Project Eldest Son

Project Eldest Son (also known as “Italian Green” or “Pole Bean”) was a program of covert operations conducted by the United States' Studies and Observation Group (SOG) during the Vietnam War. The project focused on placement of exploding cartridges into supplies used by communist combat forces in southeast Asia. United States technicians assembled 11,565 7.62×39mm cartridges for AK-47 rifles, 556 12.7×108mm heavy machine gun cartridges, and 1,968 82mm Type 67 mortar shells to detonate in the weapon when firing was attempted. Project Eldest Son is an example of unconventional warfare. The missions under this program were implemented successfully in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. History Small arms ammunition sabotage had previously been employed by the United Kingdom against rebellious tribesmen during the Second Matabele War (1896–1897) and the Waziristan campaign (1936–1939). In both cases, ammunition sabotage had been effective...