Airmen 11.The Uncivil War, page 1
part #11 of Airmen Series
The Uncivil War
Based on True Events
DAVID LEE CORLEY
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Copyright © 2022 David Lee Corley
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DEDICATION
For all the men and women that fought for their country. History will not forget your sacrifices.
“He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.”
Sun Tzu – The Art of War
OPERATION VULCAN
February 14, 1962 - Quang Khe, North Vietnam
Waves lapped against a ship’s dark wooden hull. Just past midnight, Nautilus II, a Chinese junk converted into an undercover CIA paramilitary boat, sailed along the coastline near the mouth of the Gianh River about thirty miles north of Dong Hoi. Its target was the Quang Khe naval base, one mile upriver and home to the North Vietnamese coastal defense fleet. The fleet was mostly made up of Chinese-made Swatow gunboats. Each gunboat was eighty-three-feet long and carried three 37mm autocannons, two twin heavy machine guns, and eight depth charges. The Swatows had a top speed of twenty-eight knots and used their surface-search radar to detect incoming boats.
On any wooden ship, there was always the danger of fire, especially at night when torches were often used. The junk’s captain was more worried about the attention a fire would draw than roasting alive. To be safe, the crew used paper lanterns with flickering candles to illuminate their way. Orange light reflected off the waves and gave the junk a romantic appearance. Harmless.
Lucien Conein was the master of mayhem. He lived to create chaos and “blow shit up.” Which was why he eagerly accepted his current assignment to wreak havoc on the North Vietnamese Navy. As the covert paramilitary team leader, Conein wore the clothes of a Chinese sea trader – not as poor as a fisherman, but not as rich as a merchantman. The difference was that the holes and tears in his trousers and shirt were neatly patched. In the dark, nobody could determine his true nationality – French turned American. He was CIA working for Colonel Lansdale out of Saigon. The most that could be said of Conein was that he was reliably unpredictable and predictably unconventional, but he usually got the job done and that was all most of his commanders cared about. The soldiers he worked with knew him as a scoundrel that drank too much and gambled away most of his salary. He womanized every chance he got without regard to marital status or nationality. He had learned his trade in sabotage from the Corsican mafia during World War II when they fought against the Nazis in southern France.
Although highly decorated for his military achievements, Conein also had several black marks in his personnel record from some of his past commanders, including a light colonel that had caught Conein in bed with his wife. His current commander, Lansdale, knew what he was getting when he recruited Conein to lead one of his two paramilitary teams based in Saigon. Lansdale didn’t care about Conein’s personal life as long as it didn’t interfere with his professional career as a CIA officer and team leader. Like Conein, Lansdale often thought out-of-the-box when it came to accomplishing his objectives and had no qualms about using morally ambiguous team leaders.
Using binoculars, Conein kept low to prevent revealing his silhouette against the night sky. He didn’t want to alert the North Vietnamese patrol boats that someone was taking a close look at them. He needed to ensure that all the chickens were in the coup before ordering his team to execute their mission. Conein was good at planning and even better at thinking on his feet when everything went south which it often did in paramilitary operations. Despite his questionable morals and unethical tactics, Conein was a patriot. He loved his adopted country and would do anything that he believed was necessary to defend it and its citizens. He also hated communists. The fact that the CIA encouraged him to generate anarchy among America’s enemies was a bonus. His current occupation was a perfect fit for a soldier like Conein.
Operation Vulcan began five months earlier when the MAAG officers working out of the American embassy became interested in the North Vietnamese navy. It wasn’t much of a navy, but it was enough to protect the Chinese freighters that moved in and out of the North Vietnamese ports carrying weapons and ammunition to be sent south on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In exchange for the weapons, the civilian freighters carried back rice and raw materials to mainland China.
President Kennedy had personally reviewed the operation when the North Vietnamese stepped up their efforts to bolster the Viet Cong and Laotian rebels with more weapons and supplies. The CIA suggested cutting off the supplies before they entered North Vietnam. The problem was the small but effective North Vietnamese navy that defended the ports and sea lanes. If the navy was eliminated, covert South Vietnamese warships could attack and sink the Chinese freighters once they had entered North Vietnamese territory. There were other consequences that needed to be taken into account if South Vietnam choose to attack Chinese ships, but even the viable threat of attack on commercial ships would reduce shipments of weapons and supplies. No civilian captain wanted his ship sunk, especially when he was behind the wheel.
Operation Vulcan was simple enough. The CIA and MAAG planners envisioned that a paramilitary team would travel up the coastline from South Vietnam to North Vietnam using a specially modified Chinese junk. Once they reached the mouth of the Gianh River, the commandos would slip over the side of their boat, steal up the river to the North Vietnamese naval base using scuba gear, and set underwater charges with delayed detonators against the gunboats and other military boats that might be moored at the base. The commandos would make their escape back down the river and out to the junk before the explosions gave away the operation. With the help of a hidden motor, the junk would speed its way back to South Vietnam territory. JFK, a former US Navy officer, liked the plan and even made a couple of suggestions. That was enough to get it approved.
The Americans had sent the submarine – the U.S.S. Catfish, a decommissioned WWII relict commandeered by MAAG, to take a closer look at the North Vietnamese navy base. The operation was code-named “Wise Tiger.” For several weeks the diesel-powered submarine held its position in international waters just outside North Vietnamese territory and secretly watched the naval activity in and out of the river. The reconnaissance team counted boats, weapons, and crews. They studied the enemy’s operations and noted the routes they took once at sea. They measured each boat’s speed and agility. And most importantly, they watched the patrol boats that guarded the mouth of the river and protected the naval base. In addition to the submarine, an unmarked reconnaissance plane passed overhead of the naval base and took aerial photos of the layout.
It was determined that the operation would be best executed by the CIA’s paramilitary teams and not MAAG advisors or the Special Operations Group known as SOG. It needed to be a South Vietnamese team in case of capture. The CIA often worked with the South Vietnamese 5th Bureau on counterintelligence operations and the destruction of military targets across the border. They had a strong working relationship, and the South Vietnamese trusted the American team leaders.
Once the reconnaissance part of the mission was completed, all the intelligence collected was turned over to Colonel Lansdale who turned it over to Conein. Both team leaders, Conein and Rene Granier had worked in Vietnam’s rivers, but Conein had more experience working in the sea. He was assigned the mission and permitted to select his team. A veteran of several wars, Conein was a stickler for competence and valued field experience in his team members. Surprisingly, he didn’t choose from the 5th Bureau. Instead, he selected soldiers from the South Vietnamese navy that had proficiency with diving equipment. There weren’t many. Even when they worked on boats and ships, most Vietnamese were not strong swimmers. They feared what they could not see below the water, especially water dragons and underwater demons. All Vietnamese boats had eyes painted on the bow to ward off crocodiles and water demons.
Training was fast and basic. The divers needed to learn how to navigate underwater at night and they needed to learn how to operate a limpet mine with a delayed fuse in the dark. They practiced at night on obsolete South Vietnamese freighters that were ready for the scrapyard. It took two months of training with blindfolds before Conein felt they were prepared. The way he figured it, the more time they spent in the water at night the better. As he had hoped, their fear of the dark water slipped away. Conein spent another week going over the details of the plan with the demolition team members. He made them repeat the details and the timeline of the mission back to him again and again. When the day to leave finally came, the team was prepared and confident.
The Nautilus II was a Chinese junk that had been retrofitted with hidden compartments that could be used to hide the team and their equipment. The technicians had cut sections of the floorboards in the junk’s cargo hold, then made removable floorboards out a mix of old wood and new wood. They stressed the new wood to match the existing floorboards by beating it with rusted chains and scratching it with icepicks so that it looked well-worn. A coat of dirt was thrown on the new wood and then brushed off before stain and lacquer were applied. The deception had to be perfect. The lives of Conein and his men depended on it. The final results were impressive. Conein, who considered himself an expert at forgeries, was embarrassed when he picked the wrong section of floorboards and tried to pry them up with a Ka-Bar.
Chinese trading ships were common along the North Vietnamese coast. It took the Nautilus II several days under sail to reach North Vietnamese waters. The junk traveled far out to sea before venturing back into North Vietnamese waters. Conein wanted to give anyone watching the boat’s movements the idea that it was coming in from the sea and not traveling up the coast from the south. The crew did not use the hidden engine that had been installed in the aft of the junk. It was only to be used for an emergency getaway. A Chinese junk rarely had any type of propulsion beyond its sails. To strengthen the deception, several of the crew members were Taiwanese that spoke perfect Mandarin and were indistinguishable from the sailors of mainland Chinese. All other crew members were Vietnamese that understood and spoke basic Mandarin. The demolition team members could move freely below deck while the junk was at sea. Conein was the only team member allowed on deck.
As the junk approached the North Vietnamese shoreline, an enemy patrol boat moved to intercept. Conein and his demolition team scrambled into hidden spaces below the floorboards. Once the removable floorboards were in place, two of junk’s crew members placed cargo on top of the boards to further disguise the hidden compartments. While it helped with the concealment, it also trapped Conein and his men. They would not be able to fight if discovered.
The North Vietnamese contacted the junk’s crew using a bullhorn and demanded they be allowed to board and inspect the boat. Intentionally unarmed, the junk’s crew secured the boat’s sails and the boat slowed to a stop. The bow and aft deck guns – twin 20-mm autocannons, pointed toward the junk and its crew. The patrol boat’s autocannons could easily tear apart the wooden cabins and kill everyone on board. Pulling alongside, five North Vietnamese sailors armed with rifles boarded the junk and began their search. Three went below deck, while the other two checked the paperwork of the crew. They asked the crew where they came from, where they were going, and what was their cargo. A veteran of deceit, Conein had made the crew rehearse their stories until he was sure they had not only memorized them but could repeat them under duress. It worked. The junk’s crew didn’t raise any suspension.
Below deck, the North Vietnamese sailors searched the cabins and the cargo hold. A young sailor was sent to inspect the area where Conein and his team lay hidden. The sailor did a cursory inspection and was about to leave when he noticed fresh marking on the floorboards. A nail from a palate of machine parts had dug into the wooden deck and exposed new wood underneath the coating of stain and varnish.
Conein was directly below him and was staring up through a thin space in the floorboards. Conein slowly removed his pistol and placed the end of the gun’s muzzle flat against the boards. If the sailor discovered the hidden compartment, Conein would shoot him through the board. He knew it wouldn’t matter much and that he and the team would be unable to escape before being riddled with gunfire, but he didn’t care. He was going to take the overly curious sailor with them. It seemed only fair.
A voice called out. The corporal in charge of the search party ordered everyone back to the ship. Picking up a piece of dislodged vanish and rolling in his fingers, the young sailor considered whether it was worth reporting. It was almost time for their evening meal, and he was hungry. An expanded inspection would take time, maybe even an hour. Conein could hear the young man’s stomach growl at the thought. The young sailor decided against it and joined the other two sailors as they exited the hold.
The junk’s crew waited until the patrol boat rounded a bend in the shoreline before moving the cargo and releasing Conein and his team. Everyone was relieved. They had survived and the mission was still a go.
While traveling the rest of the way to their destination, Conein took the opportunity to review the aerial photos. Studying the images with a magnifying glass he determined that while there were many smaller boats at the naval base, only the gunboats were made of steel. The rest were made of wood. This limited the effectiveness of the limpet mines which were magnetic and could only attach to metal. He used his binoculars to survey the naval port in the distance. From what he could tell, there were only three out of five gunboats at the port. He cursed. Three were less than he had hoped, but it was too late to wait for any of the other two to arrive. He decided to reduce the number of divers that would swim into the river and thereby reduce the odds of anyone being detected. He chose his three best swimmers – Le Van Kinh, Nguyen Van Tam, and Nguyen Huu Thao. A fourth commando, Nguyen Chuyen, would stay in the skiff used to carry the demolition team to the mouth of the river.
It was a moonless night just as Conein had planned it. The Nautilus II joined a dozen freighters and trading ships anchored off the coast near the mouth of the river.
After eating a hearty meal to give them strength for the two-mile swim they were about to undertake, the demolition team checked their gear and made last-minute preparations. Each scuba diver drank his fill of water to avoid dehydration when using their air tanks. The three divers each carried a limpet mine strapped to their chests. They carried no other weapons and no flares or flashlights to help guide them.
Just past midnight, Conein surveyed the area one last time. Satisfied that no patrol boats were near, he ordered the team to go. The demolition team set the delay timers on the limpet mines for two hours. That should have given them plenty of time to sail to the mouth of the river in the skiff, swim to the base, place the mines, and return to the junk before detonation. The crew lowered a skiff over the side of the junk. The four-man team climbed into the skiff. Conein watched as they started the outboard motor on the back of the small boat and sped off into the darkness. Conein wanted to lead the team, but Lansdale had specifically ordered him not to participate in the demolition beyond supervising from the junk. If captured, the North Vietnamese would know the Americans were involved and parade their prisoner in front of the international press. With the Cold War gaining momentum, America needed the international community on its side.
As the skiff moved through the water, the commandos’ eyes adjusted to the darkness, and they could see the mouth of the river. They were excited and anxious. They had been entrusted with one of the most important covert missions up to that point in the war. It was the type of operation that made heroes… and careers if completed successfully. The skiff stopped short of entering the river. Chuyen quietly dropped an anchor over the side of the boat. Kinh, Tam, and Thao turned on the air flowing from their scuba tanks, pulled their masks down, and slipped the regulators into their mouths. A quick pull of air to make sure everything was working properly, and they slid over the side of the boat into the black water. Moments later, they disappeared. Chuyen felt very alone sitting in the skiff by himself in the darkness. He hoped his friends were not swallowed by a foul creature or worse… the ghost of someone who drowned in the sea. The only sound he heard was the slap of the waves against the little boat’s side. He wondered if it would reveal his position to the North Vietnamese.
Underwater it was pitch black to the point where the divers could barely see each other. They swam together at a moderate speed. They didn’t want to overexert themselves. There was no hurry. Stealth was far more important than speed. Every three hundred feet, the team leader would poke his head up and survey the horizon. He had picked a point and determined that they needed to swim just to the left of it to find their target.
It only took them thirty minutes to reach the naval base. The three gunboats were tied to different piers. Kinh used hand signals to assign a gunboat to each of the divers, then gave the hand signal for the team to split up and seek out their targets. They once again submerged and swam in different directions.
Tam reached his gunboat first. He swam to the rear of the boat, removed his mine, and attached it to the hull near the engine compartment. There was a dull thud when the magnet attached to the metal hull. With the mine set, he swam back to the rendezvous point on the far side of the river.
