Tunnel Rat - Vietnam War

Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War the socalled "tunnel rats" became a more or less official speciality for volunteer infantrymen; primarily from The United States, Australia and New Zealand. Their motto being the Latin words "Non Gratum Anus Rodentum"! Since the 1940s, during the war against the French colonial forces, the Viet Cong had created a very extensive underground system of underground complexes. By the 1960s there were underground hospitals, training grounds, storage facilities, HQs, and more. The Viet cong - crack forces highly skilled at guerilla warfare, might stay underground for several months at a time. The tunnels were their territory.

Whenever troops would uncover a tunnel, tunnel rats were sent in to kill any hiding enemy soldiers and to plant explosives to destroy the tunnels. A tunnel rat was equipped with only a standard issue .45 caliber pistol, a bayonet and a flashlight, although most tunnel rats were allowed to choose another pistol with which to arm themselves. The tunnels were very dangerous, with numerous booby traps and enemies lying in wait. Often there were flooded U-bends in the tunnels to trap poison gas. Underground, gas could be a very deadly weapon, and a tunnel rat might choose to go into the tunnels wearing a gasmask; it would impossible to put it in narrow tunnels. But more often than not, a tunnel rat would take his chances without a gasmask, as it made even harder to see, hear and breath in the narrow, dark tunnels. The tunnels presented many potential threats; enemy soldiers manned holes on the sides of tunnels through which spears could be thrust, impaling a crawling intruder. Not only were there human enemies, but also dangerous creatures, such as snakes (including venomous ones - sometimes placed there as living booby traps), rats, spiders, scorpions, and ants. Black-Bearded Tomb Bats (Taphozous melanopogon) and Lesser Dawn Bats (Eonycteris spelaea) roosted in the tunnels and were a harmless nuisance if awakened.

Due to the confined space, the tunnel rats disliked the intense muzzle blast of the comparatively large .45 caliber round, which would often leave them temporarily deaf, and it was not uncommon for them to use whatever handgun they might find. The Soviet-made pistols the enemy carried were particular favourites, but they were rare, and the soldiers would often have someone at home send them a civilian pistol or revolver. Among the favorites were the smaller German Luger or less-common double action Walther pistols, both chambered in 9 mm. Many of these were brought home by American troops returning from World War II. Others would trade their pistols for revolvers used by other personnel. Many used improvised suppressors on their pistols to further reduce the noise.A particularly favored weapon was a specially modified Smith & Wesson Model 29 known as the "quiet special purpose revolver". Unlike the standard Model 29, which fires a .44 Magnum cartridge, the quiet special purpose revolver instead shot a .410 shotgun shell. This cartridge was far less loud than the .45 caliber. In addition, the revolver lacked as much recoil as the M1911, was lighter, more useful in a tight, confined space such as a tunnel, and very compact as well.

Tunnel rats were generally, but not exclusively, men of smaller stature (5'6 and under) in order to fit in the narrow tunnels. Mangold and Penycate claimed that the tunnel rats were almost exclusively White or Hispanic soldiers, and the majority of American Latinos were Puerto Rican or Mexican American. Such tactics came to prominence following their successful application in January 1966 during a combined US-Australian action against the Củ Chi tunnels in Binh Duong Province, known as Operation Crimp.