When the Vietnam War escalated to the point at which full scale US invention became a reality, there was no standardized sniper equipment. Although military regulations prohibited bringing personal weapons to Southeast Asia, riflescopes were not included. Consequently, several sniping weapons were fielded under these circumstances.
These “riflemen with telescopes” used “improvised” equipment consisting of commercial hunting rifles and scopes.
As combat personnel were being “taken out” by VC and NVA snipers during the early days of Vietnam, a flurry of official and quasi-official efforts to field sniper weapons commenced.
In 1966, the Army Weapons Command (USA-WECOM) developed a hinged telescope mount to accommodate the M84 sight. On October 19, 1966, the United States Infantry Board was directed to test this mount with the M14 rifle for its suitability in Vietnam.
During the testing, the USAIB determined that the hinged mount and the M84 telescope required more than an hour to mount on the rifle and were prone to failure and breakage. Additionally, the 2.2X M84 provided marginal benefit for target acquisition in field conditions.
Perhaps, the most significant aspect of USAIB evaluation was the suitability of a match-grade weapon and ammunition system for combat use. This would later spur the development of the XM-21, an accurized version of the M14.
XM-21 Rifle Definitions
(From Peter Senich's The Long Range War : Sniping In Vietnam)
The ART Scope
In 1965 a young Jim Leatherwood was stationed at Fort Benning. At this time, Lieutenant Leatherwood was working on a concept of the ART scope using his patented Leatherwood principle.
Later that year, he met with the Limited Warfare Laboratory (LWL). Coincidentally, the Limited Warfare Laboratory was conducting its own research on weapon systems for the Army sniper program. Jim began working with LWL to refine the Leatherwood ART in to a system that would be rugged and reliable for combat.
(From Peter Senich's The Complete Book Of U.S. Sniping)
In 1966, Jim was stationed in South Vietnam with the Big Red One (1st Infantry Division). He brought along with him the first operable version of the Automatic Ranging Telescope (ARTel). One day, the unit's Quonset huts were getting shot at by VC guerillas. In the midst of the chaos, Jim grabs his rifle and his ARTel prototype. A few hours later, he comes back and exclaims "they won't be a problem anymore."
There were a number of evaluations conducted by diverse organizations in the mid 1960s to determine a suitable telescope for Army Sniper use. The Adjustable Ranging Telescope (ARTel) fielded by the US Army Limited Warfare Laboratory met the necessary requirements.
The ARTel in conjunction with USAMTU accurized M14s firing M118 Match ammo produced a combination capable of consistent first round hits.
A number of the original “tool-room” versions of the Leatherwood scope were sent to Southeast Asia for combat evaluation under the supervision of the Army Concept Team in Vietnam (ACTIV).
Turning Point for Sniper Operations in Vietnam
In 1967, the Army Concept Team in Vietnam (ACTIV) conducted evaluations of the Army sniper operations and equipment in Vietnam.
These evaluations included pertinent information on the current state of sniping in Vietnam and equipment employed by the various units.
Prior to ACTIV’s involvement, the effect of the AMTU match conditioned M14s had seen unconclusive results. These rifles were tested by various units in the hands of both experienced and inexperienced marksman in a varying conditions and scenarios.
ACTIV on the other hand had focused its attention on the AMTU match conditioned M14 rifle and the Auto Ranging Telescope (Leatherwood ARTel).
ACTIV fielded 10 match grade M14 rifles with ARTel prototypes straight from the tool-room. They took the weapon system and introduced various commands to its effectiveness and benefits.
Experts believe that this action was indirectly responsible for Major General Julian Ewell’s requesting the USAMTU’s assistance for training and equipping 9th Infantry Division snipers. The 9th operated in the Mekong Delta and General Ewell envisioned an effective utilization of snipers as the region was relatively flat.
In response, a sniper instruction team comprised of 8 NCOs, a national Match armorer and its commander MAJ Willis Powell arrived in Vietnam in June 1968.
The team setup a sniper training facility from scratch. The AMTU served as snipers in order to gain practical experience in actual combat situations. During the first month, the team “bagged” ten VC in a night ambush engaging at 500m.
A few riflemen functioning as snipers with units of the 1st and 9th Infantry divisions recorded a number of first round hits out to 600m with the ART. Prior to this, these same marksmen had rarely engaged targets beyond 400m with their M84 equipped M14s or M16s mounting 3X Colt Realist scopes.
The successful field use of AMTU accurized M14s in conjunction with the Leatherwood ARTel led to the official acceptance of the rifle and sight as the XM21 Sniper Weapon System.
The combination of the XM21 along with the sniper training and field craft tactics developed for the 9th Infantry Division and success culminated in the 9th Infantry Division Sniper Program at Fort Benning.
First Class of Snipers at the 9th Infantry Division 1968
