Vietnam War Relics 1966 - US Army M546 Anti-Personnel "Beehive" Round Flechettes

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Vietnam War 1965 - 1975 Two United States steel flechette darts (2.5cm in length) from a Vietnam War M546 Anti-Personnel "Beehive" Artillery round. Flechettes are steel pointed, vane tailed projectiles that were packed into anti-personnel artillery shells for use against massed infantry attacks. The M546 Anti-Personnel "Beehive" Artillery Tracer (APERS-T) was first used during the Vietnam War in 1966 and used extensively throughout the conflict. A 105mm Howitzer artillery piece would be loaded with a special ballistic shell packed with 8000 flechettes known as a "Beehive" and fired horizontally towards the enemy. Once fired, the shell would detonate using a mechanically timed fuse that would scatter the thousands of flechettes into an expanding cone towards the advancing enemy infantry. The name "Beehive" is derived from the buzzing sound of 8000 flechette darts flying down range at supersonic speeds. The Vietnam War was a Cold War era Proxy war which began in 1955 between the Communist North Vietnam - supported by China, the Soviet Union and other communist allies - and South Vietnam - supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies. US involvement in the conflict began when American advisors arrived in country as part of a wider strategy of containment which aimed at stopping the growing threat of communism. read more

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