Saigon River - 1972 World Naval Ships Forums Archive

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Saigon River - 1972 World Naval Ships Forums Archive

Saigon River - 1972

Posts 1 to 11

In 1972 I spent a day wandering around the Saigon Docks photographing some of the Naval ships in the area. Most were Republic of Vietnam units, nearly all ex USN service.
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Nice group of photos. Brings back a few thoughts, although I was only in that area a few days...thankfully.

More photos of naval craft in the Saigon River, 1972. The Cortland towered over the river - inreasingly derelict it was detained for financial reasons. In the closeup of the LCT it appears as if a chimney is protruding through the roof but it is actually to on the far side, venting the galley. The little gunboat has an enclosed turret on it's stern. That must have been stifling in the heat.
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Gee Don, you missed out on so much "FUN"....say 67-68; especially Tet. True uhh...joy, and I don't mean off the coast, but in Nam. OTOH watching the St. Paul steaming just off Da NAng on fire support missions was interesting, as I had a ringside seat on top of Monkey Mountain! DFO :rolleyes: And July 15, '67 got to see a SPECTACULAR "fireworks" display as the sobs hit the Da Nang air base complex with mostly 122mm rockets. The pic shows the view from where I was looking down at the strip. Pivot @ 170 degrees and that's where the St. Paul cruised on her fire support mission late one afternoon as I recall; lots of light to easily make her out just outside Da Nang Bay. And my son-in-law wonders why I don't share his enthusiasm at setting off fireworks-his hobby.
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More photos of Saigon River scenes 1972.
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Well done Sandy. Very interesting pictures and well uploaded! :)

[QUOTE=astraltrader;110883]Well done Sandy. Very interesting pictures and well uploaded! :)[/QUOTE] Thanks a lot Astraltrader for your patience and committment.

Here are the final images of the Saigon River 1972 thread. I have included several general shots of shipping in general to demonstrate the contrast between relatively modern warships and ancient Asian watercraft. The desireable riverside residence complete with .50 cal HMG on the veranda is appealing. There is a closeup of the intriguing gunboat with it's miniature turret. The mobile barracks must have had its aircon full on - there are no windows that I can see. And the ambulances lined up on the dock in the first pic are obviously off to somewhere, unless the docks were under threat.
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Hi Sandy.Those Ambulances could be there for a good reason."Riverine" Patrols could develop into rather heavy fire fights at times,so there could be a patrol craft coming in that had casualties.Or perhaps they were kept there as part of the Base Support Facility? Regards Steve.

The photo which brings back the most vivid memory is that of the water taxi. I was about to have my throat slit on one of these one night but when I produced a pistol from under my shirt the strength of resolve of the would be assailant weakened dramatically and we continued onto our destination without further ado. I know that this sounds a little far-fetched but there it is. As an example of the careers of some of these vessels Graham Moore says that LST 813 is the ex South Korean SU Yong, formerly USS Kane County LST 853 and transferred to South Korea in 1958. Outside of her is probably HQ 504the Vietnamese Qui Nhon, built as USS Bullock County. Another advisor says that LST 808 is probably South Korean DUK BONG, formerly USN LST 227, built by Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca IL and transferred to South Korea in 1955. The floating barracks were built in the USA in 1944 and were towed to various locations not having their own power other than that for the use of operating aircon etc.

Here is yet another photo taken on the Saigon River in 1972.
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