Organizations and Progressive Activities of the
Republic of Vietnam Navy
By Commander Thong Ba Le, RVN Navy
PROLOGUE
The Vietnamese people fought the war against the French Colonists for over a
century, during which hundreds of thousands of young nationalists sacrificed
their lives to liberate our homeland. We have all spent time mourning our
beloved friends or relatives who died in the cruel war that all but destroyed
our underdeveloped country. Vietnam survived only because of her proud and
patriotic people.
Every time I sit down to write my bittersweet memoirs or a line of a heartfelt
poetry or research the establishment and the passage of my dear Navy, I feel
waves of sorrow undulating inside me; I sit and think that I want to escape from
this life to the life that I knew before—of a solitary seascape oscillating in
the swing of ebb tides, a life of a warrior that was cut short by unwanted war
and by destiny. But then, after that momentary wish, I think about the young
Vietnamese generations that include my children and my grandchildren. They are
our national treasures, the future of our country and they need guidance in
returning to their roots and maintaining their patriotic consciences. Each time,
this convinces me to renew my pledge to write about our heritage and my
advantageous experiences.
Effective communication of the valiant history of the Vietnamese people is
crucial. Naval history plays a great part in the retelling of the war in
Vietnam, due to our strategic position and special location in South East Asia.
History, in to my opinion, is the events that shape the life of a nation. Future
generations will read about our history and will retrieve the truth from it and
apply that truth to their own lives.
This article is written based on a document from the Republic of Vietnam Navy
Headquarters, previously briefed to the Vietnamese Military Attachés before they
were assigned to their posts at the Vietnamese Embassies abroad. The document
described and illustrated the Organizations and progress of the Republic of
Vietnam’s Navy from the beginning, with the assistance of the French Navy in
1952 to 1974. The report included the naval battle at Paracels Island in January
19,1974 between the heroic Republic of Vietnam’s Navy ships and the aggressive
Red Chinese vessels. With the pride of a warrior in a Navy that gloriously
defended its maritime border from the northern to the southern edges of the East
Sea, the author wishes to participate somewhat in the history of the courageous
people of Vietnam.
Thong Ba Le
1. Background
history
The Vietnamese Navy was founded in 1952 with the assistance of the French Navy.
In the beginning there were no Vietnamese Naval Officers who had the experience
to command. By the request of the Vietnamese Government, the French temporarily
continued to be in charge until August 20, 1955, the date that Vietnamese Naval
Officers completely commanded the Navy Forces. There were about 2000 personnel
from the beginning, with 22 vessels consisting of: Patrol Coastal Escort (PCE),
Landing Ship, Mechanized (LSM), Landing Ship Infantry, Large (LSIL), Landing
Ship Support, Large (LSSL), Mine Sweeper (YMS) and six River Assault Groups. The
Navy then was formed into two main Combat Forces: Sea Forces and River Forces.
In 1959, North Vietnamese Communists started developing a movement to sneak
troops and equipment into the Republic of Vietnam’s territory. In order to stop
the Communists from using the East Sea to sneak troops and weapons by boats to
the coastline of South Vietnam, the RVN’s Navy, along with the mentioned ships,
organized a Luc Luong Hai Thuyen (Coastal Junk Force) with 200 boats. These
motor propelled and sail junk boats, manned by Regional Irregular Forces
personnel and local fishermen recruited for the occasion, kept watch along the
1,200 mile coastline. The name Coastal Junk Force was later changed to Regular
Forces and came to be known as Duyen doan (Coastal Groups) and was under the
command of the Coastal Zones. While organizing the Coastal Junk Force, the Sea
Force was also modernized and developed with the receiving of warships that were
transferred from the United States Navy. The period between 1959 and 1966 was
noted for the considerable advance of the RVN Navy in every field involved: the
operations activities, the training facilities and the logistics capability.
These fields had developed and improved as well as the overall organization and
management of the Navy. The total number of gunboats, warships and junk boats
increased from 94 units to 560 vessels and the number of personnel grew to
16,000 from 3,000 in 7 years. In addition, from October 1966, Luc Luong Lien
doan Tuan Giang (The River Patrol Groups), previously under the command of Dia
Phuong Quan (The Regional Irregular Forces), were included in the Command and
the Organization of the Republic of Vietnam Navy.
In 1968, in order to quickly improve the role of the RVN Armed Forces in
fighting against the aggression of North Vietnamese Communists, the RVN Navy and
the U.S. Navy carried out plans to turns over all assets of the U.S. Navy to the
RVN Navy in a program named "Accelerated Turn Over to Vietnam" (ACTOV). This
plan was executed swiftly and effectively and was accomplished before schedule.
As a result, at the end of 1972, the number of warships, gunboats and junk boats
had reached a total of 1,500 vessels and more than 40,000 officers,
non-commissioned officers and enlisted men. There were 16 Radar Surveillance
Sites and 16 Naval Support Bases and Operational Support Units. The Vietnamese
Navy Headquarters was organized into three main components:
The Combat Forces
The Logistics Branch
The Training Element
2. The Navy Headquarters Organization
The Vietnamese Navy Headquarters was the brain of the Republic of Vietnam Navy.
It was responsible for the operation, management and development of the Navy and
was divided into 8 prominent branches as follows:
The Operations Branch
The Logistics Branch
The Personnel Branch
The Psychological Branch
The Training Branch
The Medical Branch
The Navy Security Branch and
The General Inspection Office
3. The Combat Forces
The Combat Forces were important elements of the Navy that consisted of seven
Zone Navy Headquarters and 9 different Forces as listed:
5 Coastal Zones
2 Riverine Zones
The Nation Capitol Special Zone
The Rung Sat Special Zone
The River Patrol Group
The Navy Fleet
The Amphibious Force
The Patrol Boat River Force
The Special Task Force
The Marine Corps
The Coastal Security Service
3.1 The 5 Coastal Zones
In order to coordinate operations of the territorial and tactical organizations,
there were 5 Coastal Zones established and named as First Coastal Zone, Second
Coastal Zone and so on. Their primary responsibilities were to maintain the
Seaboard and Coastal security including the island territory. Their other
missions were to stop and prevent the enemy’s illegal infiltration by sea and to
conduct operations of their naval units to support and reinforce the appropriate
Army Tactical Corp. The main units of the Coastal Zones were Duyen doan (the
Coastal Groups), Hai doi Duyen phong (the Coastal Patrol Maritime Groups), Dai
Kiem Bao (Radar Surveillance Sites) and Can Cu Hai Quan (Naval Bases) located in
their territories. Along the coast of the Republic of Vietnam, there were 20
Coastal Groups and 16 Radar Surveillance Sites; each Coastal Group was equipped
with 12 motor-propelled junk boats of various types:
Yabuta junk boat
Ferrous Cement junk boat
Kien Giang junk boat
Each Coastal Patrol Maritime Group was manned with gunboats including Patrol
Craft, Fast (PCF), "Swift" and WPB (former U.S. Coast Guard 82ft-patrol boat).
3.2 The Riverine Zone
There were two Riverine Zones in the RVN Navy:
The Third Riverine Zone operated in the rivers and water ways of the Army Third
Corps’ territory
The Fourth Riverine Zone operated in the rivers and waterways of the Army Fourth
Corps’ territory.
Their primary responsibilities were to maintain and secure the safety on the
rivers, to prevent and stop the enemy’s troops and equipment from coming either
through or into their operating areas, to provide support in combined operations
and also to assist the Local Pacification and Developing Program. Besides the
Naval Bases, the other main units of the Riverine Forces were The River Assault
Groups which were equipped with old gunboats left by the French Navy including:
Monitor, LCVP, LCM Commandment, STCAN FOM…
3.3 The National Capitol Special Zone
The Naval Force that operated in the rivers surrounding the Nation Capitol
Special Zone was responsible for security. It provided protection for the
Capitol as well as coordinated the operations of all naval units in Saigon and
its surrounding areas and provided administrative support to the Navy
Headquarters.
3.4 The Rung Sat Special Zone
The Vietnamese Navy was designated to be responsible for securing the traffic on
the strategic and vital rivers that connected Saigon and the East Sea, the were
Long Tao River and Soai Rap River. The Rung Sat Special Zone was covered with
jungle of water plants that created ideal areas for VC guerrilla warfare;
therefore it was difficult to protect and provide the safety to the thousands of
merchant ships steaming in and out through these rivers. But the Navy Forces in
charge of this task did a great job of securing the ships’ safety without
incident in recent years.
3.5 The River Patrol Group
The River Patrol Group, previously under the Command of the Regional Irregular
Forces, was later assimilated into the Navy and consisted of 24 River Patrol
Companies, 3 repair and maintenance Companies and a Training Center in Cat Lai.
The companies were organized to provide operations support to their designated
districts and secure the safety on rivers and waterways. They were manned with
LCM-3 landing crafts and Harbor Patrol boats.
3.6 The Navy Fleet
The Vietnamese Fleet was the main force of the Navy, consisting of warships with
capabilities to operate in the open sea. The Vietnamese Fleet was divided into
three Task Groups: Task Group I, Task Group II and Task Group III.
Task Group I: All ships of Task Group I carried out the responsibility of
patrolling in the Vietnamese territorial waters to stop the illegal infiltration
of the enemy from the North and provided naval gunfire and support in combined
operations with the friendly Forces. The Task Group I was manned with:
20 Patrol Gunboats (PGM)
03 Landing ships infantry (LSIL)
04 Landing ships support (LSSL)
Task Group II:
This Task Group provided transportation, amphibious operations, supplies, repair
and maintenance to gunboats and gunfire support in the operations areas. Task
Group II also carried out Medical assistance and Civilian psychological and
political warfare programs with its two Hospital ships that were equipped with
X-ray facilities; dental care units, labs and clinics. These two Hospital ships
frequently visited villages located along the coast and rivers in the Mekong
Delta to help people who lived in the concentrated area and need medical
assistance due to the lack of medicine and medical facilities in their areas.
Task Group II consisted of:
06 Landing Ship Tank (LST)
05 Landing Ship Medium (LSM)
02 Hospital Ship (LSM-H)
06 Oil Tanker (YOG)
14 Landing Craft (LCU)
01 Supply Ship (AKL)
02 Support Ship (ARL)
01 Repair Ship (AGP)
Task Group III:
This Task Group patrolled in the open sea to discover and immediately stop the
infiltration of the enemy and coordinated in combined operations and provided
naval fire support to friendly forces. Task Group III was manned with:
02 Destroyer (DER)
07 Frigate (WHEC)
08 Patrol vessels - Escort (PCE)
3.7 The Amphibious Force
The Amphibious Force was formed in June 1969 to replace the U.S. Task Force 117.
This Task Force operated in Mekong Delta and consisted the following units:
Command and Control Boat (CCB)
Assault Support Patrol Boat (ASPB)
Landing Craft-Monitor (LCM converted)
Armored Troop Carrier (ATC)…
3.8 The River Patrol Force
The River Patrol Force was founded in October 1969 and consisted of 14 River
Patrol Groups, divided into 6 River Patrol Task Groups. Their primary
responsibility was to patrol, to secure the safety of the rivers and to stop and
prevent the infiltration of the VC through the Task Force’s responsible areas
from the border of Cambodia and Vietnam. Each River Patrol Group was manned with
Patrol Fast Boats (PBR), which had very high speeds and the capability to go
into narrow creeks and shallow waters and were very easy to maneuver.
3.9 The Special Mission Force
With the concept of using a variety of units to operate in a combined territory
to carry out special missions, the Task Group was manned with the following
groups:
07 Riverine Attack Group
02 Minesweeping Group
3.10 The Marines Corps
The Republic of Vietnam Marines Corps had been organized into Divisions, and
although they were in the Organization of the Navy, they were still placed as
part of the Reserved Forces of the General Headquarters of Vietnamese Arms
Forces.
3.11 The Coastal Security Service
The Coastal Security Service was an organization of the Navy that was placed
under the operational command of Nha Ky Thuat (The Strategic Technical
Directorate or STD) to carry out special maritime missions along the coastline
of Vietnam.
4. Operational Command and Control
To be more effective in conducting naval operations, the Navy Combat Units were
placed under the Operational Command and Control of The Tactical Mobile Riverine
Headquarters and the Tactical Mobile Sea Headquarters.
4.1 The Tactical Mobile Riverine Headquarters
The headquarters commanded and controlled the operations in rivers located in
the territories of The Army III Corps, The Army IV Corps and The Nation Capitol
Special Zone to stop and prevent the enemy’s sneaking of troops and supplies and
to secure the safety of the waterways and to support the Army Divisions in
operations Tran Hung Dao 36,41,43,44.
4.2 The Tactical Mobile Sea Headquarters
In order to effectively maintain control over the entire Republic of Vietnam
territorial waters, the Tactical Mobile Sea Headquarters was established to
command and to control maritime operations Tran Hung Dao along the coastline and
to stop and prevent the infiltration of the North Vietnamese Communists by
boats. The Organization also provided naval gunfire support to friendly forces
in the responsible operational areas and to assist in the Pacification programs
of the Government. There were 5 Sea Operations Zones and each zone was
controlled by a Task Force and manned with about 100 ships, gunboats and junk
boats. The Sea Operations Zone consisted of three tactical areas:
The area between the coast to 12 miles was assigned to junk boats, Patrol Craft,
Fast- Swift boats (PCF), Patrol Gunboats (PGM) to maintain patrolling.
The area between 12 miles to 53 miles was designated to and patrolled by
Destroyers, Frigates and Patrol and Escort Ships (PCE).
The area between 53 miles to 100 miles from shore was responsible of the
surveillance of the long range airplanes of the VN Air Force that were flying
out from inland to patrol in this tactical area.
5. Logistics
The Logistics Command Headquarters supported the logistics and supplies to the
Naval operational units. The following facilities were placed under the
management of the Logistics Command:
The Navy Shipyard, The Supply Center, The Facility and Utility Center and The
Electronics Repair Center
07 Naval Support Bases that located in Danang, Cam Ranh Bay, Cat Lo, Nha Be, An
Thoi, Dong Tam and Binh Thuy.
6. Training
There were 3 Training Centers in the Vietnamese Navy; they were located at Nha
Trang, Cam Ranh Bay and Saigon:
The Nha Trang Naval Training Center: With the capability to train from 1,200 to
1,500 personnel included the Naval Officer School, the Advanced Specialty School
and the Specialty School.
The Cam Ranh Naval Training Center: With the capability to train from 1,500 to
1,800 personnel including The Fleet School, The Damage Control School, the
Specialty School and the Basic School.
The Saigon Naval Training Center: With the capability to train 200 students for
the Command and Staff School, the Non-Commissioned Warrant Officer School, the
Specialty School and other short term training classes.
There was also the Cat Lai Training Center of the River Patrol Group that was
used to train Non-Commissioned Officers, Specialty Programs and Supply School.
The Results:
From November 1966 to January 1973, the Republic of Vietnam Navy successfully
achieved the following victories in combat:
2219 North Vietnamese Communists were killed
1277 North Vietnamese Communists were captured
6798 Detained
509 VC returned in Open Arms Program
Weapons captured:
382 big guns and 2851 individual weapons. The RVN Navy also sank and captured
467 VC junk boats and destroyed 14 North Vietnamese ships that infiltrated to
the South Vietnam on the following places and dates:
Vung Ro in 02-19-1965
Cua Tieu in 01-08-1966
Bo De in 05-10-1966
Ba Dong in 06-20-1966
Bo De in 01-01-1967
Batangan in 03-14-1967
Sa Ky in 07-15-1967
Duc Pho in 03-01-1968
Hon Heo in 03-01-1968
Cua Viet in 03-01-1968
Bo De in 03-01-1968
Cung Hau in 11-22-1970
Ganh Hao in 04-12-1971
Phu Quoc in 04-24-1972
The Communists violated the Cease Fire Agreement:
In February, 1973 the Cease Fire Agreement, signed by the North Vietnam
Communists on January 27, 1973 in Paris to reestablish peace for Vietnam, was
violated by the Communists. They attacked units of the RVN Arms Forces and Naval
vessels. The 827 violations to the Navy included 575 attacks, 155 bombardments
and 97 mine traps. In order to defend themselves, Naval units killed 63 North
Vietnam Communists, captured 16 VC and 57 individual rifles and destroyed
hundreds of mines and grenades…
The Naval Battle of Paracels Island:
On January 19, 1974, the Republic of Vietnam Navy ships courageously fought
against the aggression of the Chinese Communists who tried to occupy the
Paracels Island by force. The valiant and heroic action of the Officers and
Enlisted men of the RVN Navy showed the spirit of our Navy’s Founder Tran Hung
Dao and the patriotic quest of Vietnamese people.