Nhà Bè Base (also known as Nhà Bè Naval Support Activity or Nhà Bè Logistics Support Base) is a former

U.S. 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 o ...

and

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 ...

(RVNN) base in Nhà Bè District in

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

(now

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

) of

Vietnam 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 ...

now used as a base by the

Vietnam Coast Guard Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG, ; formerly Vietnam Marine Police (VMP) prior to October 2013) is the coast guard of Vietnam. Until 2013, it was a branch of Vietnam's military, the Vietnam People's Army, and falls under the management of the Vietname ...

History

The base is located in Nhà Bè District approximately south southeast of

at the junction of the Soài Rạp and Lòng Tàu Rivers. The base was first established by the US Navy in May 1966 to support

Operation Game Warden 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 Delta. Game Warden and its counterpart Operation Market Time are considered to ...

and particularly patrolling of the

Rung Sat Special Zone Rung Sat Special Zone (Vietnamese: ''Đặc khu Rừng Sác'') was the name given during the Vietnam War by the South Vietnam Government and American forces to a large area of the Sác Forest (Vietnamese ''Rừng Sác''), which is today known as th ...

. Mine Squadron 11, Detachment Alpha equipped with 12 minesweeping boats (MSBs) ( long, wooden-hulled boats) were the first Navy vessels deployed there Construction of the base first involved the dredging of 300,000 cubic yards of sand, filling and compacting of the marshland, following which construction included barracks for 400 men, storage for 3,000 barrels of petrol, oil and lubricants (POL), a storage warehouse of 8,000 square feet, a communications and administration building, ammunition storage, two antenna towers, a mess-hall, a pier, and the required road, water, sewerage and power facilities. The overall construction period took 14 months, however the base began operation as construction was ongoing and by late 1966 Nhà Bè was also the base for three platoons from

SEAL Team 1 The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy, U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command, Naval Special Wa ...

and was also a

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) base. By August 1967, a two-helicopter detachment from

HA(L)-3 HA(L)-3, (Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) 3), nicknamed the "Seawolves", was an all-volunteer squadron in the US Navy formed in support of Naval Special Warfare operations and Mobile Riverine Forces during the Vietnam War. Beginnings of the Na ...

was located at the base. On 2 January 1968 a

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) 75mm recoilless-rifle attack against on the base wounded two sailors and scored a direct hit on an MSB which was destroyed. In May 1968 Mine Squadron 11, Detachment Alpha became Mine Division 112. From September 1968 on six medium minesweepers (MSMs, formerly LCM(M)s) and four drone minesweepers (MSDs) of the newly created Mine Division 113 were based at Nhà Bè. The base was transferred to the RVNN in April 1972. Located on the Lòng Tàu River north of the base, the Nhà Bè fuel depot was the largest fuel storage facility in South Vietnam with approximately 80% of the nation's storage capacity. On the night of 3 December 1973 the VC hit the fuel depot with rocket fire destroying or damaging 30 fuel tanks and igniting over 600,000 barrels of fuel. Early in 1975, the RVNN created Riverine Task Force 99 based at Nhà Bè. The base remains in use today by the

References

External links

Footage of the base in 1967
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nha Be Base Buildings and structures in Ho Chi Minh City Military installations of the United States in South Vietnam Naval installations of the Republic of Vietnam