Patrol Boat, River
U.S. Navy, Vietnam War (1966–1975) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Patrol Boat, Riverine, or PBR, is the United States Navy designation for a small rigid-hulled patrol boat used in the Vietnam War from March 1966 until 1975. They were deployed in a force that grew to 250 boats, the most common craft in the River Patrol Force, Task Force 116, and were used to stop and search river traffic in areas such as the Mekong Delta, the Rung Sat Special Zone, the Saigon River and in I Corps, in the area assigned to Task Force Clearwater, in an attempt to disrupt weapons shipments. In this role, they frequently became involved in firefights with enemy soldiers on boats and on the shore, were used to insert and extract Navy SEAL teams, and were employed by the United States Army's 458th Transportation Company, known as the 458th Sea Tigers.
Preserved PBR 829 in Kenner, Louisiana. | |
Class overview | |
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Name | PBR (Patrol Boat Riverine) |
Operators | See Operators |
Cost | $400,000[1] |
Completed | 718[2] |
Preserved | 1 operational |
General characteristics | |
Type | Riverine patrol boat |
Displacement | 8.9 ton for Mk II |
Length |
|
Beam |
|
Draft | 2 ft (0.61 m) |
Propulsion | 2 × 180 hp (130 kW) Detroit Diesel 6V53N engines each driving a Jacuzzi Brothers 14YJ water pump-jet with thrust buckets for reverse thrust. |
Speed | 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h; 32.8 mph). |
Complement | 4 enlisted |
Armament |
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Armor | Ceramic armor shields fitted to guns, bridge. Also crew-applied ballistic blankets to protect the coxswain in the control cockpit. |
The PBR was replaced by the Special Operations Craft – Riverine (SOC-R)[3][4]