South Vietnamese Navy
| Republic of Vietnam Navy Hải quân Việt Nam Cộng hòa |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1952–1975 |
| Country |
 South Vietnam |
| Type | Naval forces |
| Size | 42,000 men, 1,400 ships, boats and other vessels (1973) |
| Part of |  Republic of Vietnam Military Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Saigon, South Vietnam |
| Nickname(s) | "HQVNCH" (English: "VNN") |
| Motto(s) |
Tổ quốc - Đại dương "The Fatherland - The Ocean" |
| Anniversaries | 20 August |
| Engagements |
Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War Battle of the Paracel Islands |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
| Naval ensign |  |
| Flag of Saint Tran |  |
The Republic of Vietnam Navy (VNN; Vietnamese: Hải quân Việt Nam Cộng hòa; 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 from France. After 1955 and the transfer of the armed forces to Vietnamese control, the fleet was supplied from the United States. With assistance from the U.S., the VNN became the largest Southeast Asian navy, with 42,000 men and women and 672 amphibious ships and craft, 20 mine warfare vessels, 450 patrol craft, 56 service craft, and 242 junks.
The origins of the Viet Nam Navy (VNN) began in 1952 with the French Navy. In 1954, in accordance with the Elysée Accords, the French handed control of the armed forces to the Vietnamese, but at the request of the Vietnamese government, continued to be in charge of the Navy until 20 August 1955. By this time the Navy numbered about 2,000 personnel, with 22 vessels. The Vietnamese then received assistance in the development of the VNN from the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group.
In 1956, the North Vietnamese began infiltrating men and arms into the Republic of Vietnam's territory by sea. In response the VNN created the Coastal Junk Force (Vietnamese: Luc Luong Hai Thuyen) of junks manned by Regional Irregular Forces and local fishermen recruited for the occasion, to patrol the waters around the Demilitarized Zone. The force later came to be known as Coastal Groups (Vietnamese: Duyen doan), and patrolled the entire 1,200-mile (1,900 km) coastline. This force was under the control of the regional military zone commands rather than the Navy, and was not incorporated into the VNN until 1965, by which time it numbered over 100 vessels.
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