This Cambodian 🇰🇭 RPG Started Life as an American 🇺🇸Bomb 50 years ago.

Quick Overview

A Cambodian soldier fires an RPG-2 launcher loaded with a repurposed American BLU-24/66 cluster bomb munition, which was likely captured from an arsenal after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978 and subsequently adapted by Khmer Rouge forces.

Key Points: A Cambodian soldier fires a weapon identified as an RPG-2 launcher loaded with a projectile that is actually a modified American BLU-24/66 cluster bomb munition (0:02, 0:43). The projectile is identified as a 70mm B40 M2 Projected Grenade, which is an anti-personnel munition (0:51). The RPG-2 launcher is distinguished from the RPG-7 by its non-flared muzzle, a feature visible on the weapon being fired (0:33). The BLU-24/66 cluster munitions were dropped by US aircraft on North Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and thousands were captured and redistributed after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December 1978 (1:23, 2:04, 2:35). The video suggests these captured munitions were stored in an armory for 47 years before being found and likely converted into RPG rounds by one of the factions fighting in the Cambodian conflict (3:06, 3:29). The presenter promotes his book, "Lies to Rule Men: Book Two of the Deseret Series," which deals with alternate history involving a Mormon republic (1:11).

Context: The video analyzes footage showing a Cambodian soldier firing a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) that is using an unconventional, improvised munition derived from unexploded American ordnance left over from the Vietnam War era. The presenter identifies the weapon as an RPG-2 and the projectile as a modified BLU-24/66 cluster bomb submunition, explaining that these munitions were widely dispersed in Vietnam and later captured and repurposed by various factions in Cambodia, including Khmer Rouge forces, following the Vietnamese invasion in 1978.

Detailed Analysis

The video investigates a clip showing a Cambodian soldier firing a rocket-propelled weapon, which the speaker identifies as an RPG-2 due to its non-flared muzzle, unlike the common RPG-7. The projectile itself is the focus, identified as a 70mm B40 M2 Projected Grenade, which is actually a repurposed American BLU-24/66 anti-personnel cluster munition. The speaker explains that the US dropped thousands of these cluster bombs on North Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and following the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December 1978, these munitions were captured and redistributed among warring factions for decades. The video implies that this specific munition was likely stored in an arsenal for nearly 47 years before being found and adapted by soldiers, possibly Khmer Rouge or other forces, for use in the ongoing Cambodian conflict. The presenter also plugs his alternate history novel, "Lies to Rule Men: Book Two of the Deseret Series," available on BunkerBranding.com.