Ceramic armor shields fitted to guns, bridge. Also crew-applied ballistic blankets to protect the coxswain in the control cockpit.
Patrol Boat, Riverine, or PBR, is the United States Navy designation for a small rigid-hulledpatrol boat used in the Vietnam War from March 1966 until 1975. They were deployed in a force that grew to 250 boats, the most common craft in the River Patrol Force, Task Force 116, and were used to stop and search river traffic in areas such as the Mekong Delta, the Rung Sat Special Zone, the Saigon River and in I Corps, in the area assigned to Task Force Clearwater, in an attempt to disrupt weapons shipments. In this role, they frequently became involved in firefights with enemy soldiers on boats and on the shore, were used to insert and extract Navy SEAL teams, and were employed by the United States Army's 458th Transportation Company, known as the 458th Sea Tigers.
The PBR was a versatile boat with a fiberglass hull and water jet drive which enabled it to operate in shallow, weed-choked rivers. It drew only 2 feet (0.61m) of water fully loaded. The drives could be pivoted to reverse direction, turn the boat in its own length, or come to a stop from full speed in a few boat lengths.
The PBR was manufactured in two versions, the first with 31 feet (9.4m) length and 10-foot, 7-inch beam. The Mark II version was 32 feet (9.8m) long, and had a 1-foot (0.30m) wider beam than the Mark I. It also had improved drives to reduce fouling and aluminumgunwales to resist wear.
The PBR was designed by Willis Slane and Jack Hargrave of Hatteras Yachts, located in High Point, NC at the time, and its hull was based on an existing Hatteras Yacht hull. Just seven days after a meeting with US Navy officials, Slane and Hargrave had a prototype ready.[5][6]
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.
In October 1965, the Navy awarded a contract to the company for construction of 140 PBRs. The first craft off the assembly line, called the Mark I, was 31 feet long with a hull constructed entirely of fiberglass, a technology developed in the early 1950s.[6]
Crew
The PBR was usually manned by a four-man crew. Typically, a First Class Petty Officer served as boat captain, with a gunner's mate, an engineman and a seaman on board. Each crewman was cross-trained in each other's jobs in the event one became unable to carry out his duties. Generally, PBRs operated in pairs under the command of a patrol officer who rode on one of the boats.
Power
The boats were powered by dual 180 horsepower (130 kilowatts)Detroit Diesel 6V53N engines with Jacuzzi Brothers 14YJ water-jet drives. The boats reached top speeds of 28.5 knots (52.8km/h; 32.8mph).[citation needed]
The boats had a comparatively heavy firepower for their size. Typical armament configuration included twin M2HB.50 caliber (12.7mm) machine guns forward in a rotating, shielded tub, a single rear M2HB, one or two M60 7.62mm light machine guns mounted on the port and starboard sides, and a Mk 18 grenade launcher. There was also a full complement of M16 rifles, shotguns, .45 ACP handguns and hand grenades. Some had a "piggyback" arrangement, a .50 cal machine gun on top of an 81mm mortar;[7][8] others had a bow-mounted Mk16 Mod 4 Colt 20mm automatic cannon, derived from the AN/M3 version of the Hispano-Suiza HS.404 and also found on the LCMs and PBRs.[9]
The boats are not well protected, aside from some ceramic armor shielding for the machine gun pit, and some quarter-inch thick steel armor plate for the coxswain's flat.
They were designed to rely on rapid acceleration, maneuverability, and speed to get out of dangerous situations.
Operational career
From 1966 to 1972, PBRs were operated by the Navy as the principal component of Task Force 116. PBRs operated with the U.S. Naval Reserve up until 1995 at Mare Island, California, prior to the base's closure due to BRAC action that year. During the Vietnam War, Mare Island was home to the U.S. Navy's Repair Facilities, Mothballing Operations, Submarine Operations, and Riverine Training Operations for both Patrol Craft Fast (PCF—more commonly known as Swift Boats), PBRs, and the River Assault Boats of the Mobile Riverine Force.
The training areas for the PBRs and Swift Boats still exist today within the Napa Sonoma Marsh state wildlife area. Sloughs such as Dutchman Slough, China Slough, Napa Slough, Devil's Slough, Suisun marshland and the Napa River all run through the former training area.
Since the Navy was busy patrolling the rivers, the U.S. Army had to secure the waters around its military ports. So, it converted the 458th Transportation Company (LARC) into a PBR company in early 1968 under the 18th Military Police Brigade. With the company headquarters at Cat Lai, the company assigned pairs of PBRs to each of the Army ports. The crews consisted of two army mariners, coxswain and engineman, and two military police as gunners.[10]
In the late 1990s, what remained of the U.S. Navy's PBR force was solely in the Naval Reserve (Swift Boats had been retired from the active duty U.S. Navy immediately following the Vietnam War during the early 1970s), and was moved further inland towards Sacramento, California, the state capital, which is also intertwined with rivers. From Sacramento, PBRs could still transit directly to and through San Francisco Bay and into the Pacific Ocean, if need be. The waters of the State Wildlife Area, next to the former U.S. Navy (Riverine) training base at Mare Island, are still available for U.S. Navy PBR usage.
James "Willie" Williams was a United States Navy sailor commanding PBR 105. During a patrol operation on 31 October 1966, an engagement between the two PBRs (105 and one other) and two Viet Cong (VC) sampans escalated into a three-hour running battle involving more than 50 enemy vessels, numerous VC ground troops, and U.S. Navy attack helicopter support. For his role in this battle, Williams received the Medal of Honor. According to the citation, "the patrol accounted for the destruction or loss of 65 enemy boats and inflicted numerous casualties on the enemy personnel." Williams is considered the most heavily decorated enlisted sailor in U.S. Navy history. The U.S. Navy posthumously named a guided missile destroyer, USS James E. Williams, after him.
On March 6, 1967, United States Navy Seaman David George Ouellet was the forward machine gunner on PBR 124. After observing a grenade hurtled in his boats direction, Seaman Ouellet left the protection of his position and ran to the rear of his boat warning his shipmates to take cover. He then pushed the boat's captain down to safety and placed himself between the grenade and his shipmates. His actions saved the other men, but tragically Seaman David Ouellet was mortally wounded when the grenade detonated. For his actions that day Seaman David Ouellet was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Patrick Osborne Ford was a United States Navy sailor serving on a PBR patrol boat who was killed in South Vietnam after he saved the lives of two of his shipmates. The U.S. Navy posthumously awarded him the Navy Cross and later named a frigate, USS Ford (FFG-54), after him.
In popular culture
A major part of the action in the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now takes place on a fictional United States Navy PBR that used the radio call-sign PBR Street Gang.
An unarmed PBR Mk. II replica called "Boat Machine" or "Du Ma" was used in the "Seamen" special of the television show The Grand Tour by Jeremy Clarkson, who claimed that as there were no surviving PBRs the replica had to be built completely from scratch in New Zealand.[13][14] The total cost of building Clarkson's PBR was £100,000.[15]
See also
Fast Patrol Craft: An all-aluminum, 50-foot-long (15m), riverine boat commonly referred to as the Swift Boat by the U.S. Navy's Brown Water Navy during the Vietnam War.
↑ Follansbee, Joe (2 January 2019). "Arsenal: The river patrol boat was the backbone of the Brown Water Navy". Vietnam Magazine– via HistoryNet. 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...In 1967 the Mark II version of the PBR appeared, with an aluminum gunwale to protect its sides when junks and sampans came alongside. A transom lengthened the boat by about 6 inches. Most of the 418 Mark II PBRs constructed by Uniflite
Friedman, Norman. U.S. Small Combatants, Including PT-Boats, Subchasers, and the Brown-Water Navy: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN0-87021-713-5.
Gamewardens of Vietnam Association, Inc.—The oldest continuously operating Vietnam Veterans Organization in the United States, organized in 1968 by the Veterans of the Vietnam River Patrol Force, primary war boat, the PBR, River Patrol Boat.
The LCM-8 is a river boat and mechanized landing craft used by the United States Navy and Army during the Vietnam War and subsequent operations. They are currently used by governments and private organizations throughout the world. The acronym stands for "Landing Craft Mechanized, Mark 8".
In the Vietnam War, the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) (after May 1967), initially designated Mekong Delta Mobile Afloat Force, and later the Riverines, were a joint US Army and US Navy force that comprised a substantial part of the brown-water navy. It was modeled after lessons learned by the French experience in the First Indochina War of Dinassaut and had the task of both transport (of soldiers and equipment) and combat. The primary land base was at Đồng Tâm Base Camp, with a floating base which operated in the major rivers of the Mekong Delta. Soldiers and sailors went out in river boats from the floating base to assault the Viet Cong. During part of the 1968-69 period, there were two such mobile bases operating in different parts of the Delta, Mobile Riverine Groups Alpha and Bravo. The MRF played a key role in the Tet Offensive.
Operation Sealords was a military operation that took place during the Vietnam War.
The Patrol Craft Fast (PCF), also known as Swift Boat, were all-aluminum, 50-foot (15 m) long, shallow-draft vessels operated by the United States Navy, initially to patrol the coastal areas and later for work in the interior waterways as part of the brown-water navy to interdict Vietcong movement of arms and munitions, transport South Vietnamese forces and insert SEAL teams for counterinsurgency (COIN) operations during the Vietnam War.
A brown-water navy or riverine navy, in the broadest sense, is a naval force capable of military operations in littoral zone waters. The term originated in the United States Navy during the American Civil War, when it referred to Union forces patrolling the muddy Mississippi River, and has since been used to describe the small gunboats and patrol boats commonly used in rivers, along with the larger "mother ships" that supported them. These mother ships include converted World War II-era mechanized landing craft and tank landing ships, among other vessels.
Uniflite was founded in Bellingham, Washington, by Art Nordtvedt in October 1957. Although the company is best remembered as a maker of recreational powerboats, its initial products were small fiberglass runabouts. The company also supplied river patrol craft to the US Navy Patrol Boat - River between 1965 and 1972 for use in the Vietnam War.
Armored Troop Carriers (ATC), often called Tangos from the phonetic alphabet for T, were LCM-6 landing craft modified for riverine patrol missions. They were used by the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) of the United States Army and Navy in the Vietnam War. They were also used by Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN) and Khmer National Navy.
David George Ouellet was a US Navy seaman, and received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War.
Operation Game Warden was a joint operation conducted by the United States Navy and South Vietnamese Navy in order to deny Viet Cong access to resources in the Mekong River Delta. Game Warden and its counterpart Operation Market Time are considered to be two of the most successful U.S. Naval actions during the Vietnam War.
The Special Warfare Combat Crewmen (SWCC ) are United States Naval Special Warfare Command personnel who operate and maintain small craft for special operations missions, particularly those of U.S. Navy SEALs. Their rating is Special Warfare Boat Operator (SB).
USCGC Point Welcome (WPB-82329) was an 82-foot (25 m) Point-class cutter constructed at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland in 1961 for use as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat.
USCGC Point Mast (WPB-82316) was an 82-foot (25 m) Point class cutter constructed at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland in 1961 for use as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat. Since the Coast Guard policy in 1961 was not to name cutters under 100 feet (30 m) in length, it was designated as WPB-82316 when commissioned and acquired the name Point Mast in January 1964 when the Coast Guard started naming all cutters longer than 65 feet (20 m).
USCGC Point Marone (WPB-82331) was an 82-foot (25 m) Point class cutter constructed at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland in 1962 for use as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat. Since the Coast Guard policy in 1962 was not to name cutters under 100 feet (30 m) in length, it was designated as WPB-82331 when commissioned and acquired the name Point Marone in January 1964 when the Coast Guard started naming all cutters longer than 65 feet (20 m).
USCGC Point Caution (WPB-82301) was the first 82-foot (25 m) USCG Point class cutter constructed at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland. She was built and commissioned in 1960 for use as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat. Since the Coast Guard policy in 1960 was not to name cutters under 100 feet (30 m) in length it was designated as WPB-82301 when commissioned and acquired the name Point Caution in January 1964 when the Coast Guard started naming all cutters longer than 65-foot (20 m).
USCGC Point Gammon (WPB-82328) was an 82-foot (25 m) Point class cutter constructed at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland in 1962 for use as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat. Since the Coast Guard policy in 1962 was not to name cutters under 100 feet (30 m) in length, it was designated as WPB-82328 when commissioned and acquired the name Point Gammon in January 1964 when the Coast Guard started naming all cutters longer than 65 feet (20 m).
USCGC Point Orient (WPB-82319) was an 82-foot (25 m) Point class cutter constructed at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland in 1961 for use as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat. Since the Coast Guard policy in 1961 was not to name cutters under 100 feet (30 m) in length, it was designated as WPB-82319 when commissioned and acquired the name Point Orient in January 1964 when the Coast Guard started naming all cutters longer than 65-foot (20 m).
USCGC Point Cypress (WPB-82326) was an 82-foot (25 m) Point-class cutter constructed at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland in 1961 for use as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat. Since the Coast Guard policy in 1961 was not to name cutters under 100-foot (30 m) in length, it was designated as WPB-82326 when commissioned and acquired the name Point Cypress in January 1964 when the Coast Guard started naming all cutters longer than 65-foot (20 m).
USCGC Point White (WPB-82308) was an 82-foot (25 m) Point class cutter constructed at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland in 1961 for use as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat. Since the Coast Guard policy in 1961 was not to name cutters under 100 feet (30 m) in length, it was designated as WPB-82308 when commissioned and acquired the name Point White in January 1964 when the Coast Guard started naming all cutters longer than 65 feet (20 m).
The Coastal Riverine Force (CORIVFOR) is a unit of the United States Navy within the organizational structure of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC). The unit was established following the merger of Riverine Group 1 and the Maritime Expeditionary Security Group 1 & 2 on June 1, 2012. Its express purpose is to provide port and harbor security, and offshore protection for maritime infrastructure and Military Sealift Command ships operating in coastal waterways.
The Assault Support Patrol Boat (ASPB) (also known as the Alpha Boat), was a heavily armed and armored riverine patrol boat developed by the United States Navy for use in the Vietnam War from late 1967.
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