Saigon in the early 1 950s: a number of improvised MAT 49 and Sten Submachine guns. (J.P. Gillet photo, courtesy of Frank C. Brown.) French Intelligence sources estimated that in 1946, the Viet Minh manufactured dose to 30,000 pistols, rifles, submachine guns, and shotguns. They produced many of these weapons under the guise of doing work at Trans Indochina Railway repair depots. They also liberated factories that manufactured matches, pyrotechnics, and small steel and iron works, then set to work improvising weaponry from this base. The weapons left much to be desired in terms of safety, range, and cosmetic appearance, but they were satisfactory for the close-in fighting of guerrilla warfare. By 1948, the number of weapons the Viet Minh had on hand from surrendered Japanese and French stocks had doubled to an estimated 50,000, and of these, the majority was produced locally. Other weapons used were those captured or purchased from arms dealers in Southeast Asia or supplied by paradrop during World War II, plus the locally produced homemade weapons, which were a considerable part of the Viet Minh supply. These homemade guns would assume an even greater importance when it came time to resupply or