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Boat Support Unit - One


History of BSU-1

Boat Support Unit ONE was originally established by the Chief of Naval Operations on 1 February 1964 as a component command of Naval Operations Support Group, Pacific. Its mission was to administer the newly reinstated Patrol Torpedo Fast (PTF) Boat Program and to operate high-speed craft in support of Naval Special Warfare operations, primarily in conjunction with the Underwater Demolition Team and SEAL Units. The mission was soon expanded to include all aspects of riverine and restricted water warfare.

The PTF program grew rapidly, beginning with four "Nasty Class" PTFs in the fall of 1964. Crews attended schools in the San Diego area, then deployed to Subic Bay, Philippines, to put their boats in service and prepare for operational commitments. As a result of events in the Tonkin Gulf, there was a great demand for simulated PTF type attacks, and Boat Support Unit ONE was tasked with providing such services.

In September 1965, Boat Support Unit ONE implemented the original training for PCF (Swift) crews in underway boat operations for duty as part of the MARKET TIME patrol in Vietnam, using eight Swift Boats. On 1 July 1971, Boat Support Unit ONE and its mission broadened to encompass coastal/riverine patrol and interdiction.

The command was instrumental in the development and evaluation of a wide variety of small boat projects. These included the Landing Craft Swimmer Recovery Vessel; Coastal Patrol and Interdiction Craft; Swimmer Delivery Vehicle, Auxiliary, which continues to serve as a mother ship for SEAL Swimmer Delivery Vehicle diving operations; and the FLAGSTAFF (PGH-1), one of the Navy's first operational hydrofoils.

Read this comprehensive timeline of the changes from BSU-1 to the present organization compiled by GMCM Jim Gray (SWCC) Ret.


The LCSR at BSU-1

10-05-06 Randy Miller      I was stationed with Boat Support Unit One at the Amphib Base in San Diego from 1965-1968. During that time I served as part of the 4 member boat crew on the LCSR. We had about 6-7 of them. It was a 52 ft fiber glass boat with twin 1,000 hp Solar gas turbine engines twin screw shaft drive.


John Woody - Bob and All, What about the LCSRs, the Uniflite Landing Craft Swimmer Recovery boat with Solar Gas Turbines. We had several at BSU-1 when I was there. I believe it was a 52 ft boat built on a cabin cruiser hull. They were fun for about an hour and half, and then you had to refuel.


Stephen Thomas - By the time I reported to BSU-1 at the end of 1968, all of the LCSR had been withdrawn from service and put up on blocks in the PhiBase boat storage lot, back in the furthest corner, as I recall. They were right up against the cyclone fence and clearly visible from the road as I headed into Coronado and the Mexican Village on Saturdays.


09-23-06 John Woody     Do not forget the Subic Det out of BSU-1. It was normally manned by one officer, and was the main supply/logistics route for repairs and parts for the MST-1 PTFs. The Napier repair facility was in Subic. We moved parts, boats, and engines in and out of Subic through the Subic Det. PTFs were normally shipped to Subic every six to eight months to dry the hulls out and get new engines. In 1967, when I was at MST-1, we got our first 500 hour Napier engine. Engine replacements were a big thing. The Enginemen never saw the inside of a Napier, only the clutch/transmission hydraulics connections and the engine mounts. The hulls were placed on a pier in Subic and dried out for six weeks or so. Those hulls would absorb about six tons of water during operations and the bilges would be dry. A fresh boat was really a great thing to operate.

We had several rotating CONEX boxes that we placed loose parts in for repair and return. When they were less than full on return, we used the space for San Miguel beer. The Marines at Da Nang Air Base loved it when we returned a CONEX box as we would open one and pass a few cases of San Miguel around. We never had a problem getting a C 130 flight in or out of
Da Nang.

04-21-03 - From Sean Tierney - I believe I reported aboard BSU-1 in March of 65'. I did my survival training in Hawaii in May and left for Vietnam in early June 65' as OIC for a training team.  I'll try to find my orders to see who was on the team. The old gas boats (2) were still there but in July or August we loaded them on an LSD for shipment home.  Later that summer my team went to Subic Bay to run the sea trials on two new boats. After the trials we loaded them on another LSD for shipment to DaNang.     More Here. . . (This is a link to www.ptfnasty.com)


08/27/01 - Joe Burks -  I rode PTF's,13 (very briefly), 22, and 21 boats out of NAB Coronado. Also spent a year in Craft Development Division of BSU1. Lots of memories of the boats although I am not sure which are real solid any more - been 30 odd years. More Here... More Here (This is a link to www.ptfnasty.com)

06/15/00 - Bryan Ellerman  I served with BSU1 from July '68 through June '69 as an ETR2. My tour in DaNang was from October '68 through April '69. I actually replaced Ralph McMillan in DaNang. Reading your Web Page brings back a lot of memories. I too, have many stories to tell but no pictures. More Here (This is a link to www.ptfnasty.com)

03-25-02 - Jerry Fifield  They weren't worried about me hurting someone else with that missile launcher, but them goats on San Clemente Island and that goddamn Mexican Patrol Boat that kept messing with us when we were fishing in the Coronado Islands were a threatened species. It was an old Navy minesweeper with a 3 inch single fire mount on the foredeck and he would shoot at you also. I pissed him off one day, showed him what speed and maneuverability was all about, ran circles and figure 8's around him at top speed, about 300 to 500 yards out . . . More Here (This is a link to www.ptfnasty.com)

08-21-01 - Richard Siebert (GMG-3)   When I got to BSU-1 and suffered at the hands of a GMGC, went to my assignment in the security field of the USN, the info was received in general conversation. As I remember, I seem to remember better than I can see, soon after arriving the Chief had us all together to reorganize. He had so many people in and out he wanted to realign so he had seniority back in line. He was telling us about all that had gone on during the inquest. I was there after all the testimony was finish but still was able to go to some of the social function they had for the family. It was either the Chief or a GMG2 by the name of Greene (from Barbados) in one of those sessions that talked of the PTFs. . . . More Here (This is a link to www.ptfnasty.com)

Jack Sudduth - My first PTF experience was with the 13 boat when we received it from England. Beautiful boat. Learned how to drive a PTF on that one. Came to love that boat and and will never forget it and the many wild adventures we had together.  Read More Here (This is a link to www.ptfnasty.com)

12-11-06  Charles (Chuck) L. Thoin      I was surfing the web and came across your web site. I reported for duty to Boat Support Unit One on 20 SEP 68 right out of Boot Camp across the bay. The CO was LCDR Russ Gleason. I had been classified as a Machinist Mate FN but when I
reported I was informed that BSU-1 needed EN's not MM's.    Read More Here

Bill Bremmer - I was at BSU-1 from early 1970 until my discharge in June 1971, and I deployed with MST Two Detachment Golf in September 1970 returning in March 1971.  We operated an MSSC and LSSC out of Long Phu across from what was called Dung Island near where the Bassac goes into the South China Sea, supporting both US and Vietnamese SEALs. Read More Here     Also jump to BSU-1, MST-2

Robert Stoner Briefing:  Fabulous Flops of Naval Engineering - The Shallow Water Attack Boat (1966)   The roots of the SWAB program have been lost over the years, but it was one of the radical designs tested by Boat Support Unit ONE in late 1965 and early 1966.

The boat was built by Bertram Yachts in Miami, Florida, and was powered by two Chrysler gasoline marine engines with four barrel carburetors and a pair of Dana stern drives.  The stern drives required a lot of maintenance.  Read the whole story here.


Other "Flop" comments:
  John Woody - I believe that this was the Ontos? (spelling) weaponed boat that we had at BSU - One when I arrived. It was on a trailer when I got there. It used the Marine anti tank recoilless rifle system. I believe the weapons were fixed, so the boat had to be aimed to shoot. It did not work out.

  Stephen Thomas - There were a few, the logic behind some of which escapes me.

A 21 SeaCraft runabout that had some extra bracing to support a center line pedestal for a weapon of some kind. Its hull was, as I recall, made of laminated balsa wood sheathed in plastic. The hull bottom had a series of parallel longitudinal steps. It was very fast and maneuverable, but could not beach. It had a stern drive. In profile the sheer line rose slightly from the bow, with a hump that merged into a concave slope that flattened into a straight line for most of the length. I seem to recall some association with the APSS program, but we're talking about some 40 or more years ago. I do recall morning and afternoon taxi runs for officers who live around the north end of the bay, who either did not want to face rush hour traffic, or whose licenses had been suspended.

A handful of unmodified 25' and 31' Bertrams that by my time were primarily used for navigation and boat crew training, for admin runs in the bay, and as swimmer safety boats for SEAL and UDT SDV training.

A 26' Atlantic Research Company SEABLAZER that was on loan from the builder for concept evaluation. It was twas a joy to handle. This was the prototype for the MSSC. Some of its features were included in the LSSC and STAB as well -- the reticulated flotation foam that filled the voids and fuel tanks (reducing accumulation of gasoline vapors), the pre-failed skin panels designed to vent any explosion from a hit out through the side or bottom, away from the armored crew and payload box. We dreaded the time when we would have to return her to the builder.

I can't help thinking that some of these were never intended for operation use, but solely for training "until the real thing came along" just as the Army used passenger cars and trucks marked "TANK" in maneuvers in the 1939 - 1941 period, as there weren't enough of the real thing to go around

SEABLAZER
(01-29-08)

From Stephen Thomas - Joe Judith was the AR SeaBlazer/MSSC project manager, and hosted the party for BSU-2 officers and wives/SOs to celebrate delivery of the BSU-2 portion of the production order. It must

have been late 1970; I had recently returned from my second (April - October) DaNang deployment, and none of the MSSC had arrived in-country when I toured all deployed teams and detachments with Lee Mansi in January and February of that year.

Please forward any recollection you may have to this project.
 

This brochure courtesy of Tom Beck, he snatched it from the trash in the '70's.


 
   
   
   

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