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Chapter 10: Royal Vietnamese Navy
Royal Vietnamese Navy
The Vietnamese have a long, but relatively unknown maritime history to those outside of the country. One of their famous Admirals was Prince Tran Quoc Tuan whose tactical prowess resulted in the destruction of the Yuan fleet and certainly saved the Vietnamese from Mongol invasion in 1288. Another is Prince Nguyen Hue, after engaging western naval advisers to develop his Navy destroyed the Siamese fleet at the battle of Rach Gam in 1785. However, the naval power of the Nguyen dynasty waned after the battle of Rach Gam in comparison with the Western world and by the late nineteenth century the Vietnamese Navy was unable to prevent the colonization of the country by the French.
The Royal Vietnamese Navy was formed by former officers and sailors of the Marine National and the merchant marine. The RVN is considered to be the quiet achiever of the Vietnamese Armed Forces. Responsible for preventing the seaborne infiltration of men and material into Vietnam by the Communists, it was also responsible for preserving the internal waterways of the country. Although the VNQDD had utilised several junks to resupply their forces during the August Storm campaign, they recognised the difference between resupplying their forces by the sea and creating a Navy from scratch.
Accordingly, the Vietnamese requested loan officers be provided to assist in creating the RVN. It was fortuitous for the future of the RVN that the USN dispatched an outstanding officer to act as their inaugural Chief of Navy Captain Arleigh Burke, USN.
Above: Admiral Burke
Once Captain Burke, USN was appointed as the Chief of Navy, he made several decisions. On paper and in Janes’ Ships of the World the RVN consisted of two Etorofu class escort ships manned by former Imperial Japanese sailors. The senior captain of both vessels was a Commander Ayao Shirane, IJN. Commander Shirane was a former fighter pilot ace, who following injuries sustained in the Guadalcanal campaign had returned to the fleet as a deck officer.
The first was the ships’ company of both Etorofu ships were offered a choice of either remaining with their ships or being repatriated to Japan. Noting the utter devastation of post war Japan, it should not be surprising the majority remained. If they elected to continue serving they signed a three year contract and commenced intensive Vietnamese language classes. Another pre requisite was the former sailors and officers of the Marine National were integrated across the two units. Noting the benign submarine threat, all ASW equipment was removed due to the lack of a threat and to assist with maintenance. In 1948 a third Etorofu class ship was purchased. In fact their influence can be seen by the fact the RVN still has a ‘Curry Day’on Fridays.
Captain Burke then organized the RVN into two separate commands comprising a Fleet and Border Command. Riverine Command was established by his successor Captain Eugene B Fluckey USN. The main fleet base was located at Da Nang with smaller bases for patrol craft established in Haiphong and Phu Quoc island. Da Nang was chosen as the home port of the fleet due to its central position within Vietnam. The decision also reduced the threat of a potential Pearl Harbour attack occurring, which would be ameliorated by locating the fleet at Da Nang.
Due to the limited number of blue water patrol vessels the government used converted junks to patrol the territorial seas of Vietnam. Despite their inherent limitations in a converted design, the junks of the coastal force proved remarkably effective. Their effectiveness at reducing smuggling, may also be attributed to the head of Border Command being a former smuggler. The junks were progressively phased out from the 1950’s onwards as they were replaced by a modified Cape class cutter. The sole exception was the Yabuta junks, that were used to conduct reconnaissance operations along the Chinese and Cambodian coastlines.
Captain Fluckey recognised the importance of riverine traffic was to Vietnam as it is a long and narrow country, edged by seacoast. With bad or non-existent roads through jungle or swampy terrain subject to monsoonal flooding, the only reliable method of transport was by boat. This was not limited to the main rivers but also included the tens of thousands of small canals. Accordingly being able to police their porous borders and police the numerous amounts of riverine traffic would be an integral role of the Navy’s mission. On 1951 Riverine Command was established. Although after the end of the communist insurgency in the 1980’s Riverine Command was transferred to the National Police.
Above: The then Commander Fluckey, USN
Captain Fluckey was the last foreign Chief of Navy completing his tenure in 1952. He was replaced by Rear Admiral Trinh who had begun his career in the Marine National and finished World War II as the Captain of FNS Aconit. Following a posting ashore and then another sea posting commanding the RVN deployment to Korea he assumed his position of Chief of Navy in 1952.
After suffering from the complete dominance of the combined Western Navies at sea during the Korean War, the Chinese government began to expand their naval capabilities. Accordingly the Yulin naval base on Hainan island was expanded to accommodate a larger naval presence. Yulin Naval base became home to the People’s Liberation Army’s Navy South Sea Fleet consisting of the 9th Destroyer flotilla, comprising Anshan and Luda class destroyers, and the fourth Submarine squadron with Type 033 submarines.
Slowly the capabilities of Fleet Command were expanded with the acquisition of three Gearing class destroyers in 1960, formerly USS Stribling, Brownson and Arnold J.Isbell to counter the deployment of the Chinese Navy Anshan and Luda destroyers on Hainan island. The Gearing class remained the largest surface combatant in service, until replaced by the Hatsuyuki class in the early 1980’s.
A submarine arm was formed in 1958 as a result of the Ruhle Review and to provide the RVN with a long range interdiction and surveillance capability. One of the fathers of the submarine arm within the RVN was Captain Shirane, whom having witnessed the impact of a properly executed submarine campaign was an enthusiastic advocate for their introduction into the RVN.
Accordingly, the RVN purchased two Balao class submarines formerly USS Pampanito and USS Razorback. These three submarines, a third former USS Ling was purchased in 1964, formed the backbone of the submarine force, until their replacement in 1984 by three Yushio class submarines. Overall, the submarine arm was to prove one of the more cost effective weapon systems used by the Royal Vietnamese Navy with their reconnaissance shots of Yelin Naval base and the sinking of several Chinese warships and merchant shippping. Within the USN emphasis on nuclear submarines, the potential Vietnamese submarine captains attended the Submarine Command Course held in the United Kingdom.
The Vietnamese Marine Corps (“VNMC”) was created pursuant to the ‘Marine Corps’ Act of 1952 and as a direct result of a recommendation from the second Chief of Navy Captain Fluckey, USN. The VNMC was raised with an initial strength of two battalions comprising the 1stBattalion – ‘Quai Dieu’ (Monster Bird) and the 2nd Battalion ‘Trau Dien’ (Crazy Buffalos) and a headquarters element with an approximate strength of 2,000 Marines.
By 1962 the VNMC had expanded to its present organisational strength of six battalions, including a Force Reconnaissance element. The Force Reconnaissance Marines drew their inspiration from the Marine Raiders of World War 2 and were created with the sole purpose of conducting seaborne infiltration missions along the Chinese coastline and to conduct long range riverine operations into the dantean reality of the Democratic Republic of Kampuchea. Together with the Vietnamese airborne division the VNMC constitute the strategic reserve of the Kingdom of Vietnam.
Originally designated as the Marine Infantry of the Vietnamese navy, it subsequently became known as the Vietnamese Marine Corps. In order to avoid relying on the Royal Vietnamese Army it formed its own training and replacement centres located at the main Naval Training base at Nha Trang. Several of the initial officers and marines completed several courses at the Quantico, Virginia. As the VNMC is the smallest service of the VAF an emphasis was placed on small unit tactics, junior leadership and a corps wide marksmanship training course was implemented. The Marines also had the longest basic training of all services lasting for six months prior to commencing their specialist training.
Notably as a point of distinction and under the advice of the American advisers the Vietnamese Marines remain the only all volunteer force within the Vietnamese Armed Forces. The rationale behind this was that you choose to be a marine, you are not compelled. Accordingly, if a citizen presented himself with an unopened draft letter he could be admitted to serve as a Marine. The initial minimum period of service for the VNMC was four years for an enlisted marine and six years for an officer.
The Vietnamese marines similar to the Korps Mariniers (Netherlands Marine Corps) use naval rank insignia, but are addressed by the respective army rank titles. There are eight enlisted ranks and seven for officers from Marine through to the Commandant of the Corps.
With an exposed coastline and with a majority of foreign trade coming through their ports the ability to be able to protect their shipping from mining operations assumed importance. One of the first roles of the Navy was to be able to conduct minesweeping and mine clearance operations. It was the second role that the Navy formed its first of four clearance diving teams. Their role was orientated towards removing explosive ordinance from the hulls of ships and clearance of wharves. A point that was understated was that they were also capable of planting explosives on the hulls of ships and wharves as well. These capabilities were enhanced with combined training conducted with divers from the Republic of China Navy’s.
RVNS Chi Lang I formerly USS Brownson
00:15 hours, 15 January 1963 – South China Sea
‘Captain Sir, Officer of the Watch.’
‘Captain’
‘Sir, we are 2,000 yards off the starboard quarter of the suspected smuggler identified by Black Cat. My recommendation is to take the ship to boarding stations and to close within 500 yards of the smuggler.’
‘Concur Officer of the Watch. Have the searchlights trained on the vessel, once we are closed up at boarding stations illuminate the vessel at 500 yards, have the battle ensign hoisted and I am on my way to the bridge.’
‘Aye, Aye Sir.’
A claxon echoed around the ship as the quartermaster piped, ‘hands to boarding stations, hands to boarding stations.’
00:42 hours
‘Captain Sir, we are at 500 yards on the starboard quarter of the vessel and remain undetected. The vessel is closed up at boarding stations.’
‘Very well, illuminate the vessel, launch the starboard sea boat with the Marines, commence hailing the vessel and cover the boarding party with the 5 inch.’
‘Unidentified vessel this is Vietnamese naval ship on your starboard quarter we are going to board you, you are to reduce to six knots, and have your crew muster on the quarterdeck.’
The Executive Officer was peering through the large bridge wing binoculars, ‘Sir, they are not reducing speed and appear to be under wheel to port.’
‘Guns, Captain - fire one round over their bow.’
The Mk 12 turret containing the five inch cannon traversed to port and fired a single star shell across the bow of the suspected smuggling vessel.
‘Captain Sir, the vessel is reducing speed and the crew is mustering on the quarterdeck.’
‘Very good.’
Background
Motto: To Quoc Dai Duong (Our Country – The Ocean)
00:15 hours, 15 January 1963 – South China Sea
‘Captain Sir, Officer of the Watch.’
‘Captain’
‘Sir, we are 2,000 yards off the starboard quarter of the suspected smuggler identified by Black Cat. My recommendation is to take the ship to boarding stations and to close within 500 yards of the smuggler.’
‘Concur Officer of the Watch. Have the searchlights trained on the vessel, once we are closed up at boarding stations illuminate the vessel at 500 yards, have the battle ensign hoisted and I am on my way to the bridge.’
‘Aye, Aye Sir.’
A claxon echoed around the ship as the quartermaster piped, ‘hands to boarding stations, hands to boarding stations.’
00:42 hours
‘Captain Sir, we are at 500 yards on the starboard quarter of the vessel and remain undetected. The vessel is closed up at boarding stations.’
‘Very well, illuminate the vessel, launch the starboard sea boat with the Marines, commence hailing the vessel and cover the boarding party with the 5 inch.’
‘Unidentified vessel this is Vietnamese naval ship on your starboard quarter we are going to board you, you are to reduce to six knots, and have your crew muster on the quarterdeck.’
The Executive Officer was peering through the large bridge wing binoculars, ‘Sir, they are not reducing speed and appear to be under wheel to port.’
‘Guns, Captain - fire one round over their bow.’
The Mk 12 turret containing the five inch cannon traversed to port and fired a single star shell across the bow of the suspected smuggling vessel.
‘Captain Sir, the vessel is reducing speed and the crew is mustering on the quarterdeck.’
‘Very good.’
Background
Motto: To Quoc Dai Duong (Our Country – The Ocean)
The Vietnamese have a long, but relatively unknown maritime history to those outside of the country. One of their famous Admirals was Prince Tran Quoc Tuan whose tactical prowess resulted in the destruction of the Yuan fleet and certainly saved the Vietnamese from Mongol invasion in 1288. Another is Prince Nguyen Hue, after engaging western naval advisers to develop his Navy destroyed the Siamese fleet at the battle of Rach Gam in 1785. However, the naval power of the Nguyen dynasty waned after the battle of Rach Gam in comparison with the Western world and by the late nineteenth century the Vietnamese Navy was unable to prevent the colonization of the country by the French.
The Royal Vietnamese Navy was formed by former officers and sailors of the Marine National and the merchant marine. The RVN is considered to be the quiet achiever of the Vietnamese Armed Forces. Responsible for preventing the seaborne infiltration of men and material into Vietnam by the Communists, it was also responsible for preserving the internal waterways of the country. Although the VNQDD had utilised several junks to resupply their forces during the August Storm campaign, they recognised the difference between resupplying their forces by the sea and creating a Navy from scratch.
Accordingly, the Vietnamese requested loan officers be provided to assist in creating the RVN. It was fortuitous for the future of the RVN that the USN dispatched an outstanding officer to act as their inaugural Chief of Navy Captain Arleigh Burke, USN.
Above: Admiral Burke
Once Captain Burke, USN was appointed as the Chief of Navy, he made several decisions. On paper and in Janes’ Ships of the World the RVN consisted of two Etorofu class escort ships manned by former Imperial Japanese sailors. The senior captain of both vessels was a Commander Ayao Shirane, IJN. Commander Shirane was a former fighter pilot ace, who following injuries sustained in the Guadalcanal campaign had returned to the fleet as a deck officer.
The first was the ships’ company of both Etorofu ships were offered a choice of either remaining with their ships or being repatriated to Japan. Noting the utter devastation of post war Japan, it should not be surprising the majority remained. If they elected to continue serving they signed a three year contract and commenced intensive Vietnamese language classes. Another pre requisite was the former sailors and officers of the Marine National were integrated across the two units. Noting the benign submarine threat, all ASW equipment was removed due to the lack of a threat and to assist with maintenance. In 1948 a third Etorofu class ship was purchased. In fact their influence can be seen by the fact the RVN still has a ‘Curry Day’on Fridays.
Captain Burke then organized the RVN into two separate commands comprising a Fleet and Border Command. Riverine Command was established by his successor Captain Eugene B Fluckey USN. The main fleet base was located at Da Nang with smaller bases for patrol craft established in Haiphong and Phu Quoc island. Da Nang was chosen as the home port of the fleet due to its central position within Vietnam. The decision also reduced the threat of a potential Pearl Harbour attack occurring, which would be ameliorated by locating the fleet at Da Nang.
Due to the limited number of blue water patrol vessels the government used converted junks to patrol the territorial seas of Vietnam. Despite their inherent limitations in a converted design, the junks of the coastal force proved remarkably effective. Their effectiveness at reducing smuggling, may also be attributed to the head of Border Command being a former smuggler. The junks were progressively phased out from the 1950’s onwards as they were replaced by a modified Cape class cutter. The sole exception was the Yabuta junks, that were used to conduct reconnaissance operations along the Chinese and Cambodian coastlines.
Captain Fluckey recognised the importance of riverine traffic was to Vietnam as it is a long and narrow country, edged by seacoast. With bad or non-existent roads through jungle or swampy terrain subject to monsoonal flooding, the only reliable method of transport was by boat. This was not limited to the main rivers but also included the tens of thousands of small canals. Accordingly being able to police their porous borders and police the numerous amounts of riverine traffic would be an integral role of the Navy’s mission. On 1951 Riverine Command was established. Although after the end of the communist insurgency in the 1980’s Riverine Command was transferred to the National Police.
Above: The then Commander Fluckey, USN
Captain Fluckey was the last foreign Chief of Navy completing his tenure in 1952. He was replaced by Rear Admiral Trinh who had begun his career in the Marine National and finished World War II as the Captain of FNS Aconit. Following a posting ashore and then another sea posting commanding the RVN deployment to Korea he assumed his position of Chief of Navy in 1952.
After suffering from the complete dominance of the combined Western Navies at sea during the Korean War, the Chinese government began to expand their naval capabilities. Accordingly the Yulin naval base on Hainan island was expanded to accommodate a larger naval presence. Yulin Naval base became home to the People’s Liberation Army’s Navy South Sea Fleet consisting of the 9th Destroyer flotilla, comprising Anshan and Luda class destroyers, and the fourth Submarine squadron with Type 033 submarines.
Slowly the capabilities of Fleet Command were expanded with the acquisition of three Gearing class destroyers in 1960, formerly USS Stribling, Brownson and Arnold J.Isbell to counter the deployment of the Chinese Navy Anshan and Luda destroyers on Hainan island. The Gearing class remained the largest surface combatant in service, until replaced by the Hatsuyuki class in the early 1980’s.
A submarine arm was formed in 1958 as a result of the Ruhle Review and to provide the RVN with a long range interdiction and surveillance capability. One of the fathers of the submarine arm within the RVN was Captain Shirane, whom having witnessed the impact of a properly executed submarine campaign was an enthusiastic advocate for their introduction into the RVN.
Accordingly, the RVN purchased two Balao class submarines formerly USS Pampanito and USS Razorback. These three submarines, a third former USS Ling was purchased in 1964, formed the backbone of the submarine force, until their replacement in 1984 by three Yushio class submarines. Overall, the submarine arm was to prove one of the more cost effective weapon systems used by the Royal Vietnamese Navy with their reconnaissance shots of Yelin Naval base and the sinking of several Chinese warships and merchant shippping. Within the USN emphasis on nuclear submarines, the potential Vietnamese submarine captains attended the Submarine Command Course held in the United Kingdom.
The Marine Corps - ‘Thuy Quan Luc Chien’
Above: The head of the US Military Mission inspects an honour guard from the VNMC.
The Vietnamese Marine Corps (“VNMC”) was created pursuant to the ‘Marine Corps’ Act of 1952 and as a direct result of a recommendation from the second Chief of Navy Captain Fluckey, USN. The VNMC was raised with an initial strength of two battalions comprising the 1stBattalion – ‘Quai Dieu’ (Monster Bird) and the 2nd Battalion ‘Trau Dien’ (Crazy Buffalos) and a headquarters element with an approximate strength of 2,000 Marines.
By 1962 the VNMC had expanded to its present organisational strength of six battalions, including a Force Reconnaissance element. The Force Reconnaissance Marines drew their inspiration from the Marine Raiders of World War 2 and were created with the sole purpose of conducting seaborne infiltration missions along the Chinese coastline and to conduct long range riverine operations into the dantean reality of the Democratic Republic of Kampuchea. Together with the Vietnamese airborne division the VNMC constitute the strategic reserve of the Kingdom of Vietnam.
Originally designated as the Marine Infantry of the Vietnamese navy, it subsequently became known as the Vietnamese Marine Corps. In order to avoid relying on the Royal Vietnamese Army it formed its own training and replacement centres located at the main Naval Training base at Nha Trang. Several of the initial officers and marines completed several courses at the Quantico, Virginia. As the VNMC is the smallest service of the VAF an emphasis was placed on small unit tactics, junior leadership and a corps wide marksmanship training course was implemented. The Marines also had the longest basic training of all services lasting for six months prior to commencing their specialist training.
Notably as a point of distinction and under the advice of the American advisers the Vietnamese Marines remain the only all volunteer force within the Vietnamese Armed Forces. The rationale behind this was that you choose to be a marine, you are not compelled. Accordingly, if a citizen presented himself with an unopened draft letter he could be admitted to serve as a Marine. The initial minimum period of service for the VNMC was four years for an enlisted marine and six years for an officer.
The Vietnamese marines similar to the Korps Mariniers (Netherlands Marine Corps) use naval rank insignia, but are addressed by the respective army rank titles. There are eight enlisted ranks and seven for officers from Marine through to the Commandant of the Corps.
Navy Divers
With an exposed coastline and with a majority of foreign trade coming through their ports the ability to be able to protect their shipping from mining operations assumed importance. One of the first roles of the Navy was to be able to conduct minesweeping and mine clearance operations. It was the second role that the Navy formed its first of four clearance diving teams. Their role was orientated towards removing explosive ordinance from the hulls of ships and clearance of wharves. A point that was understated was that they were also capable of planting explosives on the hulls of ships and wharves as well. These capabilities were enhanced with combined training conducted with divers from the Republic of China Navy’s.
- La Rouge Beret
- Word Count: 2k