Action of 1 March 1968

Action of 1 March 1968
Part of the Vietnam War
#1 #3 #2 Cambodia Laos DMZ South Vietnam North Vietnam #4 class=notpageimage| Trawler locations on 1 March 1968
Date 1 March 1968 Location South Vietnam Result United States/South Vietnamese victory
Belligerents
South Vietnam  United States	North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
William H. Stewart	unknown
Strength
Sea: 1 minesweeper 4 cutters 7 swift boats 2 junks 1 patrol boat Air: 3 aircraft	4 naval trawlers
Casualties and losses
none 4 cutters damaged	~14 killed 2 naval trawlers sunk 1 naval trawler scuttled

The action of 1 March 1968 was a co-ordinated attempt by four North Vietnamese trawlers to resupply the Viet Cong and the efforts of Operation Market Time elements to stop them during the Vietnam War. On 28 February 1968, United States Navy SP-2H Neptune aircraft on routine patrol detected a North Vietnamese SL class naval trawler heading towards the South Vietnamese coast from north of the DMZ. By the next morning, three more trawlers were discovered and units of Operation Market Time were deployed for a surprise interception. The suspect trawlers did not fly flags so it was not until the start of the engagement that their origin was discovered. The trawlers were steel-hulled vessels, 100 feet long and armed with 57-millimeter recoilless rifles and machine guns. All four vessels were loaded with weapons and ammunition intended to be delivered to the Viet Cong. American and South Vietnamese forces that engaged in action included the United States Coast Guard cutters Androscoggin, Point Grey, Point Welcome, Winona, Point Grace, Point Hudson, Point Marone, the swift boats USS PCF-18, USS PCF-20, USS PCF-42, USS PCF-43, USS PCF-46, USS PCF-47 and USS PCF-48, two South Vietnamese navy junks and one patrol boat. Two U.S. Army helicopter gunships also participated in combat as well as aircraft used to fire flares.^[1][2]