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Platoon

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Platoon (1986)

Platoon is a 1986 Vietnam War film directed by Oliver Stone, who based the film on his own experiences as a combat infantryman in both the 1st Cavalry Division and the 25th Infantry Division. The film follows a rifle platoon in Bravo Company, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, primarily through the eyes of Pvt. Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen), a young idealistic soldier on his first tour of duty. Throughout the film, Taylor experiences the conflict between two competing senior N.C.O's - the brave and compassionate Sgt. Elias Grodin (Willem Dafoe) and hardened, ruthless SSgt. Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger). The film is notable for its serious depiction of soldiers fighting the war, and for being the first movie for which the actors were put through a "boot camp" (organised by technical adviser Dale Dye) to gain experience on proper weapons handling and the day-to-day existence of a soldier fighting in Vietnam. Released to widespread critical acclaim, the film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning four, including Best Picture and Best Director and would be the first in a slew of films released about the war, including Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill, and BAT*21. The film was also the first in Stone's unofficial "trilogy" of Vietnam War-themed films which included 1989's Born on the Fourth of July and 1993's Heaven & Earth.

The following weapons were used in the film Platoon:


Rifles

M16

Crawford (Chris Pedersen) is briefly seen using what appears to be an original M16 as it lacks a forward assist. It could also be an AR-15/SP1 rifle, but since he is not seen firing it, it is unknown.

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An M16 with a birdcage flash hider and a 20 round magazine. M16s like this were common in Vietnam War movies in the 1980s and 1970s - 5.56x45mm
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Crawford (Chris Pedersen) holds an M16.
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Crawford (Chris Pedersen) with his M16 at the ready. Note the lack of a forward assist.

M16A1

Soldiers of the 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 25th Infantry Division "Tropic Lightning" use M16A1s, most commonly seen in the hands of Pvt. Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen). Also using the M16A1 are Big Harold (Forest Whitaker), Manny (Corkey Ford), Francis (Corey Glover) and Sgt. Red O'Neill (John C. McGinley).

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M16A1 with 20 round magazine - 5.56x45mm
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Big Harold (Forest Whitaker) humps the bush while on patrol with his M16A1.
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A soldier rests with his M16A1 at his side.
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Taylor fires his M16A1.
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Manny (Corkey Ford) with his M16A1.
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Taylor with his M16A1 at the ready.
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From left to right, both Huffmeister (Robert "Rock" Galotti) and Rhah (Francesco Quinn) have their M16A1's resting in their laps. Galotti served as a US Marine during the Gulf War and was an assistant technical adviser on this film. He is since become a prolific movie armorer.
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Francis (Corey Glover) fires his M16A1 during the final stand.
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Taylor fires his M16A1 during the final stand.
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Sgt. Red O'Neill (John C. McGinley) with his M16A1.

Colt Model 653P

Sgt. Elias Grodin (Willem Dafoe), SSgt. Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger), and Lt. Wolfe (Mark Moses) are armed with Colt Model 653P carbine assault rifles, noted by their rounded forward assists an 14.5" barrels, as the 653Ps were 653 export models sent to the Philippines. They were probably meant to stand in (albeit poorly) for the XM177E1 or E2. It is thus anachronistic to see these in the movie, as they were not used during the Vietnam war.

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Colt Model 653 Carbine - 5.56mm NATO
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SSgt. Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger) approaches a dead Vietnamese soldier with his Model 653P at the ready. Note how he keeps two mags taped together "jungle-style".
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Barnes locks and loads his Model 653P.
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Barnes shoots a wounded Vietnamese soldier with his Model 653P.
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Barnes shoots a Vietnamese woman with his Model 653P.
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Sgt. Elias Grodin (Willem Dafoe) with his Colt 653P.
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Close up of Elias' Model 653P.
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Lt. Wolfe (Mark Moses) with his Colt 653P.
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Wolfe fires his 653P during the final stand.
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SSgt. Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger) posing in a promotional photo with a good view of his M653P.

Norinco Type 56

The Norinco Type 56 is the weapon of choice of the Vietnamese troops, many of which feature "pig-sticker" under folder bayonets. They are noted as Chinese Type 56 rifles based on their hooded front sights. Only the milled receiver variant of this rifle was actually used during the war. Towards the end of the film, both SSgt. Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger) and Pvt. Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) are seen using these rifles, picked up from dead Vietnamese soldiers.

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Norinco Type 56, early model with milled receiver and with pig-sticker bayonet - 7.62x39mm
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A Vietnamese soldier approaches Taylor's position armed with a Norinco Type 56.
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A Type 56 is seen abandoned when the soldiers search the bunker. Note folding bayonet.
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A Type 56 is seen behind SSgt. Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger).
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The Vietnamese hand out Type 56 to the troops as they prepare to assault during the final stand.
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A soldier kills Bunny (Kevin Dillon) with his Type 56. Note the hooded front sight.
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A soldier stabs Pvt. Junior Martin (Reggie Johnson) repeatedly with the bayonet of his Type 56.
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SSgt. Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger) wields a Type 56 during the final stand.
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A shell-shocked Pvt. Taylor (Charlie Sheen) picks up Type 56 from a dead Vietnamese soldier.
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Taylor approaches a wounded soldier with the Type 56.
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Taylor gets ready to fire the Type 56.

Machine Guns

M60 machine gun

The M60 machine gun, affectionately known in Vietnam as "The Pig", is fired primarily by King (Keith David) in the film. As was typical in Vietnam, the M60 is typically manned by two men, a gunner and an assistant gunner who "feeds" the ammo.

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M60 machine gun - 7.62x51mm
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Sgt. Elias Grodin (Willem Dafoe) lugs the 23 lb. "Pig" on his shoulders on patrol.
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Lerner (Johnny Depp) sits on watch with his M60 behind him.
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Tex (David Neidorf) fires the M60 during the ambush while Pvt. Junior Martin (Reggie Johnson) feeds him the ammunition belt.
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King (Keith David) carries his M60 while on patrol. He keeps in the typical Vietnam configuration with the bipod down.
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Morehouse (Kevin Eshelman) fires the M60 as Big Harold (Forest Whitaker) feeds him.
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King fires the M60. Note the bottleneck rounds on the belt.
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An M60 in a door gunner mount on a UH-1 'Huey'.
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A helicopter door gunner (played by technical adviser Dale Dye) covers the soldiers with the door-mounted M60.

Browning M2HB

A Browning M2HB .50 cal is seen mounted on for use on an M113 Armored Personnel Carrier after the final stand.

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Browning M2HB on vehicle mount - 50 BMG)
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A gunner on the M2HB .50 cal as the M113 drives in. Director Oliver Stone noted in his DVD commentary for the film that APC soldiers were notorious for displaying Nazi paraphernalia on their vehicles, hence the swastika flag tied to the antenna.
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A side-shot of the M2HB on the APC.

Shotguns

Remington 870 Wingmaster

Bunny (Kevin Dillon) uses a Remington 870 Wingmaster shotgun with open blade sights throughout the film.

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Remington 870 - 12 gauge
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Bunny (Kevin Dillon) fires his Remington 870.
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Sgt. Elias Grodin (Willem Dafoe) lets Pvt. Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) "ride shotgun" with an 870.
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Bunny leaves the village with his 870 in hand. Note the stainless trigger guard, which helps I.D. it as the same shotgun in other scenes.
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King (Keith David) with the same 870.
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Bunny dug in for the last stand with his 870.
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Bunny shows his war face as he pumps his 870.

Sidearms

M1911A1

The M1911A1 is the standard sidearm for all of the NCOs and Officers in the film. It is most prominently seen used by Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe) when he does tunnel rat duty and SSgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger) when he uses it to threaten a little girl in the village to get her father to talk.

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Colt M1911A1 - .45 ACP
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An M1911A1 is seen in Sgt. Elias Grodin's (Willem Dafoe) holster.
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Tex's (David Neidorf) M1911A1 sits next to his helmet.
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Elias on tunnel-rat duty with his flashlight and .45 at the ready.
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Elias fires his .45.
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SSgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger) threatens a little girl with his .45 in the village. Sgt Barnes draws the M1911A1 from his cargo pouch during the raid on the village. Why is the gun in that pouch? Was this gun peraphs expected to be used although the LCE wasn't designed for it? Or was it just a trick to be used in case of capture?

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The Battalion Commander (cameo role of director Oliver Stone) is seen with a .45 in a tanker-style shoulder holster.

Launchers

M72 LAW

An M72 LAW is seen strapped on top of Pvt. Chris Taylor's (Charlie Sheen) pack. It is also seen used by SSgt. Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger) during the final stand.

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M72 LAW 66mm.
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An M72 LAW is seen strapped to Pvt. Taylor's (Charlie Sheen) backpack.
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A shot Taylor's M72 LAW during the village scene.
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Morehouse (Kevin Eshelman) carries an M16A1 rifle and M72 LAW.
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SSgt. Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger) fires his M72 LAW during the final stand.

M79 grenade launcher

While never seen used in the film, the M79 grenade launcher is carried by several soldiers during the film, including Tubbs (Andrew B. Clark), a member of Red's squad.

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M79 "Blooper" 40mm.
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A soldier out on patrol with his M79 grenade launcher.
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Tubbs searches the village with his M79 in hand.
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Tubbs chucks a grenade into a basket of rice in the village, M79 slung in front.
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A soldier armed with an M79 searches the dead after the final stand.

B-40

Several NVA soldiers are armed with B-40's, a Vietnamese copy of the RPG-2.

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RPG-2 40mm with PG-2 rocket
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A Vietnamese soldier with a B-40
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Vietnamese soldiers fire a B-40 at a bunker during the climatic battle. Director Oliver Stone actually had a live B-40 fired during this scene.

Grenades

M26 Hand Grenade

M26 hand grenades are seen several times as the standard issue grenade of the members of 1st Platoon.

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M26 High-Explosive Fragmentation hand grenade.
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As Pvt. Taylor (Charlie Sheen) glances at the explosives detonator, several M26 grenades are visible.
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A primed M26 grenade rolls around before detonating.

M34 White Phosphorous Grenade

Ebenhoch (Mark Ebenhoch) is seen throwing an M34 White Phosphorous grenade (also called "Willy Pete" - slang for White Phosphorous) in one of the rice wells during the raid of the village. SSgt. Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger) also uses an M34 Grenade handed to him by Tony (Ivan Kane) to destroy one of the underground tunnels, this time yelling "Willie Pete!" when he throws the grenade.

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M34 White Phosphorous grenade
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Tony (Ivan Kane) hands SSgt. Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger) an M34 White Phosphorous grenade.
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Ebenhoch (Mark Ebenhoch) readies an M34 White Phosphorous grenade to be tossed into well.