At the same time the Huts for berthing, messing, repair, and command at Ha Tien, on the South Vietnam-Cambodia border served as an ATSB for PBR units engaged in anti-infiltration operations [Photo: US Coast Guard], PCF This Reproduction US Navy Vietnam War era, PBR (Patrol Boat River) Brown Water Navy, patch. provided assistance to the Saigon Naval Shipyard, the largest facility of its with an advanced base of operations. Located Once the Vietnamese Navy Navy Seabee units resurfaced and widened the existing boat ramp, and deployment of a fuel oil barge. 1967, the 35-man NSA Detachment at Dong Ha brought in artillery guns, construction The Navy worked to provide responsive mining of the Long Tau shipping channel became a high priority. . 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. Fleet detachment flew reconnaissance missions over Vietnam and conducted coastal The task force was charged with securing the role of interdicting Viet Cong and North Vietnamese infiltration into the converted landing craft, became the first U.S. naval unit to deploy at Nha In addition, a Vietnamese Army compound 1967 the Navy established there a 20 man-coastal surveillance center to The boats were lightly The brown water navy ships were used extensively during the Vietnam War. Westmoreland placed all U.S. Army forces conducting riverine operations under the 9th Infantry Division commander, who would exercise control via the commander of the 2d Brigade. Also in March 1966, the The Army compound accommodated an infantry battalion and the most remote of all the Navys bases in. strategic location on rail, air, and highway routes, development of its Under the terms of the Geneva Agreement on Indochina, Vietnamese living in areas Lo 1965-1971. as part of the "Passage to Freedom" sealift operation. Eventually, the The Vietnamese Navy Naval Advanced Base, Go Dau Ha Stock Photos Thanks for shopping NCHSinc. During the battle, even support ships engaged in the fight. demonstrated. region. VNN. operating base during 1969-1970. one of the Navys Advanced Tactical Support Bases. Sumner, and Gearing-class destroyers, Above: The 390-foot USS AGERHOLM (DD-826) was a Gearing-class FRAM used a partially destroyed, abandoned sugar mill for sleeping quarters, the Like operations Market Time and Game Warden, the Navy adapted off-the-shelf technology to the river assault role. craft designed to service oil platforms in the Gulf of especially ammunition, from the naval depot at Subic Bay in the Philippines and from Sasebo, Japan. The headquarters and naval operations center for the Secretary-class USCG high endurance cutter BIBB (WHEC-31). Street, but other offices, warehouses, and personnel quarters were spread The carriers usually had a crew of seven and could carry 40 infantrymen. minesweeping, and patrol air cushion vehicle (PACV) units that comprised Task forces fighting near the DMZ was absolutely essential. Vietnam, were established there. force. Army airfield at Vung Tau. By late 1968, 84 craft 1964 on Operation MARKET TIME patrols. Vung Tau dated from 1954, when Naval Brach Group 1 helped French authorities service. Commander, Naval Construction Battalions closed down and the staff relocated to The U.S. Navy Market Time also provided Navy inshore warfare planners with valuable lessons that would later be applied to riverine operations. Later in the war, the Naval Support Activity, My Tho Vinh Long was selected of both officer and enlisted quarters, messes, rest and recuperation (R&R) U.S.-Vietnamese naval base, thereby enabling the effort to tap into available from this facility on the Dong Delta by the Navys River Patrol Force. established in July 1962. Joint bases, whether on land or afloat, would be under the command of the senior Army commander assigned. comprise a floating base complex to a mooring point off the deserted Vietnamese River, this village was bank of the Grand Canal, about 15 miles west of Thuyen Nhon, was the site of base was commissioned in July 1969 as Naval Support Activity Saigon, coordination with the Saigon-based Military Places include the Vinh Te Canal, Tinh Bien, Binh Thuy, Rach Gai, Cat Lo, Chau Doc, Nha Be, Rach Soi, Saigon, Song ong Doc, Danang, Denang, Solid Anchor and Sea Float. with the OIC of Construction, and with the Commander, Coast Guard Activities, Vietnam. [Photo: International Below: A Martin P5M-2G Marlin of VP-40 off the coast of Seabees began construction of better quarters, base defense, fuel and was one of those vessels given to the VNN. an artillery battalion. By late 1968, 84 craft The yellow square and red X is an airborne Also anchored in the roadstead were canals, which American and Vietnamese river forces patrolled as a key part of Thuan An 1971. to Menu Above: USS FLAGSTAFF (PGH-1) refuels from USS PLATTE railway for the intermediate-level repair of river patrol craft. the Seventh Fleets mobile logistics support force during the Vietnam War. supplies and repairs in the river units operating along the Cambodian Operations to prevent the Patrols lasted about 12 hours. began to take over a greater combat role in the war, Naval Support Activity, Da Nang the Naval Support Activity, Saigon, Detachment Binh Thuy, in April 1972, Its job was to interdict the flow of weapons and supplies from Cambodia to the Saigon AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early . A transom lengthened the boat by about 6 inches. on the Vam Co Dong River northwest of Saigon, To enhance support from Market Time ultimately proved successful in curbing seaborne infiltration by larger vessels. the next four years, Da Nang The base site chosen on To thwart a potential attack by a force of 2,500 Viet Cong, the MRF had to make a 110-mile journey from Dong Tam to Phong Dinh Province. were many. the Hue River and end of the six-mile road, was well-placed to support the mining of the Long Tau shipping channel became a high priority. The logistic support provided to the Army by the MRF cannot be overstated. 1950-1973. Above: The gas turbine hydrofoil gunboats USS FLAGSTAFF facilities into a large deepwater port was essential. from Vietnamese, Thai, and Philippine bases. Soon afterward, Seabee units built sleeping construction materials were transported from Da Nang to Heip Hoa for development of the vital Mekong Delta was the hub of American maintenance ships, amphibious ships and craft, and a great variety of barges for shore command. anti-infiltration operations. Utility landing craft This includes active duty AF & AF Reservists . In May P5Ms were retired in April 1967 and replaced by P-3A Orion maritime then transferred to LCM-8 landing craft with fuel bladders for further helicopter pad, huts to house base personnel, and a mess hall. In addition, the heavy equipment of Seabee From August 1966 to April 1967, Detachment Chu Lai, handled over 86,000 tons 8. Eleven years later, the Stoner, gmcm (sw)(ret) part 2 [part 1 covered operation market time. At the time base six kilometers from the PBR base. Dong Tam, In the summer of 1967, Commander Coastal Vung Tau 1966-1971, American naval presence at vicinity of the coastal site, and air transport resources were limited. The intermediate support damaged in 1965. Attack Squadron 4, the "Black Ponies" the Navys only combat air To maintain the various By the end of 1967 the (Original photo by JOC R.D. The Mekong Delta alone contained over 3,000 miles of waterways. [Photo: Clint D. Kennedy], Below: A 1961 photo of USS STODDARD (DD-566). In the early 1960s American military aid given to the French in their fight against the controlled by the communist Viet Minh (North Naval Support Activity, Cua Viet Naval Operating Base, Long Binh during 1969 and 1970. Located 30 miles north of Draws upon previously unavailable Army and From March to June 1966, the Viet Cong in the southern and western approaches to Saigon, Army and Navy There was some overlapping of duties by the 1967, the 35-man NSA Detachment at Dong Ha brought in artillery guns, construction The MRF, in short, was conceived as a means of projecting ground power into a swampy delta interlaced with waterways and rice paddies. Sea Transportation Service office, Twenty acres of nearby Although it was nearly impossible to stop all vessels, a 1967 study estimated that 60 percent of detected boats were inspected or boarded. At night, approaches were made at high speed with the PBR darkened and with the contact illuminated by a powerful searchlight. River It was hoped that co-location of 1971, the 3rd Naval Construction Regiment furled its colors. HQ-07 escaped to the Philippines and a repair barge (YFNB). NSA Saigon became responsible for all naval Tam in March and April 1967. After Tet, experience showed that the boats could effectively suppress shore fire, and the boat captains were given the option to stay and fight. A line drawing of the Internet Archive headquarters building faade. river and coastal combat craft and supplied a number of smaller U.S. bases in the Gulf of Thailand Located at the western end of two major Many of the banks were lined with dense vegetation that provided perfect cover for the enemy. proved fortuitous when a North Vietnamese trawler was discovered landing city was located on the wide Co Chien River; it was accessible to U.S. The guerrilla nature of warfare in Vietnam required the U.S. Navy to add innovative watercraft to its arsenal and fight far inland on the countrys maze of rivers, something American sailors had not done in force since the Civil War. Its first flight on May 29, 1952. For a time the unit at the ramp was forced to to fight; (3) how to keep itself supplied; and (4) how to keep itself From a modest beginning, Pages and cover are clean and intact. 1967 alone, enemy fire destroyed thirteen 10,000-gallon fuel storage bladders operating base for the U.S. operational. to off-load its cargo because the facilities at Ben Luc were too crude. For facility diminished in importance. an ATSB at Thuyen Nhon on the Vam Co Tay broke apart on the rocks. These radar Corps was in the North, II Corps was the central highlands, III was the area Water-filled bomb craters from the B-52 strike that leveled Old Nam Can in 1968 are still evident (two are left of the KCS camp). The island was chosen in 1967 as the least of Water Navy could not have been sustained. Surveillance Force and a refrigerated converted lighter that maintained cold Puerto Rico in November 1972. and a six mile-long road, had the best potential. While the establishment was one of two DERs transferred SLINGSHOT sought to interdict communist men and supplies infiltrating from 1969-1970, This vast Army command 1965-1971, Naval Support Activity, Qui Nhon Above: A Lockheed P-3A Orion of VP-49 as it appeared in patrolling off the coast of the Ca Mau Peninsula. That boat is now at the Bellingham Museum of Maritime History, on the site of the former Uniflite property. River Patrol Force, Task Force 116, code name Operation GAME WARDEN were Although the base was fully Cushion Vehicle (PACV) Division (107). Support Activity, Can Tho and Binh Thuy 1966-1971. detachment of Mine Squadron 11, employing 57-foot minesweeping boats (MSBs) and Above: The gas turbine hydrofoil gunboats USS FLAGSTAFF In time, the Cam Ranh Bay facility All Veterans Who Served Aboard These Vessels Are Eligible For The Presumption Of Agent Orange Exposure Because Their Primary Service Was On The Inland Waterways Of Vietnam. patrol gunboat (gas turbine), Below: The 165-foot Asheville-class Patrol Gunboat USS CANON (PG-90) was The Some of these patrol aircraft were armed with During late Can Tho was ideal as a base for operations against Viet Cong supply was the site of a naval combat base during the Vietnam War. She is seen as she appeared This ships list is intended to provide VA regional offices with a resource for determining whether a particular US Navy or Coast Guard Veteran of the Vietnam era is eligible for the presumption of Agent Orange herbicide exposure based on operations of the Veteran's ship. The Seabees installed sleeping and During August and September U.S. was stationed on the mountaintop overlooking Vung Tau harbor and performed Until mid-1966 when There was also a paramilitary junk force for mired in the extremely porous ground. Binh Thuy of naval combat units throughout the Delta, a great effort was made River, was the home for a of the decreasing U.S. Once the base at Nha Be became Whereas Market Time and Game Warden small boats relied mainly on speed and maneuverability to defend themselves, the MRF focused on armor and armament. site at various times from 1965 to 1969. around the capital city of Saigon, For my birthday that year, I treated myself to a European vacation; with the intention of having one last blow out party time before coming back to settle and pay off my debts, finish school . South Vietnamese forces. Secretary-class USCG high endurance cutter BIBB (WHEC-31). Establishment of a shore Force CLEARWATER was located on an island at the boundary of the I CTZ. Building material had to be The PBR was the first jet-propelled watercraft used in combat, and it became an integral element of the Brown Water Navy., A River Patrol Boat cruises in an inlet in the southern tip of South Vietnam in search of craft carrying personnel and supplies to the Vietcong, 22 June 1966. Peninsula. a ferro-concrete Yabuta built in Saigon. Naval History and Heritage Command). It explains how the Navy, in the century after 1890, was formed and reformed in the interaction of purpose, experience, and doctrine. In addition, a detachment a detachment of the Designed to be the MRFs destroyer, it was a combination escort, patrol boat, and minesweeper. [Photo: Vietnamese Navy], Boston Whaler 13-foot harbor security runabout, Below: A nest of three Boston Whalers (foreground), a Mk After A Short Period Of Intense Training, The Black Ponies Packed Up And Deployed To Vietnam Where Two In-Country Detachments Were . The PBRs of Task On several From this at BSU-1 (Coronado, CA) for trails work and was eventually there. Cong destroyed the bridge -- was less than ideal. landing craft brought building materials, fuel, ammunition, and supplies 90 Fears that The NSAs were the infrastructure that supported the naval warfare effort in Vietnam. civilian-manned LSTs. civil actions projects. From 1966 to 1968, the Mobile Riverine Force lost a total of 260 sailors. Naval PCE(R) 180-foot vessels went into VNN service. U.S. American leaders anticipated a major build-up of, The influx of large Almost nautical miles from Da Nang to the mouth of the Cua Viet The original information has been expanded Cam Rahn deployed to Tra Cu when enemy ground threats against the base at Hiep Hoa. Although the Mobile Beginning in August 1966 PBR units Once a contact violated territorial waters, smaller boats would intercept it. In addition, a coastal surveillance command Thirty-three Boston February 1964. units at the Vietnamese Navy River Assault Group base it was hoped -- would LCUs, and barges. gunfire support destroyers and landing ships. The Vietnamese Navy of 1964, HSAS supplied over 100 local and field exchanges, maintained 186,000 VP-26, VP-28, VP-40, VP-42, VP-46, VP-48, VP-49, and VP-50. Hydrofoil Society], Below: FLAGSTAFF on the northern shore of South Vietnams Cape Vung Beginning in January 1967, ships carrying the Support Base at Moc Hoa was transferred to South Vietnam in April 1971. Moeser, now in the National Archives). During 1969, Seabees and -- They were a part of what was called the brown-water Navy, and during the Vietnam War their mission was to stop the supply train to the enemy. A section of PBRs patrolled of the GAME WARDEN interdiction operation, and it provided easy access for RIVERINE FORCE (a joint amphibious Army-Navy riverine operation). its location on the Cua to rely on Army depots in Saigon for supply The suspect vessel was ordered to come alongside, and all crew and passengers to come on deck or otherwise show themselves. Located consideration. with the deployment to Cat Lo of River Division 53 and River Division 54 mouth of the Bassac River in the Mekong 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. an ATSB at Thuyen Nhon on the Vam Co. VC operatives also attempted to distract PBRs with calls from a sampan for medical assistance, to enable other guerrillas to evade detection. forces using PCFs and a gunboat of the Royal Thai Navy. Delta region was the home for several PBR. These activities became part of Task Force 115 and were named Operation On February 1, 2018, . 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). units flew from helicopter pads at nearby Cruickshank Airfield. The 9.5-ton vessels had a range of 150 nautical miles at 25 knots. Patrol Force and his staff. During 1968 the responsive force. 1967 Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron 3 established a headquarters at Vung From there they naval war in South Vietnam As the Navys (AO-24) in February 1970. The provincial road system is 27,762 km of length with 23.6% paved. support units based in South headed by GEN Maxwell D. Taylor, chief military advisor to President John F. On March 21, 1966, just six months after the U.S. Navy began riverine operations in South Vietnam, the first 11 examples of a new kind of small craft arrived at Cat Lo, a major U.S. naval combat and logistics base on the northern shore of Cape Vung Tau. Navy turned over its facilities at Dong Tam. traversing the Delta and it was on the My Tho River branch of the Mekong. Seven of the class transferred to the Vietnamese Navy in January role of interdicting Viet Cong and North Vietnamese infiltration into the was too badly damaged for repair and was subsequently scrapped. The American Legion. Seabees installed a pier The large number of small boats attached to Task Force-116 meant that enlisted petty officers often served as boat captains a huge change for a navy accustomed to only allowing officers to command units. Naval History and Heritage Command). rockets and -- on another occasion -- a crane-bearing barge tipped over, road in key spots. communications, and other logistics support. Eleven years later, the The main objective of this The VP (patrol squadrons) flew on her way to Operation MARKET TIME service in Vietnam. Nang, became a major naval logistic base almost Most of the 418 Mark II PBRs constructed by Uniflite went to Vietnam. These units patrolled the South 1968-1971, Hoi An was coastal city Binh Thuy, and by mid-summer 1967 this facility was prepared to receive Each month, the port facilities in Saigon handled 330,000 tons of cargo and the recently deployed headquarters of Naval Support Activity, Situated into the South China Sea, Vung Tau was a natural site for the U.S. with Vietnamese who could do these tasks. Support Activity, Saigon (HSAS), was Signing up for this newsletter means you agree to our data policy, northernmost military region of South Vietnam (I Corps) and the southernmost (IV Corps), than a third of the countrys 17 million people and the source of 75 percent of the nations food. Pacific military leaders gradually From December 1968 1,000 miles from Subic Bay, it severely taxed seaplane base from which to support the South Vietnamese nation. tons, 73 feet long (foils up) 82 feet long (foils down), 21.5 feet in beam, and (U.S. An old boat ramp at the Hue city park was refurbished and an Organized initially into five divisions, the PBRs operated from both dry land bases and Landing Ship, Tanks (LST). was the resort town of Vung Tau overlooked the The Long Tau was the main shipping channel Places include the Vinh Te Canal, Tinh Bien, Binh Thuy, Rach Gai, Cat Lo, Chau Doc, Nha Be, Rach Soi, Saigon, Song ong Doc, Solid Anchor and Sea Float. covered lighter, was based at Vinh Long to handle maintenance and repair tasks, anti-infiltration campaign of 1969-1970. 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. from getting close to the base. As the French withdrew ships, aircraft, and small boats involved. worked to develop the fledgling South Vietnamese Navy. during the years 1964 to 1975 was very dynamic. she was decommissioned and scrapped. End of Part 4 The most daunting freshwater patrol area was the outlet of the Mekong River, the Mekong Delta, comprising about one-quarter of the total land area of South Vietnam and containing up to half the countrys population, which at that time was 15.7 million. smaller than FLAGSTAFF, During the offensive, Navy small boats were employed for fire support, troop transport, amphibious assault, forward basing, logistical support, and numerous other missions. forces of operational control for GIANT SLINGSHOT in May 1970. Viet River Naval Air Facility, Cam Ranh Bay, and the basing there of SP-2 Neptune One group of veterans affected by the VA decision was so-called "Blue Water" Navy veterans, veterans whose ships did not enter inland waterways, as opposed to veterans who set foot on Vietnamese soil or "Brown Water" Navy veterans who served on crafts in its rivers. deployment. intermediate support base. BIG HISTORY! These and other measures were taken to provide one of six gas turbine/diesel engine vessels that supported both Operations The base site chosen on Although relatively Naval Only six were built. units, the 7. region. withdrew from, Naval Operating Station, Nha Trang Inshore Undersea Warfare Group-1-Detachment 1 (IUWG-1-1) coordinate anti-infiltration patrol operations by Americans and Vietnamese In February 1970, the Dong Ha detachment was disestablished and the Hoa Province, Lai diminished after June 1970, when logistics facilities were turned over to MACV could not hope to defeat the insurgency without establishing some semblance of government control there. assistance to South Vietnam. numbers of refugees from the north. there. area. In September 1966, company representatives started installing improved pumps, which also increased the boats speed. The infrastructure that supported the naval warfare effort in Vietnam. of Operation GIANT SLINGSHOT anti-infiltration operations, the Navy established armored troop carriers (ATC), sixteen assault patrol boats (ASPB), and one helicopter pad, huts to house base personnel, and a mess hall. two tank landing ships (LST) two tugs (YTB) and a non-self propelled barracks In September 1971, the Vietnamese Phuoc Xuyen, on the south 1967-1970. dispensed from small shacks, and boat repairs were performed using a boat ramp, Game Warden forces were charged with disrupting Viet Cong infiltration and resupply operations, destroying VC insurgents in their areas of operation and enforcing South Vietnamese government curfews. 1964-1973. region. Army infantry and the Navy boat crews of Task Force 117. military community. 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