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HSV-2 Swift

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142-591: HSV-2 Swift is a hybrid catamaran . She was privately owned and operated by Sealift Inc. , and was originally built under the JHSV program as a proof of concept . As part of this program, she was directly leased for evaluation from her builders by the United States Navy Military Sealift Command from 2003 to 2013, primarily as a mine countermeasures and sea basing test platform. Later during her official naval career she

284-639: A MSC vessel was Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Norfolk, Virginia . The vessel had two CONMAR crews that typically rotated every three months to keep the ship deployed eleven months per year. The minimum crew size is 35; during her time with the MSC 18 were military with the balance civilian, provided through American Maritime Officers and Seafarers International Union of the United States Merchant Marine . On rare occasion that she

426-591: A moon pool between the hulls. Two Cold War-era submarine rescue ships , USS Pigeon and USS Ortolan of the US Navy , were also catamarans, but did not have the moon pool feature. The use of catamarans as high-speed naval transport was pioneered by HMAS Jervis Bay , which was in service with the Royal Australian Navy between 1999 and 2001. The US Military Sealift Command now operates several Expeditionary Fast Transport catamarans owned by

568-486: A Global Fleet Station (GFS). The ship hosted more than 1,000 host nation military and civilian personnel during twelve visits to seven countries such as Belize, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Panama. In these countries, personnel on board Swift conducted 39,890 hours of subject matter expert exchanges in such areas as leadership, small boat operations, port security and small unit tactics. The six-month U.S. Navy sponsored GFS deployment tested

710-534: A SEAL team, they would undergo a SEAL Basic Indoctrination (SBI) training class at Camp Kerry in the Cuyamaca Mountains . After SBI training class, they would enter a platoon and conduct platoon training. According to founding SEAL team member Roy Boehm , the SEALs' first missions were directed against communist Cuba . These consisted of deploying from submarines and carrying out beach reconnaissance in

852-408: A boat. Choosing a catamaran offers increased speed at the expense of reduced load per unit of cost. Howard and Doane describe the following tradeoffs between cruising monohulls and catamarans: A long-distance, offshore cruising monohull may be as short as 30 feet (9.1 m) for a given crew complement and supporting supplies, whereas a cruising catamaran would need to be 40 feet (12 m) to achieve

994-461: A catamaran design to accommodate the vessel's stealth features. The Tuo Chiang-class corvette is a class of Taiwanese -designed fast and stealthy multi-mission wave-piercing catamaran corvettes first launched in 2014 for the Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy . United States Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land ( SEAL ) Teams , commonly known as Navy SEALs , are

1136-530: A combined strength of 300 men. During the "Forgotten War" the UDTs fought intensely, employing demolition expertise gained from World War II and using it for an offensive role. Continuing to use water as cover and concealment as well as an insertion method, the Korean Era UDTs targeted bridges, tunnels, fishing nets, and other maritime and coastal targets. They also developed a close working relationship with

1278-615: A complement of seven officers and 45 enlisted men each. However, the UDTs were the only special troops that avoided complete disbandment after the war, unlike the OSS Maritime Unit, the VAC Recon Battalion, and several Marine recon missions. Because they were so integral to the success of missions in the Pacific during the war, the U.S. Navy did not publicize the existence of the UDTs until post-war. During WWII

1420-414: A conventional catamaran. They are distinguished from SWATH catamarans, in that the buoyant part of the hull is not tubular. The spanning bridge deck may be configured with some of the characteristics of a normal V-hull, which allows it to penetrate the crests of waves. Wave-piercing catamaran designs have been employed for yachts, passenger ferries, and military vessels. A catamaran configuration fills

1562-411: A coordinate location, the SEALs operated close to their targets. Into the late 1960s, the SEALs were successful in a new style of warfare, effective in anti-guerrilla and guerrilla actions. SEALs brought a personal war to the enemy in a previously safe area. The VC referred to them as "the men with green faces," due to the camouflage face paint the SEALs wore during combat missions. In February 1966,

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1704-702: A fleet of hired Greek wooden fishing vessels—called caiques—covertly supported OSS agents in Albania, Greece, and Yugoslavia. After Italy surrendered, the MU and Mariassalto , an elite Italian special operations naval unit, operated against the Germans. In the Far East, the MU operated in conjunction with an Operational Group to attack Japanese forces on the Arakan coast of Burma. They jointly conducted reconnaissance missions on

1846-576: A hero's welcome in France. In 1939, he published his experiences in a book, Kaimiloa , which was translated into English in 1940. Roland and Francis Prout experimented with catamarans in 1949 and converted their 1935 boat factory in Canvey Island , Essex (England), to catamaran production in 1954. Their Shearwater catamarans easily won races against monohulls. Yellow Bird, a 1956-built Shearwater III , raced successfully by Francis Prout in

1988-478: A high degree of proficiency in unconventional warfare (UW), direct action (DA), and special reconnaissance (SR), among other tasks like sabotage, demolition, intelligence gathering, and hydrographic reconnaissance, training, and advising friendly militaries or other forces. All active SEALs are members of the U.S. Navy. Although not formally founded until 1962, the modern-day U.S. Navy SEALs trace their roots to World War II . The United States Military recognized

2130-405: A higher efficiency per unit of payload for monohulls. Two advances over the traditional catamaran are the small-waterplane-area twin hull (SWATH) and the wave-piercing configuration—the latter having become a widely favored design. SWATH reduces wave-generating resistance by moving displacement volume below the waterline, using a pair of tubular, submarine-like hulls, connected by pylons to

2272-400: A lattice scaffold. The frame of the tourist catamaran can be made of both aluminum (duralumin) pipes and from felled tree trunks. The inflatable part has two layers—an airtight balloon with inflation holes and a shell made of dense tissue, protecting the balloon from mechanical damage. Advantages of such catamarans are light weight, compactness and convenience in transportation (the whole product

2414-718: A major role in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. With most roads inaccessible along the Gulf Coast , Swift and her crew delivered the necessary supplies by water, traversing the Mississippi River multiple times hauling humanitarian aid between Pensacola , Florida , and New Orleans , Louisiana . During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict , Swift was used to transport humanitarian assistance materials from Cyprus to Beirut . Swift departed Naval Station Mayport , Florida, on 25 April 2007, to serve as

2556-466: A medical student offering the use of his technology to the secretive organization in 1942. In 1944 he was commissioned as an Army officer and later joined the OSS as an operational swimmer. Lambertsen himself led the OSS Maritime Unit on covert underwater missions to attach explosives to Japanese ships. Dr. Christian Lambertsen is remembered today as the 'Father of Military Underwater Operations'. Along with all

2698-523: A monohull, and can give reduced wakes. Catamarans were invented by the Austronesian peoples , and enabled their expansion to the islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans . Catamarans range in size from small sailing or rowing vessels to large naval ships and roll-on/roll-off car ferries. The structure connecting a catamaran's two hulls ranges from a simple frame strung with webbing to support

2840-612: A multihull steel vessel named Binave (Twin Ship), a new type of catamaran which was constructed and tested in Bilbao ( Spain ) in 1918. The innovative design included two 30 HP Hispano-Suiza marine engines and could modify its configuration when sailing , positioning two rudders at the stern of each float, with the propellers also placed aft . In 1936, Eric de Bisschop built a Polynesian "double canoe" in Hawaii and sailed it home to

2982-400: A niche where speed and sea-kindliness is favored over bulk capacity. In larger vessels, this niche favors car ferries and military vessels for patrol or operation in the littoral zone. Recreational and sport catamarans typically are designed to have a crew of two and be launched and landed from a beach. Most have a trampoline on the bridging structure, a rotating mast and full-length battens on

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3124-416: A prelude to a proposed US amphibious invasion of the island. On at least one occasion, Boehm and another SEAL had smuggled a CIA agent ashore to take pictures of Soviet nuclear missiles being unloaded on the dockside. The Pacific Command recognized Vietnam as a potential hot spot for unconventional forces. At the beginning of 1962, the UDTs started hydrographic surveys and along with other branches of

3266-586: A seaway. The Swiss-registered wave-piercing catamaran, Tûranor PlanetSolar , which was launched in March 2010, is the world's largest solar powered boat. It completed a circumnavigation of the globe in 2012. The 1970s saw the introduction of catamarans as high-speed ferries , as pioneered by Westermoen Hydrofoil in Mandal , Norway, which launched the Westamaran design in 1973. The Stena Voyager

3408-420: A silver star and all the enlisted received bronze stars with Vs for Operation Forager (Tinian). For UDTs 3 and 4 every officer received a silver star and all the enlisted received bronze stars with Vs for Operation Forager (Guam). Admiral Richard Lansing Conolly felt the commanders of teams 3 and 4 (LT Crist and LT W.G. Carberry) should have received Navy Crosses. As the first to often make amphibious landings,

3550-792: A small SEAL Team One detachment arrived in South Vietnam to conduct direct action missions. Operating from Nhà Bè Base , near the Rung Sat Special Zone, this detachment signalled the beginning of a SEAL presence that would eventually include 8 SEAL platoons in country on a continuing basis. SEALs also served as advisors for Provincial Reconnaissance Units and the Lein Doc Nguio Nhia, the Vietnamese SEALs. SEALs continued to make forays into North Vietnam and Laos and covertly into Cambodia , controlled by

3692-560: A swimmer to remain underwater for several hours and to approach targets undetected because the LARU did not emit telltale air bubbles. The LARU was later refined, adapted, and the technology used by the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and NASA. The Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School at Key West, Florida, the home of Special Forces maritime operations, draws its roots from the Maritime Unit. Lambertsen began his involvement with OSS as

3834-533: A trimaran, replacing its soft sail rig with a towering wing sail —the largest sailing wing ever built. In the waters off Valencia , Spain in February 2010, the BMW Oracle Racing trimaran with its powerful wing sail proved to be superior. This represented a break from the traditional monohulls that had always been sailed in previous America's Cup series. On San Francisco Bay, the 2013 America's Cup

3976-600: A type of single-hulled raft made of three to seven tree trunks lashed together. The term has evolved in English usage to refer to unrelated twin-hulled vessels. Catamaran-type vessels were an early technology of the Austronesian peoples . Early researchers like Heine-Geldern (1932) and Hornell (1943) once believed that catamarans evolved from outrigger canoes , but modern authors specializing in Austronesian cultures like Doran (1981) and Mahdi (1988) now believe it to be

4118-629: Is (as of 2014) the fastest passenger ship in service. The first warship to be propelled by a steam engine, named Demologos or Fulton and built in the United States during the War of 1812 , was a catamaran with a paddle wheel between her hulls. In the early 20th Century several catamarans were built as submarine salvage ships: SMS Vulkan and SMS Cyclop of Germany , Kommuna of Russia , and Kanguro of Spain , all designed to lift stricken submarines by means of huge cranes above

4260-493: Is almost entirely due to surface friction. When boat speed increases and waves are generated the resistance is dependent on several design factors, particularly hull displacement to length and hull separation to length ratio, it is a non trivial resistance curve with many small peaks as wave trains at various speeds combine and cancel For powered catamarans, this implies smaller power plants (although two are typically required). For sailing catamarans, low forward resistance allows

4402-535: Is packed in one pack-backpack, suitable for air traffic standards) and the speed of assembly (10–15 minutes for the inflation). All-inflatable models are available in North America. A cata-raft design has been used on the Colorado River to handle heavy whitewater, yet maintain a good speed through the water. Cruising sailors must make trade-offs among volume, useful load, speed, and cost in choosing

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4544-422: Is required. Catamarans typically have less hull volume, smaller displacement , and shallower draft (draught) than monohulls of comparable length. The two hulls combined also often have a smaller hydrodynamic resistance than comparable monohulls, requiring less propulsive power from either sails or motors. The catamaran's wider stance on the water can reduce both heeling and wave-induced motion, as compared with

4686-604: The Caroline Islands during August 1944. Three of the men failed to make the rendezvous point for extraction. They were reported captured in Japanese communications and identified as "BAKUHATAI" – explosive ordnance men. They were never seen again and are listed as MIAs . The first units designated as Underwater Demolition Teams were formed in the Pacific Theater . Rear Admiral Kelly Turner ,

4828-474: The Comoros , retained the twin-hull and the single outrigger canoe types, but the technology for double outriggers never reached them (although it exists in western Melanesia ). To deal with the problem of the instability of the boat when the outrigger faces leeward when tacking, they instead developed the shunting technique in sailing, in conjunction with reversible single-outriggers. Despite their being

4970-632: The Pacific Theater. Thirty NCDUs had been sent to the Pacific prior to Normandy. NCDUs 1–10 were staged on Florida Island in the Solomon Islands (archipelago) during January 1944. NCDU 1 went briefly to the Aleutians in 1943. NCDUs 4 and 5 were the first to see combat by helping the 4th Marines at Green Island and Emirau Island . A few were temporarily attached to UDTs. Later NCDUs 1–10 were combined to form Underwater Demolition Team Able. Six NCDUs: 2,3, 19, 20, 21 and 24 served with

5112-724: The Prime Minister of Jamaica and U.S. Ambassadors to Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Jamaica. The GFS pilot mission was completed on 30 September 2007, when Swift returned to Naval Station Mayport, Florida. On 5 May 2010, Swift , along with various embarked Navy and Marine Corps units, departed Naval Station Mayport for a five-month deployment for Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2010. While in port, Swift received 140 Project Handclasp pallets and two fire engines. The Wisconsin National Guard State Partnership Program donated

5254-640: The Republic of Korea Underwater Demolitions Unit (predecessor to the Navy Special Warfare Flotilla) , which continues today. Through their focused efforts on demolitions and mine disposal, the UDTs refined and developed their commando tactics during the Korean War. The UDTs also accompanied South Korean commandos on raids in the North to demolish train tunnels. This was frowned upon by higher-ranking officials because they believed it

5396-562: The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen through Bab Al Mandeb strait. On 1 October 2016, Iranian -backed rebel Houthis claimed to have attacked and sunk Swift off the Yemeni coast around Bab-el-Mandeb strait. The UAE military reported Swift had been involved in an "incident", but there were no casualties. UAE military reported that Swift was carrying aid when she was attacked and that

5538-688: The South African Navy (SAN) base at Durban on 3 November 2003. She then exercised with the SAN and the South African Air Force off Simon's Town in the Western Cape . As of early November 2003, as reported by Jane's Defence Weekly on 19 November 2003, exercises were also planned with Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Swift had embarked a small United States Marine Corps (USMC) detachment for

5680-587: The Studies and Observations Group . The SEALs from Team Two started a unique deployment of SEAL team members working alone with ARVN Commandos. In 1967, a SEAL unit named Detachment Bravo (Det Bravo) was formed to operate these mixed US and ARVN units. By 1970, President Richard Nixon initiated a plan of Vietnamization , which would remove the US from the Vietnam War and return the responsibility of defense back to

5822-531: The U.S. Navy 's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command . Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting small-unit special operation missions in maritime, jungle, urban, arctic, mountainous, and desert environments. SEALs are typically ordered to capture or kill high-level targets, or to gather intelligence behind enemy lines. SEAL team personnel are hand-selected, highly trained, and possess

HSV-2 Swift - Misplaced Pages Continue

5964-434: The waterline length is too speed-dependent to be meaningful—as with a planing hull. It uses a reference length, the cubic root of the volumetric displacement of the hull, V , where u is the relative flow velocity between the sea and ship, and g is acceleration due to gravity : Calm water transportation efficiency of a vessel is proportional to the full-load displacement and the maximum calm-water speed, divided by

6106-544: The 1960s, is in the collection of the National Maritime Museum Cornwall . Prout Catamarans , Ltd. designed a mast aft rig with the mast aft of midships to support an enlarged jib—more than twice the size of the design's reduced mainsail; it was produced as the Snowgoose model. The claimed advantage of this sail plan was to diminish any tendency for the bows of the vessel to dig in. In

6248-776: The CIA. Army Special Forces, founded in 1952 by former members of the OSS, established the first military special operations combat diver units nearly a decade before the SEALs were created in 1962. Some of the earliest World War II predecessors of the Green Berets and SEALs were the Operational Swimmers of OSS. The OSS Maritime Unit executed special operations, dropping operatives behind enemy lines to engage in organized guerrilla warfare as well as to gather information on such things as enemy resources and troop movements. British Combined Operations veteran LCDR Wooley, of

6390-768: The Caribbean and Latin America . The mission's primary goal is information sharing with navies, coast guards, and civilian services throughout the region. In April 2013, a TIF-25K Tethered Aerostat (unmanned blimp ) was tested from the stern of Swift . The aerostat could be positioned 3,000 feet (910 m) above the vessel for surveillance. Swift was to be replaced with USNS  Spearhead when that vessel came into service. Originally chartered in July 2003 as an interim mine warfare command and support ship for "transformational" mine warfare modular mission payload initiatives,

6532-510: The German defenses. The NCDUs suffered 31 killed and 60 wounded, a casualty rate of 52%. Meanwhile, the NCDUs at Utah Beach met less intense enemy fire. They cleared 700 yards (640 metres) of beach in two hours, another 900 yards (820 metres) by the afternoon. Casualties at Utah Beach were significantly lighter with six killed and eleven wounded. During Operation Overlord, not a single demolitioneer

6674-513: The Governor's mansion, the SEALs realized they had forgotten to load their cryptographic satellite phone . As Grenadian and Cuban troops surrounded the team, the SEALs' only radio ran out of battery power, and they used the mansion's land line telephone to call in AC-130 gunship fire support. The SEALs were pinned down in the mansion overnight and were relieved and extracted by a group of Marines

6816-807: The Japanese-held coast, sometimes penetrating several miles up enemy-controlled rivers. The MU developed or used several innovative devices that would later allow for the creation of a special operations combat-diver capability, first in Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and later in US Navy SEAL units. Perhaps the most important invention in the realm of special operations diving was the Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit (LARU) invented by Dr. Christian J. Lambertsen . The Lambertsen unit permitted

6958-573: The Korean coast. The UDTs specialized in a somewhat new mission: Night coastal demolition raids against railroad tunnels and bridges. The UDT men were given the task because, in the words of UDT LT Ted Fielding, "We were ready to do what nobody else could do, and what nobody else wanted to do." (Ted Fielding was awarded the Silver Star during Korea, and was later promoted to the rank of Captain.) On 15 September 1950, UDTs supported Operation Chromite,

7100-503: The Kuwaiti Navy in exile. Using these new diving, swimming, and combat skills, these commandos took part in combat operations such as the liberation of the capital city. The United States Navy contributed extensive special operations assets to Panama's invasion, codenamed Operation Just Cause . This included SEAL Teams 2 and 4, Naval Special Warfare Unit 8, and Special Boat Unit 26, all falling under Naval Special Warfare Group 2; and

7242-677: The NCDUs. However, at Kwajalein Fort Pierce protocol was changed. Admiral Turner ordered daylight reconnaissance and CEC. ENS Lewis F. Luehrs and Seabee Chief William Acheson wore swim trunks under their fatigues anticipating they would not be able to get what the Admiral wanted by staying in the boat. They stripped down and spent 45 minutes in the water in broad daylight. When they got out they were taken directly to Admiral Turner's flagship to report, still in their trunks. Admiral Turner concluded that daylight reconnaissance by individual swimmers

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7384-734: The NCDUs. UDT training was at the Waipio Amphibious Operating Base, under V Amphibious Corps operational and administrative control. Most of the instructors and trainees were graduates of the Fort Pierce NCDU or Scouts and Raiders schools, Seabees, Marines, and Army soldiers. When Teams 1 and 2 were initially formed, they were "provisional" with 180 men in total. The first underwater demolition team commanders were CDR E.D. Brewster (CEC) UDT 1 and CDR John T. Koehler UDT 2. The teams wore fatigues with life-vests and were not expected to leave their boats—similar to

7526-537: The Navy SEALs. His announcement was actually only a formal acknowledgement of a process that had been underway since the Korean War. The Navy needed to determine its role within the special operations arena. In March 1961, Admiral Arleigh Burke , the Chief of Naval Operations , recommended the establishment of guerrilla and counter-guerrilla units. These units would be able to operate from sea, air or land. This

7668-614: The Navy did not have a rating for the UDTs nor did they have an insignia. Those men with the CB rating on their uniforms considered themselves Seabees that were doing underwater demolition (Fig. 11). They did not call themselves "UDTs" or " Frogmen " but rather "Demolitioneers" which had carried over from the NCDUs and Lt Cdr Kauffman's recruiting efforts from the Seabee dynamiting and demolition school. The next largest group of UDT volunteers came from

7810-474: The Navy's GFS concept, a maritime security cooperation initiative aimed at strengthening global partnerships through training and cooperation activities. Swift transported U.S. military training teams to conduct maritime training with regional civil and maritime services. During the last half of the deployment, more than 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) of medical and food supplies were donated through Project Handclasp. Swift hosted numerous dignitaries, including

7952-479: The Navy's top amphibious expert, ordered the formation of Underwater Demolition Teams in response to the failed invasion at Tarawa and the Marines' inability to clear the surrounding coral reefs with Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVTS). Turner recognized that amphibious operations required intelligence of underwater obstacles. The personnel for these teams were mostly local Seabees or others that had started out in

8094-411: The Navy, Joint Venture (HSV-X1) , proved her military mettle during the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a forward staging platform for Marine Fleet Anti-Terrorism and United States Navy SEAL teams in the shallow waters of Umm Qasr , Iraq. The Navy hoped to build upon lessons learned from Swift and her predecessor, and eventually use the information to create a new class of littoral combat ships . In

8236-713: The North Africa campaign the following November. Operation Torch was launched in November 1942 off the Atlantic coast of French Morocco in North Africa. The first group included Phil H. Bucklew , the "Father of Naval Special Warfare," after whom the Naval Special Warfare Center building is named. Commissioned in October 1942, this group saw combat in November 1942 during Operation Torch on

8378-445: The North African Coast. Scouts and Raiders also supported landings in Sicily , Salerno , Anzio , Normandy , and southern France . The second group of Scouts and Raiders, code-named Special Service Unit No. 1 , was established on 7 July 1943, as a joint and combined operations force. The first mission, in September 1943, was at Finschhafen in Papua New Guinea . Later operations were at Gasmata , Arawe , Cape Gloucester , and

8520-406: The Royal Navy, was placed in charge of the OSS Maritime Unit (MU) in June 1943. Their training started in November 1943 at Camp Pendleton , California, moved to Santa Catalina Island , California in January 1944, and finally moved to the warmer waters of The Bahamas in March 1944. Within the U.S. military, they pioneered flexible swimfins and diving masks , closed-circuit diving equipment (under

8662-422: The SEALs mission was to conduct counter guerilla warfare and clandestine operations in maritime and riverine environments. Men of the newly formed SEAL Teams were trained in such unconventional areas as hand-to-hand combat , high-altitude parachuting , demolitions , and foreign languages. The SEALs attended Underwater Demolition Team replacement training and they spent some time training in UDTs. Upon making it to

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8804-422: The Scout and Raider school at Fort Pierce, Florida . They formed the core of what was envisioned as a "guerrilla amphibious organization of Americans and Chinese operating from coastal waters, lakes, and rivers employing small steamboats and sampans." While most Amphibious Raider forces remained at Camp Knox in Calcutta, three of the groups saw active service. They conducted a survey of the upper Yangtze River in

8946-558: The Scouts and Raiders method of nighttime rubber boats. In order to implement these changes and grow the UDTs, Koehler was made the commanding officer of the Naval Combat Demolition Training and Experimental Base on Maui. Admiral Turner also brought on LCDR Draper Kauffman as a combat officer. Seabees made up the vast majority of the men in teams 1–9, 13, and 15. Seabees were roughly 20% of UDT 11. The officers were mostly CEC. At war's end 34 teams had been formed with teams 1–21 having actually been deployed. The Seabees provided over half of

9088-405: The Seventh Amphibious Force and were the only remaining NCDUs at the end of the war. The Naval Special Warfare Command building is named for LTJG Frank Kaine CEC commander of NCDU 2. Much like their brethren in the US Army Special Forces (aka Green Berets), the Navy SEALs claim a lineage to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) . The OSS was a paramilitary organization and also a progenitor of

9230-435: The South Vietnamese in combat diving, demolitions and guerrilla/anti-guerrilla tactics. As the war continued, the SEALs found themselves positioned in the Rung Sat Special Zone where they were to disrupt the enemy supply and troop movements and in the Mekong Delta to fulfill riverine operations, fighting on the inland waterways. Combat with the VC was direct. Unlike the conventional warfare methods of firing artillery into

9372-469: The South Vietnamese. Conventional forces were being withdrawn; the last SEAL platoon left South Vietnam on 7 December 1971, and the last SEAL advisor left South Vietnam in March 1973. The SEALs were among the most highly decorated units for their size in the war, receiving by 1974 one Medal of Honor , two Navy Crosses , 42 Silver stars , 402 Bronze Stars , two Legions of Merit , 352 Commendation Medals, and 51 Navy Achievement Medals Later awards would bring

9514-401: The Tenasserim Provinces for several years". Later that century, the American Nathanael Herreshoff constructed a twin-hulled sailing boat of his own design (US Pat. No. 189,459). The craft, Amaryllis , raced at her maiden regatta on June 22, 1876, and performed exceedingly well. Her debut demonstrated the distinct performance advantages afforded to catamarans over the standard monohulls. It

9656-430: The UDT's were considered an indispensable US military special operations unit, and Navy planners in the Central Pacific relied heavily on the UDT's reconnaissance reports and demolition activities to clear the way for landings. The last UDT operation of the war was on 4 July 1945 at Balikpapan , Borneo . The rapid demobilization at the conclusion of the war reduced the number of active duty UDTs to two on each coast with

9798-432: The UDTs began making signs to welcome the Marines, indicating they had been there first, to foster the continued friendly rivalry. In keeping with UDT tradition, UDT 21 created a sign to greet the Marines landing in Japan. For Operation Beleaguer UDT 9 was deployed with the III Amphibious Corps to Northern China. In 1965 the UDT 12 put up another beach sign to greet the Marines at Da Nang . Operation Crossroads UDT 3

9940-592: The US Military, the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) was formed. In March 1962, SEALs were deployed to South Vietnam as advisors for the purpose of training Army of the Republic of Vietnam commandos in the same methods they were trained themselves. The Central Intelligence Agency began using SEALs in covert operations in early 1963. The SEALs were later involved in the CIA sponsored Phoenix Program where it targeted Vietcong (VC) infrastructure and personnel for capture and assassination. The SEALs were initially deployed in and around Da Nang , training

10082-505: The US Navy commissioned the construction of a SWATH ship to test the configuration. SWATH vessels compare with conventional powered catamarans of equivalent size, as follows: Wave-piercing catamarans (strictly speaking they are trimarans , with a central hull and two outriggers) employ a low-buoyancy bow on each hull that is pointed at the water line and rises aft, up to a level, to allow each hull to pierce waves, rather than ride over them. This allows higher speeds through waves than for

10224-641: The US Navy; they are used for high speed transport of military cargo, and to get into shallow ports. The Makar -class is a class of two large catamaran-hull survey ships built for the Indian Navy . As of 2012, one vessel, INS Makar (J31) , was in service and the second was under construction. First launched in 2004 at Shanghai, the Houbei class missile boat of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has

10366-856: The United States Navy tested the Australian built Swift in the multinational exercise RIMPAC . In January 2005, Swift was tapped to provide logistical assistance during the tsunami relief effort in North Sumatra . Swift departed Naval Station Ingleside , Texas, on 3 January 2005. Swift was in Pearl Harbor 15 January 2005, on the way to provide assistance following the tsunami. The ship arrived in Singapore on 30 January 2005, Belawan, Indonesia 3 February 2005 and Sattahip, Thailand, on 7 February 2005. Prior to arriving in

10508-548: The Vietnam War. In 1974–1975, UDT-13 was redesignated; some personnel established Underwater Construction Teams , and while others joined special boat detachments. On 1 May 1983, UDT–11 was redesignated as SEAL Team Five, UDT–21 was redesignated as SEAL Team Four, UDT–12 became SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One (SDVT–1) , and UDT–22 was redesignated as SDVT-2 . SEAL Team Three, was established 1 October 1983 in Coronado, California. United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM)

10650-533: The Wadi Sebou River during Operation Torch in North Africa. This enabled USS  Dallas  (DD-199) to traverse the water and insert U.S. Rangers who captured the Port Lyautey airdrome. In early May 1943, a two-phase "Naval Demolition Project" was directed by the Chief of Naval Operations "to meet a present and urgent requirement". The first phase began at ATB Solomons, Maryland with

10792-657: The amphibious landing at Incheon. UDT 1 and 3 provided personnel who went in ahead of the landing craft, scouting mud flats, marking low points in the channel, clearing fouled propellers, and searching for mines. Four UDT personnel acted as wave-guides for the Marine landing. In October 1950, UDTs supported mine-clearing operations in Wonsan Harbor where frogmen would locate and mark mines for minesweepers. On 12 October 1950, two U.S. minesweepers hit mines and sank. UDTs rescued 25 sailors. The next day, William Giannotti conducted

10934-588: The autumn of 2003, while operating with the Fifth Fleet , Swift completed the fastest-ever transit of the northern Great Barrier Reef from Cairns to Booby Island , Australia, averaging slightly over 39 knots (72 km/h). During flight deck certifications, Swift ' s crew conducted aircraft recovery while making 43 knots (80 km/h) during one recovery and had 66-knot (122 km/h) apparent winds during another recovery. In November 2003 she began West African Training Cruise-04. She first visited

11076-414: The bridge deck with a narrow waterline cross-section. The submerged hulls are minimally affected by waves. The SWATH form was invented by Canadian Frederick G. Creed , who presented his idea in 1938 and was later awarded a British patent for it in 1946. It was first used in the 1960s and 1970s as an evolution of catamaran design for use as oceanographic research vessels or submarine rescue ships. In 1990,

11218-490: The catamaran has an initial resistance to heeling that is seven times that of the monohull. Compared with a monohull, a cruising catamaran sailboat has a high initial resistance to heeling and capsize—a fifty-footer requires four times the force to initiate a capsize than an equivalent monohull. One measure of the trade-off between speed and carrying capacity is the displacement Froude number (Fn V ) , compared with calm water transportation efficiency . Fn V applies when

11360-409: The corresponding power required. Large merchant vessels have a Fn V between one and zero, whereas higher-performance powered catamarans may approach 2.5, denoting a higher speed per unit volume for catamarans. Each type of vessel has a corresponding calm water transportation efficiency, with large transport ships being in the range of 100–1,000, compared with 11-18 for transport catamarans, denoting

11502-452: The crew to a bridging superstructure incorporating extensive cabin or cargo space. Catamarans from Oceania and Maritime Southeast Asia became the inspiration for modern catamarans. Until the 20th century catamaran development focused primarily on sail-driven concepts. The word "catamaran" is derived from the Tamil word, kattumaram (கட்டுமரம்), which means "logs bound together" and is

11644-559: The cruise, 'which will draw on Norway Air-Landed Marine Expeditionary Brigade equipment for the exercises.' The Jane's Defence Weekly story said that Marine reservists will practice with the NALMEB (Norway Air-Landed Marine Expeditionary Brigade) equipment, and the cruise would also be used to evaluate an experimental lightweight ROWPU that was at that time being tested by the USMC warfighting laboratory. The vessel returned in early 2004. In 2004,

11786-473: The direction of Dr. Christian J. Lambertsen ), the use of Swimmer Delivery Vehicles (a type of submersible), and combat swimming and limpet mine attacks. The OSS MU mission was "to infiltrate agents and supply resistance groups by sea, conduct maritime sabotage, and develop specialized maritime surface and subsurface equipment and devices." The MU operated in several theaters. In the Mediterranean,

11928-428: The east and south coasts of New Britain , all without any loss of personnel. Conflicts arose over operational matters, and all non-Navy personnel were reassigned. The unit, renamed 7th Amphibious Scouts, received a new mission, to go ashore with the assault boats, buoy channels, erect markers for the incoming craft, handle casualties, take offshore soundings, clear beach obstacles, and maintain voice communications linking

12070-466: The establishment of Operational Naval Demolition Unit No. 1. Six officers and eighteen enlisted men reported from the Seabee 's NTC Camp Peary dynamiting and demolition school, for a four-week course. Those Seabees, led by Lieutenant Fred Wise CEC, were immediately sent to participate in the invasion of Sicily. At that time Lieutenant Commander Draper L. Kauffman , "The Father of Naval Combat Demolition,"

12212-445: The fire engines to Project Handclasp for transportation to Nicaragua, their partner nation. Project Handclasp is a U.S. Navy program that accepts and transports educational, humanitarian and goodwill material on a space-available basis aboard U.S. Navy ships for distribution to foreign nation recipients. SPS is an annual deployment of various specialty platforms to the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR) in

12354-626: The first U.S. combat operation using an "aqualung" when he dived on USS  Pledge . For the remainder of the war, UDTs conducted beach and river reconnaissance, infiltrated guerrillas behind the lines from sea, continued mine sweeping operations and participated in Operation Fishnet, which devastated the North Koreans' fishing capability. President John F. Kennedy , aware of the situation in Southeast Asia, recognized

12496-403: The following morning. The team sent to the radio station also ran into communication problems. As soon as the SEALs reached the radio facility they found themselves unable to raise their command post. After beating back several waves of Grenadian and Cuban troops supported by BTR-60 armored personnel carriers, the SEALs decided that their position at the radio tower was untenable. They destroyed

12638-457: The front the vessel looks like a trimaran , the center hull does not rest in the water and is not used for buoyancy . As a logistics vessel, the ship does not have water-tight compartments or weapons systems. Propulsion is provided by directional water jets, so the ship does not have propellers or a rudder for steering, and can maneuver in 3.7 m (12 ft) of water. The HSV stands for "High Speed Vessel", and her home port while chartered as

12780-776: The joint Army-Navy Scouts and Raiders school that was also in Fort Pierce and the Navy's bomb disposal school in the Seabee-dominated teams. For the Marianas operations of Kwajalein, Roi-Namur , Siapan, Tinian, Eniwetok , and Guam, Admiral Turner recommended sixty Silver Stars and over three hundred Bronze Stars with Vs for the Seabees and other service members of UDTs 1–7 That was unprecedented in U.S. Naval/Marine Corps history. For UDTs 5 and 7 every officer received

12922-401: The landing beach. The unit was led by U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant Lloyd Peddicord as commanding officer, and Navy Ensign John Bell as executive officer. Navy Chief Petty Officers and sailors came from the boat pool at U. S. Naval Amphibious Training Base, Solomons, Maryland , and Army Raider personnel came from the 3rd and 9th Infantry Divisions . They trained at Little Creek until embarking for

13064-399: The mainsail. Performance versions often have trapezes to allow the crew to hike out and counterbalance capsize forces during strong winds on certain points of sail. For the 33rd America's Cup , both the defender and the challenger built 90-foot (27 m) long multihulls. Société Nautique de Genève , defending with team Alinghi , sailed a catamaran. The challenger, BMW Oracle Racing, used

13206-649: The members of the OSS Maritime Unit, he was made honorary Green Berets and recognized by organizations like the UDT Navy Seal Association for their heroic and critical work. In May 1944, Colonel "Wild Bill" Donovan , the head of the OSS, divided the Maritime Unit into four groups and approached General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz about using OSS men in the Pacific Gen. MacArthur had no interest at all. Adm Nimitz looked at Donovan's list of units and also said no thank you except he could use

13348-649: The men in the teams that saw service. The UDT uniform had transitioned from the combat fatigues of the NCDUs to trunks, swimfins , diving masks and Ka-bars . The men trained by the OSS had brought their swimfins with them when they joined the UDTs. They were adopted by the other teams as quickly as Supply could get them. These "Naked Warriors", as they came to be called post-war, saw action in every major Pacific amphibious landing including: Eniwetok , Saipan , Kwajalein , Tinian , Guam , Angaur , Ulithi , Peleliu , Leyte , Lingayen Gulf , Zambales , Iwo Jima , Okinawa , Labuan , and Brunei Bay . By fall of 1944,

13490-567: The mid-twentieth century, beachcats became a widespread category of sailing catamarans, owing to their ease of launching and mass production. In California, a maker of surfboards , Hobie Alter , produced the 250-pound (110 kg) Hobie 14 in 1967, and two years later the larger and even more successful Hobie 16 . As of 2016, the Hobie 16 was still being produced with more than 100,000 having been manufactured. Catamarans were introduced to Olympic sailing in 1976. The two-handed Tornado catamaran

13632-477: The more "primitive form" of outrigger canoes, they were nonetheless effective, allowing seafaring Polynesians to voyage to distant Pacific islands . The following is a list of traditional Austronesian catamarans: The first documented example of twin-hulled sailing craft in Europe was designed by William Petty in 1662 to sail faster, in shallower waters, in lighter wind, and with fewer crew than other vessels of

13774-414: The name "Hell Week" by NCDU recruits, this rigorous course was integrated into UDT training and remains a part of modern-day Navy Seal training today. By April 1944, a total of 34 NCDUs were deployed to England in preparation for Operation Overlord , the amphibious landing at Normandy . On 6 June 1944, under heavy fire, the NCDUs at Omaha Beach managed to blow eight complete gaps and two partial gaps in

13916-657: The need for unconventional warfare and special operations as a measure against guerrilla warfare . In a speech to Congress on 25 May 1961, Kennedy spoke of his deep respect for the United States Army Special Forces . While his announcement of the government's plan to put a man on the moon drew most of the attention, in the same speech he announced his intention to spend over $ 100 million to strengthen U.S. special operations forces and expand American capabilities in unconventional warfare. Some people erroneously credit President Kennedy with creating

14058-476: The need for a beach reconnaissance force, a select group of Army and Navy personnel assembled at Amphibious Training Base (ATB) Little Creek , Virginia on 15 August 1942 to begin Amphibious Scouts and Raiders (Joint) training. The Scouts and Raiders' mission was to identify and reconnoiter the objective beach, maintain a position on the designated beach prior to a landing, and guide the assault waves to

14200-540: The need for the covert reconnaissance of landing beaches and coastal defenses . As a result, the joint Army, Marine Corps, and Navy Amphibious Scout and Raider School was established in 1942 at Fort Pierce, Florida . The Scouts and Raiders were formed in September of that year, just nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor , from the Observer Group , a joint U.S. Army-Marine-Navy unit. Recognizing

14342-589: The operations in the Marshall Islands , Admiral Turner restructured the two provisional UDT units and created 7 permanent units with an allotted size of 96 men per team. In the name of operational efficiency, the UDTs were also made an-all Navy outfit, and any Army and Marine corp engineers were returned to their units. Moving forward, the UDTs would employ the reconnaissance method made successful in Kwajalein – daytime use of swimsuits and goggles instead of

14484-405: The opposite. Two canoes bound together developed directly from minimal raft technologies of two logs tied together. Over time, the twin-hulled canoe form developed into the asymmetric double canoe, where one hull is smaller than the other. Eventually the smaller hull became the prototype outrigger , giving way to the single outrigger canoe, then to the reversible single outrigger canoe. Finally,

14626-417: The port bow. As of July 2017, Swift 1 is reportedly now owned by Greek ferry company Seajets . In 2018 she was renamed Ift. Catamaran A catamaran ( / ˌ k æ t ə m ə ˈ r æ n / ) (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast

14768-443: The racing versions recording well over 400 nautical miles (460 mi; 740 km) per day. In addition, they do not heel more than 10-12 degrees, even at full speed on a reach. Powered cruising catamarans share many of the amenities found in a sail cruising catamaran. The saloon typically spans two hulls wherein are found the staterooms and engine compartments. As with sailing catamarans, this configuration minimizes boat motion in

14910-410: The sails to derive power from attached flow , their most efficient mode—analogous to a wing—leading to the use of wingsails in racing craft. Catamarans rely primarily on form stability to resist heeling and capsize. Comparison of heeling stability of a rectangular-cross section monohull of beam, B , compared with two catamaran hulls of width B /2, separated by a distance, 2× B , determines that

15052-439: The same capacity. In addition to greater speed, catamarans draw less water than do monohulls— as little as 3 feet (0.91 m) —and are easier to beach. Catamarans are harder to tack and take up more space in a marina. Cruising catamarans entail added expense for having two engines and two rudders. Tarjan adds that cruising catamarans boats can maintain a comfortable 300 nautical miles (350 mi; 560 km) per day passage, with

15194-613: The separate Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU). DEVGRU fell under Task Force Blue, while Naval Special Warfare Group 2 composed the entirety of Task Force White. Task Force White was tasked with three principal objectives: the destruction of Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) naval assets in Balboa Harbor and the destruction of Manuel Noriega 's private jet at Paitilla Airport (collectively known as Operation Nifty Package ), as well as isolating PDF forces on Flamenco Island. The strike on Balboa Harbor by Task Unit Whiskey

15336-410: The ship did not have any military capacity. Saudi Arabia reported that their forces rescued passengers from a damaged UAE ship at dawn on 1 October 2016. There are conflicting reports as to whether she was en route to Aden , a regular destination, or Mokha at the time she was attacked. Unnamed U.S. Defense officials reported that four "shoulder-fired rockets" were used in the attack, but Houthis said it

15478-574: The ship had been sent to the Persian Gulf , South Africa, the North Sea , and Hawaii within one year. Other locations included the Gulf of Mexico, Singapore, Thailand, Sicily , Spain, and southern California . As mine demonstration missions wore down, Swift was used in partnership missions, performing extended cruises to Africa, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. The five-year charter

15620-506: The ship was damaged and was being towed to Eritrea. The vessel sustained serious damage to its bow, but remained afloat. The ship is a wave-piercing , aluminum-hulled, commercial catamaran with military enhancements, such as a helicopter flight deck, vehicle deck, small boat and unmanned vehicle launch and recovery capability, and a communications suite. She features a new, modular design, which will allow her to be refitted to support missions without requiring long shipyard periods. While from

15762-572: The single outrigger types developed into the double outrigger canoe (or trimarans ). This would also explain why older Austronesian populations in Island Southeast Asia tend to favor double outrigger canoes, as it keeps the boats stable when tacking . But they still have small regions where catamarans and single-outrigger canoes are still used. In contrast, more distant outlying descendant populations in Oceania , Madagascar , and

15904-502: The spring of 1945 and, disguised as coolies , conducted a detailed three-month survey of the Chinese coast from Shanghai to Kitchioh Wan, near Hong Kong . In September 1942, 17 Navy salvage personnel arrived at ATB Little Creek, Virginia for a week-long course in demolitions, explosive cable cutting, and commando raiding techniques. On 10 November 1942, the first combat demolition unit successfully cut cable and net barriers across

16046-535: The station and fought their way to the water where they hid from patrolling enemy forces. After the enemy had given up their search, the SEALs, some wounded, swam into the open sea where they were extracted several hours later after being spotted by a reconnaissance aircraft. During the closing stages of the Iran–Iraq War the United States Navy began conducting operations in the Persian Gulf to protect US-flagged ships from attack by Iranian naval forces. A secret plan

16188-406: The strait and the vicinity." Mason and Ponce were subsequently attacked on 9 October, 12 October and again on 15 October. U.S. Defense officials said that Swift was in tow to Eritrea as of 3 October 2016. Later photographs proved that she was still afloat, albeit heavily damaged, as of 5 October 2016. Social media reports showed her afloat in a Greek port in July 2017 with significant damage to

16330-489: The swimmers from the Maritime Unit to expand the UDTs. He was primarily interested in them for being swimmers, not their military training. The interest in the tactical applications of the OSS Operational Swimmers ' training only developed later but most of Group A's gear was put into storage as it was not applicable to UDT work. The OSS was very restricted in operations in the Pacific. ADM Nimitz approved

16472-693: The takedown of the Iran Ajr . Evidence gathered on the Iran Ajr by the SEALs later allowed the US Navy to trace the mines that struck USS  Samuel B. Roberts  (FFG-58) . This chain of events led to Operation Praying Mantis , the largest US Naval surface engagement since the Second World War. During Operation Desert Shield and Storm, Navy SEALs trained Kuwaiti Special Forces. They set up naval special operations groups in Kuwait, working with

16614-605: The time. However, the unusual design met with skepticism and was not a commercial success. The design remained relatively unused in the West for almost 160 years until the early 19th-century, when the Englishman Mayflower F. Crisp built a two-hulled merchant ship in Rangoon, Burma . The ship was christened Original . Crisp described it as "a fast sailing fine sea boat; she traded during the monsoon between Rangoon and

16756-493: The total to three Medals of Honor and five Navy Crosses. SEAL Team One was awarded three Presidential Unit Citations and one Navy Unit Commendation; SEAL Team Two received two Presidential Unit Citations. By the end of the war, 48 SEALs had been killed in Vietnam, but estimates of their kill count are as high as 2,000. The Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, displays a list of the 48 SEALs who lost their lives in combat during

16898-484: The transfer the five officers and 24 enlisted men of Maritime Unit Operational Swimmer Group A led by Lieutenant Choate. They became part of UDT 10 in July 1944. LT Choate would become commander of UDT 10. The rest of MU Group A would fill most of UDT 10's command offices as well as many of the swimmers. Five of the OSS-trained men participated in the very first UDT submarine operation with USS  Burrfish in

17040-643: The troops ashore, incoming boats and nearby ships. The 7th Amphibious Scouts conducted operations in the Pacific for the duration of the conflict, participating in more than 40 landings. The third and final Scouts and Raiders organization operated in China. Scouts and Raiders were deployed to fight with the Sino-American Cooperative Organization (SACO) . To help bolster the work of SACO, Admiral Ernest J. King ordered that 120 officers and 900 men be trained for "Amphibious Raider" at

17182-510: The tsunami affected region, crews were swapped in Pearl Harbor , with Gold crew relieving Blue crew in less than eight hours. Swift embarked a helicopter detachment, and served as a base of operations for two helicopters and their crew for 30 consecutive days at sea. During the operation, Swift sailed for 30 straight days, supported a helicopter detachment and support crew and conducted two underway replenishments. In 2005, Swift played

17324-424: The water and greater stability (initial resistance to capsize). Choosing between a monohull and catamaran configuration includes considerations of carrying capacity, speed, and efficiency. At low to moderate speeds, a lightweight catamaran hull experiences resistance to passage through water that is approximately proportional to its speed. A displacement monohull has the same relationship at low speed since resistance

17466-590: The water. Virtually all of the new mega-cats were built of pre-preg carbon fiber for strength and the lowest possible weight. The top speeds of these boats can approach 50 knots (58 mph; 93 km/h). The Race was won by the 33.50 m (109.9 ft)-long catamaran Club Med skippered by Grant Dalton . It went round the globe in 62 days at an average speed of 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h). Whitewater catamaran—sometimes called "cata-rafts"—for whitewater sports are widely spread in post-Soviet countries . They consists of two inflatable hulls connected with

17608-468: Was a C-802 / Noor anti-ship missile . According to open source naval analyst and retired Navy Captain Chris Carlson, the shrapnel damage to Swift indicates she was hit by EFP warhead, most likely a C-802. U.S. Navy destroyers USS  Mason and USS  Nitze , and amphibious transport dock USS  Ponce were dispatched to the area "to ensure that shipping continues unimpeded in

17750-411: Was a circumnavigation challenge which departed from Barcelona, Spain, on New Year's Eve, 2000. Because of the prize money and prestige associated with this event, four new catamarans (and two highly modified ones) over 100 feet (30 m) in length were built to compete. The largest, PlayStation , owned by Steve Fossett , was 125 feet (38 m) long and had a mast which was 147 feet (45 m) above

17892-552: Was a non-traditional use of Naval forces. Due to the nature of the war, the UDTs maintained a low operational profile. Some of the missions included transporting spies into North Korea and the destruction of North Korean fishing nets used to supply the North Korean Army. As part of the Special Operations Group, or SOG, UDTs successfully conducted demolition raids on railroad tunnels and bridges along

18034-432: Was an example of a large, fast ferry, typically traveling at a speed of 46 miles per hour (74 km/h), although it was capable of over 70 miles per hour (110 km/h). The Australian island Tasmania became the site of builders of large transport catamarans— Incat in 1977 and Austal in 1988 —each building civilian ferries and naval vessels. Incat built HSC Francisco , a High-Speed trimaran that, at 58 knots,

18176-687: Was as a result of this event, the Centennial Regatta of the New York Yacht Club, that catamarans were barred from regular sailing classes, and this remained the case until the 1970s. On June 6, 1882, three catamarans from the Southern Yacht Club of New Orleans raced a 15 nm course on Lake Pontchartrain and the winning boat in the catamaran class, Nip and Tuck , beat the fastest sloop's time by over five minutes. In 1916, Leonardo Torres Quevedo patented

18318-542: Was designated TU 1.1.3 for the operation. On 27 April 1946, seven officers and 51 enlisted embarked at CBC Port Hueneme, for transit to Bikini. Their assignment was to retrieve water samples from ground zero of the Baker blast. The Korean War began on 25 June 1950, when the North Korean army invaded South Korea . Beginning with a detachment of 11 personnel from UDT 3, UDT participation expanded to three teams with

18460-502: Was established in April 1987 and its Naval component, United States Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWARCOM), also known as NSWC, was established at the same time. Both SEAL Team Four and SEAL Team Six, the predecessor to DEVGRU , participated in the US invasion of Grenada. The SEALs' two primary missions were the extraction of Grenada's Governor-General, Sir Paul Scoon , and the capture of Grenada's only radio tower. Neither mission

18602-541: Was in a United States port, it was usually Naval Station Mayport , Florida, supporting the Fourth Fleet or Charleston, South Carolina, for major maintenance. Rota, Spain , was considered by the crew to be the "Mediterranean home away from home. The ship was constructed by the Australian shipbuilder Incat in Hobart , Tasmania , and was leased to the U.S. Navy through Bollinger / Incat of Lockport, Louisiana . She

18744-648: Was lost to improper handling of explosives. In August 1944, four NCDUs from Utah Beach plus nine others participated in the landings Operation Dragoon in southern France. It was the last amphibious operation in the European Theater of Operations . Once the European invasions were complete, Rear Admiral Kelly Turner requisitioned all available NCDUs from Fort Pierce for integration into the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) operating in

18886-634: Was mostly used for fleet support and humanitarian partnership missions. In July 2015, the ship was leased by the United Arab Emirates National Marine Dredging Company and was used to carry aid through the Bab Al Mandab strait. On 1 October 2016, the ship was attacked and damaged off the coast of Yemen by Iranian-backed rebel Houthis , who at the time claimed to have sunk the ship. According to unnamed U.S. Department of Defense officials,

19028-496: Was put in place and dubbed Operation Prime Chance . Navy SEAL Teams 1 and 2 along with several Special Boat Units and EOD technicians were deployed on mobile command barges and transported by helicopters from the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment . Over the course of the operation SEALs conducted VBSS ( visit, board, search, and seizure ) missions to counter Iranian mine-laying boats. The only loss of life occurred during

19170-473: Was renewed in 2008, and the ship continued to serve until the introduction of Joint High Speed Vessels . Swift ended her service with Military Sealift Command in 2013. Swift returned to Incat at Hobart in July 2013 for refit for sale or charter. As of July 2015 the vessel was reportedly being operated by the UAE's National Marine Dredging Company. The ship was used to carry aid, wounded, and passengers as part of

19312-486: Was sailed in 72-foot (22 m) long AC72 catamarans (craft set by the rules for the 2013 America's Cup). Each yacht employed hydrofoils and a wing sail. The regatta was won 9–8 by Oracle Team USA against the challenger, Emirates Team New Zealand , in fifteen matches because Oracle Team USA had started the regatta with a two-point penalty. Yachting has seen the development of multihulls over 100 feet (30 m) in length. " The Race " helped precipitate this trend; it

19454-731: Was selected for the multihull discipline in the Olympic Games from 1976 through 2008. It was redesigned in 2000. The foiling Nacra 17 was used in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which were held in 2021; after the 2015 adoption of the Nacra 15 as a Youth World Championships class and as a new class for the Youth Olympic Games. Catamarans have two distinct primary performance characteristics that distinguish them from displacement monohull vessels: lower resistance to passage through

19596-474: Was selected to set up a school for Naval Demolitions and direct the entire Project. The first six classes graduated from "Area E" at NTC Camp Peary. LCDR Kauffman's needs quickly out-grew "Area E" and on 6 June 1943, he established NCDU training at Fort Pierce. Most of Kauffman's volunteers came from the navy's Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) and enlisted Seabees. Training commenced with a grueling week designed to filter out under-performing candidates. Eventually given

19738-860: Was the beginning of the Navy SEALs. All SEALs came from the Navy's Underwater Demolition Teams , who had already gained extensive experience in commando warfare in Korea ; however, the Underwater Demolition Teams were still necessary to the Navy's amphibious force. The first two teams were formed in January 1962 and stationed on both US coasts: Team One at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado , in San Diego, California and Team Two at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek , in Virginia Beach, Virginia . Formed entirely with personnel from UDTs,

19880-512: Was the second catamaran the Navy leased to test new technologies and concepts associated with the Chief of Naval Operations 's " Sea Power 21 " plan. The contract value for the first year was $ 21.7 million. Swift is the fourth Incat-built high-speed wave piercing catamaran to enter military service, following behind HMAS  Jervis Bay , United States Army Vessel (USAV) Theater Support Vessel Spearhead  (TSV-X1) and USS  Joint Venture . The first ship of this class to be used by

20022-501: Was the way to get accurate information on coral and underwater obstacles for upcoming landings. This is what he reported to Admiral Nimitz. The success of those UDT 1 Seabees not following Fort Pierce protocol rewrote the UDT mission model and training regimen. Those Seabees also created the image of UDTs as the "naked warriors". At Engebi CDR Brewster was wounded and all of the men with ENS Luehrs wore swim trunks under their greens. After

20164-627: Was well briefed or sufficiently supported with timely intelligence and the SEALs ran into trouble from the very beginning. On 24 October 1983, twelve operators from SEAL Team Six and four Air Force Combat Control Team members (CCT) conducted a predawn combat airborne water insertion from C-130 Hercules aircraft with Zodiac inflatable rubber boats 40 kilometers north of Point Salines, Grenada. The team inserted with full combat gear in bad weather with low visibility conditions and high winds. Four SEALs drowned and were never recovered. SEALs split into two teams and proceeded to their objectives. After digging in at

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