Naval Support Activity Danang or NSA Danang was a
United States Navy logistics support organization located in
Danang,
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
active from October 1965 to April 1972.
History
In March 1965 when
United States Marine Corps combat troops landed at Danang, the support establishment was rudimentary. The port of Danang contained only three small piers, three
Landing Ship, Tank (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 MAF) troops delivered supplies to the units in the field while the
Seventh Fleet 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, 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,
Huế,
Tân Mỹ,
Đông Hà,
Cửa Việt,
Phú Bài
Phú Bài is a Ward (Vietnam), ward () of Hương Thủy town in Thừa Thiên Huế Province, Vietnam. To find information at reference, go to row 46, then row 479, and it is listed on row 19960.
See also
* Phu Bai International Airport
* Phu Bai ...
and
Sa Huỳnh. 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 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
Naval Forces Vietnam was a command of the United States Navy, active 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 Construction Brigade; the Military S ...
was established in Saigon
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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
The landing craft mechanized (LCM) is a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults.
Variants
There was no ...
(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 (LSD) and an Attack Transport (APA), the latter for quartering and messing NSA personnel. The harbor defense unit used landing craft, picket boats and Boston Whalers 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 Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...
, 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 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 creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or c ...
while anchored in the harbor.[
By 1969 NSA Danang was the Navy's largest overseas shore command and third largest supply depot after Norfolk and ]Oakland Naval Supply Depot
The Fleet and Industrial Supply Center, Oakland was a supply facility operated by the U.S. Navy in Oakland, California. During World War II, it was a major source of supplies and war materials for ships operating in the Pacific.
The Depot had ...
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; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
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.[
]
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