Early on the morning of March 1, 1968, four enemy trawlers attempted to infiltrate arms and ammunition into South Vietnam. It was the communists' boldest sea infiltration attempt yet, and it turned out to be their costliest.
In what has been called "the most significant naval victory of the Vietnam conflict," three of the trawlers were destroyed while the fourth turned tail and headed for the safety of the high seas.
The apparent plan of the infiltrators was to resupply Viet Cong units along the full length of the country, following the beating they had taken during the recent TET offensive.
The first trawler was detected by Market Time air surveillance units on the evening of February 28. SP2H "Neptune" aircraft of two Navy patrol squadrons, VP-2 and VP-17, kept the vessel under surveillance and detected three others the following evening.
Running dark and flying no flag, the four 100-foot steel-hulled trawlers turned toward the coast. As each crossed the 12-mile limit, it was challenged by Market Time surface units. One trawler reversed its course when it could not shake the Coast Guard Cutter Minnetonka.
The three that were challenged by the Market Time units refused to acknowledge and chose to make a run for the beach.
The first of the trawlers to be challenged headed for the shore 10 miles north of Nha Trang, on the central coast. A Vietnamese navy patrol craft challenged the vessel, then opened fire on it when it ran. Five U.S. Navy "Swift" boats, PCFs 42, 43, 46, 47 and 48 joined by two Vietnamese navy Yabuta junks, forced the trawler aground in a cove. Once grounded, the trawler's crew and enemy troops on the beach opened fire on the Market Time units.
During a raging battle with PCFs 47 and 48, the trawler took five direct hits from Swift boat 47's 81mm mortar, causing an explosion that almost totally destroyed it. The next morning, 14 enemy bodies were found.
Meanwhile, a second trawler had been challenged by the Coast Guard Cutter Androscoggin and was running toward the beach 40 miles south of Chu Lai, on the north central coast.
A gun duel erupted and the Androscoggin was joined by two other smaller cutters, the Point Welcome and Point Grey, the minesweeper USS Persistent, PCFs 18 and 20 and two army helicopter gunships.
The trawler was forced aground. When U.S. Army Americal Division troops reached the area and capture seemed imminent, the enemy crew detonated charges, destroying the weapons-laden craft.
The third heavily loaded trawler was on a course toward the mouth of the Bo De River on the Ca Mau Peninsula, 155 miles southwest of Saigon, and on the southern tip of Vietnam. It crossed into contiguous waters, refused repeated challenges by the Coast Guard Cutter Winona, and headed for the river mouth.
Winona took it under fire while other Market Time units, the minesweeper USS Conflict, the cutters Point Hudson, Point Grace and Point Marone, and Swift boats 69 and 103, moved in.
The trawler's crew was returning fire and jettisoning cargo when a heavy barrage of fire (from the Winona's 5-inch gun) hit home. An enormous fireball ripped the trawler in two successive explosions and sank it in 25 feet of water.
During its six years of existence, Operation Market Time compiled an incredible score. But for the men who served in it, the reality of the operation could never be described by figures. More than figures, it was a war of young men and fast boats with battle fought at point-blank range. It was a war that required death-defying daring. It proved that the young officers and men of today's naval forces possess all the qualities of leadership, courage, and daring that we have always admired in naval heroes of the past. They were assigned staggering responsibilities and shouldered them with honor.
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