![Four Swift Boats](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Four_Swift_Boats.jpg)
Patrol Craft Fast (PCF), also known as Swift Boats, were all-aluminum, long, shallow-
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
vessels operated by the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, initially to patrol the coastal areas and later for work in the interior waterways as part of the
brown-water navy
The term brown-water navy or riverine navy refers in its broadest sense to any navy, 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 refer ...
to interdict Vietcong movement of arms and munitions, transport South Vietnamese forces and insert SEAL teams for
counterinsurgency
Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...
(COIN) operations during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
Development
Conception
The Swift Boat was conceived in a ''Naval Advisory Group'',
Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense.
MACV was created on 8 February 1962, in response to the increase in United States military assistance to South Vietnam. MACV ...
(NAVADGRP MACV) staff study titled "Naval Craft Requirements in a Counter Insurgency Environment," published 1 February 1965. It noted that "counterinsurgency water operations are difficult, demanding, and unique. A prevalent belief has been that COIN craft can readily be obtained from existing commercial and naval sources when needed. Unfortunately, no concerted effort has been made to develop COIN craft specifically suited to perform the many missions needed to combat insurgent activities."
The study went on to list characteristics of the ideal patrol craft:
* Reliable and sturdy
* Non-wooden hull, with screw and rudder protection against groundings
* Self-sufficient for 400 to 500 mile (600 to 800 km) patrol
* Speed of 20 to 25 knots (37 to 46 km/h)
* Small high-resolution
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
range 4 to 6 miles (7 to 11 km)
* Reliable long-range communications equipment, compatible with Army and Air Force
* Quiet
* Armament for limited offense
* Sparse
berthing
A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a deckhouse.
Sailing ships
In sailing ships, the officers and paying passengers wo ...
, no
mess
The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
ing
* Depth meter, accurate from 0 to 50 feet (15 m)
* Small, powerful searchlight
The study was positively received, and the Navy began to search for sources. Sewart Seacraft of
Berwick, Louisiana
Berwick is a town in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,946 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Jenny Craig, weight loss guru and founder of Jenny Craig, Inc., is origi ...
(
Swiftships' predecessor), built
water taxi
A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...
s for companies operating oil rigs in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
, 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
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
. The Navy used those enhanced plans to request bids from other boat builders. Sewart Seacraft was chosen to build the boats.
Mark I
![Fast Patrol Craft (Swift boat) fast](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Fast_Patrol_Craft_%28Swift_boat%29_fast.jpg)
The Swift Boats had welded aluminum hulls about long with beam, and draft of about five feet (1.5 m). They were powered by a pair of
General Motors 12V71"N" Detroit marine diesel engines rated at each, with a design range from at to about at . 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 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
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...
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, 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
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
, 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 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
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
maintained the gun/mortar system before the Navy incorporated it into the PCF program. Many boats also mounted a single
M60 machine gun
The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. There are several types of ammunition approved for ...
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.
Mark II and Mark III
In 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.
Use
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 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
Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) is a US naval installation located across the bay from San Diego, California. The base, situated on the Silver Strand, between San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major Navy shore command, sup ...
. In 1969 training was moved to
Mare Island
Mare Island (Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the eas ...
near
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California.
Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water ch ...
, 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
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...
to cruise either north or south along the Pacific Ocean coastline. ''PCF-8'' sank in a storm off
Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay ( es, Bahía Bodega) is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Ros ...
, California in December 1969. This was the only Swift Boat lost during training operations. No crewmen were lost in the event.
Vietnam service
![Fast Patrol Crafts operating up a river 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Fast_Patrol_Crafts_operating_up_a_river_2.jpg)
The first Swift Boats arrived in South Vietnam in October 1965. The boats were initially used as coastal patrol craft in
Operation Market Time
Operation Market Time was 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 Sout ...
, interdicting seaborne supplies on their way to the
Viet Cong
,
, war = the Vietnam War
, image = FNL Flag.svg
, caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green.
, active ...
(VC) and
People's Army of Vietnam
The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
(PAVN) forces in South Vietnam. However, the design's shallow draft and low
freeboard
In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard
is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...
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 of rivers and canals of Vietnam's interior waterways.
Swift Boats continued to operate along the Vietnamese coastal areas, but with the start of Admiral
Elmo Zumwalt
Elmo Russell "Bud" Zumwalt Jr. (November 29, 1920 – January 2, 2000) was a United States Navy officer and the youngest person to serve as Chief of Naval Operations. As an admiral and later the 19th Chief of Naval Operations, Zumwalt played a m ...
's "
SEALORDS
Operation Sealords was a military operation that took place during the Vietnam War.
SEALORDS acronym
SEALORDS is an acronym for Southeast Asia Lake, Ocean, River, and Delta Strategy. It was a joint operation between United States and South Vi ...
" riverway interdiction strategy, their primary area of operations soon centered upon the
Cà Mau Peninsula
Peninsula ( vi, Bán Đảo Cà Mau, lnks=no) makes up the southern tip of Vietnam. It is in Cà Mau Province, and lies between the Gulf of Thailand to the west and the South China Sea to the east.
Cà Mau is a triangular stretch of land, with ...
and the
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...
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 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
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
teams.
When 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 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 rifle
A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...
s, B-40 rockets, .50 caliber machine guns and AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...
s, often fired from behind earthen bunkered positions. Engagements were brief and violent, with 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 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 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
A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...
, and a third, ''PCF-77'', was lost in a rescue effort during a monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
at the mouth of the Perfume River
The Perfume River ( or ; ) is a river that crosses the city of Huế, in the central Vietnamese province of Thừa Thiên-Huế. In the autumn, flowers from orchards upriver from Huế fall into the water, giving the river a perfume-like aroma, ...
on the approach to Huế
Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
. 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 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.
Controversy over loss of ''PCF-19''
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
El Tigre is an island located in the Gulf of Fonseca, a body of water on the Pacific coast of Central America. The island is a conical basaltic stratovolcano and the southernmost volcano in Honduras. It belongs to Valle department. Together ...
, just off the North Vietnamese coast at an altitude of . These spotters observed the aircraft visually, using Starlight Scope
A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The devi ...
s 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 , 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 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 arrived on scene at 01:30. As soon as 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'' was from the river mouth, crewmembers observed two sets of aircraft lights off the port and starboard beam, about away and 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 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 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 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 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 was damaged in the engagement; there were no personnel injured.][
On the afternoon of 16 June, Task Unit 77.1.0 ordered , and the ]Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
guided-missile destroyer 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 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 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'' 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 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
The General Dynamics RIM-24 Tartar was a medium-range naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. The Tartar was the third of the so-called "3 T's", the three primar ...
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 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 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 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 the incident with surviving veterans and a review of salvage reports from , 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
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
-manufactured Mi-4 Hound helicopter and not Sparrow or Sidewinder holes, which would have been larger.[
]
In training
The most frequent training area for the Mare Island
Mare Island (Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the eas ...
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, was also used by United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...
unit PBRs) up until 1995, when Mare Island was scheduled for base closure.
In service of the Vietnam People's Navy
The Vietnam People's Navy
The Vietnam People's Navy (VPN; vi, Hải quân nhân dân Việt Nam), or the Naval Service (), also known as the Vietnamese People's Navy or simply Vietnam/Vietnamese Navy (), is the naval branch of the Vietnam People's Army and is responsi ...
managed to capture 107 of Republic of Vietnam Navy
The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; ; ''HQVNCH'') was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats fro ...
PCFs after the Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Saigon, the capital of ...
in 1975. The PCFs were quickly used in the PAVN's operation at Thổ Chu and other islands to repel the invasion of the Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
. The Swift Boats are still active in the Vietnam People's Navy.[Khám phá vũ khí mới trên tàu PCF VN sau nâng cấp](_blank)
Operators
* - U.S. Navy
* - Philippine Navy
The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...
& Philippine Coast Guard
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ( fil, Tanod Baybayin ng Pilipinas) is recognized as the third armed uniformed service of the country attached to the Philippines' Department of Transportation, tasked primarily with enforcing laws within Ph ...
* - Republic of Vietnam Navy
The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; ; ''HQVNCH'') was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats fro ...
* - Khmer National Navy
The Khmer National Navy ( km, កងទ័ពជើងទឹកជាតិខ្មែរ; french: Marine nationale khmère, MNK) was the naval component of the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), the official military of the Khmer Republic d ...
* Khmer Rouge, captured from the US Navy and Khmer National Navy
* - Royal Thai Navy
The Royal Thai Navy ( Abrv: RTN, ทร.; th, กองทัพเรือไทย, ) is the naval warfare force of Thailand. Established in 1906, it was modernised by the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880–1923) who is known as ...
* - Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta
The Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta ( mt, Skwadra Marittima tal-Forzi Armati ta' Malta) is the naval component of the Maltese military. The Maritime Squadron has responsibility for the security of Maltese territorial waters, ma ...
* - SENAN
The National Aeronaval Service of Panama, also called SENAN (abbreviation for es, Servicio Nacional Aeronaval), is a branch of the Panamanian Public Forces which is responsible for carrying out naval and air operations. Its role is to perform pro ...
* - PMSA
* - Vietnam People's Army
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, taken from the former South Vietnam Navy
Current
The Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
island nation of Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
was one of the last operators to make use of two Swift Boats in the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta
The Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta ( mt, Skwadra Marittima tal-Forzi Armati ta' Malta) is the naval component of the Maltese military. The Maritime Squadron has responsibility for the security of Maltese territorial waters, ma ...
(AFM). The Swifts were built at the time of the Vietnam war, with the two vessels used in Malta having started their life as training vessels. These craft, transferred by the U.S. government in 1971 when Dr. George Borg Olivier
Giorgio Borg Olivier, ( mt, Ġorġ Borg Olivier) (5 July 1911 – 29 October 1980) was a Maltese statesman and leading politician. He twice served as Prime Minister of Malta (1950–55 and 1962–71) as the Leader of the Nationalist Party. H ...
was still Prime Minister, carried hull numbers ''C23'' and ''C24'' respectively (later renamed ''P23'' and ''P24'') and, while somewhat modified, maintained the look of the original riverine warfare boats. The two small inshore patrol boats became the work horses of the AFM's Maritime Squadron and were only retired once four new Austal patrol boats were commissioned in 2010.
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
The Maritime Museum of San Diego, established in 1948, preserves one of the largest collections of historic sea vessels in the United States. Located on the San Diego Bay, the centerpiece of the museum's collection is the '' Star of India'', an 1 ...
in California. The museum has 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
The ''C23'' tragedy refers to an incident where the ''Swift''-class patrol boat ''C23'' of the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) was severely damaged in an explosion while dumping illegal fireworks off Qala in Gozo, Malta, ...
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 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.
Swift boats are still active in the Vietnam People's Navy
The Vietnam People's Navy (VPN; vi, Hải quân nhân dân Việt Nam), or the Naval Service (), also known as the Vietnamese People's Navy or simply Vietnam/Vietnamese Navy (), is the naval branch of the Vietnam People's Army and is responsi ...
, who obtained a number of vessels from the Republic of Vietnam's naval forces. The South Vietnamese Navy carried out several changes to the vessel's armament. The American 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.
There are two operational PCFs in the United States today. R/V ''Matthew F. Maury'' 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 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
A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the militar ...
at Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy.
The Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrativ ...
in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
; the second Swift Boat is on the Naval Special Weapons Base at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado
Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) is a US naval installation located across the bay from San Diego, California. The base, situated on the Silver Strand, between San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major Navy shore command, sup ...
, California, the original home of PCF training.
Notable personnel
Those who served on the boats in Vietnam and later became politicians include Nebraska Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey
Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietna ...
, a recipient of the Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
, and Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe
James Thomas Kolbe (June 28, 1942 – December 3, 2022) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Arizona's 5th congressional district from 1985 to 2003 and its 8 ...
, who served in the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. U.S. Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
commanded a Swift Boat when he served in Vietnam. LTJG
Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies.
United States
Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), is ...
Kerry was awarded the Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
, Bronze Star
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
and three Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...
s during riverine combat in a PCF. As the Democratic nominee for president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
in 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, then-Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Kerry's military record was attacked by a political 527 group
A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (). A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat ...
called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Ever since, the term "swiftboating
The term swiftboating (also swift-boating or swift boating) is a pejorative American neologism used to describe an unfair or untrue political attack. The term is derived from the name of the organization "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" (SBVT, l ...
" 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 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.
See also
* Boghammar
* Brown-water navy
The term brown-water navy or riverine navy refers in its broadest sense to any navy, 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 refer ...
* Harbour Defence Motor Launch
* Hurricane Aircat
The Hurricane Aircat was an airboat used as a riverine patrol boat by the US Army and South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) during the Vietnam War. It was used to conduct various counterinsurgency (COIN) and patrol missions in riverine and marshy areas w ...
: long fiberglass airboat used on rivers in the Vietnam War.
* Mobile Riverine Force
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 n ...
* Operation Market Time
Operation Market Time was 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 Sout ...
* Patrol Boat, River
Patrol Boat, Riverine, or PBR, is the United States Navy designation for a small rigid- hulled patrol 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 ...
, PBR, long, all fiberglass boat, with twin water jet propulsion, used on rivers.
* Small unit riverine craft
The small unit riverine craft (SURC) is rigid-hull, armed and armored patrol boat used by the U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy to maintain control of rivers and inland waterways. They are similar in size and purpose to the much older Patrol Boat, R ...
References
Citations
General bibliography
* Daly, Dan (2017)
External links
{{Commons, Fast Patrol Craft
''White Water, Red Hot Lead: On Board US Navy Swift Boats in Vietnam''. Published by Casemate. .
* Friedman, Norman. ''U.S. Small Combatants: An Illustrated Design History'', United States Naval Institute, 1987 .
* Gugliottia, Guy, Yeoman, Neva Sullaway, ''Swift Boats at War in Vietnam''. Stackpole Books, 2017.
* Steffes, James ''Swift Boat Down: The real story of the sinking of PCF-19'', Xlibris, 2005
* Steffes, James ''Operation Market Time: The Early Years, 1965–66'', Xlibris, 2009,
* Symmes, Weymouth ''War on the Rivers: A Swift Boat Sailor's Chronicle of the Battle of the Mekong Delta'' Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 2004.
* ''Time'', August 9, 1968, Vol. 92 No. 6; "Viet Nam War: Fatal Error" (The World/Vietnam War)
External links
{{Commons, Fast Patrol Craft
* [http://www.pcf45.com PCF-45 story, by Robert Shirley
* [http://www.swiftboats.net/extras/boat_background">PCF-45 story, by Robert Shirley">''White Water, Red Hot Lead: On Board US Navy Swift Boats in Vietnam''. Published by Casemate. .
* Friedman, Norman. ''U.S. Small Combatants: An Illustrated Design History'', United States Naval Institute, 1987 .
* Gugliottia, Guy, Yeoman, Neva Sullaway, ''Swift Boats at War in Vietnam''. Stackpole Books, 2017.
* Steffes, James ''Swift Boat Down: The real story of the sinking of PCF-19'', Xlibris, 2005
* Steffes, James ''Operation Market Time: The Early Years, 1965–66'', Xlibris, 2009,
* Symmes, Weymouth ''War on the Rivers: A Swift Boat Sailor's Chronicle of the Battle of the Mekong Delta'' Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 2004.
* ''Time'', August 9, 1968, Vol. 92 No. 6; "Viet Nam War: Fatal Error" (The World/Vietnam War)
External links
{{Commons, Fast Patrol Craft
PCF-45 story, by Robert Shirley
CDR Lawrence J. Wasikowski Retired - taken from http://swiftboats.net
CDR Lawrence J. Wasikowski Retired - taken from http://swiftboats.net
Photos" target="_blank" class="mw-redirect" title="of the Swift Boat at the US Navy Museum in Washington, D.C.
* [http://www.swiftboats.org Swift Boat Sailors' Association
Military boats">of the Swift Boat at the US Navy Museum in Washington, D.C.
Swift Boat Sailors' Association
Military boats
Patrol boat classes
Patrol vessels of the United States Navy
Riverine warfare
Vietnam War ships