If it seems silly, keep in mind that a team of VC waterborne sappers were able to mine the WWII-era MSTS-manned jeep carrier USNS Card and put her on the bottom of Saigon harbor, although she was soon refloated and repaired. The superstructure was bent in by the blast, a huge hole had been blown in her side below the waterline, and some of her cargo was destroyed. The Card, built in 1942, is now under charter to the United States Military Transport Service, and manned by an all‐civilian crew. Vietnam War. U.S. Navy 93 Vietnam 7 It was shortly after midnight when two Viet Cong commandos emerged from a sewer tunnel that emptied into Saigon Port, each man carrying nearly 90 pounds of high explosives and the components needed to make two time bombs. USNS Card in Saigon Port after the attack. Perhaps in Japan, Germany, the Philippines or South Vietnam, where they also served. Two ships, the USNS Card and the USNS Core, had been serving as transports for helicopters and other essentials. Finally on May 1, 1964, Viet Cong reconnaissance teams spotted the USNS Card sailed through Ganh Rai Bay and entered Long Tau River, so they immediately reported the information to the 65th Special Operations Group in Saigon. [5], On one occasion while he was bathing in the Saigon River, Nao decided to inspect the sewer tunnel which his father had advised him to use. For example, with just two men, we destroyed USNS Card docking in SaiGon, no one else in this world can do the same.-----The Attack on USNS Card was a Viet Cong operation during the Vietnam War. Meanwhile, the tug boat USS Tawakoni based at Subic Bay in the Philippines was placed on standby, and later received similar orders to head for South Vietnam. SAIGON, South Vietnam, Saturday, May 2—Communist terrorists sank a United States aircraft transport in Saigon Harbor today. Departing San Diego 18 January 1943, Card arrived at Hampton Roads 1 February for training in Chesapeake Bay. U.S. Navy photo. The spectre of the attack on the Card would rear its head again in October, 2000, when 17 sailors lost their lives when the USS Cole (DDG-67) was attacked by al-Qæda suicide bombers while in port at Aden, Yemen. Chiến sĩ đặc công của Quân Giải phóng Miền Nam là Lâm Sơn Náo thuộc lực lượng đặc công Sài Gòn-Gia Định đã bí mật lặn tới tàu, đặt 2 khối chất nổ, mỗi khối gồm 40 kg TNT và 2 kg C4. She was decommissioned after war , and laid in reserve until 1958, when she was reactivated for the Military Sea Transportation Service as an aircraft transport (T-CVU-11, and later T-AKV-40). [10], For the Viet Cong commandos of the 65th Special Operations Group, the explosion on the Card signalled a successful mission. It was a huge blow. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period to the formal reunification of Vietnam into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It was a huge blow. Before he started at USNI in 2015, he worked in historical research and archives. • USS Reclaimer (ARS-42) operated in Saigon Harbor to salvage USS Card (ACV-11) from sinking in Saigon River during May 1964 and in Rung Sat Special Zone of Mekong River Delta salvaging ships during early 1966 • USS Chanticleer (ASR-7) [Submarine Rescue/Salvage Ship] traveled up the Saigon River and docked at Saigon during February 1963 • USS Tillamook (ATA-192) … During the Vietnam conflict, there were many of these types of devices employed in the rivers and canals of South Vietnam. An escort carrier that saw distinguished service as a submarine-hunter in the North Atlantic during World War II, during … The Card became an ‘aviation transport ship,’ AKV-40, with helicopters as the aviation being transported.. At the beginning of the … The crew immediately closed off the lower compartments.” Second Mate Raymond Arbon was blown off his feet but was otherwise uninjured. However, raising Card would be a major salvage operation. You can visit his personal site at hoppejl.wordpress.com. The ship was refloated 17 days later, and was towed to the Philippines for repairs. Naval Institute Photo Archive). The commandos attached the explosives to Core’s hull, set the timer and retreated back into the sewer to wait for the outcome. He advised Nao that the best way to enter the area where the American ships normally anchored, was via the sewer tunnel opposite Thu Thiem. Construction The Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co. at Tacoma, WA Laid down: 27 October 1941 Launched: 27 February 1942 Acquired: 1 May 1942 Commissioned: 8 November 1942 Decommissioned: 13 May 1946 Recommissioned: 16 May 1958 as USNS Card Decommissioned: 10 March 1970 Struck: … (U.S. The ship was reactivated on 16 May 1958 as USNS Card and operated with a civilian crew under Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) control as an aircraft transport. [Your webmistress arrived in the United States in 1949 on the USAT General R. L. Howze as a refugee of World War … He had seen more than his share action as second mate on board the Norwegian ship Grenanger during World War II. Perhaps in Japan, Germany, the Philippines or South Vietnam, where they also served. Lam Son Nao, a commando of the 65th Special Operations Group, was also an employee at the port facility. The Port of Saigon was situated between the Te and Ben Nghe Canals, and was about 700 meters (2,300 ft) wide from one side to the other. The South Vietnamese security guard in front has a WWII-era M1918 BAR.) Card settled in 20 feet (6.1 m) of water. “The explosion hammered through the ship, jarring engine room attendants,” Langeland recalled. She was patched and pumped out, and raised on 19 May, and towed to Subic Bay, and then Yokosuka for repairs. This photo gives a good view of the “snow fence” on USNS Card’s former flight deck.) They crawled with the mines through the narrow sewer system across the dockyard, and Nao swam out to inspect the Card. Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam prior to the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Saigon.It was carried out on 29–30 April 1975, during the last days of the Vietnam War.More than 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter from various … The attack has served as model for training in port security ever since. [2], After 1945 the Card was decommissioned and briefly put out of service when it was transferred to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. In the early morning hours of 2 May 1964, Captain Borge Langeland of the USNS Card (T-AKV-40) was supervising the loading of old helicopters aboard the converted auxiliary aircraft carrier for their return to the United States from the Port of Saigon. When I found out that the USS Card was coming up the river—this was a ship which was carrying all kinds of airplanes to the country in order, to kill the Vietnamese—people I got extremely mad. Both men than pulled over in the Thu Thiem area, to avoid detection from South Vietnamese authorities by intermingling with the local workers who lived there. Bartholomew, Charles A.; Milwee, William I. Their target was the largest American ship in port, USNS Card. But now his service saw him involved in the early stages of a new war in Vietnam. It took place in the port of Saigon in the early hours of May 2, 1964, and mounted by commandos from the 65th Special Operations Group. Undetected, Nao swam back, retrieved the mines, and set them in two places on the Card’s hull. The ship was reactivated on 16 May 1958 as USNS Card and operated with a civilian crew under Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) control as an aircraft transport. The 2nd mate said that he believed some were still being used to ferry … The Card had just unloaded her cargo of helicopters and fighter-bombers from Manila, the Philippines, and was now preparing to return to the United States. After the bombs had been attached to the Card’s hull, Nao inspected both bombs to ensure they had been assembled properly. The first battle of Lộc Ninh was a battle during the Vietnam War that occurred between 29 October and 10 December 1967, fought by the Việt Cộng and the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG), and ended when Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and United States forces came to the camp. To avoid delaying the operation, Nao decided to bribe the patrol boat commander, as the South Vietnamese police were widely known for their corruption. With Tawakoni (ATF-114), Reclaimer refloated Card and towed her to the Philippines; then returned to Pearl Harbor on 22 June and remained there for … HQVN Da Nang was captured intact when Saigon fell and was renamed Tran Khanh Du by the unified Vietnamese navy. On 11 December 1961 the United States aircraft carrier USNS Card docked in downtown Saigon with 82 U. S. Army H-21 helicopters and 400 men. Ships such as the Card were owned by the Navy (hence the USNS designation) but staffed by civilian crews, which is how merchant mariners such as Langeland came to be at Saigon that fateful morning. [12], The USS Reclaimer rescue and salvage ship, which was heading for the Philippines at the time, was ordered to change course and sailed for Saigon. The port itself was guarded round the clock by South Vietnamese police, as undercover South Vietnamese agents operated across the river in the Thu Thiem area to disrupt Viet Cong activities there. But the aircraft carrier turned out to be the sister-ship the USNS Core. On October 20, 1964, the North Vietnamese government issued a postage stamp which proclaimed an "Aircraft Carrier of America sunk in the Harbor of Saigon", to praise the Viet Cong commandos who carried out the attack. The Attack on the USNS Card was a Viet Cong operation during the Vietnam War. The Attack on the USNS Card was a Viet Cong operation during the Vietnam War. Changes included a larger forward elevator hatch to permit her to stow bulky cargo such as housing trailers on her hangar deck. Nemo … (U.S. During the periods between July and November, the Card’s aircraft and the escort vessels of TG21.14 destroyed a total of five German submarines. Attack on the USNS Card Part of the Vietnam War 300px This photograph taken on May 2, 1964, showed the USNS Cardin Saigon Port after it was attacked by Viet Cong commandos. WikiZero Özgür Ansiklopedi - Wikipedia Okumanın En Kolay Yolu From QRZ.com: ... WA4QVH, (ex-K2ZZH) participated in the evacuation of Saigon, South Vietnam, as RADIO OFFICER on the USNS GREENVILLE VICTORY (T-AK 237).. Also holds Amateur License from Belize, Central America, V31AV and FCC Commercial 1st Class Radiotelegraph licence with Ship Radar Endorsement and six month … The handler killed two enemies and Nemo savagely attacked the rest while the handler called … Tied up alongside the pier in Saigon Harbor, she made an enticing target. On October 27, a North Vietnamese regiment engaged the command post of a … A1-G Skyraiders being unloaded from the USNS Core in 1965. Vietnam War For more details on sinking of the USNS Card, see Attack on the USNS Card. Their target was the largest American ship in port, USNS Card. On July 15, 1943, the Card was reclassified CVE-11 and became the flagship of Task Group 21.14 (TG21.14), a hunter-killer group formed to destroy German submarines in the North Atlantic. USNS Howze was one of many MSTS ships involved in "Passage to Freedom" bringing 300,000 refugees and 200,000 tons of Cargo from North Vietnam. It illustrated how vulnerable naval vessels can be even when faced with a low-tech enemy … and how difficult maintaining port security can be in a war with no real front. USS Card (CVE-11), (nguyên mang ký ... USNS Card bị đặc công Quân Giải phóng miền Nam tấn công bằng người nhái. She was patched and pumped out, and raised … The USNS Card in Saigon, 1968. [6] Determined the operation would remain a secret, the commandos snuck back to the Core and retrieved the explosive devices. For more details on sinking of the USNS Card, see Attack on the USNS Card. But due to illness, Cay declined to take part in the operation, so Hung had to replace him. [8], When Nao received news the Card had arrived in Saigon, he inspected the equipment which now included a new battery and a redesigned bomb. Nao’s father had previously worked at the port facility as a tradesman, so he memorised all the underground tunnels and sewerage systems which ran in and out of the facility. One of the first of these ships were two of escortee class "Bogue". U.S. Navy photos** The sinking of the Card was stunning victory for the Viet Cong, yet little remembered today. In Vietnam, an Air force sentry dog named Nemo was patrolling the airbase perimeter with his handler when they were attacked by Viet Cong guerillas. On 2 May 1964, while moored dockside in Saigon, a North Vietnamese frogman, Lam Son Nao, planted an explosive charge that blew a hole in the hull, killing five crewmen. [7] At around 9am on May 1, Nao rushed to Hung’s home, where the latter was given a hand grenade and was notified of an upcoming operation without much detail. All 73 men of the civilian crew were reported safe. Combat value of these vehicles, once hunted German submarines in the Atlantic, is not represented. 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