LCM (6) monitor
| LCM (6) monitor | |
|---|---|
 “Zippo monitor” in South Vietnam |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Flow monitor |
| units | 24 monitors + 12 CCBs |
| Commissioning | 1967 |
| Technical specifications | |
| length |
18.3 meters (60 feet) |
| width |
5.4 meters (17.6 feet) |
| Draft |
1.1 meters (3.5 feet) |
| crew |
11 |
| drive |
2 Gray-Marine -64HN9- diesel engines , 225 HP , 2 three-blade screws, |
| speed |
8.5 kn (max), 6 kn (permanent) |
| Armament |
Main weapon:
|
LCM (6) Monitor was the name of a US American river monitor class based on the landing craft LCM (6) and used as part of the Mobile Riverine Force on the rivers of southern Vietnam during the Vietnam War .
These were the last monitors to be used in a war. In terms of firepower and armor, the monitors represented the most powerful inland vessels in Vietnam and were therefore colloquially called " battleships of the Mekong " by the soldiers .
A variant of the monitor was the CCB ( Command & Communications Boat or Command & Control Boat or Company command boat ; coll. "Charlie Boat" ), which was largely identical, but was used for management and communication tasks and was therefore its own Ship type was valid.
Development and production
In early 1966, MACV , the US high command in Vietnam, requested a river flotilla from the Bureau of Ships for use in the Mekong Delta . Battles were expected there at close range, which is why the ships and boats should be adequately armored. Due to time constraints - the flotilla should be ready for action as early as next year - the conversion of existing units was primarily an option; The Landing Craft Mechanized (6) landing craft was selected for a planned monitor class, as well as for other units in the construction program, because of the wide range of conversion options . The models for the monitors were the ships of the Civil War - the last time the Navy was involved in major river battles - as well as the Dinassaut division of the French in the first Indochina War .
The order for the monitors was awarded to the Food Machinery Corporation in San José , California , whose engineers were working under great time pressure and completed their task after 90 days. The actual series conversion was then carried out in a shipyard in Long Beach .
Overall, this first construction program, called Program 4 , was completed in just ten months. Program 5 , which started afterwards, ran even faster and was ready after 14 weeks. It led to second generation monitors that were significantly different in their armament from the first generation. A total of 24 monitors and 12 CCBs were built.
The lighter “Alpha Boat” (ASPB) and the “Tango” troop transporter (ATC) were also produced as part of Program 4 & 5, both of which were produced in far greater numbers.
Technology and armament
The first generation monitor ( Monitor Mark IV ) developed as part of Program 4 had a Mark 52 turret with a 40 mm L / 60 Bofors gun as its main weapon on the bow , which was supported by an M2 .50 cal machine gun was added. An 81 mm mortar was mounted on the deck directly behind . These weapons were supported by a Mark 51 turret with a 20 mm gun and two smaller Mark 50 turrets with .50 cal machine guns on the main structure , supplemented by a few light machine guns and grenade launchers . Due to the excessive use of steel plates, the monitor was extremely heavily armored for a barge of this size. In terms of electronic equipment, each ship had two AN / VRC-46 radios , a battery-operated AN / PRC-25 radio and a Raytheon Pathfinder radar system .
After the first generation (total of 10 monitors) had been shipped to Vietnam, the combat experiences made there flowed into the development of the second generation. The monitors had proven themselves in use, but it turned out that the armament was not sufficient to effectively destroy enemy positions buried in the ground on the riverbank, the main target of this type of ship, and the main weapon was susceptible to friendly fire due to its long range . For this reason, the second generation (have now the monitor monitor Mark V ) the 40-mm-Bug-gun and the mortar through a 105-mm M49 - howitzer replaced, in addition, the three Mark-50/51-towers in the main assembly exchanged for two Mark 48 turrets with 20 mm guns placed one behind the other. The cage armor , which was only used sporadically in the first generation , has now been extended to large parts of the ship and encompassed all deck structures. 8 pieces of this monitor (H) named model were produced.
Another variant of the second generation was the model monitor (F) , the place of the howitzer two Napalm - flamethrower with an effective range of 150 meters had. These monitors, known colloquially as " Zippos " by the soldiers , were primarily used to burn down vegetation near the river; 6 pieces were produced.
CCB
The CCB was a monitor variant in which part of the armament was replaced by radio equipment. The CCBs called "Charlie Boat" were used for command and communication tasks and were formally not regarded as monitors, but as a separate type of ship.
The first generation CCBs were almost identical to the Program 4 monitors, only the mortar was replaced by a communication center ( Tactical Operations Center ) with numerous radio equipment. The second generation CCBs were based on the Program 5 monitors, but differed considerably from them, as their main bow weapon only had a 20 mm Mark 48 turret. To operate the additional electronic equipment, one or two additional diesel-powered generators from Lister were installed in both versions . Four first and eight second generation CCBs were produced.
Use in Vietnam and whereabouts
In Vietnam, the boats were assigned to the Mobile Riverine Force (CTF-117), within which they were in turn divided into individual combat groups. A common combat group consisted of 13 ATCs , 8 ASPBs , 2-3 monitors, a CCB and a tank boat.
As part of Nixon's Vietnamization , the boats were gradually handed over to the South Vietnamese armed forces. Presumably all of them were destroyed in the further course of the war or scrapped after the war. The only known remaining example is the former training boat C-18 in Coronado, California .
literature
- Gordon L. Rottman : Vietnam Riverine Craft 1962–75 , Osprey Publishing, 2006 ( partially available digitally )
- John M. Carrico: Vietnam Ironclads , Lulu.com, 2007 ( partially available digitally )
- Spencer Tucker: The encyclopedia of the Vietnam War , Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, 2011, Lemma Riverine Craft , p. 979