On average, PBR's logged over 70,000 patrol hours a month and engaged in more than 80 firefights per month. With the ability to operate in only 9 inches of water at full speed, the PBR's quickly became a force to be reckoned with in the shallow waterways of South Vietnam. US Navy craft were crewed by a 1st Class Petty Officer, an engineman, a gunner's mate, and a seaman. US Army PBR's were manned by a crew of four: a coxswain, and engineer, and two Military Police officers. Additional weapons included various small arms: a M-79 hand-held grenade launcher, four M-16's, a 12-gauge shotgun, and. 50 machine gun mounted on the stern, an M60 machine gun mounted amidships, and a Honeywell Mk-18 40mm grenade launcher, also mounted amidships. 50 caliber machine gun mounted on the bow, a single. Powered by twin 220hp Detroit Diesels driving twin Jacuzzi water jet propulsion pumps, the craft had a top speed in excess of 25 knots. The PBR Mark II was 32' in length wide a beam of 12'. They were operated by both the US Navy and US Army, although the Navy counted over 250 of them in their inventory and the Army had only 39. These nimble craft were called PBR's (Patrol Boat, River). During the Vietnam War the United States Military employed heavily-armed high-speed gunboats to intercept and disrupt enemy travel on the waterways of South Vietnam.
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