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Brown-Water Navy

How It's Used

“He [Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr.] also kept his hand in with sea appointments and in 1968 was given command of all US naval forces in Vietnam. Although he had always opposed American military involvement in Vietnam as 'the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time', he devoted his energies to organising the most effective use of US naval power, not by carrier-borne strikes and offshore bombardments, but through the 'brown water navy' of more than 1,000 small craft which operated throughout the Mekong Delta to deny its waters to North Vietnamese and Vietcong troops.”

“So, in early 1968, Kerry went off to Vietnam on a frigate in the Gulf of Tonkin. Bored silly, he asked to retrain at home and return to Vietnam for a second tour as the captain of a swift boat, the light, fast, noisy vessels that became the backbone of 'the brown water navy.' His mission was to engage the Viet Cong in the rivers, canals and coves of the Mekong Delta.”

“Defence, and the navy in particular, have long resisted taking on extra responsibility for what at one point was seen to be a lower priority policing task, not suited to war fighters. Now the OPC [Offshore Protection Command] will become a powerful lobby within defence circles for the brown water navy -- the hard-working small patrol boats that are so often our first line of response to security threats.”

“Meet the Navy's new $6 million stealth ship.

"Shipbuilders have spent the last hundred years making hulls narrower and deeper for more speed and stability. That makes the Pentagon's latest sea toy, the Stiletto, a bit of a surprise. The M80 Stiletto looks like a hulking rectangle from above: It's 88 feet long and half as wide, with a 3-foot draft when loaded. But under that extra-wide body is an innovative hull shaped like twin 'M's. The design captures the energy from the wave created by the bow of the ship and channels it underneath, nearly eliminating the wake and creating an air cushion that makes for tight turns and a smooth ride, even at speeds of up to 50 knots (58mph). San Diego maritime design firm M Ship Co. delivered the $6 million Stiletto in May for the 'brown water' Navy, which battles in rivers and close to the shore."

“Before 2004, Swift boats -- also known as Patrol Craft Fast, or P.C.F.'s -- were 50-foot aluminum boats, just big enough for an officer, five enlisted men and a Vietnamese interpreter. There were about 110 of them as part of the so-called brown water navy in Vietnam, boats agile enough to patrol the shallow waters near shores where the North Vietnamese were sending small craft filled with munitions and supplies. They conducted some of the most harrowing missions of the war.”

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