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US Navy PTF boat PTF-24 in 1973, a Osprey-Class boat
Class overview
Name	PTF (Patrol Torpedo, Fast)
Builders	Båtbyggeri(14) John Trumpy & Sons(7) Sewart Seacraft(4) (now Swiftships) Bath Iron Works(1)
Operators	US Navy US Navy SEALS US Marines South Vietnam CIA
Preceded by	PT boat
Succeeded by	Patrol Craft Fast
Built	1963-1970
In service	1963-1978
Completed	26
Preserved	5
General characteristics
Type	Riverine patrol boat
Length	80 ft 4 in (24.49 m) (Nasty-class) 94.5 ft (28.8 m) (Osprey-Class)
Beam	24 ft 7 in (7.49 m)
Installed power	6,200 bhp (4,623 kW)
Propulsion	2x Napier Deltic Turboblown diesel engines
Speed	40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) (Mk I)
Range	912 nautical miles at 20 knots
Complement	12
Armament	2 x .50 caliber Browning machine gun 1x 81mm mortar foredeck 1X Oerlikon 20 mm cannon foredeck 1x Bofors 40 mm gun rear

PTF boat, (short for Patrol Torpedo, Fast) are fast United States Navy patrol boats introduced in the early part of the Vietnam War. The PTF designation was give to 26 boats with four different boat designs. The PTF boats were the Vietnam War "brown water" river boats version of the World War II PT boats. They were heavily armed gunboats that were used by the US Navy and by Special forces. The first two PTF boats were commissioned 21 December 1962. The last two PTF were commissioned on 8 April 1968. PFT boats were replaced by the new Patrol Craft Fast (PCF) boats that were more widely used in Vietnam. There are five PTF boats that have survived and are in various state of restoration. The Torpedo Boat, Fast designation is a hold over from World War II, as PTF boats were not equipped with torpedoes, as they were mostly used in shallow river waters.

History

Following World War II the US Navy had little use for fast attack craft, so almost all of the PT boats were scrapped at the end of the war in 1945. PT boats were not needed during the Korean War. But, as the United States involvement in the Vietnam grew, the Navy saw a need for small combatant boats for the US Navy's "brown water" river operations. In 1962, two prototype Korean War PT boats were put back in to service as PTF-1 and PTF-2 .. PTF-1 and PTF-2 were used by US Navy Seals for Special Forces activity. . Due to the immediate need for fast attack river craft, the US Navy looked at boats already in service with other nations. The Royal Norwegian Navy had built the HNoMS Nasty a prototype boat in 1958 by Westermoen Båtbyggeri in Mandal, Norway. HNoMS Nasty was designed by Jan Herman Linge. Her prototype boat was of a wooden hull construction. From this boat the Royal Norwegian Navy built a line of 20 Tjeld-class patrol boats. Starting on 1 January 1963, the US Navy took delivery of the first Båtbyggeri boats, with designation Nasty-class patrol boat. A total of 14 Nasty-class patrol boats were built by Båtbyggeri between 1963 and 1965. Båtbyggeri licensed John Trumpy & Sons in Annapolis, Maryland to built seven Nasty-class boat in 1968 and 1970. Some parts of the Trumpy boats were imported from Norway, such as the keel and stem. Sewart Seacraft (Swiftships) in Berwick, Louisiana build four PTF boats of the Osprey-class in 1968. The PTF boats were used in Vietnam and operated out of Danang, Vietnam. The boats operated in the Mekong Delta. Each PTF boat carried a 12-man team. The PTF boats supplemented the large fleet of aluminum hulled Patrol Craft Fast, PCF boats. PTF were used to carrying out hit-and-run and landing operations. PTF were also used for Army-Navy-SEAL landing, supply drops, base security patrols, Harbor security patrols, intelligence gathering, and rescue operations. In December 1965, the US Navy started Operation Game Warden, in which PTF and PCF boats patrolled the major rivers and canals in the Mekong Delta and Rung Sat Special Zone. Most US Navy crews and United States Marine Corps underwent PTF training at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. PTF were used by CSS Intelligence Department and Tactical Operations Department, founded April 1, 1964, that were stationed at Lower Base in Tien Sa. CSS also founded two camps: Phoenix va DoDo at Cu Lao Cham (Paradise Island). The PTF boats at these camps were from Vietnamese Navy Headquarter. Mobile Support Teams provided combat craft support for SEAL operations, as did Patrol Boat, River and Swift Boat sailors. In February 1964, Boat Support Unit ONE was founded under Naval Operations Support Group, Pacific. Boat Support Unit ONE crews operated the PTF boat program. Boat Support Unit Two was formed later, both were later renamed Coastal River Squadron 1 and 2. Boat Support Unit ONE supported the Navy Special Warfare forces in Vietnam. In 1965, Boat Support Squadron ONE started training PFT and PCF crews for Vietnamese coastal patrol and interdiction operations. In January 1963, US Navy Seabee (Navy Construction Battalion) arrived South Vietnam to built support bases. Seabees built a PFT and PCF base, also a vast support base at Danang and Saigon. These bases support the US Navy, and Marine Corps forces, also some Air Force units and some Army units. PFT noted raids were on Đồng Hới, Yen Phu and Sam Son radar sites, Phuc Loi, and Tiger Island. The PTF raids ended in 1971. The PTF boats were take to U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay and formed the MST-3 unit in 1972. The PTF boats were taken out of service in 1976 and 1978, with PTF-13 removed in 1972.

PTF Boats

Prototype PTF

The two prototype PTF, PTF-1 and PTF-2 were built for the Korean War in 1951. Both boats a top speed of over 40 knots from the four 2,500 hp Packard W-100 gasoline engines with shafts. PTF-1 and PTF-2 were armed with two Bofors 40 mm guns, two twin 20-millimeter (0.79 in) cannon, one .50 cal. machine gun, one "Piggyback" 81 mm mortar and one smoke generator. Both arrived in DaNang, Vietnam in April 1964. In 1965 after a year of service, the two PTF Boats were 14 years old, with no spare parts, and outdated, they were replaced by newer PTF and PCF boats. Both boats were removed from service and used as US Navy targets. PTC-1 was sunk off Vietnam and PTC-2 was sunk off the Hawaiian Islands.

• PTF-1 was built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine in 1951 as PT-810. PTF-1 had a light displacement of 90 long tons (91 t), length of 89 ft 0 in (27.13 m), beam of 24 ft 1 in (7.34 m), and draft of 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m). She was put in service on 24 November 1951 and was struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1959. She was reactivated on 21 Dec. 1962. PTF 1 was sunk as target 1965.
• PTF-2 was built by Trumpy & Sons in Annapolis, Maryland in 1951 as PT-811. PTF-2 had a light displacement of 94 long tons (96 t), and length of 94 ft 0 in (28.65 m), beam of 24 ft 11 in (7.59 m), and draft of 4 ft 2 in (1.27 m). She was put in service on 6 March 1951 and was struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1959. She was reactivated on 21 Dec. 1962. PTF-2 was sunk as target 1965.

Nasty-class

United States Nasty-class patrol boat were built by two shipyards. PTF boats 3, 4, 5 and 6 arrived in DaNang, Vietnam in May 1964. PTF-7 and PTF-8 arrived in DaNang in July 1964. Nasty-class boats have a displacement of 80 long tons (81 t), a length of 80 ft 4 in (24.49 m), beam of 24 ft 7 in (7.49 m) and draft of 3 ft 10 in (1.17 m). Power is from two Napier Deltic Turboblown diesel engines with total of 6,200 bhp (4,623 kW) and a top speed of 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph). Napier Deltic engines are built in England.

• Båtbyggeri

Westermoen Båtbyggeri og Mek Verksted, also called A/S Båtservice in the Westermoen Hydrofoil shipyard in Mandal, Norway built 14 Nasty-class patrol boats: PTF-3 to PTF-16.

• John Trumpy & Sons

John Trumpy & Sons of Annapolis, Maryland built six Nasty-class patrol boats: PTF-17 to PTF-21, under license from Båtservice.

Osprey class

Osprey class PTF boats were built by Sewart Seacraft (now Swiftships). Sewart Seacraft built four of the new 3/8 inch aluminum alloy hull boats: PTF boats: PTF-23 through PTF-26. Sewart Seacraft was a Division of Teledyne Inc.. The chief designer of the 95-foot Osprey-class patrol boat was Kenneth Hidalgo. Osprey-class boats have a displacement of 80 long tons (81 t), a length of 94.5 ft (28.8 m), beam of 24.5 ft (7.5 m) and draught of 6.8 ft (2.1 m). Osprey class is powered by two l8-cylinders Napier Deltic diesel engines. Each engine has 3,100 hp from D. Napier & Son Ltd. from England. Osprey-class boat has an empty weight of boat 150,930 lb.

List of PTF boats

• Nasty-class:

• Osprey Class:

Losses

Six PTF boats were loss during the war:

• PTF-4 destroyed in 11 Nov. 1965 on special ops after being grounded.
• PTF-8 wrecked in August 1966 on special ops, grounded on reef.
• PTF-9 wrecked 3 March 1966 on special ops, grounded on reef.
• PTF-14 wrecked 28 April 1966 on special ops, grounded on reef.
• PTF-15 wrecked 28 April 1966 on special ops, grounded on reef.
• PTF-16 sunk August 1966 on special ops

Surviving boats

Of the 26 PTF boats built, only four have survived:

• PTF-3 is at the DeLand Naval Air Station Museum at Naval Air Station DeLand.
• PTF-17 is at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park.
• PTF-19 is at Worton Creek Marina in Chestertown, Maryland under restoration.
• PTF-23 is now a research vessel and diving platform, renamed RV Osprey in St. Augustine, Florida.
• PTF-26 is at the Maritime Pastoral Training Foundation in Golconda, Illinois.

Vikings in Vietnam

On April 28, 2024, Alessandro Giorgi released a book called Vikings in Vietnam: Norwegian Patrol Boat Captains in CIA. The book describes the Special forces operations carried out by the CIA in the early days of the Vietnam war. The CIA hired Norwegian PTF boat crews to go into the coast waters of North Vietnam during the Vietnam war to deliver South Vietnamese commandos for raids. The raids used Norwegian Nasty-class patrol boats. The raids have only recently being declassified.

Out Over Blue Water

Sean Tierney was one of the first UN Navy men to service on PTF boats in DaNang in 1965 and 1966. Sean Tierney was in the US Navy for 10 years. Sean Tierney wrote a book, Out Over Blue Water released in August 15, 2022, about his time on PTF boats and in the US Navy. He also made and relaesed films about his time on the PTF boats in Vietnam. He made film of his time in San Diego Bay at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. He made a film with tours of PTF-17.

Gallery

• Royal Norwegian Navy motor torpedo boat KNM Nasty at Haakonsvern Naval Base, Norway in 11 May 1960
• U.S. Navy PTF boats traveling at high speed during trials off the Virginia Capes (USA), early May 1963
• PTFs return from the DMZ, 1971
• U.S. Navy fast patrol boat PTF-5 cruises in Chesapeake Bay, in 1973
• PTF-3 Nasty Class Patrol Boat in Deland, Florida
• PTF-17 at Buffalo Naval Park
• PTF-17 40mm Anti-aircraft gun
• PTF boat May 13, 1963, First action photographs of US Navy PTF
• PTF boat May 13, 1963, First action photographs of US Navy PTF

See also

• Gulf of Tonkin incident

References

1. ""Osprey" patrol boats (PTF23) (1968)". www.navypedia.org.
2. ^ "PATROL CRAFT FAST | Homeland Magazine".
3. ^ Published, Military com (July 17, 2024). "Navy SEALs: Background and Brief History". Military.com.
4. ^ "Torpedo Boats PT BPT WWII".
5. ^ Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program, Vietnam War: Special Operation Forces and Warfare Training on U.S. Military Installations, Vietnam Historic Context, Jayne Aaron, LEED AP, Architectural Historian, Steven Christopher Baker, PhD, Historian, February 2020, page 2-36
6. ^ Marolda and Pryce III, Short History of the United States Navy
7. Charles R. Smith, U.S. Marines in Vietnam: High Mobility and Standdown, 1969, Washington D.C.: History and Museums Division, U.S. Marine Corps, 1988
8. ^ "PT-810". www.navsource.org.
9. ^ "PT-811". www.navsource.org.
10. Kutler, Stanley I. (1996). Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 352. ISBN 0-13-276932-8. OCLC 32970270.
11. Carhart, Tom (1984). Battles and Campaigns In Vietnam: 1954-184. New York: Military Press. pp. 78–80. ISBN 0-517-425009. OCLC 11494209.
12. Schreadley, R. L. (1992). From the Rivers to the Sea: The U.S. Navy in Vietnam. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 148. ISBN 0-87021-772-0. OCLC 23902015.
13. La Tourette, Robert (June 1968). The San Diego Naval Complex. United States Naval Institute Proceedings.
14. "Coastal Security Service – MACV-SOG". November 22, 2024.
15. Jack Shulimson, Leonard A. Balsiol, Charles R. Smith , and David A. Dawson, U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Defining Year, 1968, Washington D.C.: History and Museums Division, U.S. Marine Corps, 1997
16. U.S. Marines in Vietnam: Fighting the north Vietnamese, 1967, by Gary L. Telfer, Lane Rodgers, and V. Keith Fleming, Jr., Washington D.C., History and Museums Division, U.S. Marine Corps, 1984
17. Published, Military com (July 17, 2024). "Navy SEALs: Missions". Military.com.
18. ^ "Homepage of PTF-Nasty Class Boats". www.ptfnasty.com.
19. ^ "Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park | Family Museum". Buffalo Naval Park.
20. ^ "PTF-23". www.ptfnasty.com.
21. Wilson, Mark (30 December 2019). "Marine Survey: Navy Osprey PTF-23". Wilson Yacht Survey.
22. "NH 95838 PTF-23 class fast patrol boat". public1.nhhcaws.local.
23. Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 (1995) Naval Institute Press, Annapolis ISBN 1-55750-132-7
24. "PTF-24". www.ptfnasty.com.
25. "PTF-25".
26. "PTF-26". www.ptfnasty.com.
27. Review of PTFs and BSU-1 in Vietnam, command History Vietnam 1964-1972
28. Southeast Asian Special Forces, by Ken Conboy, Osprey Publishing Ltd. 1991, ISBN: 1-85532-106-8.
29. U.S. Small Combatants, by Norman Friedman, Naval Institute Press 1987, ISBN: 0-87021-713-5
30. "PTF-17". museumships.us.
31. "Worton Creek Marina". Worton Creek Marina.
32. Ltd, Maritime Pastoral Training Foundation. "Maritime Pastoral Training Foundation, Ltd". Maritime Pastoral Training Foundation, Ltd.
33. "Museum Boats". LIBERTY MARITIME.
34. "Vikings in Vietnam: Norwegian Patrol Boat Captains in CIA Clandestine Operations (Hardcover) | Wakefield Books". www.wakefieldbooks.com.
35. "Sean Tierney (Author)". Sean Tierney (Author).
36. "Scenes of PTF's operating in Subic Bay and DaNang Harbor from July to December 1965, Sean Tierney Vietnam Film Clips - 1965-66". October 12, 2021 – via YouTube.
37. "PTF-13, Spring of 1966 in San Diego, Sean Tierney Vietnam Film Clips - 1965-66". October 12, 2021 – via YouTube.
38. "Vietnam scenes around DaNang, June - December 1965, Sean Tierney Vietnam Film Clips - 1965-66". October 12, 2021 – via YouTube.
39. "Commissioning Ceremony of Boat Support Unit One on February 18, 1966. Sean Tierney Vietnam Film Clips - 1965-66". October 12, 2021 – via YouTube.
40. "Boats in San Diego Bay, April - May 1966, Boats in San Diego Bay, April - May 1966, Sean Tierney Vietnam Film Clips - 1965-66". October 12, 2021 – via YouTube.
41. "Wayback Machine part 1". www.ptfnasty.com.
42. "Wayback Machine part 2". www.ptfnasty.com.
43. "Wayback Machine". www.ptfnasty.com.

External links

• The "Nasty Class" Fighting Boat (Dan Withers)
• The Navy’s Nasty Class Patrol Boats (HistoryNet.com, World_History_Group)

• Torpedo boats of the United States Navy
• Patrol boat classes
• PTF boat
• Riverine warfare