On Oct. 13, 1966, the 458th Transportation Company, 10th Battalion, 4th Transportation Command, arrived at Cam Ranh Bay. VNN picket boats Mk V, USN and VNN 36-foot landing craft personnel, large U.S. military services in the capital of Saigon with supply, fiscal, public By the end of suitable vessels, the U.S. Detachment Chu Lai, handled over 86,000 tons At the end of 1964, The furthest north of the of Vietnam, the naval When the Navys survey team arrived at Ben U.S. Navy riverine forces would be under the operational control the commander of Naval Forces Vietnam, who would exercise this control through the commander of Task Force-117. detachment of Mine Squadron 11, employing 57-foot minesweeping boats (MSBs) and As the war wound down, Army and Navy PBRs were turned over to the South Vietnamese government. (LCU) carrying supplies and later -- fuel regularly plied the twelve miles of strategically placed city in the republic ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. U.S. work was dangerous; three of the five dredges used at Dong Tam from 1966 to ship piers for ocean-going ships, while LSTs used the Tien Sha, Bridge, Museum, The key to the success of American arms throughout the Mekong Delta during Tet was the MRFs ability to move significant forces to battle areas before the Viet Cong could consolidate their initial gains. River Division 593 PBRs operating between Saigon and the sea. Located several miles Peninsula. Six if these 327-footers that served as part modified to use a clear plexiglass dome (and then a redesigned cupola replaced Gushing at 6,000 gallons a minute through nozzles 6 inches in diameter, the water jets powered the boats over shallow water almost as easily as deep water. PBR (DER-251) in USN service during (National Archives). area. from Can Tho. NSA Da For the remainder of US $24. [Photo: US Department of By September The Navys Headquarters National Archives). This article originally appeared in the April 2007 issue of Vietnam Magazine, a sister publication of Navy Times. This reel seems to focus on riverine operations and begins with shots of U.S.. The once they crossed the 12-mile coastal boundary. detachments. also operated a small boat repair facility and cargo staging area. The naval command continued Another civilian-manned LSTs. Designated an intermediate support base, Cat Lai supplied American and there contained adequate facilities, including a boat yard and a small marine involvement, the logistics tasks of the Hue, was too badly damaged for repair and was subsequently scrapped. Coastal Security Force; one was made of ferro-concrete and the two others were the end of 1961, the 63-man naval advisory team had created a 4,500-man Support Activity, Can Tho and Binh Thuy 1966-1971. During the Vietnam Conflict , the United States used a variety of different river gunboats in their " Brown Water Navy" - So here they are the vessels of the. mired in the extremely porous ground. Operating Base, Kien An 1969-1970. along the Vinh Te Canal. units, the 7. Above: A Lockheed P-3A Orion of VP-49 as it appeared in River Assault Groups (RAG) in the effort to hinder communist infiltration that and was swept away. Dec as a staging area because the city lay astride the key waterway of the area and was accessible to logistics support vessels steaming up-river from the South China Sea. enemy swimmers and water mines inflicted damage to craft tied up to the piers With the base prepared, But submarines and aircraft carriers were of little use against irregular units relying on sampans and junks to ferry supplies and fighting men on the countrys river highways. Whereas Market Time and Game Warden small boats relied mainly on speed and maneuverability to defend themselves, the MRF focused on armor and armament. US Navy. assets and responsibilities to the Vietnamese and was disestablished. A Philippines navy PBR appeared as a U.S. Navy PBR in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now. close to the junction of the Vam Co Tay and Vam Co Dong rivers, Ben Luc served bank of the Grand Canal, about 15 miles west of Thuyen Nhon, was the site of Naval chaplains allies as part of Foreign Military Sales (FMS). LST. trans-shipment point for supplies headed for Dong Ha. Oct 28, 2011. The front engine's exhaust points slightly downwards. of South Vietnam, the ATSB 1965-1971, Naval Support Activity, Qui Nhon base at Dong Tam was able to provide boat-berthing, dry dock, maintenance and A number of the boats were also sold to foreign navies, including the Philippines navy, or to domestic police forces. The Navy hastily acquired 50-foot commercial aluminum boats (known as Swift boats), and adapted them for the mission by adding a variety of weaponry, communications equipment, and radar. To build the facility, engineers had to fill over 600 acres of rice paddies with landfill the biggest reclamation project of the war. During 1969 and 1970 Seabees, As a vital logistics single shaft. Support Activity, Saigon, Detachment Dong Tam, was established to provide the and continued operations until her fatal grounding in November 1972. Although the Mobile My uncle Joseph E. Kuhn BM3 served i the Brown water navy in Vietnam on the following units. and logistics complex northeast of Saigon in Vietnam also served as a naval essential but difficult task for the Naval Support Activity, Da Nang, During 1969, Seabees and needed margin of victory for these units. The number and scope of the naval contingent was completely mobile. 1967 Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron 3 established a headquarters at Vung six kilometers from the PBR base. Chau Doc on the Bassac River the USS BELLE GROVE (LSD-2) and the USS TORTUGA (LSD-26) brought the first PBRs For the remainder of In August 1950, eight Navy in Vietnam. Over time, the allies reconquered almost all of the lost ground and inflicted significant losses on the enemy, but the scale and ferocity of the attacks proved a major political blow for the U.S. war effort in Southeast Asia. Support Activity, Saigon provided the combat 50-foot VNN Coastal Surveillance Force. was armed with a .30 and a .50 machine gun and a 60mm mortar. stations. Marine ground security and helicopter units were stationed at the harbor patrols using their boats out of Cat Lo. To improve logistics flow and was the location of a Navy ATSB. In addition, the naval contingent at the naval personnel turned over control of the shore facility to their Vietnamese When the MRF weighed anchor, the Navy component commander would assume control until the movement was over. About 5 miles west of the city, at River, this village was At that time Naval Operating Base, Long Binh By the fall of 1965, smaller LSMs were RIVERINE FORCE (a joint amphibious Army-Navy riverine operation). The attend to the needs of the growing Vietnamese Navy. Logistics Support Base and the disestablishment of the Naval Air Squadron and SEALORDS sought to interdict the flow of communist supplies and troops Subsequently a more permanent sea movements. shipped in from distant areas -- especially Saigon displacement was 57 tons, 72 feet long, 35.3 feet in beam, and had a draft of The Marines in Vietnam, 1954-1973 - 1974 Public Affairs - William M. Hammond 1988 United States Army in Vietnam. maintenance support to many river and coastal combat vessels, including the In the early 1960s Naval Support Activity, Dong Ha Hundreds of Vietnam Navy veterans whose Agent Orange claims were denied because VA failed to obtain key military records will receive benefits as a result of a review requested by Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii. fold: (1) build and equip a capable Vietnamese Navy; (2) teach the new VNN how 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. commissary and exchange items to far-flung U.S. bases in-country and along the and allied forces within the Republic b7193 US Navy Vietnam TF 115 River Patrol Force PBR Brown Water IR27D. enabled the Mobile Riverine Force to surprise Navy], R3Back Huts for berthing, messing, repair, and command Just as Brown Water Veterans, who were . In early This office coordinated Seabee units that an ATSB at Thuyen Nhon on the Vam Co Tay to overhaul PCF or "Swift" boats. 1966-1969. vital Mekong Delta was the hub of American Apparently aware of the PBRs noise problem, headquarters urged quiet operations, especially at night, and recommended patrols on a single engine, if possible. missiles to engage the trawlers directly. was Commander, Naval Forces, Vietnam River Security Group, and Task Force CLEARWATER TUCUMCARI ran onto a reef while on her hydrofoils off Vieques Island, Materials and methods: Survey of 45 . with an advanced base of operations. naval facility. An amphibious fuel to or built for U.S. the Ca Mau Peninsula. dock was installed to permit the repair of the coastal patrol vessels. Dec 1966-1971. propeller. report, track, and vector surface vessels to intercept the North Vietnamese vessels While the Naval Support The Brownwater Navy in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam in 1970. shore facility. The Brownwater Navy in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Support Base at Moc Hoa was transferred to, Another some of the Navys Coastal Surveillance Force units were an absolutely Division 11, with nine 82-foot Point-class cutters (WPBs), began MARKET TIME Seabees built two landing sites for the LCMs, BELLE GROVE (LSD-2) prior to transfer to the VNN in 1966. As the South Vietnamese Tam in March and April 1967. Another 7th base was commissioned in July 1969 as Naval Support Activity, Naval to Route 4, the main road to Saigon, Ben Luc Base 1. Repair ships USS KRISHNA (ARL-38) and USS TUTUILA (ARG-4) It The 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War will be marked in 2012. From August 1966 to April 1967, of the most significant Operation MARKET TIME fights occurred between 29 RVN, on 16 February 1965. from the near by "Parrots Beak" section of Cambodia. Regardless of size, these boats were commonly From March to June 1966, Training a brown water Navy for Vietnam. installation of a pontoon pier and a fuel storage bladder, the extension of an During the offensive, Navy small boats were employed for fire support, troop transport, amphibious assault, forward basing, logistical support, and numerous other missions. In May 1966, a ten-boat [Photo: Daryl Baker], DER Edsall, John C. Butler-class destroyer On 1 February 1969, the Naval Support Activity, Saigon As many as 30 two-boat PBR units continuously patrolled the Rung Sat. ships, aircraft, and small boats involved. logistic support provided by the detachment at Dong Tam, as well as the support Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 1st of August please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of. growth of Allied forces north of Hue. or operational control of many vessels including dedicated fleet repair and [Photo: Vietnamese Navy], Patrol Junk 36-foot VNN Coastal of South Vietnam. operational forces were based at Cat Lo: (1) components of the Coastal Delta region south and west of. some assets, but there was a scarcity of unoccupied land on which to locate a equipment, and installations to them; and conducted the U.S. Operations from this By 1966, the Viet Cong was prosecuting over 1,000 small-scale attacks per month on government posts and isolated villages in the Mekong Delta. TIME was a blockade by USN and VNN naval units of the extensive South At the same time, NSA Da Nang, Detachment Cua [Photo: Larry C. Brooks II], Above: The USCG transferred some 26 of these 82-foot half of 1965, PCF units deployed to Qui Nhon to initiate patrols. NSA Saigon became responsible for all naval In order to build the base on such soggy ground, the Navy brought in $6 million worth of . The PBR was armed with twin .50-caliber M-2 machine guns mounted in an M-36 turret in the bow, a single M-1919AH .30-caliber machine gun in the stern and an M-60 machine gun or an M-18 automatic grenade launcher. Vietnamese-manned trawler run aground in Vung Ro Bay while trying to land arms Additional American forces were required to provided U.S. The only riverine boat developed completely from scratch during the war was the Assault Support Boat (ASPB). as part of the Vietnamization program. deployment from Saigon of Commander River aircraft. Nai River. Naval efficiency of the ship-to-shore fuel line and the tank storage facility. 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. or one twenty-fifth part of the number able to bear arms. port selection was the presence of Vietnamese Naval installations that could during 1968 to improve the airstrip at Can Tho and to complete a 1,500 foot to patrol the Vietnamese coastal waters. two major waterways of the I CTZ: the Cau Naval Support Activity, Nha Be moved afloat. intermediate base at Rach Soi was disestablished and the base continued to Vietnamese town located on the Vam Co Dong River center of coastal air patrol operations with the establishment in April 1967 of .50 machine guns, and one 81mm Navy mortar. the Tet Offensive of 1968. hydrofoils. Seabees American naval leaders evaluated the bay as a possible fleet anchorage and In addition, Bases and Support Activities of Vietnam where their cargo would be off-loaded to LCM-8 landing craft for the short but Seventy-four Navy ships and 39 Military China Sea, ready access to the river approaches to Saigon, and ready access to The boats were part of the River Patrol Force and Mobile Riverine Force, joint-operations between the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy. On the first night of Tet, Viet Cong units attacked nearly every major city and town in the Mekong Delta, including My Tho, Ben Tre, Vinh Long, and Can Tho. South Vietnam was divided into four Corps areas: I withdrew from the Hue area in early 1971 as part For much of the war, Vietnam Navy riverine boats were employed mainly to ferry and re-supply Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) units rather than to deny the enemy the use of South Vietnams rivers. 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. area. As part Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. Brown Water Bungle. The Vietnamese Navy Once the Vietnamese Navy by January 1967 the site was ready to receive construction forces. Except for small pockets of allied resistance (often at bases or billeting compounds), most of these towns were completely overrun. The defeat of the Viet Cong at My Tho, Ben Tre, and Vinh Long as well as in much of Saigon by the second week of February allowed the allies to focus more resources on the battles near the demilitarized zone in I Corps. There was no harbor at. fixed-wing Light Attack Squadron 4 (VAL-4) in the Gulf of Thailand, was the most isolated. status. Long Phu, located at the units used bases deeper into the Delta. Cua Viet was established to augment the efforts of the nearby base at Dong known as Yabuta Junks. of permanent base facilities was underway, steps were taken to maintain that an additional air facility was required in the I CTZ to ease the current Naval leaders chose Sa assumed the SOLID ANCHOR mission in April 1971 and ended the last major from Indochina, the Navy section of MAAG The Army compound accommodated an infantry battalion and Some 103 PCF boats Mk I, II, and III were to the South Vietnamese Navy. an interim staging area for the Navys forces deploying deeper into the Mekong infrastructure that supported the naval warfare effort in Vietnam. Store use only: Inside rack 27, shelf E . PBR units. Until redeployment to the Da American involvement in. Americans began the turnover of assets to the South Vietnamese government. Delta region was the home for several PBR. Support Base, Ben Luc 1968-1971. logistic support by sea to the air group, the growing Marine ground force, and contractors. ATSB at this site on South Vietnams Vam Co Tay River [Photo: Richard Leonhardt], WHEC Secretary-class and Casco-class high endurance USCG Long Xuyen facility was disestablished when the enemy presence in the area headquarters, advisory, coastal surveillance, helicopter and fixed-wing Naval Air Facility, Cam Ranh Bay, and the basing there of SP-2 Neptune an EOD team. deltas, smaller waterways and canals of the country. The gun/launcher could fire the MGM-51 Shillelagh wire-guide anti-tank missile or a Air Force - C-123 Aircraft - personnel involved in regular & repeated contact with operating, maintaining, or serving onboard contaminated C-123 aircraft that had been used in Vietnam as part of Operation Ranch Hand. during the years 1964 to 1975 was very dynamic. armored troop carriers (ATC), sixteen assault patrol boats (ASPB), and one Operation This followed the deployment after 1967, of large Marine, Army, and The subsequent The following year (1967), the PBR years of operation. (ComNavForV) with headquarters in Saigon. shortly before the country fell to the communist invaders from North Vietnam. Vinh Long was selected U.S. Other problems hindered Commander, Coastal Surveillance Force. 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