| Republic of Vietnam Navy Hải quân Việt Nam Cộng hòa | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the South Vietnamese Navy | |
| Founded | 1952 (1952) |
| Disbanded | 30 April 1975 (1975-04-30) |
| Country |  South Vietnam |
| Branch | Navy |
| Role | Sea control |
| Size | 42,000 men, 1,400 ships, boats and other vessels (1973) |
| Part of |  Vietnamese National Army (1952-1955) Republic of Vietnam Military Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Saigon, South Vietnam |
| Nickname | "HQVNCH" ("RVNN" in English) |
| Motto | Tổ quốc — Đại dương ("The Fatherland — The Ocean") |
| March | Hải quân Việt Nam hành khúc |
| Anniversaries | 20 August |
| Engagements | Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War Battle of the Paracel Islands |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Trần Văn Chơn Lâm Nguơn Tánh Chung Tấn Cang |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
| Naval ensign |  |
| Flag of Saint Trần |  |
TheRepublic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN;Vietnamese: Hải quân Việt Nam Cộng hòa -HQVNCH; was the naval branch of theSouth Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the formerRepublic 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 American assistance, in 1972 the RVNN became the largestSoutheast Asian navy and, by some estimates, the fourth largest navy in the world, just behind the Soviet Union, the United States and the People's Republic of China,[1] with 42,000 personnel, 672 amphibious ships and craft, 20 mine warfare vessels, 450 patrol craft, 56 service craft, and 242 junks. Other sources state that RVNN was the ninth largest navy in the world.[2] The Republic of Vietnam Navy was responsible for the protection of the country's national waters, islands, and interests of its maritime economy, as well as for the co-ordination of maritime police, customs service and the maritime border defence force.
The RVNN disbanded in 1975 with the collapse of South Vietnam, andNorth Vietnam's victory in the Vietnam War. Most of its fleet was captured in port, but a small fleet of vessels, led by CaptainĐỗ Kiếm andRichard L. Armitage of theDefense Attaché Office, Saigon, escaped to Thailand and surrendered themselves to American naval forces there. Some of these RVNN vessels were scuttled upon reaching the open sea, while others continued their service with thePhilippine Navy.
| Year | Personnel | Vessels |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 2,000 | 22 |
| 1961 | 5,000 | 220 |
| 1964 | 8,100 | ? |
| 1967 | 16,300 | 639 |
| 1973 | 42,000 | 1,400 |
RVNN commander CaptainHồ Tấn Quyền, was a loyal supporter ofPresidentNgô Đình Diệm. In order to prevent him supporting Diệm in the1963 South Vietnamese coup, he was executed by fellow RVNN officers on the morning of 1 November 1963.[3]
During the1965 South Vietnamese coup, rebel forces surrounded the RVNN headquarters at theSaigon Naval Shipyard, apparently in an attempt to capture RVNN commanderChung Tấn Cang. However, this was unsuccessful and Cang moved the fleet toNhà Bè Base to prevent the rebels from seizing the ships.[4]
In early 1969, PresidentRichard M. Nixon formally adopted the policy of "Vietnamization". The naval part, calledACTOV ("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 RVNN took sole responsibility for river assault operations when the U.S.Mobile Riverine Force stood down and transferred 64 riverine assault craft to the RVNN. On 10 October 1969, 80Patrol Boat, Rivers (PBR) were transferred to the RVNN at the Saigon Naval Shipyard, the PBRs were divided into four River Patrol Groups (RPGs) as part of Task Force 212.[5]
On 19 January 1974, four RVNN shipsfought a battle with four ships of the ChinesePeople's Liberation Army Navy over ownership of theParacel Islands, 200 nautical miles (370 km) due east of Đà Nẵng. The RVNN shipNhựt Tảo (HQ-10) was sunk,Lý Thường Kiệt (HQ-16) was heavily damaged, and bothTrần Khánh Dư (HQ-4) andTrần Bình Trọng (HQ-5) suffered light damage. The Chinese captured and occupied the islands. On 30 January 1974 the RVNN mounted OperationTran Hung Dao 48 to station troops on unoccupied islands to assert Vietnam's sovereignty over theSpratly archipelago.[6]
In the spring of 1975, North Vietnamese forces occupied all of northern and central South Vietnam, and finallySaigon fell on 30 April 1975. CaptainKiem Do had secretly planned and then carried out the evacuation of a flotilla of 35 RVNN and other vessels, with 30,000 sailors, their families, and other civilians on board, and joined theU.S. Seventh Fleet when it sailed forSubic Bay, Philippines.[7] Most of the Vietnamese ships were later taken into thePhilippine Navy,[8] though the LSMLam Giang (HQ-402), fuel bargeHQ-474, and gunboatKéo Ngựa (HQ-604) were scuttled after reaching the open sea and transferring their cargo of refugees and their crews to other ships.[9]
After the war, about 1,300 former RVNN vessels includingjunks were used by theVietnam People's Navy, making it the largest Southeast Asian navy in the mid-1980s. Some personnel were retained, with 80% of the Ham Tu Brigade in the VPN’s Bach Dang Fleet being South Vietnamese veterans.[10]
RVNN Fleet Command was directly responsible to the RVNN Chief of Naval Operations for the readiness of ships and craft. The Fleet Commander assigned and scheduled ships to operate in the Coastal Zones, Riverine Areas, and theRung Sat Special Zone. All Fleet Command ships were home ported in Saigon and normally returned there after deployments. When deployed, operational control was assumed by the respective zone or area commander, and the ships operated from the following ports:[11]
The RVNN was organized into two flotillas: a patrol flotilla and a logistics flotilla.[11] Flotilla I was composed of patrol ships, organized into four squadrons. The patrol types includedLSSLs andLSILs which normally operated only in riverine areas or theRung Sat Special Zone; though occasionally they were assigned the four coastal zones. Operational commitments required that half of the patrol flotilla be deployed at all times, with a boat typically spending 40 to 50 days at sea on each patrol. Fleet Command patrol ships assigned to the riverine areas providednaval gunfire support as well as patrolling the main waterways in the riverine areas. One river patrol unit was assigned as convoy escort on theMekong River to and from theCambodian border.[11]
Flotilla II was composed of logistic ships, divided into two squadrons, supporting the naval units and bases throughout South Vietnam. Logistic ships were under the administrative control of the Fleet Commander, and under the operational control of the RVNN Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics who acted upon orders from the Central Logistics Command of the Joint General Staff.[11]
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The RVNN also had under them a contingent of Naval Infantry or Marine Division formed in 1954 by then Prime MinisterNgo Dinh Diem and trained by the FrenchCommandos Marine
The South Vietnamese Navy had a small frogman group, the Liên Đoàn Người Nhái.
The RVNN training establishment consisted of a Training Bureau located at VNN Headquarters, with Training Centers located in Saigon,Nha Trang, andCam Ranh Bay.[11]
The rank insignia ofcommissioned officers.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Republic of Vietnam Navy(1955-1963)[12] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| Đô đốc | Phó đô đốc | Đề đốc | Phó đề đốc | Đại tá | Trung tá | Thiếu tá | Đại úy | Trung úy | Thiếu úy | |||||||||||||||
| Republic of Vietnam Navy (1964-1975)[13] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
| Thủy sư Đô đốc | Đô đốc | Phó đô đốc | Đề đốc | Phó đề đốc | Đại tá | Trung tá | Thiếu tá | Đại úy | Trung úy | Thiếu úy | ||||||||||||||
The rank insignia ofnon-commissioned officers andenlisted personnel.
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Vietnam Navy (1954–1967)[12] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | No insignia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thượng sĩ nhất | Thượng sĩ | Trung sĩ nhất | Trung sĩ | Hạ sĩ nhất | Hạ sĩ | Binh nhất | Binh nhì | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Republic of Vietnam Navy (1967–1975)[13] |  |  |  |  | | | | No insignia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thượng sĩ nhất | Thượng sĩ | Trung sĩ nhất | Trung sĩ | Hạ sĩ nhất | Hạ sĩ | Binh nhất | Binh nhì | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Julie Kane.
