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San Clemente Island to chase ships at night
as part of training for ships going to Yankee Station
off the North Viet Nam coast to give them practice on
handling NV patrol boats.
The boat was set up to drop off at
high speed UDT/Seal team swimmers from the aft end of
the boat as it came parallel to the beach. When the
swimmers swam out to be picked up they split into two
groups. A probe was dropped down in front of the boat.
The LCSR made a high speed pass at the swimmers dropping
off a small pod type boats that 6 swimmers could enter.
The back part of the pod was removed. The two pods were
attached by a line. As the LCSR came back around, the
probe would hit the line just off center and the line
would slide up to a wench located on the bow off the
boat. As the boat sped away with the swimmers in the two
pods, the wench would be activated and the pods pulled
up the LCSR. A slide ramp was attached so the pods could
be pulled onto the back of the boat as the swimmers
scampered out and the pods were stored on top of the
swimmers compartment. I did this many times on
demonstration runs for the brass and for Veterans Day
ceremonies. It was never used in combat situations. The
LCSR was used instead of the old method of a man hanging
over the side of the boat with a loop catching swimmers
arms and swinging them onto the boat.
The LCSR was very fast but
temperamental. The engines couldn't take the low/slow
speeds and changing speeds required of a boat. The
engines were for stationary running. When we came in
after a run at sea we would have to go down into the
engine room to siphon 5 gals of distilled water into the
intakes to clean salt water off the compressor blades. I
made many runs out to San Clemente Island and most of
the ships we chased never saw us coming. If we got with
in 3,000 yds of them undetected it was considered a
kill. We fired off a flare when we got close. The only
time we got killed is when the P-2 Orion twin prop
search planes would pick up our wake and spot us with
their search light on their wing tip. It would turn
night into day. When the LCSR was running in top form it
was great, when we had engine problems it was a booger.
When we sailed out of a wave because we were going to
fast the engines would over rev and flame out. It would
take 5 mins for the engine to wind down before we could
re-light them. Not good in a combat situation.
Just some thoughts from an old BSU-1 sailor, Randy
Miller
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. I have
added Ken Spaulding, marine architect, retired, NAVSEA,
small boats, who may have additional information. Ken
worked on most of the Vietnam era small combat boats. I
will forward the other e-mail to him. John W.
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.
Their most important defect, from an
operational point of view, was that they could not be
carried under davits, only as deck load on an AKA/APA or
in an LSD/LPD well deck, in their own custom skids.
Either way, each LCSR assigned to a force meant at least
one less LCM or LCU. As I recall, compatibility
with standard Welin davits and skids was a design
requirement for the Mk. II LCSR. -
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