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Sunk by a Viet Cong mine, the merchant ship Eastern Mariner lies permanently grounded on the river approach to Saigon, a constant reminder to crewmen of passing U. S. minestveepers that theirs is an essential and dangerous task.
by Lieutenant George R. Kolbenschlag, U. S. Navy
Photography by Journalist First Class J. A. Johnston, U. S. I Photographer’s Mate First Class R. E. Woods, Jr., U. S.
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In June 1966, a detachment of 12 U. S. Navy minesweeping boats was established at Nha Be, on the junction of the Long Tao and Soirap Rivers, nine miles south of Saigon, Vietnam.
Engaged in the first sustained U. S. minesweeping operations in the Vietnam War, Detachment “A” of Mine Squadron Eleven is charged with assisting the South Vietnamese Navy in keeping the main river channel to Saigon free of enemy mines. The two officers and more than 100 enlisted men of the detachment live in temporary facilities ashore at Nha Be (below). Their 57-foot minesweeping boats (MSBs) are commanded by hand-picked, seasoned, senior petty officers, and carry crews of seven. Although their operating days on the river are long, the men also perform the majority of their own maintenance work.
The detachment’s heavy responsibility for preservation of safe navigation between Saigon and the sea is reflected in the many ships crowding the Saigon River (above right). About 20 merchant ships sail the Long Tao River to Saigon daily, but none are permitted on the river until the minesweepers clear the channel each morning. Beginning at daybreak and continuing until dark, the river is swept at frequent intervals. At right, minesweepers move downriver into the Viet Cong-infested Rung Sat Special Zone. While larger ocean and coastal minesweepers have been operating off Vietnam for several years, the 57-foot minesweeping boats were first deployed in August 1965, when four of them were shipped to Da Nang. These four later formed the nucleus of the Nha Be detachment, which is currently the only U. S. unit actively engaged in minesweeping.
the lf*ne<^,to sweeP both contact and influence mines, of either the moored or bottom types, from th S C-Urrent msszon is sweeping for moored contact mines, and for mines controlled °f w rt nVer banks. Because of the threat of magnetic mines, the boats are constructed arm ° n°n-magnetic metals. For the protection of the crews, they have been partially 50 T7, Wl^1 ^ates^ non-magnetic ceramic materials. They are armed with .30 and with b 1 )Cr mac^ne 9uns, small arms, and grenade launchers, and are in constant contaci 0 * river patrol craft and armed helicopters for additional fire support.
At left, a minesweeper captain keeps a careful watch on the opposite shore as the MSTS -chartered SS Transglobe passes by, en route to Saigon. On another recent trip, the Transglobe was taken under small arms fire by the Viet Cong. River warfare has taught the minesweeper sailors to be wary of indigenous river traffic, since their war is largely one of individual and small-group guerrilla activity. At night, harmless-appearing small craft like the one above help plant the mines that must be cleared by the Detachment “A” boats the following morning.
minor
is ^eor, one MSB was mined and sunk, another forced aground and heavily damaged by two2 fth ^re (ab°ve), and two others ambushed and slightly damaged. In these engagements, in' ° • 16 ^ac^irneni’s men were lost and 16 were wounded. Fortunately, If received only Juries and were almost immediately returned to duty.
Although the boat crews cannot always tell when a mine has been swept, enough mines and other evidence have been found to indicate that the sweeping is effective. To date, the major threat has been from mines controlled from the river banks. Wires are strung from mines planted at night to a command bunker from which they can be detonated. To counter this the minesweepers drag a chain with prongs welded to it (right) along the bottom close to the river banks to sever the control wires. Often, the mines are crudely fashioned from old net floats like that above, and filled with any available explosives. Allied forays into the delta have uncovered several Vietnamese Communist mine “factories” in the past year. There has been little evidence of the use of more sophisticated mines by the Viet Cong, with the exception of the recent discovery of a single large Soviet-type contact mine. In addition to the Eastern Mariner and the minesweeper sunk in February, the crude mines have accounted for an additional MSB, several South Vietnamese minesweepers, and the merchant ship Baton Rouge Victory.
The men of Detachment “A” have been praised profusely by their commanders, and they continue to add daily to the already eventful history of mine warfare. Lauded by Commander Naval Forces, Vietnam, for their “courageous action, bulldog tenacity, and personal heroism,” their attitude is perhaps best summed up in the grim comment of a boat captain whose MSB had just been mined out from under him, taking a crewmember with it; “We know what has to be done and we’ll do it.”