The Fourth War is a 1990 drama directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Roy Scheider as Jack Knowles, a US Army Colonel and decorated Vietnam veteran who comes to be at odds with a Soviet colonel (Jürgen Prochnow) at the West German-Czechoslovakia border during the height of the Cold War in the late 1980s.
The following weapons were used in the film The Fourth War:
An early M16/SP1 rifle fitted with A2-style round handguards is notably used by COL Knowles during his secret missions. This particular rifle is also fitted with an underbarrel laser sight. This particular laser-sighted M16 is also used briefly at the end of the film by Lt. Colonel Clark (Tim Reid) after he takes it from one of his men. At the time of filming, the US Army had recently adopted the M16A2.
The majority of the US soldiers in the film carry what appear to be M16A2-style rifles, but close inspection reveals that they are in fact carrying M16A1s with A2 style handguards.
What appears to be the Norinco Type 56-1 rifle carried by Soviet soldiers in the film. These rifles have the distinctive full-circle ("hooded") front sights of the Norinco, but have slant muzzle brakes of Soviet-made AK rifles. Most are fitted with bakelite magazines (rather than metal), and at least one seen near the end of the film is fitted with an AK-74-style muzzle brake in an attempt to imitate the Soviet armed forces' service rifle at the time. Colonel Valachev (Jürgen Prochnow) uses one of these rifles that's been fitted with what appears to be a mock-up of a GP-25 Grenade launcher.
What appears to be a GP-25 Grenade launcher is mounted underneath the Norinco Type 56-1 rifle used by Colonel Valachev (Jürgen Prochnow). This launcher is clearly a fabricated mockup which likely uses shotgun shells or another form of blank, since the GP-25 was not available to film armorers in the West at the time that this movie was filmed.
During a confrontation with Soviet forces at the German-Czech border early in the film, COL Knowles orders one of his soldiers to point an FIM-92A Stinger at the "Soviet" helicopter (actually an American Sikorsky S-58 painted in Soviet Army markings) which buzzes the armored column under his command. The Fourth War is one of the earliest movies to feature an actual FIM-92A Stinger instead of the earlier FIM-43 Redeye (Fire Birds, which also featured the Stinger, was released nearly two months after this movie).
Error creating thumbnail: File missingFIM-92A Stinger 70mmError creating thumbnail: File missingCOL Knowles orders one of his soldiers to aim an FIM-92A Stinger at the "Soviet" helicopter. Note that this Stinger, like most used in movies, features a genuine launch tube mated to a mock-up fire control unit with a demilled IFF antenna - it notably lacks the latch at the front to secure the fire control unit to the launch tube. The IR window also appears to be gone.
Helicopters and armor
During the final confrontation, US and Soviet forces respond with many armored vehicles and helicopters. Some of the "Soviet" armored vehicles in this scene appear to have been originally built for Red Dawn.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingA Sikorsky S-58 fitted with mock-up rocket pods and painted in Soviet markings.Error creating thumbnail: File missingWhat is likely a mock-up of an LAV-25 (incorrect for the US Army at the time) built from a Canadian-origin GM AVGP Grizzly (the movie was filmed in Canada), while a Gazelle helicopter gunship (also not used by the US Army) buzzes nearby.Error creating thumbnail: File missingAn M113 APC fitted with a Browning M2; several Willys M38A1 jeeps trail behind (note that in US military service, the Ford M151 "MUTT" had long replaced the M38 during the time in which the film takes place; by 1988, the M151 itself was being replaced by the HMMWV).Error creating thumbnail: File missingAn M60A3 tank.Error creating thumbnail: File missingA mock-up of a T-72, likely the same one from Red Dawn, but re-painted.Error creating thumbnail: File missingThe "Soviet" Sikorsky S-58 hovers over a mock-up BTR-60 and a mock-up BRDM-2 (both likely the same vehicles originally made for Red Dawn).
