Swift Boat Links

Swift Boat Links

Music by Gordon Lightfoot�

Web Site Description

Swift Boat Sailors Association
The Swift Boat Sailors Association is an organization created by and for the personnel who manned and supported US Navy Swift Boats assigned to Coastal Squadron One in Vietnam between 1965 and 1970

Swift Boat History/Listing of Crews
If you are a sailor that served on-board or supported the activities of Swift Boats, then this site contains a wealth of detailed information important to you. Besides a listing of all the boats that were assigned to Vietnam, it contains a listing of the known members of their crews at various times between 1965 and 1970, where each boat was located during this period, and any events that each boat was involved in. It also lists the Task Force 115 patrol areas and radio call signs associated with them, a description of the normal manning level of the boats, command and staff lists, and general background information and specifications on the Swift Boat design.

AFM Maritime Squadron Swifts
The Armed Forces of Malta {AFM) operate two Swift Boats that were originally used for training purposes by the US Navy. Since 1971 these boats have been accomplishing the same tasks that their American counterparts perfomed in South East Asia. During the SBSA 2003 Reunion in Norfolk, the AFM held a simultaneous reunion for their sailors at the Haywharf Maritime Squadron Base near Valletta. Both sites operated special event radio amateur stations during this time period. {Operation Radio Free Swift: call signs N4S and 9H9SWT). This site describes the AFM station, including the operators (Malta Amateur Radio League), some of the contacts they made during the joint reunions, and information on the AFM Swifts

Swift Boat Vietnam Photo Album
Jim Steffes' very well executed collection of photos from his tour on the boats in 1968-69. Part of his year was spent in Chu Lai, so his photos bring back many memories - I am absolutely positve {grin} that PCF-45 searched, one year earlier, the very same cargo vessel depicted on his site!! He also has some excellent images of Swift Boat river operations while operating out of Coastal Division 13 in Cat Lo.

Jack Spratt's Vietnam Photo Journal
Jack's revealing look at the intimatacies of life on board a Swift Boat traveling along the Mekong and Bassac rivers during the last year of operation of the boats in Vietnam. If you ever wondered what that bucket on the fantail of a Swift was used for, his graphic explination will clear up any misconceptions.

Rivervet-Vietnam PCF Section
Don Blankenship's Swift Boat section of his Mobile Riverine Force web site. Images on the site depict the involvement of Swift Boats in connjuction with the PBRs (Patrol Boat River) of Task Force 116 and the Riverine Forces of Task Force 117. TF 116 patrolled the inland waterways of Vietnam in much the same way that Task Force 115 patrolled the coastline. TF 117 conducted numerous joint operations with the US Army's 9th Division against North Vietnamese units in the southern delta regions. Swift Boats became an important part of the combination of these forces in operation SEALORDS over the final two years of US Navy involvement in the conflict. The PBR sailors, the Swift Boat sailors and the Mobile Riverine Force's Navy crews were collectively known as the "Black Berets" of the "Brownwater Navy"

Brown Water Navy Website
Another outstanding web site by Kent Hawley dealing with the US Navy's role in the rivers of Vietnam. A place where Brownwater Navy sailors and other veterans can jog their memories with images pertinent to their experiences. The site contains more than 80 pages of photos of Brownwater Navy locations, vessels and events, including Swift Boats. The photos are grouped so that many who were there can find and recall the places and events that were important during that period in their lives.

The Texas Tech Virtual Vietnam Archive
Texas Tech University maintains an extensive archive of images from the Vietnam conflict. This Virtual Vietnam Archive enables anyone interested in this remarkable period in our world history to conduct research activities on the subject. Of equal importance, it enables Vietnam veterans - those who actually served - to access records that might be of importance to them in their continuing efforts to understand their own experiences. Included in this archive are many images of Swift Boats engaged in a variety of roles.

Swift Boat Photo Collection
This site is a very extensive collection of photographs contributed by sailors that served aboard Swift Boats. The collection is divided into albums to facilitate viewing and retrieval. Plans are to eventually move all the photos to the SBSA site. Contact Jim Deal at JamesD8860@aol.com to gain access to this informative site that also has many Swift Boat Sailors leaving comments on the images.

174th AHC
This is a web page of the 174th Assault Helicopter Company site that has additional images of Skunk Alpha as it was being unloaded on the Chu Lai LST docks. The entire site is a very comprehensive appreciation of this UH-1 gunship and flareship unit that saw service in Vietnam and Laos from 1966 through 1971. The Swifts operating from Chu Lai worked closely with this outstanding organization on many occasions. As Ed Bergin mentioned to one of their members: "You were there when we needed you, and we were there if you could make it to the rivers and coastline."

White Hat Airlines
"White Hat Airlines" was the Naval Air Facility Detachment at Tan Son Nhut that had special meaning to thousands of sailors throughout the Mekong Delta and along the coast of the Republic of Viet Nam. One of its members, Danny Wade, went on a patrol aboard PCF-45 during 1968 and this page is a collecton of images from that patrol. {No, we did not have a 1MC or a klaxon on Sand Pebble #45}. In my after life as a civilian, I rode their version of the venerable Gooney Bird many times and enjoyed every minute of their fine hospitality.

USS Pledge (MSO-492)
In the photo section { photo #8 ) of this web site of the USS Pledge (MSO-492), is a picture and a short note concerning their invitation to PCF-45, via encrypted message, for a steak cook out on board. This site is extremely well done and traces the long and exemplary history of a great minesweeper from the days of "wooden ships and iron men." I still remember the Pledge with much fondness, and my comment after thirty-five years still stands: "God Bless Her"

USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62)
This is the web page of the Arleigh Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyer that is named in honor of Lieutenant William C. Fitzgerald, the Senior US Naval Advisor to Vietnamese Navy Coastal Group 16 in 1967. He lost his life while covering the escape of his fellow advisors during an attack on the Coastal Group 16 compound on August 7, 1967. Bill was also posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his actions. Appropriately, the motto of this ship is "Protect Your People"

U. S. Naval Institute
The Naval Institute, a membership organization for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard professionals and others interested in the sea services, publishes Proceedings and Naval History magazines as well as over 800 books from the Naval Institute Press.

Web Site	Description
Swift Boat Sailors Association	The Swift Boat Sailors Association is an organization created by and for the personnel who manned and supported US Navy Swift Boats assigned to Coastal Squadron One in Vietnam between 1965 and 1970
Swift Boat History/Listing of Crews	If you are a sailor that served on-board or supported the activities of Swift Boats, then this site contains a wealth of detailed information important to you. Besides a listing of all the boats that were assigned to Vietnam, it contains a listing of the known members of their crews at various times between 1965 and 1970, where each boat was located during this period, and any events that each boat was involved in. It also lists the Task Force 115 patrol areas and radio call signs associated with them, a description of the normal manning level of the boats, command and staff lists, and general background information and specifications on the Swift Boat design.
AFM Maritime Squadron Swifts	The Armed Forces of Malta {AFM) operate two Swift Boats that were originally used for training purposes by the US Navy. Since 1971 these boats have been accomplishing the same tasks that their American counterparts perfomed in South East Asia. During the SBSA 2003 Reunion in Norfolk, the AFM held a simultaneous reunion for their sailors at the Haywharf Maritime Squadron Base near Valletta. Both sites operated special event radio amateur stations during this time period. {Operation Radio Free Swift: call signs N4S and 9H9SWT). This site describes the AFM station, including the operators (Malta Amateur Radio League), some of the contacts they made during the joint reunions, and information on the AFM Swifts
Swift Boat Vietnam Photo Album	Jim Steffes' very well executed collection of photos from his tour on the boats in 1968-69. Part of his year was spent in Chu Lai, so his photos bring back many memories - I am absolutely positve {grin} that PCF-45 searched, one year earlier, the very same cargo vessel depicted on his site!! He also has some excellent images of Swift Boat river operations while operating out of Coastal Division 13 in Cat Lo.
Jack Spratt's Vietnam Photo Journal	Jack's revealing look at the intimatacies of life on board a Swift Boat traveling along the Mekong and Bassac rivers during the last year of operation of the boats in Vietnam. If you ever wondered what that bucket on the fantail of a Swift was used for, his graphic explination will clear up any misconceptions.
Rivervet-Vietnam PCF Section	Don Blankenship's Swift Boat section of his Mobile Riverine Force web site. Images on the site depict the involvement of Swift Boats in connjuction with the PBRs (Patrol Boat River) of Task Force 116 and the Riverine Forces of Task Force 117. TF 116 patrolled the inland waterways of Vietnam in much the same way that Task Force 115 patrolled the coastline. TF 117 conducted numerous joint operations with the US Army's 9th Division against North Vietnamese units in the southern delta regions. Swift Boats became an important part of the combination of these forces in operation SEALORDS over the final two years of US Navy involvement in the conflict. The PBR sailors, the Swift Boat sailors and the Mobile Riverine Force's Navy crews were collectively known as the "Black Berets" of the "Brownwater Navy"
Brown Water Navy Website	Another outstanding web site by Kent Hawley dealing with the US Navy's role in the rivers of Vietnam. A place where Brownwater Navy sailors and other veterans can jog their memories with images pertinent to their experiences. The site contains more than 80 pages of photos of Brownwater Navy locations, vessels and events, including Swift Boats. The photos are grouped so that many who were there can find and recall the places and events that were important during that period in their lives.
The Texas Tech Virtual Vietnam Archive	Texas Tech University maintains an extensive archive of images from the Vietnam conflict. This Virtual Vietnam Archive enables anyone interested in this remarkable period in our world history to conduct research activities on the subject. Of equal importance, it enables Vietnam veterans - those who actually served - to access records that might be of importance to them in their continuing efforts to understand their own experiences. Included in this archive are many images of Swift Boats engaged in a variety of roles.
Swift Boat Photo Collection	This site is a very extensive collection of photographs contributed by sailors that served aboard Swift Boats. The collection is divided into albums to facilitate viewing and retrieval. Plans are to eventually move all the photos to the SBSA site. Contact Jim Deal at JamesD8860@aol.com to gain access to this informative site that also has many Swift Boat Sailors leaving comments on the images.
174th AHC	This is a web page of the 174th Assault Helicopter Company site that has additional images of Skunk Alpha as it was being unloaded on the Chu Lai LST docks. The entire site is a very comprehensive appreciation of this UH-1 gunship and flareship unit that saw service in Vietnam and Laos from 1966 through 1971. The Swifts operating from Chu Lai worked closely with this outstanding organization on many occasions. As Ed Bergin mentioned to one of their members: "You were there when we needed you, and we were there if you could make it to the rivers and coastline."
White Hat Airlines	"White Hat Airlines" was the Naval Air Facility Detachment at Tan Son Nhut that had special meaning to thousands of sailors throughout the Mekong Delta and along the coast of the Republic of Viet Nam. One of its members, Danny Wade, went on a patrol aboard PCF-45 during 1968 and this page is a collecton of images from that patrol. {No, we did not have a 1MC or a klaxon on Sand Pebble #45}. In my after life as a civilian, I rode their version of the venerable Gooney Bird many times and enjoyed every minute of their fine hospitality.
USS Pledge (MSO-492)	In the photo section { photo #8 ) of this web site of the USS Pledge (MSO-492), is a picture and a short note concerning their invitation to PCF-45, via encrypted message, for a steak cook out on board. This site is extremely well done and traces the long and exemplary history of a great minesweeper from the days of "wooden ships and iron men." I still remember the Pledge with much fondness, and my comment after thirty-five years still stands: "God Bless Her"
USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62)	This is the web page of the Arleigh Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyer that is named in honor of Lieutenant William C. Fitzgerald, the Senior US Naval Advisor to Vietnamese Navy Coastal Group 16 in 1967. He lost his life while covering the escape of his fellow advisors during an attack on the Coastal Group 16 compound on August 7, 1967. Bill was also posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his actions. Appropriately, the motto of this ship is "Protect Your People"
U. S. Naval Institute	The Naval Institute, a membership organization for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard professionals and others interested in the sea services, publishes Proceedings and Naval History magazines as well as over 800 books from the Naval Institute Press.