History forum: Hovercraft in the Vietnam War

Quote:

The PACV is the term for the United States' Navy's Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle or Hovercraft.

PACVs were first deployed in 1966 to Vietnam. Often called Pac Vees, they were armed with a twin .50 Caliber machine gun mounted on a rotational platform in the front, and side mounted M60 machine gun's and often remote control M-60's or grenade launchers in the back. In addition the crew and often Green berets and ARVN rangers riding on the side panels would have assorted small arms such as M16's, M79 grenade launchers, Rifles, .45 pistols, M60's, claymores, grenades.

PACVs conducted many successful missions on the Mekong Delta, Cat Lo, Plain of Reeds out of Moc Hoa in their initial tour.

The Navy withdrew the PACVs for overhaul in December/January '66-'67 and redeployed them to Vietnam in late 1967. The army created its own version of the PACV in 1967 with some of the Navy's modifications from the experimental phase of 1966, the ACV. There were only 3 naval PACV's, and 3 Army ACV's during the whole Vietnam War.

The PACV was too loud for patrol and interdiction missions on the coastline and waterways. However, after "Operation Quai Vat" (Vietnamese for Monster, which was what the Viet Cong called the PACVs) the PACV showed great prowess and capability in marshy terrain, such as the Plain of Reeds.

In operation Quai Vat in November 1966, the PACV force brought its speed and firepower to bear on the Viet Cong, with many successful attacks and raids, taking prisoners and destroying Viet Cong sanctuaries. Afterwards, the success of operation Quai Vat formed the basis for stationing the Army's ACV's in the Plain of Reeds. It was found that the PACV's could move faster over the slick ground found in South Western Vietnam, and into Cambodia. Though the loud noise of the PACV's was still cumbersome, their speed made up for it in this otherwise difficult terrain, especially during monsoon season.

The Green Berets out of Moc Hoa became proponents of the PACV, being involved in many of their operations.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PACV"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PACV

Quote:

In operation ACVs were supported by a cushion of high-volume, low-pressure, compressed air generated by a centrifugal lift fan. The fan building up air pressure in the cushion lifted the vehicle. When on the air cushion the ACV was almost frictionless, allowing easy propulsion up to a speed of seventy-five knots. The same engine that powered the lift fan also drove a nine-foot, three-blade propeller that enabled the ACVs to speed over the Delta terrain. To maintain enough air under the ACV for it to clear obstacles, flexible rubber canvas skirts were hung from their edges to within a fraction of an inch off the ground. They could clear solid obstacles up to 3' high and rice paddy dikes, with sloping sides, up to 6 feet high. The ACV could force its way through grasses and small trees, as well as navigate ditches and canals.

Three 39' long, 16' high, upgraded, Air Cushioned Vehicles came to the 9th Infantry Division at about the time the US Navy determined that the operational effectiveness of their three earlier model Patrol Air Cushioned Vehicles (PACV) needed to be reevaluated. The 9th Infantry Division designated their unique unit the Air Cushioned Vehicle Unit (Provisional) and placed it under the command of Major David G. Moore. Major Moore was charge with developing how to operate these vehicles in combat. Major Moore retained command of the ACV Unit for an unprecedented 12 month period (officers were required to serve only 6-months in combat). The Army ACVs differed from the three US Navy PACVs in that they were an improved design better suited to support infantry operations. The ACVs were designed with flat decks to carry 12 troops, more powerful engines, and twin machinegun turrets in a wider cabin. Both the US Navy's PACVs and the Army's ACVs had been civilian craft manufactured by the British Hovercraft Company in England and refitted for military use in the USA by Bell Aerosystems. Although the Army test concluded that the ACVs were successful in their combat roles, their initial purchase price of $1,000,000 and subsequent high maintenance costs did not warrant further expansion of the fleet. When the 9th Infantry Division headquarters, and 1st and 2nd Brigades withdrew from Vietnam in August 1969, the ACV Unit (Provisional) remained with 3rd Brigade and was re-designated as the 39th Cavalry Platoon (unauthorized name signifying 3rd Brigade - 9th Infantry Division). Tragedy stuck the 39th Cavalry Platoon on August 3, 1970, when ACV #903 was destroyed in combat, killing the unit commander - Major Barry Francis Graham - and the crew. Command of the 39th Cavalry Platoon then went to Lieutenant George E. Rogers who commanded the single ship for two months until September 1970 when the platoon was disbanded.

ACV UNIT COMMANDERS

MAY 1968 - APR 1969
MAJ David G. Moore
APR 1969 - JUL 1969
MAJ Edward R. Szeman

39th CAVALRY PLATOON

JUL 1969 - DEC 1969
MAJ Edward R. Szeman
DEC 1969 - JUL 1970
MAJ Duane B. Root
JUL 1969 - AUG 1970
MAJ Barry F. Graham KIA*
AUG 1970 - SEP 1970
1st LT George E. Rogers
*August 3, 1970

http://www.gingerb.com/vietnam_dong_tam_acv.htm

"Korea has not been the only battle ground since the end of the Second World War. Men have fought and died in Malaya, in Greece, in the Philippines, in Algeria and Cuba, and Cyprus and almost continuously on the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. No nuclear weapons have been fired. No massive nuclear retaliation has been considered appropriate. This is another type of war, new in its intensity, ancient in its origin--war by guerrillas, subversives, insurgents, assassins, war by ambush instead of by combat; by infiltration, instead of aggression, seeking victory by eroding and exhausting the enemy instead of engaging him. It is a form of warfare uniquely adapted to what has been strangely called 'wars of liberation,' to undermine the efforts of new and poor countries to maintain the freedom that they have finally achieved. It preys on economic unrest and ethnic conflicts. It requires in those situations where we must counter it, and these are the kinds of challenges that will be before us in the next decade if freedom is to be saved, a whole new kind of strategy, a wholly different kind of force, and therefore a new and wholly different kind of military training."-President Kennedy's Address at Graduation Exercises of the U.S. Military Academy, 1962
------------------------------
"The reason I'll be released is the same reason you think I'll be convicted. I do rub shoulders with some of the most vile, sadistic men calling themselves leaders today. But some of these men are the enemies of your enemies. And while the biggest arms dealer in the world is your boss - the President of the United States, who ships more merchandise in a day than I do in a year - sometimes it's embarrassing to have his fingerprints on the guns. Sometimes he needs a freelancer like me to supply forces he can't be seen supplying. So. You call me evil, but unfortunately for you, I'm a necessary evil."-Yuri Orlov, Lord of War
------------------------------
"Of all the weapons in the vast soviet arsenal, nothing was more profitable than Avtomat Kalashnikova model of 1947. More commonly known as the AK-47, or Kalashnikov. It's the world's most popular assault rifle. A weapon all fighters love. An elegantly simple 9 pound amalgamation of forged steel and plywood. It doesn't break, jam, or overheat. It'll shoot whether it's covered in mud or filled with sand. It's so easy, even a child can use it; and they do. The Soviets put the gun on a coin. Mozambique put it on their flag. Since the end of the Cold War, the Kalashnikov has become the Russian people's greatest export. After that comes vodka, caviar, and suicidal novelists. One thing is for sure, no one was lining up to buy their cars."-Yuri Orlov, Lord of War

Hovercraft in the Vietnam War

Re: Hovercraft in the Vietnam War