Naval Support Activity Danang
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Naval Support Activity Danang or NSA Danang was a
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
logistics support organization located in
Danang Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the list of cities in Vietnam, fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River (Vietnam), Hàn R ...
,
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
active from October 1965 to April 1972.


History

In March 1965 when
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
combat troops landed at Danang, the support establishment was rudimentary. The port of Danang contained only three small piers, three
Landing Ship, Tank A Landing Ship, Tank (LST) is a ship first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto a low-slope beach with no dock (maritime), docks or pier ...
(LST) ramps and a stone quay that were inaccessible to oceangoing vessels; even smaller craft had trouble approaching. The scarcity of lighterage and the heavy weather that often buffeted the harbor made ship-to-craft cargo transfers hazardous and inefficient. Warehouses, open storage areas, cargo handling equipment, and good exit routes from the port were limited. From March to July 1965,
III Marine Amphibious Force III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and d ...
(III MAF) troops delivered supplies to the units in the field while the
Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...
ran port operations. Soon, the fleet dispatched Naval Beach Group One Cargo Handling Battalions 1 and 2, nucleus port crew, Mine Force, Service Force,
Underwater Demolition Team The Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized missions. They were predecessors of the Navy's current United States Navy SEAL, SEAL teams. Their pri ...
, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units to Danang. In addition, the Navy took charge of the offloading, storage and delivery of supplies common to all the allied forces in I Corps. Additional responsibilities included harbor defense and the transshipment of cargo to the smaller ports in the region. The fleet also managed logistic operations at these locations. U.S. NSA Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965 under the operational control of Commander, III MAF. During the next several years, the command created subordinate NSA detachments at
Chu Lai Chu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Núi Thành District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. It is also the site of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (Vietnamese: ''Khu Kinh Tế M ...
,
Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...
, Tân Mỹ,
Đông Hà Đông Hà () is the capital of Quảng Trị Province, in the North Central Coast region, the Central of Vietnam. As of 2024, the city's population is approximately about 164,228 people. It is located north of Huế and south of Đồng ...
, Cửa Việt,
Phú Bài Phú Bài is a ward () of Hương Thủy town in Huế, Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 ...
and
Sa Huỳnh Sa, SA, S.A. or s.a. may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Music * Initialism for "soprano and alto", voice types for which a piece of music is written * SA (Samurai Attack), a Japanese punk rock band * SA Martinez, a vocalist and DJ for t ...
. These detachments decentralized the support function and improved the logistic flow. During 1965 the logistic operation at Danang suffered from lack of suitable or sufficient harbor craft, cargo handling equipment, and port personnel. Management and planning of the logistic flow needed refinement, as ships arrived en masse with cargo improperly stowed and packaged. Storage areas ashore were limited by space and access. Finally, the harsh northeast monsoon made cargo operations at Danang and throughout I Corps hazardous and difficult during the winter months. In November 1965 500 men moved into the old
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
camp, Camp Tien Sha (Tiên Sa) at the foot of Monkey Mountain. The camp was quickly expanded to include 25 new barracks able to accommodate an additional 1,700 men, together with a barber shop, post exchange and milk plant. NSA Danang originally operated from a commercial pier on the city side of the Hàn River and this "Museum Ramp" () near the Cham Museum began operation in November 1965 off-loading Landing Craft Utility (LCUs) and LSTs. On 1 April 1966
Naval Forces Vietnam The U.S. Naval Forces, Vietnam was a command of the United States Navy, active during the Vietnam War, from 1 April 1966 to 29 March 1973.Marolda (2002), p 386 COMNAVFORV also commanded the Naval Advisory Group and the Seabees of the 3rd Naval ...
was established in
Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
and assumed control of NSA Danang from III MAF. In July 1966 the "Bridge Cargo Ramp" () began operations increasing NSA's supply capability. In August 1967, the headquarters of NSA Danang was moved from downtown Danang to Camp Tien Sha. Logistic vessels under the control of NSA Danang included Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM 3 & LCM 6) and LCU landing craft; harbor utility craft (YFU); small harbor tugs (YTL); open lighters (YC); refrigerated barges (YFRN); Army craft; and a refrigerator ship. While base facilities were under construction, the fleet deployed to Danang LSTs, a
Landing Ship Dock A dock landing ship (also called landing ship, dock or LSD) is an amphibious warfare ship with a well dock to transport and launch landing craft and amphibious vehicles. Some ships with well decks, such as the Soviet Ivan Rogov class landing shi ...
(LSD) and an
Attack Transport Attack transport is a United States Navy ship classification for a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore. Unlike standard troopships – often drafted from the Merchant navy, merchant fleet &ndash ...
(APA), the latter for quartering and messing NSA personnel. The harbor defense unit used landing craft, picket boats and
Boston Whaler Boston Whaler is an American boat manufacturer. It is a subsidiary of the Brunswick Boat Group, a division of the Brunswick Corporation. Boston Whalers were originally produced in Massachusetts, hence the name, but today are manufactured in Edg ...
s to monitor and protect the maritime traffic. A small craft repair facility and an Auxiliary Floating Drydock (AFDL) helped keep NSA vessels in working order. Over 130 rough terrain and warehouse forklifts and 20 cranes eased cargo handling. The logistic establishment at Danang functioned with growing efficiency by mid-1968 as it built new port and shore facilities.
Seabees United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Forces (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Dependi ...
, initially using materials pre-stocked before the war in Advanced Base Functional Component packages, constructed three deep-draft piers for oceangoing ships, two wooden piers an LST causeway and the Bridge Cargo Complex that consisted of a long wharf, 300,000 cubic feet of refrigerated storage space and 500,000 square feet of covered storage space. Amphibious fuel lines were laid along the sea floor to storage tanks ashore at
Red Beach Base Area Red Beach Base Area (also known as Camp JK Books, Camp Haskins, Camp Viking, Paddock Compound or Red Beach Camp) is a complex of former U.S. Marines, Navy and Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) logistics and support bases northwest o ...
, north of the city and the Marines'
Marble Mountain Air Facility Marble Mountain Air Facility (MMAF), also known as Da Nang East Airfield, Marble Mountain Army Airfield and Nuoc Man Airfield, was an aviation facility used primarily by the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. It was a helicopt ...
to the south. By July 1968 NSA Danang handled 350,000 tons of cargo each month for the 200,000 allied troops in I Corps. Danang had become the largest fuel complex in South Vietnam capable of holding over 500,000 barrels. The station hospital begun in 1965 had treated over 21,000 casualties, 44,000 nonbattle patients and one million outpatients flowing in from the hostile and disease-ridden I Corps environment. In mid-October 1968 the Deep Water Pier complex () on the Tien Sha peninsula was completed, beginning operations in September 1968. The new pier facility allowed deep-draft ocean-going vessels to unload cargo directly onto trucks instead of offloading into
Lighters A lighter is a portable device which uses mechanical or electrical means to create a controlled flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of flammable items, such as cigarettes, butane gas, fireworks, candles, or campfires. A lighter typica ...
while anchored in the harbor. By 1969 NSA Danang was the Navy's largest overseas shore command and third largest supply depot after
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
and Oakland Naval Supply Depot and Camp Tien Sha had grown to accommodate over 6000 personnel. On 27 February 1969 a
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...
rocket hit LCU-1500 while it was loading at the Bridge Cargo Ramp killing 13 crewmen. On 30 June 1970 NSA Danang was deactivated and on 1 July new Army-Marine service support agreements went into effect. In April 1972 all US Navy facilities in Danang were transferred to the
Republic of Vietnam Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; - ''HQVNCH''; was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats f ...
.


References

{{reflist Military installations of the United States in South Vietnam United States Navy installations Buildings and structures in Da Nang Military installations closed in 1972