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A door gunner provides cover for helicopters and other vehicles with a machine gun or sniper rifle. They also assist with inspections, combat observation, and first aid. The position became necessary during the Vietnam War, and gunners later called for the weapon to be suspended by rubber straps for greater mobility.
A door gunner provides firepower cover for a helicopter, landing or loading troops, as well as for other vehicles, ships and aircraft in the immediate vicinity. Commonly armed with a machine gun, the door gunner is capable of firing many bullets in short order in an attempt to stop hostile forces from firing on the aircraft. An exception to the machine gun is found in the US Navy’s door gunner armament. This soldier typically wields a sniper rifle, used to disable a fleeing vessel’s engine. When not firing a weapon or providing cover for the helicopter, the gunner often assists the crew chief with pre-flight or post-flight inspections, as well as combat observation duties.
The port gunner position became a necessity as the helicopter became increasingly useful in combat situations. For many countries, this was the period of the Vietnam War. American and Allied helicopters were equipped with a 30 caliber machine gun, known as the M-60, in the side door of the aircraft. Early soldiers doing door gunner duty attached the gun to swivel mounts to provide covering fire for soldiers entering or exiting aircraft in a landing zone. The position offered very little cover and it was not uncommon for the port gunner to be wounded or killed within the first few seconds of any firefight.
Many door gunners, frustrated with the lack of mobility that the swivel mounts provided the M-60, called with final success for the weapon to be suspended by rubber straps. This allowed gunners to move the machine gun over a much wider range, providing greater cover for the aircraft. While in flight, the gunner’s typical job was to survey hostile positions on the ground while making detailed mental maps of enemy encampments, troop movements, and other pertinent observations of the battle. This information was usually provided to commanders during a post-flight debriefing.
Other tasks performed by the door gunner are the cleaning and maintenance of the aircraft, as well as assisting the crew chief with any inspections of the aircraft. The gunner is also trained in basic first aid so he can help wounded soldiers loaded onto the aircraft. Always an infantryman first, the door gunner is trained in the art of warfare and is capable of picking up small arms and fighting should the helicopter be shot down or disabled.
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