Vietnam People's Navy

Vietnam People's Navy Quân chủng Hải quân Việt Nam
Flag of Vietnam People's Army and flag of the Vietnam People's Navy
Active	1955 - Present
Country	Vietnam (North Vietnam in the past)
Part of	Vietnam People's Army
Motto	Island is home, Sea is country (Đảo là nhà, Biển cả là quê hương)
Anniversaries	3 April
Engagements	Vietnam War Sino-Vietnamese War

The Vietnam People's Navy (or, commonly, Vietnamese Navy) is part of the Vietnam People's Army and is responsible for the protection of national waters, islands, and interests of the maritime economy, as well as for the coordination of maritime police, customs service and the border defense force.

History

Following the Geneva Conference in 1954, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam went about creating its own naval forces. In 1955 the Vietnam People's Navy was created with the establishment of the General Directorate of Coastal Defence, it formed the basis for the Navy Operational Command. The primary mission of the Navy was to patrol the coastal areas and the inland waterways.

Sailors of the Vietnam People's Navy in June 2007.

Throughout the Vietnam War the role played by the Vietnam People's Navy (or North Vietnamese Navy) was largely unknown to the public. However on August 2, 1964, two North Vietnamese Swatow class patrol boats attacked the USS Maddox (DD-731) in what became known as the Tonkin Gulf Incident². The second attack, which the United States claimed to have occurred on August 4, was dismissed by the North Vietnamese as a fabrication.

The North Vietnamese, however, had maintained their own version of the events which took place. According to official VPN accounts the Maddox penetrated North Vietnamese waters on July 31, 1964, and provoked a battle with the North Vietnamese¹. In response to American provocation, three 123K class torpedo boats from the 135th Torpedo Boat Battalion were dispatched to intercept the American destroyer. The resulting clash became known as the 'Battle of Thanh Hoa' in which North Vietnamese "torpedo boats succeeded in driving the Maddox out of Vietnam’s territorial waters, shooting down a U.S. aircraft and damaging another".¹

Rear Admiral Đỗ Viết Cường, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Vietnam People's Navy in June 2009.

Apart from patrolling territorial waters, the Navy also had the mission of transporting military supplies to support the Vietnam People's Army and their NLF ally during the Vietnam War. On October 31, 1961, a sea route version of the Ho Chi Minh Trail was established by the North Vietnam Navy, with the 759th Transport Unit responsible for carrying military supplies and other goods for the Communist ground forces in South Vietnam³. In order to avoid detection by the South Vietnamese and U.S navies, North Vietnamese transport ships were often disguised as fishing trawlers. On February 16, 1965, a 100-ton North Vietnamese trawler from the Transportation Group 125 was discovered at Vung Ro Bay. This led to the creation of Operation Market Time by the US Navy to intercept disguised enemy ships.

On April 19, 1972, the North Vietnamese Navy and Air Force participated in the Battle of Dong Hoi off the coast of North Vietnam. During this battle it was believed that the U.S Navy destroyed a Soviet-made cruise missile for the first time. The USS Higbee (DD-806) was damaged after an VPAF MiG-17 dropped a 250 lb (110 kg) bomb, destroying a 5" aft gun mount.

In the years following the complete withdrawal of U.S and other allied forces, the North Vietnamese went back on the offensive. As part of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, the North Vietnamese Navy increased the transportation of military supplies, food and uniform to the Communist forces in the South. When the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) occupied the northern provinces of South Vietnam in 1975, captured South Vietnamese vessels were pressed into service with the Vietnam People's Navy. On April 29, 1975, ex-South Vietnamese Navy vessels carried North Vietnamese troops to capture the Spratly Islands. At around the same time the Chinese Navy took over control of the Paracel Islands from the South Vietnamese Navy. These islands are also claimed by Vietnam, however they have no current presence there.

The ex-USS Maricopa County (LST-938) in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) service as Tran Khanh Du (HQ-501), moored at the Vietnamese Naval Shipyard, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), 13 September 2003.

Prior to 1975, the North Vietnamese Navy operated fewer than forty patrol boats along with the coastal junk force. With the collapse of the Republic of Vietnam on April 30, 1975, the Vietnam People's Navy was expanded with ships from the defunct South Vietnamese Navy. Captured vessels included two patrol frigates, over one hundred patrol craft, and about fifty amphibious warfare ships. In the late 1970s the naval infantry (or marines) was formed to be stationed on the areas claimed by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the Spratly Islands. The naval infantry is equipped with PT-76 light tanks, BTR-60 personnel carriers and other weapons.

Fleet

In addition to the VPN Naval Infantry, the Vietnam People's Navy currently operates:

Class or name	Builder	Type	Quantity	Service Date	Armament	Ships
Gepard class frigate	Russia Yantar/Zelenodolsk Design Bureau	Frigate	2	in active	8 Kh-35 Uran missile SS-N-25 1 x 76.2 mm AK-176 main gun 2 x 30 mm AK-630 gun 1 Palash Close-in weapon system 4 x 533 mm torpedo tubes 1 RBU-6000 12-barreled Anti-Submarine rocket launcher 12-20 mines	HQ-011 Dinh Tien Hoang HQ-012 Ly Thai To
Petya class frigate	Russia Yantar	Frigate	5	in active	4 x 76mm guns (2x2) 4 RBU 6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers 5 x 406mm anti-submarine torpedo tubes	HQ-13 HQ-15 HQ-17 HQ-09 HQ-11
Improved Kilo class	Russia Admiralty Shipyard	Submarine	6	2014-2019[1][2][3][4]	6 x 553 mm torpedo tubes 18 torpedoes 3M-54 Klub anti-ship missiles 24 mines 8 SA-N-8 Gremlin or 8 SA-N-10 Gimlet Surface-to-air missiles
Yugo class	Democratic People's Republic of Korea	Submarine	2	to be decommissioned in 2012
Tarantul class corvette Molniya class Project 1242.1/1241.8	Russia Almaz Central Design Bureau	Corvette	6	in active (more on order)	16 Kh-35 Uran missile SS-N-25 1 x 76.2 mm AK-176 main gun 2 x 30 mm AK-630 gun	HQ-336, HQ-362, HQ-375, HQ-376, HQ-389
Tarantul class corvette Project 1241	Russia Almaz Central Design Bureau	Corvette	7	in active	4 P-15 Termit Rubezh missile SS-N-2 1 x 76.2 mm AK-176 main gun 2 x 30 mm AK-630 gun	HQ-371, HQ-372, HQ-373, HQ-374, HQ-377, HQ-378, HQ-381
Tarantul class corvette Pauk class Project1241.2	Russia Almaz Central Design Bureau	Corvette	1	in active	8 Kh-35 Uran missile SS-N-25 1 x 76.2 mm AK-176 main gun 2 x 30 mm AK-630 gun	HQ-381
Sigma class corvette	Netherlands Schelde Naval Shipbuilding	Corvette	4	to negotiate[5]
Osa class missile boat	Russia	Patrol	8	in active	4 P-15 Termit Rubezh missile SS-N-2	HQ-353, HQ-354, HQ-355, HQ-356, HQ-358, HQ-359, HQ-360, HQ-361
Turya class torpedo boat	Russia	Patrol	6	in active	4 x 533mm torpedo tubes	HQ-307, HQ-331, HQ-332, HQ-333, HQ-334, HQ-335
Shershen class torpedo boat	Russia	Patrol	4	in active	PTF with 2 twin 30 mm AK-230, 4 fixed 533 mm TT, 4 Shershen class have been fitted with 1x4 Fasta-M SR-SAM	HQ-305, HQ-306, HQ-311, HQ-312, HQ-358 HQ-5011 (coast guard vessel)
Svetlyak class patrol boat	Russia	Patrol	4	in active	1 x 76.2mm AK-176 main gun, 4 x 4(16) Ingal-M SR-SAM, 1 x 30mm AK-630 gun, 1xAGS-17 grenade launcher	HQ-261, HQ-262, HQ-263, HQ.?
TT-400TP gunboat	Vietnam	Patrol	1	in active	1 x 76.2mm AK-176 main gun, 1 x 30mm AK-630 gun	HQ-272

Inshore Patrol:

•  Vietnam 8 (+24) HQ-56 class (Stolkraft; 22.4 meter) PB with 1x20mm
•  Vietnam 4 HQ-37 class (built by Vinashin)
•  Russia 14 Zhuk class patrol boats (Project 1400M)

Riverine Patrol:

•  United States 22 PBR Mark II and 6 PCF (Swift Boats). These riverine patrol boats are no longer in service.

Mine Warfare:

•  Russia 2 Yurka class fleet minesweepers (Project 266) class MSF
•  Russia 4 Sonya base minesweepers (Project 1265E) class MSC
•  Russia 2 Yevgenya (Project 1258) class MSI

Amphibious Landing Ships:

•  United States 3 amphibious LST-1/542 class LST
•  Poland 3 Polnocny-B (Project 771) class LSM
•  United States several LCU-1466 class
•  Russia 10-12 T-4 (Project 1785) class LCM

Transports:

•  Vietnam 1 HQ-966 class logistics ship AK
• 2 BD-621 class logistics ship AK

Auxiliaries:

•  Russia 1 Sorum class logistics tug (Project 745) ATA
•  Russia 1 Voda (MTV-6/Project 561) AWT
•  Russia 2 Nyrat-2 (Project 376U) diving tenders (YDT)
• 2 floating drydocks (YFDL)
•  Russia 2 PO-2 (Project 376) YFL
•  United States 2 ex-US 53-meter harbor tankers (YO) - lilely ex-USN YOG-5 Class Gasoline Oiler
•  United States 2+ Chaolocco tugs (YTM)
• 9 or so harbour tubs (YTL)

Missiles: Coastal Defence:

•  Russia P-500 Bazalt/SS-N-12 Sandbox cruise missile
•  Russia Kh-41 Moskit/SS-N-22 Sunburn supersonic anti-ship cruise missile
•  Russia P-800 Oniks/SS-N-26 Yakhont (Bastion ground system) supersonic anti-ship cruise missile

Missiles: Shipboard:

•  Russia Kh-35 Uran/SS-N-25 Switchblade 3M-24E subsonic cruise missile (poss, Project 11660 KBO-2000 Gepard)
•  Russia P-15 Termit/SS-N-2A/B Styx anti-ship missile (PTG craft and patrol ship)

Missiles: Air-launched:

•  Russia Kh-41 Moskit air-launched
•  Russia P-800 Oniks/Yakhont, air-launched version as Yakhont-M
•  Russia Kh-35 Uran
•  Russia Kh-31 AS-17 'Krypton'
•  Russia Kh-59 Kh-59M
•  Russia 3M-54 Klub

Amphibious aircraft:

•  Canada Viking Air DHC-6 Series 400 Twin-otter

VPN has entered contract with Viking Air Limited (www.vikingair.com) for total of 6 amphibious planes, which first delivery is scheduled for 2012 and completion of this project is before end of December 2014. Package deal cost 5 Million Canadian Dollar per unit with an additional training provide by Pacific Sky Aviation (www.pacificsky.ca).

VPN acquired two Yugoslav-type small submarines from North Korea in 2001 in mediocre conditions, these vessels are primarily designed for covert coastal surveillance, and will be decommissioned once the Kilo-class submarines are present (2011).

Vietnam Marine Police (a.k.a. Vietnam People's Coast Guard) formed in 1998, is currently an independent unit from the Vietnam People's Navy, which was started in November 2008.

Larger transport ships of the Navy include the Truong Sa class ship which was built by the state-owned shipbuilding firm, Vinashin.

All pennant numbers start with the prefix HQ which stands for Hải Quân or Navy in Vietnamese, which inherit from the Republic of (south) Vietnam Navy (hải quân Việt nam Cộng Hòa) nomination.

Sources in Rosoboronexport later confirmed that Russia and Vietnam had been negotiating a $3.1 billion deal on the delivery of six Kilo class submarines to the Vietnamese navy for about a year

Manpower

The current total manpower of the navy is around 42,000 officers and enlisted personnel including naval infantry [i.e. marines] and other specialised units.

See also

• Vietnam Marine Police
• Republic of Vietnam Navy
• Tonkin Gulf Incident
• Vung Ro Bay Incident
• 1988 Spratly Islands naval battle

References

1. ^ http://flotprom.ru/news/?ELEMENT_ID=80927
2. ^ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Vietnam-Reportedly-Set-to-Buy-Russian-Kilo-Class-Subs-05396/
3. ^ http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4059508&c=ASI&s=SEA
4. ^ http://www.defencetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9034
5. ^ http://defense-update.com/20111023_vietnam-negotiate-buying-four-sigma-corvettes-from-the-netherlands.html

External links

• Tonkin Gulf Incident - A decisive battle in the Thanh Hoa Sea
• Gulf of Tonkin Incident: Reappraisal 40 Years Later
• Tonkin Gulf Incident – Meeting of heroes (continued)
• The legendary East Sea trail
• Task Force 115
• Analysis of the Battle of Dong Hoi
• Truong Sa Island celebrates 30th anniversary of liberation
• World Navies Vietnam