The Navy Adviser in Vietnam: The Fleet Command" 1968 US Navy Training Film MN-10339c

more at http://quickfound.net/

'This 1968 Navy training film explained the duties of advisers to the Vietnamese Navy Fleet Command. It also features footage of many of the American built warships used by the Vietnamese Navy Fleet Command.'

Originally a public domain film from the US Navy, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Vietnam_Navy

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; Vietnamese: Hải quân Việt Nam Cộng hòa; HQVNCH) was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats from France. After 1955 and the transfer of the armed forces to Vietnamese control, the fleet was supplied from the United States. With assistance from the U.S., the VNN became the largest Southeast Asian navy, with 42,000 personnel, 672 amphibious ships and craft, 20 mine warfare vessels, 450 patrol craft, 56 service craft, and 242 junks...

The origins of the Viet Nam Navy (VNN) began in 1952 with the French Navy. In 1954, in accordance with the Elysée Accords, the French handed control of the armed forces to the Vietnamese, but at the request of the Vietnamese government, continued to be in charge of the Navy until 20 August 1955. By this time the Navy numbered about 2,000 personnel, with 22 vessels. The Vietnamese then received assistance in the development of the VNN from the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group...

In 1956, the North Vietnamese began infiltrating men and arms into the Republic of Vietnam's territory by sea. In response the VNN created the Coastal Junk Force (Vietnamese: Luc Luong Hai Thuyen) of junks manned by Regional Irregular Forces and local fishermen recruited for the occasion, to patrol the waters around the Demilitarized Zone. The force later came to be known as Coastal Groups (Vietnamese: Duyen doan), and patrolled the entire 1,200-mile (1,900 km) coastline. This force was under the control of the regional military zone commands rather than the Navy, and was not incorporated into the VNN until 1965, by which time it numbered over 100 vessels...

In the late 1950s the Vietnam Navy was being modernized and developed, receiving ships and training from the United States Navy. By 1961 the VNN had a force of 23 ships, the largest of which were LSMs, 197 boats, and 5,000 men. This was insufficient to counter the growing threat of enemy infiltration and the years 1962-1964 were marked by a rapid expansion; training facilities, repair bases, and support facilities were established; communications equipment and networks improved; and organization and administrative procedures strengthened. The number of ships increased to 44 and number of personnel to 8,100.

This process continued and by the end of 1967 the personnel strength of the VNN had increased to 16,300, with 65 ships, along with 232 vessels of the River Assault Group (RAG), 290 junks, and 52 miscellaneous craft. Throughout 1968 the VNN gave priority to the improvement and expansion of their training programs in anticipation of gaining increased responsibility in the war effort as well as additional assets from the US. By the end of 1968 plans for the turnover of the majority of the United States Navy assets in Vietnam had been formulated.

Vietnamization

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. In mid-1969, the VNN took sole responsibility for river assault operations when the U.S. Mobile Riverine Force stood down and transferred 64 riverine assault craft to the VNN. On 10 October 1969 80 Patrol Boat, Rivers (PBR) were transferred to the VNN at the Saigon Naval Shipyard, the PBRs were divided into four River Patrol Groups (RPGs) as part of Task Force 212.

By the end of 1970, the U.S. Navy ceased all operations throughout South Vietnam, having transferred a total of 293 PBRs and 224 riverine assault craft to the VNN...