78 What did you do with the spent brass? (United States Air Force Gunships in the Vietnam)
Description
This article is from the Vietnam FAQ, by Brian Ross, John R. Tegtmeier, Edwin E. Moise, Frank Vaughan, John Tegtmeier with numerous contributions by others.
78 What did you do with the spent brass? (United States Air Force Gunships in the Vietnam)
On the Spectre birds, when we had the 7.62's, the ammo was in a drum,
and the old brass went back into that drum. Our 20mm Vulcans dumped
the brass and links on the floor, where the gunners shoveled it into
duffel bags. The 40mm brass ejected from the rear of the gun into a
55-gallon drum we had strapped in place. The 105mm brass also got
tossed into an empty 55-gallon drum.
"In the -119K the 20mm brass expelled onto the floor of the
cargo compartment and was shoveled (as quick as possible)
through a hatch in the floor into a receptacle. I can't
recall if the 7.62 brass was handled the same way, or what -
we didn't use it that much, as most of our work was over the
Trail at altitudes where 7.62 was unusable." [RH]
"When we returned to base, the brass was off-loaded by a
crew of gunners assigned to loading duty. Most of the brass
was sold to local merchants, and ended up as souvenirs. A
certain amount was turned into plaques. The 105MM brass was
particularly good for engraving, and many crew members had
matched set made, with teakwood "projectiles". My family was
horrified when I came home and tried to explain how
"beautiful" they were, I'm sure others experienced the same
strange looks."
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