The two ships went to general quarters and had a two-hour running gun battle with their suspected opponents whom they could not see, but who seemed to be popping up on their radar scopes. Weather conditions were sometimes making a wave crest look like a radar target, but no one could be sure. Two days later on the night of 4 August while patrolling Tonkin Gulf waters, radar operators in Maddox and a companion destroyer Turner Joy thought they detected more oncoming torpedo boats in the surrounding blackness. The destroyer Maddox returning the fire of attacking North Vietnamese motor torpedo boats. The ship went to general quarters and Herrick told the skipper to engage the boats with his six five-inch guns if they closed within ten thousand yards. Herrick ordered Ogier to head the ship out to sea, but the patrol boats persisted and gained on him rapidly. Herrick was confident the ship was in international waters, he observed, a little before 3 PM, three North Vietnamese fast motor torpedo boats emerge from behind Hon Me Island and head straight for Maddox. Naval Security Group language specialists listened in on North Vietnamese military radio traffic.Įven though Capt. Ogier was keeping his ship at least eight miles off the coast while his team of U. Herrick, Commander Destroyer Division 192. Ogier, and the senior officer on board was Captain. The ship was commanded by Commander Herbert L. It was mid afternoon on Sunday August 2, 1964, and the United States destroyer Maddox was on a mission to monitor military shore activities near the Red River delta off the coast of North Vietnam. 2.2 NTDS Ships are the Only Ones That Can Do It.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |