K-50

     Notes: This is the Vietnamese version of the Chinese Type 50 submachinegun, which is in turn a copy of the Russian PPS-43. While the Chinese made very little alterations to the PPS-43 when they took it into service, the Vietnamese made several changes to the Type 50. These include replacing the upward-folding stock to a sliding wire stock copied from the French MAT-49 (another weapon they used in great quantities), greatly shortening the barrel jacket, removing the muzzle brake, and the addition of a normal pistol grip instead of the abbreviated one used on the Type 50 and PPS-43. In addition, most of the K-50 is made of cheaper stamped steel. By the time of the Twilight War, the K-50 was being replaced in favor of AKS-74U-type designs from various countries, but it could still be found in good numbers in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

MAT-49M

     Notes: After the fall of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the Vietnamese inherited a large amount of ex-French weapons, both from capture and from Vietnamese militias that were assisting the French forces. The Vietnamese did not have a reliable supply of 9mm Parabellum ammunition, but they did have access to a large amount of 7.62mm Tokarev ammunition from Russia, Eastern Europe, and China, as well as indigenous manufacture. They decided to rechamber the thousands of captured MAT-49 submachineguns they had, and then manufacture some more of them. These were issued out in large numbers to civilians, and used throughout the US involvement in Vietnam, and later border fights against the Chinese. By the 2003, most of the MAT-49M’s were out of service, either completely worn out or discarded in favor of better weapons, but they were still a common sight in some out of the way places in Vietnam, as well as in Laos and Cambodia. They are basically identical to the standard MAT-49 except for the caliber and a lengthened barrel.