Old Nam Photos

me | none

[Seruzawa]

I've been scanning old slides and thought some freepers might find a few interesting.

#1 WWII era wooden gunboat we used. Twin 6-71 diesel engines.(Thank God. At least the Navy had the sense to stay away from gasoline power.) 18 Knot max speed. Unless it had a forward-throw mortar and then maybe it had a 14knot top speed. The mortar wasn't worth the trouble. One twin .50 mount armament, plus an M-79 (my favorite) and some M-16s and a shotgun. Nothing but the best for our boys! The .50s aren't installed because this particular shot was taken after a refit. You can see the mount behind the radar and forward cabin. The shocks transmitted to the boats through the water made the propeller shaft glands leak and they had to be replaced regularly.

#2 Danang Air Base. Bomb storage exploding. Went on for a couple of days.

#3 Yikes! An A-7 I think. Or maybe A-10. Single engine in any case.

#4 Another quality boat. A metal tub with an M60. Nothing but the best for our boys!

#5 I wonder if Kerry ever saw this. YFU hit by mortar while loading ammo.

#6 Oh crap! Now the Air Base is on fire! Fuel bladders I believe.

#7 Actually it was a beautiful country, if you took time to notice. Danang River Bay Breakwater.

All photos circa 1968-69

[WXRGina]

Thank you for posting these.

[Howie66]

Welcome Home, Brother.

[SnuffaBolshevik]

Good pics. Thanks for posting.

[lafarge]

I like that lighthouse photo. Jetty looks like a good fishing spot. Did you ever drop a line over there?

[GreyFriar]

Regarding #3. The A-10 didn’t go to its first units until 1977, thus this is not an A-10. I might be an A-7, but I’m not sure of the type.

[Spruce]

re. #4. What were hunks of junk used for?

[Seruzawa]

I like that lighthouse photo. Jetty looks like a good fishing spot. Did you ever drop a line over there?

No. We would fish by dropping concussion grenades overside further away from the anchorage. The bay was pretty polluted. Along the shoreline you could see the rainbow color effect from the film of oil on much of the bay.

[Seruzawa]

Hunks of junk used to patrol the area around Cua Viet.

[Seruzawa]

Seruzawa, you idiot, that was probably an A-4 not an A-10. Can’t you keep your aircraft straight?

[mad_as_he$$]

Thanks for posting these pics. I passed them onto a friend who is writing an article(for a few years now -lol) about the special warfare boats and their place in history. I love the following video as it is real guys, real boats on a REAL live fire range with todays technology. The guys from the boats in Nam just sadly shake their heads when they see the Dillon Aero mini-gun in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F2OX7xtSZo

Hollywood version(2:35):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4jf8M-MGKg

This was live fire also!

The boats have come a long way.

[Hot Tabasco]

A close friend spent two tours there and literally took hundreds and hundreds of pics, many of the better ones he has framed and on his basement walls. Some of the most noteworthy were when he was patroling Cambodia.....

He's now an historian of sorts and has been asked to come to schools to give talks on the war as well as display his pictures and other war memorabilia he has been able to gather.......

[virgil283]

Nice photos.... show more, what kind of camera did you use ?

[chrisser]

Thanks for the pics and for your service.

Sure wish all of you could have made it back...

[Spruce]

Wow.
I’m assuming it was not a desirable job floating in that tub looking for trouble.

[no-to-illegals]

Thank You for Your Service.... Salute!!!

[Seruzawa]

The guys from the boats in Nam just sadly shake their heads when they see the Dillon Aero mini-gun in action.

While the mini-gun has it's uses it's difficult to ever think of the twin .50cal mount as anything less than devastating. And you'll note on the video that the .50cal is still in use. You can lay effective fire with a .50 from well out of small arms range. We used that to effect in Nam. You fire from several hundred yards out at night and you make a damm difficult target for an AK. Ma Deuce. Accept no substitute. Anything less than a tank is easy meat for Mama.

[no-to-illegals]

Amen ... and I still wish that those that had made it back were ALL With Us. Miss them!!!

[Seruzawa]

Nice photos.... show more, what kind of camera did you use

I'm still scanning. I'll do more in a few days. I used a Yashica 35mm SLR with some different lenses. It got stolen in Japan a couple of years later and I don't remember the exact model. Most pictures taken with KodachomeII and Extachrome64.

[M Kehoe]

Bttt.

5.56mm