Cambodian Navy SEALs
Encyclopedia
The Cambodian Navy SEALs were the main elite Maritime Special Operations Force of the National Khmer Navy
(French
: Marine National Khmère – MNK) during the 1970-75 Cambodian Civil War
.
, at San Diego, California
in the United States
and to Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines
for basic training.
Parachute courses were conducted at the Pochentong Airborne Training Centre, while the Olympic pool at the Cércle Sportif complex in Phnom Penh
was used for diving courses.
and their South Vietnamese Navy LDNN counterparts, the unit fielded by mid-1974 a total of 90 ‘Commandos divided into three teams – SEAL Teams 1, 2, and 3 – led by a navy commander.
They defended the Chrui Chhang War Naval Base until the final days of the war.
FN GP35
Pistols Colt.45 M1911
Pistols Smith & Wesson Model 39 Revolvers TT-33
Pistols Type 56 Assault rifle Type 56-1 Assault rifle AKM
Assault rifle M16A1
Assault rifle CAR-15
Assault carbine Ithaca Model 37
pump-action shotguns RPD
Light machine gun Type 56 LMG Light machine gun M1918A2 BAR Light machine gun M60
General purpose machine gun RPG-2
Rocket-propelled grenade RPG-7
Rocket-propelled grenade M72 LAW
Anti-tank rocket launcher M79
Grenade launcher M203
Grenade launcher
Khmer National Armed Forces
The Khmer National Armed Forces , often abbreviated to FANK, were the official armed defense forces of the Khmer Republic, a short-lived state that existed from 1970 to 1975, known today as Cambodia...
(French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Marine National Khmère – MNK) during the 1970-75 Cambodian Civil War
Cambodian Civil War
The Cambodian Civil War was a conflict that pitted the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea and their allies the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Viet Cong against the government forces of Cambodia , which were supported by the United States and the Republic of Vietnam The Cambodian...
.
Origins
In mid-1973 the National Khmer Navy raised its own special warfare unit, the Cambodian SEALs. An initial group of recruits was drawn from an existing Combat Swimmer Unit and sent to the Naval Amphibious Base CoronadoNaval Amphibious Base Coronado
Naval Amphibious Base Coronado is a naval installation located across the bay from San Diego, CA. The base, situated on Silver Strand, between the San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major Navy shore command, supporting over 30 tenant commands, and is the West Coast focal point for special...
, at San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and to Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
for basic training.
Parachute courses were conducted at the Pochentong Airborne Training Centre, while the Olympic pool at the Cércle Sportif complex in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
was used for diving courses.
Structure and organization
Headquartered at the Chrui Chhang War Naval Base opposite Phnom Penh and modelled after the United States Navy SEALsUnited States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
and their South Vietnamese Navy LDNN counterparts, the unit fielded by mid-1974 a total of 90 ‘Commandos divided into three teams – SEAL Teams 1, 2, and 3 – led by a navy commander.
Operations
The Cambodian SEALs provided valuable intelligence for the MNK while acting as reconnaissance teams along the banks of the Mekong and as shock troops on amphibious assault operations.They defended the Chrui Chhang War Naval Base until the final days of the war.
Weapons and equipment
The weaponry and equipment employed by the Cambodian Navy SEALs was basically FANK standard issue, being mostly of US origin supplemented by captured Soviet or Chinese weapons drawn from enemy stocks seized in the course of their operations.FN GP35
Browning Hi-Power
The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized...
Pistols Colt.45 M1911
M1911
The M1911 is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, and recoil-operated handgun chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. John M. Browning designed the firearm which was the standard-issue side arm for the United States armed forces from 1911 to 1985. The M1911 is still carried by some U.S....
Pistols Smith & Wesson Model 39 Revolvers TT-33
TT-33
The TT-30 is a Russian semi-automatic pistol. It was developed in the early 1930s by Fedor Tokarev as a service pistol for the Soviet military to replace the Nagant M1895 revolver that had been in use since tsarist times, though it never fully replaced the M1895.-Development:In 1930, the...
Pistols Type 56 Assault rifle Type 56-1 Assault rifle AKM
AKM
The AKM is a 7.62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is an upgraded version of the AK-47 rifle and was developed in the 1950s....
Assault rifle M16A1
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
Assault rifle CAR-15
CAR-15
The Colt Automatic Rifle-15 Military Weapons System or CAR-15 was a family of AR-15 and M16 rifle–based firearms marketed by Colt in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Due to their compact size, the short-barreled Colt Commando and XM177 versions of this family continued to be issued to the U.S...
Assault carbine Ithaca Model 37
Ithaca 37
The Ithaca 37 is a pump-action shotgun made in large numbers for the civilian, military, and police markets. It utilizes a novel combination ejection/loading port on the bottom of the gun which leaves the sides closed to the elements. In addition, the outline of the gun is clean...
pump-action shotguns RPD
RPD
The RPD is a 7.62mm light machine gun developed in the Soviet Union by Vasily Degtyaryov for the intermediate 7.62x39mm M43 cartridge. It was created as a replacement for the DP machine gun chambered for the 7.62x54mmR Mosin rifle round...
Light machine gun Type 56 LMG Light machine gun M1918A2 BAR Light machine gun M60
M60 machine gun
The M60 is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links...
General purpose machine gun RPG-2
RPG-2
The RPG-2 was the first rocket-propelled grenade launcher designed in the Soviet Union.-Development:The RPG-2 , was a man-portable, shoulder-launched rocket-propelled grenade anti-armor weapon...
Rocket-propelled grenade RPG-7
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
Rocket-propelled grenade M72 LAW
M72 LAW
The M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, and Frank A. Spinale et al...
Anti-tank rocket launcher M79
M79 grenade launcher
The M79 grenade launcher is a single-shot, shoulder-fired, break-action grenade launcher that fires a 40x46mm grenade which used what the US Army called the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low, and first appeared during the Vietnam War...
Grenade launcher M203
M203 grenade launcher
The M203 is a single shot 40 mm grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilize the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low. Though versatile, and compatible with many rifle models, the M203 was...
Grenade launcher
See also
- Cambodian Civil WarCambodian Civil WarThe Cambodian Civil War was a conflict that pitted the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea and their allies the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Viet Cong against the government forces of Cambodia , which were supported by the United States and the Republic of Vietnam The Cambodian...
- Khmer National Armed ForcesKhmer National Armed ForcesThe Khmer National Armed Forces , often abbreviated to FANK, were the official armed defense forces of the Khmer Republic, a short-lived state that existed from 1970 to 1975, known today as Cambodia...
- Khmer Special ForcesKhmer Special ForcesThe Khmer Special Forces, also designated Khmer SF for short or Forces Speciales Khmères in French, were the elite Special Operations unit of the Khmer National Armed Forces during the 1970-75 Cambodian Civil War.-Origins:The history of the Khmer Special Forces began in October 1971, when the 1st...
- United States Navy SEALsUnited States Navy SEALsThe United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
- 911 Special Forces911 Special ForcesThe 911 Para-Commando Battalion is a Royal Cambodian Army special forces unit based west of Phnom Penh. Most of the battalion graduated from the Indonesian army's special force's Commando Training, Kopassus, so the 911 is very similar to the Kopassus; even they also wear the same red beret,...