During the Vietnam War, the United States was faced with a series of specific challenges arising from conducting infantry operations in dense jungle terrain. The difficulty in delivering supporting fires man-portable weapons with area effects made a priority, and occasioned the development of the M79 light grenade launcher. However, the M79 could not be used at close ranges without putting the user at significant risk, and so the U.S. military experimented with a range of 40 × 46SR mm short-range, anti-personnel (APERS) cartridges to fill a perceived capability gap. In a journey which takes readers from obscure prototypes to operational oddities, Buckshot & Beehive: 40 mm Anti-personnel Cartridges of the Vietnam War & Beyond explores the history of specialised 40 mm munitions originally designed to engage personnel in jungle terrain.
Drawing on archival sources, rare photographs, and hands-on examination of surviving examples, this monograph traces the evolution of the United States’ 40 × 46SR mm APERS cartridges. Topics covered include:
• Shotgun cartridge adaptors, such as the LWL–Olin design, which permitted the M79 to fire standard shotgun shells;
• Buckshot cartridges, which were developed alongside cartridge adaptors and ultimately resulted in the adopted M576 round;
• Fléchette cartridges, from novel designs like the SCIMTR to field-expedient conversions of buckshot munitions; and
• Multishot cartridges, a type of cartridge adaptor which permitted numerous conventional cartridges (usually .22 LR) to be fired at once.
Each of these experimental solutions is discussed in turn, with brief development histories and technical characteristics presented. The book concludes with a discussion of the limited role for 40 mm anti-personnel projectiles today, examining their niche place in the civilian market even as they have seen only limited military use in recent decades.
Alongside technical discussion of projectile types and launcher compatibility, the book addresses broader themes: the tension between military practicality and experimental innovation, the legacy of Cold War-era R&D, and the enduring question of how infantry firepower is imagined—and constrained—by design. Heavily illustrated and meticulously researched, Buckshot & Beehive will appeal to military historians, ordnance collectors, curators, and anyone interested in the unexplored corners of postwar arms development.
