Patrol Boat, River

Class overview
MK II PBR
Name:	PBR (Patrol Boat Riverine)
Operators:	United States Navy United States Army
Preserved:	1 operational
General characteristics
Type:	riverine patrol boat
Displacement:	8.9 ton for Mk II
Length:	31 ft (9.4 m) (Mk I) 32 ft (9.8 m) (Mk II)
Beam:	10.5 ft (3.2 m) (MK I) 11.5 ft (3.5 m) (MK II)
Draft:	2 ft (0.61 m)
Propulsion:	2 × 180 hp (115 kW) Detroit Diesel 6V53N engines each driving a Jacuzzi Brothers 14YJ water pump-jet with thrust buckets for reverse thrust.
Speed:	28.5 knots (53 km/h 32 mph).
Complement:	4 enlisted
Armament:	1 × twin M2HB .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns (forward in a rotating tub) 1 × single M2HB (rear) 1 or 2 × M60 7.62 mm machine gun(s) (side-mounted) 1 × 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launcher
Armor:	Ceramic armor shields fitted to guns, bridge. Also crew-applied ballistic blankets to protect the coxswain in the control cockpit.

United States Navy

Patrol Boat, River or PBR, is the United States Navy designation for a small rigid-hulled patrol boat used in the Vietnam War from March 1966 until the end of 1971. They were deployed in a force that grew to 250 boats, the most common craft in the River Patrol Force, Task Force 116, and were used to stop and search river traffic in areas such as the Mekong Delta, the Rung Sat Special Zone, the Saigon River and in I Corps, in the area assigned to Task Force Clearwater, in an attempt to disrupt weapons shipments. In this role they frequently became involved in firefights with enemy soldiers on boats and on the shore, were used to insert and extract Navy SEAL teams, and were employed by the United States Army's 458th Transportation Company, known as the 458th Seatigers.

The PBR was a versatile boat with a fiberglass hull and water jet drive which enabled it to operate in shallow, weed-choked rivers. It drew only two feet of water fully loaded. The drives could be pivoted to reverse direction, turn the boat in its own length, or come to a stop from full speed in a few boat lengths.

The PBR was manufactured in two versions, the first with 31 foot length and 10 foot, 7 inch beam. The Mark II version 32 feet (9.8 m) long and one foot wider beam had improved drives to reduce fouling and aluminum gunwales to resist wear.

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Wikipedia