__NOTOC__
Special Operations Craft – Riverine is a boat used by the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
to perform short-range insertion and extraction of
special operations forces
Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
in
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
and
near-shore environments. It replaced the
Patrol Boat, River
Patrol Boat, River, 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 Ri ...
, and the mini
armored troop carrier.
Special Operations Craft-Riverine (SOC-R)
/ref>
Design
Designed for speed and tight turns, the SOC-R's V-shape belly allows the boat to skate along the surface, with relatively little drag on the hull. There is no hanging rudder or propeller blades to snag on submerged roots and rocks.
The SOC-R's five weapon mounts provide a 360-degree field of fire. The aft-mounted .50 cal covers the boat crew as they leave the shore after an extraction.
The SOC-R and its tractor and trailer fits aboard C-130
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
or larger aircraft.
The craft can also be slung under an Army MH-47 helicopter using the MEATS system, which allows Combatant-Craft Crewmen to fast-rope from the helicopter onto the craft during insertion and climb a ladder from the boat to the helicopter during extraction.
Crew
Each SOC-R is crewed by four Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC) and can carry four more people.
Image gallery
File:US Navy 070824-N-4500G-189 A Special Operations Craft Riverine (SOC-R) cruises along the Salt River during live fire training.jpg
File:US Navy 090805-N-4205W-142 Romanian Chief of Staff Adm. Gheorge Marin and members of his staff ride in a special operations craft-riverine during a visit to the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School.jpg
File:US Navy 070825-N-9769P-317 A Special Warfare Combatant-craft crewman (SWCC) mans his GAU-17 minigun during live-fire patrol training along the Salt River in northern Kentucky.jpg
File:U.S. Navy special warfare combatant-craft crewmen (SWCC), Special Boat Team 22 conducts training 16 AUG 09.jpg
File:US Navy 040421-N-0000R-002 Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen (SWCC) assigned to Special Boat Team Twenty-Two demonstrate the new Special Operations Craft-Riverine (SOC-R).jpg
File:US Navy 040421-N-0000R-003 Special Warfare Combatant Crewman (SWCC) assigned to Special Boat Team Twenty-Two demonstrate the firepower of the new Special Operations Craft-Riverine (SOC-R).jpg
File:US Navy 070825-N-9769P-287 A Special Operations Craft-Riverine (SOC-R) performs a crash-back maneuver during training along the Salt River in northern Kentucky.jpg
File:US Navy 090816-N-4205W-167 Special warfare combatant-craft crewmen (SWCC) from Special Boat Team 22 operate a special operations craft-riverine (SOC-R) during the filming of a scene in an upcoming major motion picture.jpg
File:SWCC operating a SOC-R in Act of Valor.jpg
File:SBT 22 on SOC-R boats.jpg
File:US Navy 040421-N-0000R-001 Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen (SWCC) assigned to Special Boat Team Twenty-Two demonstrate the new Special Operations Craft-Riverine (SOC-R).jpg
File:US Navy 080620-N-4500G-044 An Air Force crewman directs a forklift operator who carefully maneuvers a Naval Special Operations Craft-Riverine (SOC-R) out of an Air Force C-17 aircraft.jpg
See also
*
* Small unit riverine craft
The small unit riverine craft (SURC) is a 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 B ...
* Mark V Special Operations Craft
The Mark V SOC (Special Operations Craft) was a marine security, patrol and special forces insertion boat used by the United States Navy and manufactured by VT Halter Marine Inc (Gulfport, Mississippi). It was introduced into service with the ...
* Combatant Craft Medium
* Mark VI patrol boat
References
External links
United States Marine Inc. Web site
Behind the Scenes With a Special Ops Gunboat Crew - Popular Mechanics article - March 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Special Operations Craft - Riverine
United States Navy SEALs
Equipment of the United States Navy
Unclassified miscellaneous vessels of the United States Navy
Military boats
Patrol vessels of the United States Navy
Riverine warfare
Landing craft