) replaced all previous Hind gunships in active service beginning in 1974. The Hind-As had design problems which forced their replacement by the Model D and had been replaced in most front line units by 1977.

In several shots, we can see the actual nose assembly of the original PUMA helicopter underneath the tinted glass windows of the extended "faux" nose.

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Visible is the original nose of the Puma Helicopter under the tinted glass. The filmmakers just mounted the fake nose on top of the real helicopter nose.

M42 "Duster" 40mm Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun

An M42 "Duster" that has been knocked out of action is prominent in the ghost battlefield sequence. Of course what is noticeably lacking are Main Battle tanks like M1 Abrahms or Infantry Fighting vehicles, from the plethora of destroyed vehicles on the battlefield. The M42 "Duster" was a light tank chassis that was outfitted with twin 40mm AA guns and was used by ground troops in Vietnam and retired from regular Army service in 1972. The M42 was then only found as a Corps Level asset in National Guard units until it was fully retired in 1988.

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Jed, Robert and Matt walk past a knocked out M42 "Duster" - 40mm Main armament with a Browning M2HB mounted on the back.

Fake Soviet ZSU-23 Self Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun

A Fake Soviet ZSU-23 Self Propelled Anti Aircraft Gun was built on an American M48 Tank Chassis by Veluzet Armored Vehicles, out of Newhall, California. This ZSU-23 replica was also used in the John Milius directed film Flight of the Intruder.

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The faux Soviet ZSU-23 Self Propelled AA gun seen in the film Red Dawn during the night attack. Unlike the film Flight of the Intruder (which mounted a real quad 50 comprising Browning M2HBs), this ZSU-23 only has fake mockup AA guns, so it is never seen firing in the movie.
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Behind the Scenes: Inside the Veluzat Tank shop, the M48 Tank Chassis has a steel frame welded into place that will eventually become the Soviet ZSU-23 Self Propelled AA gun seen in the film Red Dawn.
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Behind the Scenes: The faux Soviet ZSU-23 Self Propelled AA gun seen in the film Red Dawn is parked as mechanics do some last minute testing.

Fake Soviet T-72 Main Battle Tank

The ubiquitous M48 Chassis was also used to build up the Fake T-72 tanks from the film.

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A beautifully painted Faux T-72 Tank rolls up to the snow battle. The 120mm Main gun is an aluminum and fiberglass tube that mounted a black powder charge in front to simulate firing.
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Behind the Scenes: The fiberglass turret of the faux Soviet T-72 built for and seen in the film Red Dawn has been painted with a different paint scheme. In all the Fake T-72s impersonated multiple tanks with different paint schemes, most seen is the green urban, the field camo and the winter camo patterns.

Trivia

Morris's Market

As many viewers remember, there was a large rack of sporting/hunting long guns in Mister Morris's Gas Station/General Store and Mister Morris hands out food, guns and ammunition to the boys and tells them to leave and "don't look back". However, none of the long guns in Mister Morris's gun rack can be identified due to the dark lighting in the shot.

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A view of the dark gun rack in Mister Morris's Market. It is extremely difficult to identify the weapons in the rack due to the dark shadowy lighting in the scene.

Inaccurate Captioning on the DVD

During the planning of the attack on the re-education camp, Col. Tanner mystifies most of the Wolverines with his military jargon. Apparently the jargon is unknown to the people doing the captioning of the DVD as well. He refers to grazing fire at a defilade (using the verb as a noun to refer to an area where the Soviets have created to protect the position from enfilading fire). Erica Mason (Lea Thompson) responds with "Devolay?". The Closed captions on the DVD incorrectly quotes Tanner as saying "duffle-A" which makes no sense.

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The Caption of this scene incorrectly quotes Tanner as saying "duffle-A" when in fact he says "Defilade" (which is a real military term).