Chapter 3: The Years of Combat, 1965-1968
From: Land, Air and Sea by Edward J. Marolda
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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY  NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
901 M STREET SE WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060 Web Page

by Edward J. Marolda

Coastal Interdiction
The primary objective of the Market Time coastal patrol was to prevent the enemy from strengthening his forces in South Vietnam through seaborne infiltration of supplies and munitions.

The years 1965 to 1968 witnessed a great increase in Market Time resources and the full development of patrol tactics and operating procedures. During the first months of the patrol in 1965 an average of 15 destroyers or minesweepers steamed off South Vietnam, with at least one ship assigned to each of the sectors. Soon, however, radar picket escorts (DER), with better fuel efficiency and electronic equipment, replaced the destroyers. Furthermore, to help the Vietnamese Navy's Coastal Force and Sea Force (American naval leaders were dissatisfied with their operational performance), in June, the U.S. Coast Guard began dispatching 82-foot cutters (WPB), eventually totaling 26, to Southeast Asia. The operational chain of command extended from Commander Task Force 115 through Commander Coast Guard Activities, Vietnam (established on 3 February 1967) to Coast Guard Squadron 1. This latter command controlled Coast Guard Division 11 stationed at An Thoi, Coast Guard Division 12 at Danang, and Coast Guard Division 13 at Cat Lo. To augment the inshore patrol, the Navy bought 84 Swift (PCF) boats designed by the Louisiana-based Stewart Seacraft Company and deployed them to South Vietnam. These 50-foot, 23-knot vessels, armed with .50-caliber machine guns and an 81-millimeter mortar, became the mainstays of the Navy's Coastal Surveillance Force. Under Boat Squadron 1 (later Coastal Squadron 1), Boat Divisions 101, 102, 103, 104, and 105 (redesignated Coastal Divisions 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 on 1 January 1967) operated from bases at An Thoi, Danang, Cat Lo, Cam Ranh Bay, and Qui Nhon, respectively. In June 1967 the Navy activated an additional Swift boat unit, Coastal Division 16, at Chu Lai in I Corps.