the Royal Laotian Army received military assistance mainly from France and the United States, who provided since the late 1940s and mid-1950s respectively everything that the RLA used, from uniforms and boots to rifles, artillery and vehicles. Small-arms During the First Indochina War the Laotian National Army (ANL) weaponry was a hodgepodge, with most of its poorly trained units equipped in a haphazard way with an array of French, American, Australian, British, and German weapon systems, mostly of WWII-vintage. ANL Infantry battalions were issued with MAS-36, M1903 Springfield, and Lee–Enfield bolt-action rifles (airborne units received in addition the semi-automatic M1A1 paratrooper carbine), along with Sten, Owen, M1A1 Thompson, MAS-38 and MAT-49 submachine guns; FM 24/29, Bren, M1918A2 BAR and Browning M1919A6 .30 Cal light machine guns were used as squad weapons. Officers and NCOs received MAS-35-S, Luger P08, Walther P38, or Colt.45 M1911A1 pistols. After 1955, the ANL began the process of standardisation on U.S. equipment. Airborne units took delivery of the M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle in late 1959, followed by the M2 Carbine the following year. The M3A1 Grease Gun was also received, along with Smith & Wesson Model 39 pistols, and M1917 and Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolvers. The ANL (renamed RLA in 1961) was equally provided with Browning M1919A4 .30 Cal Medium machine guns and Browning M2HB .50 Cal Heavy machine guns. Limited quantities of the Sterling submachine gun and L1A1 SLR Assault rifle were acquired from the British for evaluation, but they were never adopted as standard weapons by the RLA. The Carl Gustaf m/45 submachine gun was provided in small numbers by the Americans, eventually finding its way into the irregular SGU units. In 1969 secret deliveries of the CAR-15 carbine, the M16A1 assault rifle and M60 machine gun arrived in Laos, and were initially only given to the Laotian Royal Guard and airborne units; standardisation to the CAR-15, the M16 and M60 in the RLA and the irregular SGUs was completed by 1971. ANL and RLA infantry, airborne, and commando formations were equipped with a variety of crew-served weapons. Mortars ranged from the Brandt mle 27/31 81mm to the M19 60mm, M29 81mm, M2 4.2 inch (107mm), M30 4.2 inch (106.7mm) models. They also received M18A1 57mm, M20 75mm, M67 90mm and M40A1 106mm recoilless rifles. In addition, individual portable rocket weapons were issued, in the form of the shoulder-fired M20A1 3.5 inch