Update #7 - Almighty Almighty this is PBR Streetgang Radio Check Over
By Montgomery Markland
29 January 2017
"Your mission is to proceed up the Nung River in a Navy patrol boat. Pick up Colonel Kurtz's path at Nu Mung Ba, follow it and learn what you can along the way. When you find the Colonel, infiltrate his team by whatever means available and terminate the Colonel's command." -- Lt. Col. Lucas.
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Mild Movie Spoilers Ahead]
Attention to detail costs nothing and brings to life an authentic world. Our plan of attack calls for comprehensive detail in our research, the specificity of our content and execution and the authenticity of our characters and world.
Callsign PBR Streetgang aka “Erebus”
Patrol Boat River, or PBR, and alternatively Patrol Boat Riverine, is the United States Navy designation for a small rigid-hulled patrol boat used in the Vietnam War from March 1966 until December 1971.
The PBR was usually manned by a four-man crew.
Typically, a First Class Petty Officer served as boat captain, with a gunner's mate, an engineman and a seaman on board.
Each crewman was cross-trained in each other's job in the event one became unable to carry out his duties.
Generally, PBRs operated in pairs under the command of a patrol officer who rode on one of the boats. But Captain Willard’s mission called for a single PBR, callsign Streetgang, with the actual name Erebus.
The Crew
First Class Petty Officer
On the Erebus, Chief Quartermaster (QMC) Phillips captains the boat, indeed with some trepidation... QMC Phillips: “My orders say I'm not supposed to know where I'm taking this boat, so I don't! But one look at you, and I know it's gonna be hot!”
Gunner’s Mate
Tyrone 'Clean' Miller serves as the forward machine gunner on PBR Streetgang, which is the most exposed and dangerous position on the boat.
Clean lied about his age to join the U,S, Navy and was actually only fourteen years old during his tour of duty.
Captain Benjamin Willard notes that the light and the space really “put the zap” on Clean, since the kid had come from a “Bronx shithole.”
Clean’s point-of-view is reinforced when he opines that: “This is sure enough a bizarre sight in the middle of all this shit!” in regards to the USO stage setup encountered shortly after proceeding past the Nung River delta.
Engineman
Chef serves as PBR Streetgang’s Engineman.
In civilian life he is a saucier, a saucier or Sauté Chef or Sauce cook is a position in the classical brigade style kitchen. It can be translated into English as sauce cook. In addition to preparing sauces, the saucier prepares stews, hot hors d'oeuvres, and sautés food to order.
Although it is the highest position of the station cooks, the saucier is still considered subordinate to the chef and the sous-chef.
Chef’s point-of-view is best summed up when he hysterically exclaims to “Never get out of the boat.” A sentiment which Captain Benjamin Willard agrees with, “unless you were going all the way.”
Seaman
Lance B. Johnson, is a famous surfer from the beaches south of Los Angeles in Orange County and he operates the Dual-Mount Forward .50 Cal.
He is young, naive, and somewhat vain. Lance takes a very laissez-faire attitude towards being in a warzone.
Captain Benjamin Willard notes, "One look at (Lance) and you wouldn't believe he ever fired a weapon in his whole life." Lance enjoys water skiing behind the boat and suntanning. He uses a reflector when he suntans so his face and neck receive equal sun.
When the crew meet Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, whose U.S Army helicopter cavalry squadron are assigned to provide an escort for the Erebus and its crew into the mouth of the Nung river, Lance is surprised to discover Kilgore is an avid surfer who has several other surfers in his ranks.
Kilgore notes none of his surfers are close to Lance's skill. Kilgore says, “Well, it's an honor to meet you Lance. I've admired your nose riding for years. Your cutback, too. I think you have the best cutback there is."
Lance prefers a longboard over a shortboard. This surprises Kilgore who assumed Lance, as a young surfer would prefer a shortboard, which is stereotypical of younger surfers. Lance counters that he prefers a longboard because he cannot "ride the nose" on a shortboard.
Lance is a free spirit who smokes marijuana and takes acid. In particular, he drops his last tab of acid before the boat approaches to Do Lung bridge.“Hey, you know that last tab of acid I was saving? I dropped it.” -- Lance says to Chef.
After Willard's final encounter with Kurtz, he emerges from the temple, finds Lance among Kurtz's followers, takes him by the hand and leads him back to the boat. They leave together.
Patrol Boat River Specs
Displacement: 6.8 tons light, 8.1 tons full load
Length: 32 feet
Beam: 11 2/3 feet
Draft: 2.5 feet
Propulsion: 2 GM 6V53N diesels, 216 hp, 2 water jets, fuel - 160 gal.
Speed: 25+ knots
Power & Range: The boats were powered by dual 180 hp (115 kW) Detroit Diesel 6V53N engines with Jacuzzi Brothers pump-jet drives. The boats reached top speeds of 28.5 knots (53 km/h 32 mph)
Crew: 4 or 5 (enlisted)
Weapons: 1 twin .50 BMG, 1 single .50 BMG, 2 7.62mm mg.
Armament
Typical armament configuration included twin M2HB .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns forward in a rotating shielded tub, a single rear M60, one or two 7.62 mm light machine guns mounted on the port and starboard sides, and a Mk 19 grenade launcher. There was also a full complement of M16 rifles, shotguns, .45 ACP handguns, and hand grenades.
Fewer PBRs possessed a "piggyback" arrangement, a .50 cal machine gun on top of an 81mm mortar; while some others had a bow-mounted Mk16 Mod 4 Colt 20 mm automatic cannon, derived from the AN/M3 version of the Hispano-Suiza HS.404 and also found on the LCMs and PBRs.
What the boats benefited in heavy firepower they lacked in armor or shielding. Although the .50 cal machine guns had some ceramic armor shielding and the Coxswain's flat had quarter inch thick steel armor plate, the boats were designed to rely on rapid acceleration, maneuverability, and speed to get out of tight situations.
History of the PBR
In 1965 there were an estimated 80,000 Viet Cong and VC sympathizers in the Mekong Delta. Of these some 30,000 were thought to be regular troops and 50,000 part-time guerrillas capable of operating in battalion units.
The task of recapturing the waterways was assigned to Task Force 116, code named Game Warden, established on 18 Dec. 1965.
Game Warden's original mission was to patrol the inland waterways, enforce the curfew, search river traffic and deny the Vietcong an opportunity to infiltrate and re-supply.
With nothing in the Navy's fleet designed or equipped to do battle on the brown waters of the delta, they turned to United Boat Building of Bellingham, Washington to modify a pleasure boat that became the very famous PBR.
PBRs are currently on display at:
- Naval Reserve Center, Orange Texas
- Naval Reserve Center, New Orleans LA
- At Hackensack, NJ
- Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado CA
- American Patrol Boats Museum, Rio Vista CA.
- And PBR Streetgang (not a full PBR) at The Family Coppola Winery
