Nearly 250 Patrol Boats, River, or PBR’s, patrolled, stopped and searched the traffic on the Mekong Delta, the Saigon River and other special zones of Vietnam during the Vietnam War, attempting to stop the shipment of weapons to the enemy. Firefights were common both with other enemy craft and from the shore of the rivers, as the PBR’s were also used to transport Navy SEAL teams and by the Seatigers. The patrol boats had light hulls and were propelled with water jets, making them extremely versatile in shallow rivers choked with vegetation. Its draft was only two feet, even fully loaded, and it was extremely maneuverable for turning, reversing or sudden stops. Robert M. Pope’s Dad was very familiar with the positives, and the negatives, of PBR duty, which was voluntary.
A First Class Petty Officer was the usual captain of the patrol boat, over a crew which included a gunner, an engineman and a seaman. All were cross-trained in order to be able to take over other jobs in the case a boat mate was incapacitated. It was preferable that the PBR’s patrolled in pairs. The boats had a top speed of 32 mph. PBR’s had heavy firepower, including twin .50 caliber machine guns forward, light machine guns on the port and starboard, and a grenade launcher. Customization might include a mortar under the .50 machine guns, automatic cannon, and the usual M16’s, shotguns, handguns and grenades. With nearly no armor, except for the machine guns and some steel armor plate for the pilot, the river boats were by necessity fast and maneuverable. Robert M Pope New London CT’s father doubted his luck on the PBR’s would hold out long enough to get back home to the U.S.
A First Class Petty Officer was the usual captain of the patrol boat, over a crew which included a gunner, an engineman and a seaman. All were cross-trained in order to be able to take over other jobs in the case a boat mate was incapacitated. It was preferable that the PBR’s patrolled in pairs. The boats had a top speed of 32 mph. PBR’s had heavy firepower, including twin .50 caliber machine guns forward, light machine guns on the port and starboard, and a grenade launcher. Customization might include a mortar under the .50 machine guns, automatic cannon, and the usual M16’s, shotguns, handguns and grenades. With nearly no armor, except for the machine guns and some steel armor plate for the pilot, the river boats were by necessity fast and maneuverable. Robert M Pope New London CT’s father doubted his luck on the PBR’s would hold out long enough to get back home to the U.S.