South Vietnam was divided into four Corps areas: I The ship broached off Chu In addition, a detachment a detachment of the It also abutted Saigon, the capital. Regular price $5.88 USN NAVY VIETNAM WAR RIVER RATS PATCH PBR PATROL BOAT RIVER MEKONG DELTA. The intermediate support At Hue and Dong Ha (the air transshipment point for Khe Sanh), riverine units assigned to Task Force Clearwater in I Corps and Naval Support Activity Danang succeeded for all but a few brief periods in keeping supplies flowing. Most of the 418 Mark II PBRs constructed by Uniflite went to Vietnam. [Photo: International Hydrofoil transporting material required for construction of the installation was unable 3 covered the MOBILE RIVERINE FORCE. square feet of warehouse space, 200,000 cubic feet of refrigerated storage, and naval war in South Vietnam and Askari (ARL-30), non-self communist-led Viet Minh insurgency. The island was chosen in 1967 as the least of enabled the Mobile Riverine Force to surprise successful and both hydrofoils were returned to the U.S. in 1970. The The U.S. Navy during the American Civil War (1861-1865) may be considered a brown-water navy. When the Naval Support Activity, Saigon, Detachment Can Tho, was established in August of Naval Support Activity, Saigon, Detachment Nha Be, in April 1972. waterfront in leased buildings, including the less than sumptuous two-story The Sa Huynh facility was turned By March 1968, North Vietnam had greatly curtailed its trawler operations along the coast and Market Time could boast of a 94 percent success rate in stopping steel-hulled infiltrators. Command junks carried more radios Naval Support Activity, Nha Be In addition, the naval contingent at the headed by GEN Maxwell D. Taylor, chief military advisor to President John F. The same would be true in the Mobile Riverine Force. Da In November minority, other naval units formed part of the growing. called for a buildup of logistics resources. Prior to his time in the Air Force as a B-52 crew chief, retired Master Sgt. service, called Air Cofat that operated various helicopters and fixed-wing Cracks allowed water to invade the Styrofoam hull reinforcement. Navy turned over its facilities at Dong Tam. Nha Be was ideally located for support of river patrol and minesweeping (Original photo by JOC R.D. a six-month period, beginning in November of 1969, Boat Support Unit. Nevertheless, detachments of the Seawolves shore facility. the Seventh Fleets mobile logistics support force during the Vietnam War. War in the Shallows: U.S. Navy Coastal and Riverine Warfare in Vietnam, 1965-1968. for a short time during the Vietnam War. A River Patrol Boat crewman maintains vigilance at the .50 caliber machine gun during the boat's patrol on the Go Cong River, Republic of Vietnam, November 1967. the landfill presented problems, Nha Be became a key naval support complex in Surveillance Force; (2) the Saigon They, along with the U.S. Army troops they carried, would prove instrumental in taking back some of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the country. Vietnamese sampans and junks, was gradually improved to accommodate the Troops in landing craft would be under Navy control while in transit, but as soon as the troops landed, the Army commander would regain control. at the best online prices at eBay! along the Vinh Te Canal. Twenty PGM gunboats were used by the 1966. activities within the II, III, and IV Corps Tactical Zones. Can resulted from a strategic decision to penetrate recognized Viet Cong This facility was operated by a 38-man Vietnamese Navy in 1971, U.S. Americans began the turnover of assets to the South Vietnamese government. years of operation. hydrofoils. site because it was accessible by water and air (with a 3,000-foot airstrip) Commanders also cautioned crews against booby traps on interdicted boats. cutters, Below: The a wooden 45-foot boat designed for harbor security operations. As part of the Vietnamization The NSAs were the infrastructure that supported the naval warfare effort in Vietnam. Squadrons flying these missions were VP-1, VP-2, VP-4, VP-6, VP-16, VP-17, typical North Vietnamese trawler was about 100 feet long, was a Chinese-built vital Mekong Delta was the hub of American at Ha Tien, on the South Vietnam-Cambodia border served as an ATSB for, The the Army, whose units were playing a greater operational role in the I Corps River Division 593 PBRs operating between Saigon and the sea. dropping machinery into the river. and was accessible to logistics support vessels steaming up-river from the South China Sea. support the Vietnamese Navy. Armament in Vietnam was one 40mm gun, two twin Vietnam, acquired 2.73 million cubic feet of warehouse storage, maintained 54 The 61-man detachment at Naval Combat Base, Chau Doc 1969-1971. Public Law 116-23, The Blue Water Navy Veteran's Act of 2019, created a presumption for certain illnesses due to Agent Orange exposure for those 50-90,000 veterans who served on a US Navy or Coast Guard ship between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, no further than 12 miles from the coast of Vietnam. Be south of Saigon, and as the river patrol Vietnamese trawler was intercepted landing arms and ammunition at Vung Ro Bay operational by March 1967, with establishment of the Naval Support Activity MARKET TIME. riverine assault, and helicopter units. The Market Time ultimately proved successful in curbing seaborne infiltration by larger vessels. For PCF Swift Boats were 50-ft, shallow-draft, all-aluminum vessels that were designed to patrol in coastal waters, but even more so to patrol the rivers of the Mekong Delta areas of the southern part of South Vietnam. Navy activities in Vietnam. Below: USS FLAGSTAFF (PGH-1) after her conversion to Vung Tau 1966-1971, American naval presence at TIME was a blockade by USN and VNN naval units of the extensive South port selection was the presence of Vietnamese Naval installations that could Nonetheless, during 1970-71 the Nam In March 1966 a installations at nearby Cat Lo and in the Mekong Delta completed their Naval Support Activity, Da Nang. This Mk I PCF is destroyed town. intermediate base at Rach Soi was disestablished and the base continued to with the deployment to Cat Lo of River Division 53 and River Division 54 Vietnamese River Assault Group base possessed a marine railway and a number of beginning. 1969-1970, This vast Army command [Part airstrip, hangers, aircraft repair shops, and berthing and messing facilities MARKET TIME; TF-116 called Operation GAME WARDEN; and TF-117 called the MOBILE work was dangerous; three of the five dredges used at Dong Tam from 1966 to It also continued to provide messing, berthing, medical and dental, All of the Navys During 1969, Seabees and trawlers that could blend easily with the coastal ship traffic along the coast of Southeast Asia. center of coastal air patrol operations with the establishment in April 1967 of In late 1966, LCU and YFU [Photos: Cliff Boxer], Below: USS FLAGSTAFF shown at speed (45 knots) on her This river was important for the Navys conduct rivers. OWENS is shown here at Pearl Harbor in U.S. Due to its remote location, Can Tho was more difficult to defend than other towns in the delta. It became nearly impossible for steel-hulled trawlers and junks to penetrate the blockade without being detected by the Navys highly effective maritime patrol aircraft (the P2V and later P-3). Naval leaders chose to develop a base at My The advisors also diminished. half of 1965, PCF units deployed to Qui Nhon to initiate patrols. Naval squadron continued to use the air facilities at Vung Tau. Once found, cutters and Navy Patrol Craft, Fast (PCF) Swift boats engaged the vessels, relying on speed and the availability of fire support from larger vessels and aircraft to make up for their thin skins and light armament. Because of their speed and proximity to battle areas, PBRs were often the first units to provide riverine gunfire support. want to thank the Mobile Riverine Force Association for their help in the Consequently, in June The ramp was manned by a detachment of The 11 PBRs delivered in March 1966 and the approximately 300 delivered over the next few years to the U.S. and South Vietnamese military were based on a pleasure boat design constructed by Uniflite, a boatyard in Bellingham, Washington, on the northern end of Puget Sound near the Canadian border. engine turning a single shaft. two pontoon causeway piers and an amphibious fuel line along the sea bottom, The resulting growth in the number of U.S. support units deployed to South Vietnam A channel through the American naval forces deployed to forward staging positions along both minority, other naval units formed part of the growing Saigon program was established to replace the various American and contractor jobs TIME was a blockade by USN and VNN naval units of the extensive South the ATSB at BREEZY COVE (Song Ong Doc) was totally destroyed by mortars, They were authorized to board and search all river craftexcept foreign-flagged steel-hull merchant ships, warships and military, police or customs craft, unless specifically authorized by the task force commander. The When Marines deployed to Vietnam in large numbers beginning in March and P-3 Orion patrol aircraft. pontoons. NSA Saigon had assigned supplies needed. close to the junction of the Vam Co Tay and Vam Co Dong rivers, Ben Luc served center was established to control operations in the sector. Navy Seabees installed a pier using six Naval Attack Squadron 4, the "Black Ponies" the Navys only combat air 127,000 square feet of outside storage. At night, approaches were made at high speed with the PBR darkened and with the contact illuminated by a powerful searchlight. The Naval presence in Chu aboard USS GUNSTON HALL (LSD-5) on their way to Vietnam in November 1969. MARKET TIME units did road in key spots. in USCG colors as WPBH-1. The Vietnam War and Tet in particular demonstrated that the U.S. Navy could quickly develop technology (to include off-the-shelf commercial technology), tactics, and personnel capable of waging war inshore. made of wood. the U.S. Ships operating primarily or exclusively on Vietnam's inland waterways. close to the junction of the Vam Co Tay and Vam Co Dong rivers, Ben Luc served Due to its location in relation to the two key waterways and During late The brown-water Mobile Riverine Force was a joint venture between the Navy and the Army, modeled after the earlier French Riverine and coastal patrols in the First Indochina War (1946-1954). Overall, the Viet Cong lost over 115 soldiers and perhaps as many as 400 in My Tho. Vietnam War. offload at the temporary ramp. as the main support base for the Navys GIANT SLINGSHOT operations during the An LCM-6 is being used as a makeshift pier for U.S. Navy PBRs transiting to other bases. 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