Patrol Boat, River / PBR or Pibber, 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. They 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 'Sea Tigers.'
The PBR was a versatile boat with a fiberglass hull and water jet drive which enabled it to operate in shallow, weed-choked rivers. It drew only of water fully loaded. The drives could be pivoted to reverse direction, turn the boat in its own length, or come to a stop from full speed in a few boat lengths.
Development began with a report released in January 1965 from the Weapons Planning Group of the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake testing installation, calling for the development of a more effective riverine warfare force. Existing hardware used by the Republic of Vietnam Navy was based on French patrol craft left over from the French Indochina War, and deemed unsuitable to counteract heavy Vietcong presence in the Mekong Delta.
The PBR continued to see use after the Vietnam War by several navies. The U.S. retired it in the 90s, after which it was replaced by the Special Operations Craft – Riverine (SOC-R).
Design
To meet the demand for new riverine craft, the Bureau of Naval Weapons issued a set of requirements for a shallow-water hull made of aluminum or fiberglass, a propulsion system suited for a delta environment, capable of high speed and high maneuverability. Due to the urgent need of equipment by U.S. forces, only existing hull designs adapted to military use would be accepted.
The first PBR prototype was designed by Willis Slane and Jack Hargrave of Hatteras Yachts Co., located at High Point, North Carolina. A week after a meeting with U.S. Navy officials at Washington D.C., Slane and Hargrave had the prototype ready, based on an existing sporting hull. 28 foot long and featuring a water-jet drive from Indiana Gear Works, powered by a set of supercharged Daytona diesel engines, it was capable of 30.5 knots.
A second prototype was produced by Arhtur Nordtvedt, the design was based on a pleasure boat constructed by Uniflite (United Boat Builders), a boatyard in Bellingham, Washington, on the northern end of Puget Sound near the Canadian border.
During trials, the incomplete nature of the Hatteras prototype worked against it. On November 29, 1965, the Navy awarded a contract to the company for construction of 140 PBRs to Uniflite on the stipulation that 120 hulls had to be delivered by April 1, 1966.
The PBR was manufactured in two versions, both with a hull constructed of fiberglass. The Mark I was length and 10-foot, 7-inch beam. The Mark II version was long, and had a wider beam than the Mark I. The first Mark I craft came off the assembly line on December 21, 1965. The first 11 PBRs were delivered on March 21, 1966, at the U.S. logistics base in Cần Thơ, with approximately 300 delivered over the next few years to the U.S. and South Vietnamese military.
Nordtvedt was flown to South Vietnam in September 1966 to address deficiencies with the Mark I. Suggestions from boat crews, and field observations, were incorporated into the Mark II design. It had improved drives to reduce fouling, aluminum gunwales added to the hull to resist wear, and a flatter hull bottom better suited to shallow water.
According to Nordtvedt the redesign “improved its ability to carry a heavier load with no loss in performance.” This allowed Mark II's to utilize heavier weapons. Production began in 1967, continuing until 1980. In 1990, 6 Mark IIs were built by River City Machine Works Inc., to replace existing PBRs.
Crew The PBR was usually manned by a four-man crew. Typically, a first class petty officer served as boat captain, with a gunner's mate, an engineman, and a seaman on board. Each crewman was cross-trained in each other's jobs in the event one became unable to carry out his duties.
Generally, PBRs operated in pairs under the command of a patrol officer who rode on one of the boats.
An MP or Interpreter from an ARVN unit often rode with PBRs when on routine patrols, to help inspect local Sampan boats and other civilian river traffic or enforce curfews.
Power The boats were powered by dual Detroit Diesel 6V53N engines with Jacuzzi Brothers 14YJ water-jet drives. The boats reached top speeds of depending on the load.
A field modification to remove armor from PBR 105 supposedly allowed the vessel to reach a top speed of .
Armament
The boats had a comparatively heavy firepower for their size. Typical armament configuration included twin M2HB .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns forward in a rotating, shielded tub, a single rear M2HB, one or two M60 7.62 mm light machine guns mounted on the port and starboard sides, and a Mk 18 grenade launcher. There was also a full complement of M16 rifles, shotguns, M1911 pistols and hand grenades. Some had a "piggyback" arrangement, a .50 cal machine gun on top of an 81mm mortar; others had a bow-mounted Mk16 Mod 4 Colt 20 mm automatic cannon, derived from the AN/M3 version of the Hispano-Suiza HS.404 and also found on the LCMs and PBRs.
The boats are not well protected, aside from some ceramic armor shielding for the machine gun pit, and some quarter-inch thick steel armor plate for the coxswain's flat.
They were designed to rely on rapid acceleration, maneuverability, and speed to get out of dangerous situations.
Operational career From 1966 to 1970, PBRs were operated by the Navy as the principal component of Task Force 116, established on 18 December 1965. The navy began training crews on the PBR at facilities in Coronado and Mare Island, California. Mare Island was home to the U.S. Navy's Repair Facilities, Mothballing Operations, Submarine Operations, and Riverine Training Operations for both Patrol Craft Fast (PCF—more commonly known as Swift Boats), PBRs, and the River Assault Boats of the Mobile Riverine Force. By August 1968 TF 116 operated as 5 separate River Divisions, RD 51–55, located in Cần Thơ, Sa Đéc (later Vĩnh Long), Mỹ Tho, Nha Be, and Danang.
The first recorded loss of a PBR occurred in early 1967, in an accident during launch from the USS Jennings County.
The force participated in Operation Game Warden and Operation Jackstay, but only in a patrol role. It was intended for units to retreat if engaged. The start of the Tet Offensive resulted in a need to press PBRs into heavier than expected fighting, participating in the Battle of Huế and the Battle of Khe Sanh. PBRs acquitted themselves well, and began being used as active fire support.
Since the Navy was busy patrolling the rivers, the U.S. Army had to secure the waters around its military ports. So, it converted the 458th Transportation Company (LARC) into a PBR company in early 1968 under the 18th Military Police Brigade. With the company headquarters at Cat Lai, the company assigned pairs of PBRs to each of the Army ports. PBR's in Army use were nicknamed "J-Boats" to distinguish them.
In early 1969, President Richard M. Nixon formally adopted the policy of "Vietnamization". The naval part, called ACTOV ("Accelerated Turnover to the Vietnamese"), involved the phased transfer to Vietnam of the U.S. river and coastal fleet, as well as operational command over various operations. On 10 October 1969, 80 PBRs were transferred to the RVNN at the Ba Son Shipyard, the PBRs were divided into four River Patrol Groups (RPGs) as part of Task Force 212.
In December 1970, Task Force 116 was deactivated, with most PBR boats transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Navy. In September 1971, The 458th was deactivated.
Due to significant cuts of U.S. financial support in 1974, the RVNN was forced to lay up many of its PBRs.
After the fall of South Vietnam in 1975, most naval assets, including PBR boats were captured by North Vietnamese forces and placed into service with the Vietnam People's Navy.Cima, R.J (1987). Vietnam: A Country Study. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. p. 279. The boats were kept with their original American armaments, as the VPN did not begin rearming captured craft with domestic weapons until the 2010s. Vietnam retired its PBRs beginning in 1988, with the last boats in active military service in 1992.
The U.S. Navy continued to retain some PBR Mark IIs to provide for security, escort duty, and training. During the 1980s, PBRs were stationed at the Naval Base Panama Canal Zone, providing escort for larger surface combatants. During Operation Earnest Will PBR units operated from the USS LaSalle in the Persian Gulf, to escort US merchant shipping until the end of the Tanker War.
The PBR saw its last military action in 1989 during Operation Just Cause supporting U.S. Navy SEALs tasked with securing control of the Canal Locks and Paitillia airfield. On December 20, 1989, two PBRs provided fire support against Panamanian forces during a boarding action of a German-registered Merchant ship.
In the early 1990s, what remained of the U.S. Navy's PBR force was solely in the Naval Reserve and was moved further inland towards Sacramento, California, the state capital, which is also intertwined with rivers. From Sacramento, PBRs could still transit directly to and through San Francisco Bay and into the Pacific Ocean, if need be.
PBRs were placed into the U.S. Naval Reserve up until 1995 at California Deactivated units were being sold as military surplus in 1991, after being stripped down of hardware. By 1994, only 27 PBR Mark IIs remained in the U.S. reserves. The last PBRs were retired for good by March 31, 1996, when Mare Island base closed due to a BRAC action.
The training areas for the PBRs and Swift Boats still exist today within the Napa Sonoma Marsh state wildlife area. Sloughs such as Dutchman Slough, China Slough, Napa Slough, Devil's Slough, Suisun marshland and the Napa River all run through the former training area.
Operators – Khmer National Navy 64 units.Sutsakhan, The Khmer Republic at War and the Final Collapse (1980), p. 183, Appendix C (Navy Item).Conboy, FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970–1975 (2011), p. 242 (table of operational craft). – SENAN – Formerly used by Philippine Navy – Republic of Vietnam Navy 293 units in 1970. : Vietnam People's Navy 275 units in 1975, Captured from the former South Vietnam Navy. Retired in 1992. – Royal Thai Navy 45 units overall, 20 commissioned in 1967, 10 in 1972, and 15 in 1973. 13 in active service as of 2019. – Formerly used by US Navy, retired in 1995.
Preservation
United States As of 2021 there were known to be between 36 original PBRs held between private collectors, museums, and historical societies, with 9 vessels in working condition and others in various stages of restoration.
PBR 7331 was donated to the Operation Black Sheep non-profit organization in 2017 by John McClurg. It was restored to working order in 2018 and offers public tours in Muskegon, Michigan.