Patrol Boat, Riverine or PBR , was the appointment of the US Navy for the hardened small patrol vessels used in the Vietnam War from March 1966 to the end of 1971. They were deployed in growing up to 250 boats, the most common vessel in the River Patrol Force, Task Force 116, and used to stop and look for river traffic in areas such as the Mekong River Delta, the Crescent Special Area, Saigon River and at I Corps, in the area assigned to the Clearwater Task Force, in an attempt to disrupt weapons shipments. In this role they are often involved in crossfire with enemy soldiers on ships and on shore, used to enter and extract the Navy SEAL team, and are employed by the 458 US Army Transportation Company, known as 458 Seatigers. PBR replaced by Special Operation Craft - Riverine (SOC-R)
Video Patrol Boat, River
Design
PBR is a multipurpose vessel with fiberglass hull and water jet drive that allows it to operate in shallow and winding rivers. It drew only two feet of fully charged water. The drive can rotate in reverse direction, rotate the boat by its own length, or stop from full speed in a few times the length of the ship.
PBR is produced in two versions, the first with a length of 31 feet and 10 feet, 7 inches. The Mark II version of 32 feet (9.8 m) long and one wider leg ray has increased the drive to reduce aluminum fouling and gunwales to withstand wear.
Maps Patrol Boat, River
Crew
PBR is usually manned by a crew of four people. Usually, a First Petty Class Officer acts as a ship's captain, with a comrade in arms, a craftsman and a sailor on board. Each crew is cross-trained in their respective jobs in which one becomes unable to perform his duties. Generally, PBR is operated in pairs under the command of a patrol officer who drove one of the boats.
Power
The boats are powered by a dual engine 180 hp (115 Â ° kW) Detroit Diesel 6V53N with Jacuzzi Brothers jet pumps. The boat reached a top speed of 28.5 knots (53 km/h 32 mph).
Armament
Typical armament configurations include a twin M2HB machine gun of 50 caliber (12.7 mm) forward in a rotating rotating body, single rear M60, one or two 7.62 mm submachine guns at the port and right sides, and Mk grenades 19 launchers. There are also M16 guns, shotguns, 0.45 ACP handguns, and hand grenades. Some have a "piggyback" setting, a 50 machine gun on top of a 81mm mortar; others have an Mk16 Mod 4 Colt 20mm automatic arc attached to the arc, which is from the AN/M3 version of Hispano-Suiza HS.404 and is also found in LCM and PBR.
What benefits the ships in heavy weapons they have in armor or shields. Although the 50 cal machine gun has a protective ceramic armor and the Coxswain flat has a quarter inch thick steel plate, the boats are designed to rely on rapid acceleration, maneuverability, and speed to get out of difficult situations.
US. operation
PBR operated with the US Naval Reserve until 1995 in Mare Island, California before the base closure due to BRAC's actions that year. During the Vietnam War, Mare Island was home to the US Navy Repair Facility, Operation Mothballing, Submarine Operations, and Riverine Training Operations for both Swift Boats and PBR.
Training areas for PBR and Swift Boats still exist today within the wildlife area of ​​Napa Sonoma Marsh. Sloughs such as Dutchman Slough, China Slough, Napa Slough, Devil's Slough, Suisun swamp and River Napa all run through the previous training area.
In the late 1990s, what remained of the US Navy's troop forces was solely in the Navy Reserves (the Swift Boats had retired from the US Navy's active service immediately after the Vietnam War in the early 1970s), and moved further into the inland to Sacramento, California, the state capital, which is also intertwined with rivers. From Sacramento, PBR can still transit directly to and through the San Francisco Bay and to the Pacific Ocean, if necessary. The State Wildlife Wildlife Area, next to the former US naval base (Riverine) on Mare Island, is still available for US Navy PBR use.
Operator
- United States - US Navy
- Ã, South Vietnam - Republic of Vietnam Navy
- Ã, Khmer Republic - Khmer National Navy
- The Kingdom of Laos - Royal Lao Navy
- Ã, Thai - Royal Thai Navy
- Ã, Brazil - Brazilian Army
- Ã, Panama - PLEASE
- Ã, Ã, Swiss - Swiss Armed Forces
- Iraq - Iraqi Navy
Medal
James "Willie" Williams was a US Navy sailor who led the PBR 105. During a patrol operation on October 31, 1966, the engagement between two PBRs (105 and one other) and two saipans increased to a three-hour battle involving more than 50 enemy ships , many VC ground forces, and support for US Navy attack helicopters. For his role in this battle, Williams received the Congressional Medal of Honor. According to the quote, "the patrol was responsible for the destruction or loss of 65 enemy ships and inflicted heavy casualties on enemy personnel." Williams is considered the most widely registered mariner in the history of the US Navy. The US Navy is posthumously named missile destroyer, USS James E. Williams , afterwards.
Patrick Osborne Ford is a US Navy sailor who was on duty patrol boat PBR who died in Vietnam after saving the lives of two colleagues. The US Navy anumumally gave him the Navy Cross and then named the frigate, the Ford Ford (FFG-54), afterwards.
See also
- Fast Patrol Craft: Aluminum along 50-foot (15 m) long river boat, commonly referred to as the Swift Boat by the Navy's Brown US Navy during the Vietnam War.
- Small river craft units: Artificial and/or armored small river craft used to maintain control of rivers and inland waterways.
Note
458 Sea Tigers (current website)
Further reading
- Friedman, Norman. US. Small Combatants, Including PT-Boats, Subchasers, and Brown-Water Navy: An Illustrated Design History . Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBNÃ, 0-87021-713-5.
External links
- Gamewardens of Vietnam Association, Inc. - Vietnam's oldest Veterans Organization operating in the United States, held in 1968 by the Vietnam River Patrol Veterans Patrol, the main war boats, the PBR, the River Patrol Boats.
- Rivervet's website
- PBR Forces Veterans Association
- HNSA Ship Page: PBR as a museum to visit.
- PBRs in the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum
- PBR6927
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments