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Command and Communications Boat (CCB)

1964 COLD WAR VIETNAM WAR

History of Command and Signal Ships (CCBs)

Since the Civil War of 1861, the United States has found no need for a "brownwater navy"a naval force charged with fighting in rivers. In 1966, the United States deployed more than 385,000 troops to fight against North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The key area of ??the Mekong Delta is 15,000 square miles, so there are fewer troops patrolling due to geography. The delta is located at the southernmost tip of South Vietnam, far from the north, and is dominated by rivers and canals due to the scarcity of roads.

Blocking enemy supply lines by water and quickly moving elements of the Fourth Army from one area to the next required new methods of transportation. To achieve this goal, the Army and Navy formed the "River Mobility Force" (MRF), which acquired new ships to perform tasks ranging from armed patrols to targeted attacks. To provide vital command and communications to the rest of the fleet, an information ship was needed, so the "Command and Communications Ship" (CCB) was developed.

The MRF is designed to support one Army infantry brigade and one artillery battalion of the Army's 9th Infantry Division. The additional support ships turn the MRF itself into an amphibious assault force, while the CCB ships serve as intelligence mission centers.

The MRF squadrons consist of two divisions each, each with 13 Armoured Personnel Carrier (ATC) boats, 8 Assault Support Patrol Boats (ASPB), 5 monitors between the two divisions and a tank boat. Each department is assigned a CCB command monitor.

A simple CCB boat design is essentially a monitor class boat with a command superstructure installed between the forward tower and the wheelhouse. The hull is a World War II-era Mechanized Landing Craft (LCM), made of steel, with a modified length of about 60 feet (compared to the original 56 feet). At 17 feet wide and with a draft of 3 feet 6 inches, she was able to cross river waterways with relative ease. The "Combat Information Center" "CIC" has decks, turrets, wheelhouses and bunkers with up to 10 tons of armor for protection.

Quarter-inch armor plates were used, as well as "strip" armor around important areas. Rod armor reduces armor weight and is used to detonate shore-launched rockets before hitting key crew areas on board. Air conditioning was installed to keep the crew comfortable in the jungle environment.

When assembled as a CCB ship, the monitor is still used as a "battleship" for the river fleet, as it can be equipped with heavy weapons to meet mission requirements. One of the variants is equipped with a 105mm howitzer system (with a 40mm automatic cannon), while the other uses an 81mm mortar. The special versions with 2 x 200mm napalm flamethrowers are collectively called "Zippos".

Additional armament is standard on all later versions and includes the use of a 20mm cannon, 2 x 12.7mm Browning air-cooled machine guns and a 7.62 M60 air-cooled general purpose machine gun. The 40mm M79 single-shot grenade launcher is another common sight on such riverboats, as is the belt-driven 40mm Mk 18 automatic grenade launcher. These weapons are further supported by the crew's personal weapons such as pistols, rifles and automatic rifles.

Such a weapon charge can help the crew bring "rain" to the target or target area.

The CIC onboard the CCB is used by the commander to communicate with other ships in the convoy and essentially acts as a hub for tactical information mission control. Each CCB vessel is equipped with Pathfinder 1900N Radar, 6 x AN/VSC 46 Radio, 2 x GRA-39 Prog V, 2 x AN/GRC 106 Radio, 1 x AN/PRC 27 Radio, 1 x AN/PRC 25 Radio Equipped. The ship is also in contact with members of the Fourth Army and is able to receive the latest mission information and pass it on to all ships in the MRF squadron, as well as receive terrain and combat conditions from the fleet itself.

Such communication networks inevitably improve the success rate of specific tasks.

Although South Vietnam lost to the North, the Brown Water Navy played a vital role in Vietnam War operations. Their business also includes the use of the prized patrol boat Riverine (PBR), which was featured in the Hollywood movie Apocalypse Now and the legendary speedboat. In operations during wars, deadly and frenetic firefights were common, the enemy could easily hide in ambush on shore, and many Army and Navy personnel lost their lives fighting such an enemy. Towards the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, the CCB and many other U.S. equipment were handed over to the South Vietnamese Army to continue fighting.

These ended up in the North.