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96-471: The Swift Boat was conceived in a Naval Advisory Group , Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (NAVADGRP MACV) staff study titled "Naval Craft Requirements in a Counter Insurgency Environment," published 1 February 1965. The study was positively received, and the Navy began to search for sources. Sewart Seacraft of Berwick, Louisiana ( Swiftships ' predecessor), built water taxis for companies operating oil rigs in

192-450: A 57 mm recoilless rifle. Its controls destroyed and coxswain killed, it ran aground at speed. When the crew ran out of ammunition it had to be abandoned. It was recovered the next day but was too badly damaged to be repaired, so was salvaged instead. PCF-43 was lost to a rocket attack in 1969. Several other Swift Boats had been lost to river mines, but had been salvaged and either repaired or used for spare parts. When Vietnamization

288-690: A DsHK HMG and an AGS-17 AGL mounted on top. Former U.S. Navy Vietnam veterans, from the Swift Boat Sailors' Association, visited Malta in 2010 and said the Malta Swifts were the last two still in service, out of hundreds that were built. One of the two patrol boats headed back to the United States to become a memorial in summer 2012 at the Maritime Museum of San Diego in California. The museum has

384-778: A Swift Boat when he served in Vietnam. LTJG Kerry was awarded the Silver Star , Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts during riverine combat in a PCF. As the Democratic nominee for president in 2004 , then- Senator Kerry's military record was attacked by a political 527 group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth . Ever since, the term " swiftboating " has entered American political jargon associating swift boat service with political smear tactics. In an article in The New York Times on June 30, 2008, Swift Boat veterans objected to

480-540: A display paying tribute to the Maltese servicemen who died on board the P23 (the sister vessel of P24 ) during an accident that occurred on September 7, 1984. The incident – known as the C23 tragedy and the worst peace-time accident suffered by Maltese services personnel – killed five AFM soldiers and two policemen when illegal fireworks about to be dumped into the sea exploded on the bow of

576-516: A little more than a third the size of its Washington namesake, included twelve acres of enclosed office space. In addition to the headquarters offices, the complex included a barracks, a mess hall, a refrigerated storage building and its own power plant and telephone exchange. Inside, according to one staff officer, "the well-waxed corridors had the fluorescent feel of an airport terminal." A cyclone fence, topped with barbed wire and with watch towers at intervals, provided close-in protection. Following

672-608: A national ensign that would identify them, the ships would maneuver "innocently" out in the South China Sea, waiting for the cover of darkness to make high-speed runs to the South Vietnam coastline. If successful, the ships would off load their cargoes to waiting Việt Cộng (VC) or People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces. At the time of inception, the Coast Guard contributed seventeen 82 feet (25 m) Point-class cutters while

768-504: A new purpose-built facility. The building was designed and constructed under the supervision of the U.S. Navy Officer in Charge of Construction RVN. The construction contractor was RMK-BRJ , at a cost of $ 25 million. MACV occupied its new headquarters early in August 1967. The new complex soon earned the nickname "Pentagon East." The air-conditioned structure of two-story prefabricated buildings,

864-480: A pair of General Motors 12V71"N" Detroit marine diesel engines rated at 480 horsepower (360 kW) each, with a design range from 320 nautical miles (590 km) at 21 knots (39 km/h) to about 750 nautical miles (1,390 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h). The normal complement for a Swift Boat was six: an officer in charge (skipper), a boatswains mate, a radar/radioman (radarman), an engineer (engineman), and two gunners (quartermaster and gunner's mate). In 1969,

960-446: A refrigerator and freezer, and a sink. The 81 mm combination mortar mounted on the rear deck was not a gravity firing mortar as used by the Army and Marine Corps , in which the falling projectile's primer struck the fixed firing pin at the base of the mortar tube, but a unique lanyard firing weapon in which the projectile was still loaded into the muzzle. The gunner could "fire at will" by

1056-526: A result, on 1 April 1966, Naval Forces, Vietnam , was established to control the Navy's units in the II, III and IV Corps Tactical Zones. This eventually included the major combat formations: Coastal Surveillance Force ( Task Force 115 ), River Patrol Force ( Task Force 116 ) and Riverine Assault Force ( Task Force 117 ). The latter unit formed the naval component of the joint Army-Navy Mobile Riverine Force . Commander Naval Forces, Vietnam (COMNAVFORV) also controlled

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1152-590: A result, the 1st Logistics Command was established. Large scale combat deployments began when the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade was deployed in the Da Nang area from March 1965. When the III Marine Amphibious Force moved to Da Nang on 6 May 1965, its commanding general, Major General William R. Collins , was designated MACV's naval component commander. In May 1965, the Army's 173d Airborne Brigade from Okinawa arrived. In July 1965, in response to

1248-548: A single formation, the 1st Signal Brigade . It supported the combat signal battalions of the divisions and field forces in each corps area. The 1st Signal Brigade operated the many elements of the Defense Communications System in South Vietnam. To improve co-ordination and management of communications-electronics assets, the brigade commander served as the U.S. Army, Vietnam, staff adviser on all matters pertaining to Army communications-electronics. In contrast to

1344-463: A support ship. All 26 cutters were turned over to South Vietnamese crews between 16 May 1969 and 15 August 1970. In an effort to coordinate all coastal interdiction activities, coastal surveillance centers (CSC) were established at Da Nang, Qui Nhon, Nha Trang, Vung Tau and An Thoi and were manned by Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN) and U.S. Navy watchstanders. Reports of possible sightings of suspect vessels from aircraft and watercraft were reported to

1440-597: Is interlaced by rivers and canal ways. Controlled by the VC, the interior waterways of the Mekong Delta were used to transport supplies and weapons. Swift Boats generally operated in teams of three to five. Each boat had an officer in charge, one of whom would also be placed in overall charge of the mission. Their missions included patrolling the waterways, searching water traffic for weapons and munitions, transporting South Vietnamese marine units and inserting Navy SEAL teams. When

1536-515: Is operated by Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Formerly PCF-2 , the vessel was awarded to the college in 1995 and has been used in oceanographic research and education since then. It is berthed at JEB Little Creek and operates in and around Chesapeake Bay. The second operational PCF, PCF-816 (formerly P-24 in the service of Malta) is operational in San Diego, California at

1632-624: The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) , recently reorganized from an infantry formation, reported in country, and the rest of the 1st Infantry Division arrived in October. Two corps-level HQs were established in 1965-66, Task Force Alpha (soon to become I Field Force, Vietnam ) for U.S. forces in the II Corps Tactical Zone and II Field Force, Vietnam , for U.S. Army forces in the III Corps Tactical Zone . The 5th Special Forces Group

1728-659: The Fall of Saigon in 1975. The PCFs were quickly used in VPN operations at Thổ Chu and other islands to repel the invasion of the Khmer Rouge . The Swift Boats are still active in the Vietnam People's Navy. The M2 machine gun was replaced by a domestically produced 12.7 mm NSV gun, which had fewer jamming problems and was easier for the crews to maintain. The electronic and communication systems were also overhauled. Some PCFs captured have

1824-538: The Gulf of Mexico , which appeared nearly ideal. The Navy bought their plans, and asked Sewart Seacraft to prepare modified drawings that included a gun tub, ammo lockers, bunks, and a small galley . The Navy used those enhanced plans to request bids from other boat builders. Sewart Seacraft was chosen to build the boats. The Swift Boats had welded aluminum hulls about 50 feet (15 m) long with 13 feet (4.0 m) beam, and draft of about five feet (1.5 m). They were powered by

1920-562: The Naval Support Activity Saigon (NSA Saigon), which supplied naval forces in the II, III and IV Corps areas. Naval Support Activity Danang (NSA Danang), provided logistic support to all American forces in I Corps, where the predominant Marine presence demanded a naval supply establishment. NSA Danang was under the operational control of Commander III Marine Amphibious Force. Major component commands of MACV were: The "Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam"

2016-1056: The United States Navy , Republic of Vietnam Navy and Royal Australian Navy operation begun in 1965 to stop the flow of troops, war material, and supplies by sea, coast, and rivers, from North Vietnam into parts of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War . Also participating in Operation Market Time were United States Coast Guard 's Squadron One and Squadron Three. The U.S. Coast Guard operated, under U.S. Navy command, heavily armed 82-foot (25 m) patrol boats and large cutters armed with 5-inch naval guns , which were used in battle and gunfire support. Radar picket escort ships, based in Guam or Pearl Harbor , provided long-term presence at sea offshore to guard against trawler infiltration. Originally built for World War II convoy duty, and then modified for distant early warning ("DEW") duty in

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2112-502: The United States Support Activities Group & 7th Air Force (USSAG/7th AF), it was located at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base in northeast Thailand . The advance echelon of USSAG/7AF moved from Tan Son Nhut Air Base to Nakhon Phanom on 29 January 1973. Transfer of the main body, drawn largely from the operations and intelligence sections of MACV and Seventh Air Force, began on 10 February. USSAG

2208-667: The Vung Ro Bay Incident . Operation Market Time was established by the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff at the request of General William C. Westmoreland , commanding general of Military Assistance Command Vietnam . He requested that the U.S. Navy establish a naval blockade of the vast South Vietnam coastline against North Vietnamese gun-running trawlers. The trawlers, usually 100 feet (30 m) long Chinese-built steel-hulled coastal freighters, could carry several tons of arms and ammunition in their hulls. Not flying

2304-432: The 17th, Boston , which was engaged in a naval gunfire support mission in the same general area, came under attack from an unidentified jet aircraft. The jet fired two missiles at the ship: one exploded 200 yards (180 m) off the port beam; and the other close aboard to port, showering the ship with fragments. No sailors were injured, and the missiles caused only minor structural damage to the ship. At 03:09, while Hobart

2400-514: The 1st Brigade, 10lst Airborne Division. On 25 September 1967 the 23rd Infantry (Americal) Division ) was activated to control the blocking force, replacing the provisional task force HQ. With the elapse of five months, all the three same brigades remained in the new division, but the brigade at Chu Lai was now named the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, after a responsibility swap that had occurred in August. In April 1966, all Army communications-electronics resources in South Vietnam were combined in

2496-462: The Army Support Group for administrative and logistical needs. Over the course of 1962 U.S. military strength in South Vietnam rose from about 1,000 to over 11,000 personnel. Each service continued to provide its own logistical support. Throughout 1963 the duties of the U.S. Army Support Group steadily increased, particularly regarding to combat support activities and logistics. During the year,

2592-535: The CSC's and the appropriate response vessels and aircraft were dispatched to the scene by CSC personnel. The objective of Operation Market Time focused on preventing communist ships from infiltrating the South Vietnamese coast to resupply PAVN/VC forces. Beginning officially on 11 March 1965, Market Time featured a picket line of ships along over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of South Vietnamese coast including forces from

2688-609: The Maritime Museum of San Diego. The boat makes regular runs on weekends and is staffed with former Swift Boat sailors as narrators. There are two Swift Boats preserved in static displays in the United States. Both are former U.S. Navy Swift Boats that were originally stationed in California to train PCF crews. One is located at the Navy Museum at Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. ;

2784-471: The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, and formally inactivated it. Operation Market Time American intervention 1965 1966 1967 Tet Offensive and aftermath Vietnamization 1969–1971 1972 Post- Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974) Spring 1975 Air operations Naval operations Lists of allied operations Operation Market Time was

2880-638: The Navy added approximately fifty ships known as Patrol Craft Fast (PCFs or Swifts) that could reach a maximum speed of 28 knots. In detail, on 16 April 1965 United States Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze requested Coast Guard assistance with Market Time. On 6 May 1965, the seventeen Point-class cutters were loaded as deck cargo on merchant ships in New York City , Norfolk , New Orleans , Galveston , San Pedro , San Francisco and Seattle for transport to U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay . At Subic Bay each of

2976-641: The North Atlantic, their sea keeping capability made them ideal for long-term presence offshore where they provided support for Patrol Craft Fast (PCF) boats, pilot rescue and sampan inspection. There were two or three on station at all times. Deployments were seven-months duration, with a four- or five-month turn-around in Pearl. When off station, they alternated duty as Taiwan Defense Patrol , with stops in Subic and Sasebo for refit mid-deployment. Operation Market Time

Patrol Craft Fast - Misplaced Pages Continue

3072-644: The Pacific Ocean coastline. PCF-8 sank in a storm off Bodega Bay , California in December 1969. This was the only Swift Boat lost during training operations. No crewmen were lost in the event. The most frequent training area for the Mare Island units was the marshland that forms the northern shoreline of San Francisco Bay. This area, now known as the Napa Sonoma Marshes State Wildlife Area,

3168-667: The Philippines ( Sangley Point ) and Thailand ( Utapao Airbase ). Although the air support missions received little press coverage, their importance to the overall operation cannot be denied. Planes had the ability to cover large expanses of water in a relatively short time and could monitor suspicious vessels lingering in international waters waiting to make a dash for the coast. By October 1967 air surveillance expanded to monitor traffic bound to and from Cambodia as at this point it had become apparent that communist supplies were being shipped to Sihanoukville which were then transported over to

3264-568: The South Vietnamese border in large convoy trucks. Market Time, which operated day and night, fair weather and foul, for eight and a half years, denied the North Vietnamese a means of delivering tons of war materials into South Vietnam by sea. Nonetheless, assessing the overall effectiveness of Operation Market Time is problematic for several reasons. The operation cannot be considered a failure in any sense, but debate over its success continues. The Navy's Operations Evaluation Group stated that in

3360-482: The Swift Boats began making forays up the waterways into the interior of the delta, they initially took the carriers by surprise, causing them to drop their materials and run off into the overgrowth. Occasionally a short firefight would break out. As it became clear that control of the waterways was being contested, the VC developed a number of tactics to challenge the U.S. Navy. They set up ambushes, built obstructions in

3456-623: The U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy and the RVNN. The operation was originally placed under the control of the Vietnam Patrol Force (Task Force 71). Command shifted to the Commander, Naval Forces Vietnam on 31 July 1965 and designated as Task Force 115. Operation Market Time was originally planned to acquire 54 Swift boats, but that number increased to a total of 84 in September 1965 to thoroughly guard

3552-493: The U.S. buildup continued, especially in aviation, communications, intelligence, special warfare and logistic units, reaching a total of 17,068 men, of which 10,916 were Army. Because of this expansion, the commanding general, General Joseph Warren Stilwell Jr. late in 1963 proposed that the name of the support group be changed to U.S. Army Support Command, Vietnam. Harkins concurred and General James Francis Collins , commander of United States Army, Pacific and Admiral Felt approved

3648-449: The aircraft turned and retreated. Fourteen minutes later Edson , now at general quarters due to reports from Hobart about hostile aircraft in the area, came under attack by an unidentified aircraft. Lookouts and sonar confirmed a near miss astern by a missile. The next day Vice Admiral William F. Bringle , Commander Seventh Fleet, appointed Rear Admiral S. H. Moore, Commander Task Group 77.1/70.8, to conduct an informal investigation into

3744-500: The aircraft visually, using Starlight Scopes and by radar. Over the course of the night, Air Force pilots reported 19 additional helicopter sightings. On this same evening the guided missile heavy cruiser USS  Boston , operating near the DMZ, also began reporting helicopter activity in the vicinity of Bến Hải , Cap Lay and Tiger Island. At 00:10 on the 16th, an unidentified aircraft fired three rockets or missiles at Boston , but none hit

3840-474: The aircraft. At 03:16, two more missiles hit the ship, destroying the gunners' store and damaging other spaces, including the engineers' workshop, the seamen's mess, the missile director room, the RIM-24 Tartar checkout room, and the chiefs' mess (again). This second attack killed an officer and wounded other sailors. As the aircraft turned to make a third pass, one of the ship's gun turrets fired five rounds and

3936-459: The ambushers often slipping away into the undergrowth when the boats located the source of attack and began to concentrate their return fire. When attacked the boats would accelerate out of the hot zone, turn and then return as a group, firing as many of their guns as they could bring to bear. They would power past the ambush point, turn and return to attack again until the ambushers were either killed or slipped away. Though most cruising and patrolling

Patrol Craft Fast - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-514: The aviation side, some of the patrol squadrons that were involved and flying from South Vietnam, Thailand, or Philippine bases were: VP-1 , VP-2 , VP-4 , VP-6 , VP-8 , VP-9 , VP-16 , VP-17, VP-19 VP-22 , VP-26 , VP-28 , VP-40 , VP-42 , VP-45 , VP-46 , VP-47, VP-48 , VP-49 and VP-50 . Aircraft flew constant and monotonous patrols along 1,200 miles (1,900 km) of coast during Operation Market Time departing from bases ranging from Vietnam ( Tan Son Nhut Airbase and Cam Ranh Bay ) to

4128-519: The boats constructed were sold or given away to nations friendly to the United States. The original training base for Swift Boats was at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado . In 1969, training was moved to Mare Island near San Pablo Bay , California, where it remained for the duration of the war. Though not a deep water boat, PCF training boats frequently transited from Mare Island, through the Golden Gate Bridge to cruise either north or south along

4224-407: The border between North and South Vietnam. The deployment of a division-sized U.S. Army force would allow the 1st Marine Division to move north, to provide greater support for the 3rd Marine Division in the northern portion of the I Corps Tactical Zone . Designated as Task Force Oregon , it included the 196th Infantry Brigade ; the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Chu Lai Base Area ; and

4320-683: The canals to create choke points and began to place mines in the waterways. For the Swifts, coming back down river was always more dangerous than going up river. The passage of a patrol assured their eventual return, providing an opportunity for the VC. Ambushes were typically short lived affairs, set up at a river bend or in a narrow canal that restricted the maneuverability of the boats. A wide variety of portable weapons were used in attacks, including recoilless rifles , B-40 rockets , .50 caliber machine guns and AK-47s , often fired from behind earthen bunkered positions. Engagements were brief and violent, with

4416-508: The carrier, amphibious, and naval gunfire support forces and, at least during early 1965, the coastal patrol force, which Commander Seventh Fleet directed, the Navy's forces within South Vietnam were operationally controlled by COMUSMACV. Initially, Westmoreland exercised this command through the Chief, Naval Advisory Group. However, the increasing demands of the war required a distinct operational rather than an advisory headquarters for naval units. As

4512-645: The case of trawler infiltration after the implementation of Operation Market Time just one out of every twenty trawlers were able to reach the South Vietnamese coast undetected. This number is certainly encouraging, yet it does not fully reflect all possible cases in which craft reached shore unbeknownst to American intelligence. Similar to the high body count numbers in accordance with the doctrine of attrition , scholars fear that boarding and inspection numbers were also inflated by soldiers and commanders. Even considering all of these factors, Market Time had an undeniable effect on infiltration into South Vietnam. Throughout

4608-550: The civilian air terminal, allegedly because Premier Nguyễn Cao Kỳ wanted to keep the property for a postwar tourist hotel. In late April 1966, with the Saigon regime locked in a tense confrontation with Buddhist and ARVN rebels in I Corps, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and Westmoreland reopened the effort to acquire the Tan Son Nhut soccer field. Under their combined pressure, Kỳ gave way. On 2 July 1966 construction started on

4704-652: The closure of MACV and the establishment of the DAO, the MACV Headquarters became the DAO Compound. Under the terms of the Paris Peace Accords MACV and all American and third country forces had to be withdrawn from South Vietnam within 60 days of the ceasefire. A small U.S. military headquarters was needed to continue the military assistance program for the southern Republic of Vietnam Military Forces and supervise

4800-739: The coast of South Vietnam. These Swift boats were further separated into five groups and assigned to different areas of operation including Division 101 located at An Thoi (working alongside Coast Guard Division 11), Division 102 at Da Nang (with Coast Guard Division 12), Division 103 at Cat Lo (with Coast Guard Division 13), Division 104 based at Cam Ranh Bay and Division 105 at Qui Nhon . Seaplane tenders USS  Currituck , USS  Pine Island and USS  Salisbury Sound served as flagships for Market Time. U.S. Navy Martin P-5 Marlin seaplane patrol squadrons, destroyers , ocean minesweepers , PCFs and United States Coast Guard cutters performed

4896-580: The commander-designate for the task force headquarters (HQ) in the event of operations in Southeast Asia, had participated in the planning for such operations, was appointed commander and promoted to general. Harkins became the senior U.S. military commander in South Vietnam and responsible for U.S. military policy, operations and assistance there. Harkins had the task of advising the South Vietnamese government on security, organization, and employment of their military and paramilitary forces. As provided for in

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4992-510: The course of 1966 alone allied forces detected 807,946 watercraft, visually inspected 223,482 of them, and boarded 181,482. Forces also engaged in a total of 482 firefights, killed 161 VC soldiers, and captured 177 while experiencing 21 friendly deaths and 97 other casualties. A study by the BDM Corporation concluded that at the very least the operation forced the VC to drastically alter its logistic operations. The company also stated that at

5088-440: The crew was supplemented with a Vietnamese trainee. The first two PCFs were delivered to the Navy in late August 1965. The original water taxi design had been enhanced with two .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns in a turret above the pilot house, an over-and-under .50-caliber machine gun – 81 mm mortar combination mounted on the rear deck, a mortar ammunition box on the stern, improved habitability equipment such as bunks,

5184-558: The cutters was armed with an 81 mm mortar and five .50 caliber machine guns . Coast Guard Squadron One was organized into Division Eleven with eight of the cutters and Division Twelve with nine of the cutters. Division Twelve sailed on 15 July 1965 and arrived at Đà Nẵng on 20 July. Division Eleven sailed on 20 July and arrived at An Thoi on 31 July. An additional nine cutters were provided to form Division Thirteen at Vũng Tàu in early 1966. Each cutter with an eleven-man crew would spend four days on patrol followed by two days alongside

5280-642: The deactivation of MACV on 27 March 1973. Command then passed to the Commander USSAG/Seventh Air Force at Nakhon Phanom. The DAO was activated on 28 January 1973 with United States Army Major General John E. Murray , formerly MACV director of logistics, as the Defense Attaché and United States Air Force Brigadier General Ralph J. Maglione, formerly the MACV J-1 (Director for Manpower and Personnel), as deputy Defense Attaché. By 29 March,

5376-480: The design's shallow draft and low freeboard limited their seaworthiness in open waters. These limitations, plus the difficulties being encountered in the interior waterways by the smaller, more lightly armed PBRs , led to the incorporation of Swifts to patrol the 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of rivers and canals of Vietnam's interior waterways. Swift Boats continued to operate along the Vietnamese coastal areas, but with

5472-610: The entire headquarters. He initially tried to obtain a site between the ARVN Joint General Staff compound and Tan Son Nhut Airport , desirable from the standpoint of removing Americans from central Saigon and placing MACV conveniently close to its Vietnamese counterpart. The Vietnamese government refused to turn over the most suitable location, a soccer field ( 10°48′45.62″N 106°39′57.49″E  /  10.8126722°N 106.6659694°E  / 10.8126722; 106.6659694  ( post-1967 MACV, Saigon ) ) near

5568-507: The fourth trawler turned tail and retreated at high speed into the South China Sea. LT Norm Cook, the patrol plane commander of a VP-17 P-2H Neptune patrol aircraft operating from Cam Ranh Bay, was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for discovering and following two of the four trawlers in the action. Of the many vessels involved in Operation Market Time, one of the more notable was the USCGC ; Point Welcome which, on 11 August 1966,

5664-455: The growing size of U.S. Army forces in the country, United States Army, Vietnam was established, and both the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division as well as the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division , deployed from the United States. The brigade from the 101st Airborne Division was originally planned to replace the 173d Airborne Brigade but, with the need for additional combat forces, both brigades remained in South Vietnam. Two months later,

5760-492: The headquarters of Republic of Korea armed forces in Vietnam . As the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam grew, MACV quickly outgrew the Pasteur Street quarters and expanded into a proliferating number of buildings throughout downtown Saigon. This added to the command’s existing security vulnerabilities and communications difficulties. In March 1965, Westmoreland began a search for a new location large enough to accommodate

5856-522: The incident with surviving veterans and a review of salvage reports from USS  Acme , the ship that recovered the bodies and codebooks from PCF-19 shortly after the attack, found that the rocket entry holes in the hull of PCF-19 were 76.2mm in size—the size of a standard helicopter rocket carried by a Soviet -manufactured Mi-4 Hound helicopter and not Sparrow or Sidewinder holes, which would have been larger. The Vietnam People's Navy managed to capture 107 of Republic of Vietnam Navy PCFs after

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5952-479: The latter half of 1967, 46 Mark II boats, with a modified deck house set further back from the bow. The newer boats also had round port holes (replacing larger sliding windows) in the aft superstructure. From 1969 through 1972, 33 Mark IIIs, which were a larger version of the Mark IIs, arrived in Vietnam. Most of the 193 PCFs built were used by the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and the two training bases in California. About 80 of

6048-474: The main cabin and exploded in the water ten feet from the boat. PCF-12 came about, increased speed and moved away from the kill zone while bringing its .50-caliber guns to bear against an aerial target hovering at 1,000 feet (300 m) with lights blinking. The aircraft decreased altitude and turned off its lights. After a short time, PCF-12 stopped to observe the scene and saw two aircraft appeared off its beams again with lights on. The boat commander contacted

6144-420: The marine observer and inquired about their status. The marines told him that they could not identify the aircraft because they did not have their identification, friend or foe (IFF) transponders turned on. At 02:35, the aircraft near the beach fired 40–50 rounds of .50-caliber tracer fire at the PCF. All rounds landed astern. PCF-12 responded with machine-gun and mortar fire. At 02:40, Point Dume , now back on

6240-553: The only American military personnel left in South Vietnam were the U.S. delegates to the Four-Party Joint Military Commission established under the Paris Peace Accords to oversee the ceasefire, themselves in the process of winding up work and departing; the fifty man DAO military contingent; and a 143-man Marine Security Guard . At 11:00 on the 29th, in a simple ceremony, General Weyand furled the colors of

6336-409: The operation. Also playing a key role in the interdictions were the Navy's patrol gunboats (PGs). The PG was uniquely suited for the job because of its ability to go from standard diesel propulsion to gas turbine ( turboshaft ) propulsion in a matter of a few minutes. The lightweight aluminum and fiberglass ships were fast and highly maneuverable because of their variable-pitch propellers . Most of

6432-539: The organization of the task force headquarters in the contingency plans, MACV's commander was also his own Army component commander. With an initial authorized strength of 216 men (113 Army), MACV was envisaged as a temporary HQ that would be withdrawn once the Viet Cong insurgency was brought under control. In that event, the Military Assistance Advisory Group would be restored to its former position as

6528-693: The prevalent use of the verb "swiftboating" as this type of ad hominem attack, stating that it is disrespectful to the men who served and died on the PCFs during Vietnam. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam The U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam ( MACV ) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense , composed of forces from the United States Army , United States Navy , and United States Air Force , as well as their respective special operations forces. MACV

6624-547: The principal U.S. headquarters in South Vietnam. For this reason, the MAAG was retained as a separate headquarters. In March 1962 Headquarters, U.S. Army, Pacific, removed the "provisional" designation from the U.S. Army Support Group, Vietnam, attached it to U.S. Army Ryukyu Islands , for administrative and logistical support, and made its commanding officer the deputy Army component commander under MACV. All U.S. Army units in South Vietnam, excluding advisory attachments, were assigned to

6720-592: The redesignation. The new designation went into effect on 1 March 1964. MACV was reorganized on 15 May 1964, and absorbed MAAG Vietnam within it, when combat unit deployment became too large for advisory group control. A Naval Advisory Group was established and the Commanding General, 2nd Air Division , became MACV's Air Force component commander. That year the U.S. strength in Vietnam grew from about 16,000 men (10,716 Army) to about 23,300 (16,000 Army) in 1964. Logistic support operations were highly fragmented. As

6816-521: The same roles of MACV within the restrictions imposed by the Paris Peace Accords until the Fall of Saigon . Admiral Harry D. Felt, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific , established the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, on 8 February 1962, as a subordinate unified command under his control. Lieutenant General Paul D. Harkins , the Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Army, Pacific , who, as

6912-634: The scene was attacked by a fixed-wing aircraft, which made two attack runs against the vessel. Both the commanding officer of Point Dume and the commander of PCF-12 positively identified the aircraft as a "jet." The crews of Point Dume and PCF-12 then observed numerous lighted aircraft that appeared to be helicopters in the northern part of the area. These aircraft approached the U.S. vessels and made firing runs with their lights off. Point Dume received heavy caliber automatic weapons fire from these aircraft and returned fire. PCF-12 also returned fire intermittently for approximately 75 minutes. Neither vessel

7008-565: The second Swift Boat is on the Naval Special Weapons Base at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado , California, the original home of PCF training. Those who served on the boats in Vietnam and later became politicians include Nebraska Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey , a recipient of the Medal of Honor , and Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe , who served in the United States Navy . U.S. Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry commanded

7104-625: The ships operated in the coastal waters from the Cambodian border around the south tip of Vietnam up north to Đà Nẵng. Supply ships from the Service Force, such as oilers, would bring mail, movies and fuel. A significant action of Market Time occurred on 1 March 1968, when the North Vietnamese attempted a coordinated infiltration of four gun-running trawlers. Two of the four trawlers were destroyed by allied ships in gun battles, one trawler crew detonated charges on board their vessel to avoid capture, and

7200-444: The small patrol boat. The AFM retained P23 as a memorial to those killed in the explosion. P23 was also depicted on a Maltese postage stamp commemorating the island's maritime heritage on 10 August 2011. A Swift Mk.3-class PB-353 physically restored and converted to museum display at the re-launched Philippine Navy Museum, Fort San Felipe, Cavite. There are two operational PCFs in the United States today. R/V Matthew F. Maury

7296-600: The start of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt 's " SEALORDS " riverway interdiction strategy, their primary area of operations soon centered upon the Cà Mau Peninsula and the Mekong Delta area in the southern tip of Vietnam. Here they patrolled the waterways and performed special operations, including gunfire support, troop insertion and evacuation, and raids into enemy territory. The Mekong Delta is composed of ten thousand square miles of marshland, swamps and forested areas. The region

7392-526: The survivors were on board, Point Dume departed the scene to drop them off at the Cua Viet Base for a medevac to Danang. In the meantime, the crew of PCF-12 , which had arrived on the scene at 01:50 to continue the search for survivors, noticed illumination rounds being fired that were not their own. Opting to investigate, the officer in charge ordered the boat to speed to the Cua Viet River. When PCF-12

7488-523: The technical assistance still required to complete the goals of Vietnamization . This headquarters became the Defense Attaché Office, Saigon . That headquarters also reported operational and military intelligence through military channels to DOD authorities. A multi-service organization was required to plan for the application of U.S. air and naval power into North or South Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos , should this be required and ordered. Called

7584-468: The use of the lanyard. The weapon had been tested in the 1950s and discarded as the U.S. Navy lost interest in the system. The United States Coast Guard maintained the gun/mortar system before the Navy incorporated it into the PCF program. Many boats also mounted a single M60 machine gun in the forward peak tank, just in front of the forward superstructure. The original order for 50 boats was followed shortly by an additional order for 54 more Mark Is. In

7680-424: The various firing incidents occurring between 15 and 17 June. The board determined that Air Force F-4s launched two AIM-7E Sparrow missiles on 17 June at 01:15 and one at 03:15 that same day. Fragments of Sparrow missiles complete with serial numbers found on Boston and Hobart confirmed these findings. The case was therefore quite clear with regard to these two attacks on 17 June — Hobart and Boston had been

7776-441: The vessel. At 01:00 on 16 June 1968 in the same area, PCF-19 was struck by two missiles, one struck the cabin just below the pilothouse on the port side, the other hit the engine room. The boat sank in four minutes. Four of its crewmen were killed, and two others badly injured. The remaining crew managed to swim free from the sinking craft and cling to a life raft until USCGC  Point Dume arrived on scene at 01:30. As soon as

7872-529: The victims of friendly fire. The board also investigated the 16 June attacks on Boston and PCF-19 and the attack on Edson on the 17th. From the positions of American vessels and attacking aircraft, the board concluded that Air Force aircraft attacked Boston and PCF-19 on the 16th and that American aircraft also attacked Edson on the 17th. Unlike the Boston and Hobart attacks on the 17th, however, no physical evidence supported these findings. Later research of

7968-514: The war was PCF-4 , which was lost to a mine in 1966. Two boats, PCF-14 and PCF-76 , were lost in rough seas at the mouth of the Cua Viet River near the DMZ , and a third, PCF-77 , was lost in a rescue effort during a monsoon at the mouth of the Perfume River on the approach to Huế . All three of these boats were lost in 1966. PCF-41 was lost that same year in an ambush when it was hit by fire from

8064-420: Was 3 miles (4.8 km) from the river mouth, crewmembers observed two sets of aircraft lights off the port and starboard beam, about 300 yards (270 m) away and 100 feet (30 m) above the water. The boat commander immediately got on the radio and requested permission to engage the aircraft. At 02:25, PCF-12 received a single rocket from seaward at a low trajectory. The rocket passed a couple of feet over

8160-423: Was activated on 11 February 1973 under the command of commander of MACV. At 08:00 on 15 February, USAF General John W. Vogt Jr. , as USSAG/7AF commander, took over from MACV control of American air operations. U.S. air support operations into Cambodia continued under USSAG/7th AF until August 1973. The DAO was established as a subsidiary command of MACV and remained under the command of commander of MACV until

8256-467: Was also established in-country by 1965. A brigade of the 25th Infantry Division arrived in late 1965, with the 4th Infantry Division deploying between August and November 1966. The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment was alerted for assignment to Southeast Asia on 11 March 1966. In April 1967, General Westmoreland, who had arrived in June 1964 as Commander of MACV, organized a division-sized blocking force along

8352-471: Was also used by United States Navy Reserve unit PBRs) up until 1995, when Mare Island was scheduled for base closure. The first Swift Boats arrived in South Vietnam in October 1965. The boats were initially used as coastal patrol craft in Operation Market Time , interdicting seaborne supplies on their way to the Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces in South Vietnam. However,

8448-725: Was brought under fire by a number of United States Air Force aircraft. This incident of a "blue-on-blue" engagement killed two members of the cutter's crew (one of whom was the commanding officer) and wounded nearly everyone on board. To stop these infiltrations, Market Time was established as a coordinated effort of long range patrol aircraft for broad reconnaissance and tracking. These aircraft, initially SP-5B seaplanes, later P-2 Neptunes and Lockheed P-3 Orions , were armed with Bullpup air-to-surface missiles were capable of engaging these craft directly. Under normal conditions, U.S. and allied surface forces intercepted suspect ships that crossed inside South Vietnam's 12-mile coastal boundary. On

8544-441: Was created on 8 February 1962, in response to the increase in United States military assistance to South Vietnam. MACV was implemented to assist the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) Vietnam, controlling every advisory and assistance effort in Vietnam. It was reorganized on 15 May 1964 and absorbed MAAG Vietnam to its command when combat unit deployment became too large for advisory group control. General Paul D. Harkins

8640-487: Was damaged in the engagement; there were no personnel injured. On the afternoon of 16 June, Task Unit 77.1.0 ordered USS  Edson , USS  Theodore E. Chandler and the Royal Australian Navy guided-missile destroyer Hobart HMAS  Hobart to conduct a surveillance mission in the vicinity of Tiger Island in attempt to flush out any enemy helicopters or waterborne craft operating from there. At 01:18 on

8736-460: Was done at 8 to 10 knots, the boats could reach a top speed of 32 knots. Thick brush and vegetation in the delta provided excellent cover for the escaping ambushers. Casualties taken among the river crews were high. Casualties suffered among the VC were difficult to assess, as they would take their dead and wounded away from a firefight. Discovering newly dug graveyards was one of the few ways to confirm VC losses. The first Swift Boat to be lost during

8832-499: Was implemented, several Swift Boats were turned over to the South Vietnamese Navy. On the night of 15/16 June 1968, U.S. marine aircraft spotters on the ground began reporting unidentified helicopters near the DMZ. The first report stated that four helicopters had been detected and were proceeding toward Tiger Island , just off the North Vietnamese coast at an altitude of 700–1,000 feet (210–300 m). These spotters observed

8928-877: Was known by the abbreviation COMUSMACV ( / ˌ k ɒ m . juː ɛ s ˌ m æ k ˈ v iː / "com-U.S.-mack-vee"). COMUSMACV was in one sense the top person in charge of the U.S. military on the Indochinese peninsula ; however, in reality, the CINCPAC and the U.S. ambassadors to Vietnam , Laos, and Cambodia also had "top person in charge" status with regard to various aspects of the war's strategy. The original MACV Headquarters were colocated with MAAG at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo, Cholon . In May 1962 it moved to 137 Pasteur Street ( 10°46′58.25″N 106°41′35.94″E  /  10.7828472°N 106.6933167°E  / 10.7828472; 106.6933167  ( pre-1967 MACV, Saigon ) ) in central Saigon . The Trần Hưng Đạo site subsequently became

9024-476: Was one of six Navy duties begun after the Tonkin Gulf Incident , along with Operation Sea Dragon , Operation Sealords , Yankee Station , PIRAZ , and naval gunfire support . When a trawler was intercepted landing arms and ammunition at Vung Ro Bay in northern Khánh Hòa Province on 16 February 1965, it provided the first tangible evidence of the North Vietnamese supply operation. This became known as

9120-465: Was searching a 5-mile radius area between the coast and Tiger Island with its radar, it detected a single aircraft tracking east. The aircraft was not squawking IFF. An attempt was made to identify the aircraft by visual gun direction personnel on the bridge. Five minutes later a missile slammed into the chief petty officers' mess and nearby spaces, killing one sailor and wounding two others. The ship took evasive action but temporarily lost radar contact with

9216-424: Was the first commanding general of MACV (COMUSMACV), and was previously the commander of MAAG Vietnam. After reorganization he was succeeded by General William C. Westmoreland in June 1964, followed by General Creighton W. Abrams (July 1968) and General Frederick C. Weyand (June 1972). MACV was disestablished on 29 March 1973 and replaced by the Defense Attaché Office (DAO), Saigon . The DAO performed many of

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