page_title: Hurricane Aircat
section_title: Operational history
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Aircat / Operational history
caption_attribution_description: English: Vietnamese Strike Troops man a Hurricane Aircat airboat in a river operation
context_page_description: The Hurricane Aircat was an airboat used as a riverine patrol boat by the US Army and South Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. It was used to conduct various counterinsurgency and patrol missions in riverine and marshy areas where larger boats could not go.
context_section_description: During the Vietnam War the Hurricane Aircat was used by US Special Forces and ARVN to patrol and attack in riverine and marshy areas where larger boats could not go. Aircats were used primarily in the 15,000 square miles (39,000 km²) of the Mekong Delta and Plain of Reeds though they also saw action in the Bảy Núi mountains near the Cambodian border. Its most important contribution to the American war effort was in allowing American Green Berets to attack previously unassailable Viet Cong (VC) support bases and strongholds in wetlands and swamp forests. Aircats saw combat on many occasions in which they engaged Viet Cong forces, captured enemy documents, weapons, and munitions, and received enemy fire and suffered casualties. The Aircat proved effective at many types of missions: in its 104 missions in 1965, encompassing reconnaissance, flank security, and assaults, it killed 86 VC, destroyed 26 of their boats, and achieved most mission objectives.
  Aircats were able to clear obstacles that proved insurmountable for other boats. The Aircat could cross 2-foot (0.61 m) high dikes at 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) and there were several examples of US troops encountering obstacles or blockades in other watercraft, such as Swift Boats and river patrol boats, making a note of the obstacle, and then returning in Aircats and proceeding over it. These characteristics made the Aircat invaluable during the rainy monsoon season, as it could easily cross flooded rice paddies and jump dikes between paddies.
  The Aircat was very fast relative to other patrol boats, being capable of speeds up to 42 knots (48 mph; 78 km/h) in deep water and 65 knots (75 mph; 120 km/h) on shallow water or rice paddies. Its speed made it ideal for reconnaissance, providing flank security for riverine assault boats, and special forces use. The Aircat's speed and maneuverability was important for US Special Forces because they were able to outrun and outmaneuver most enemy vessels. As such, the craft was used widely by special forces for pursuing and assaulting Viet Cong units in flooded areas in the Mekong Delta.  That said, the Aircat's speed and maneuverability could also be a disadvantage, as Aircat crews would often get disoriented without constant aerial observation. The 5th Special Forces Group was especially noteworthy for its use of Aircats, operating 84 of the vessels in the Mekong Delta beginning in early 1967. Colonel Francis J. Kelly, commander of the 5th Special Forces Group from June 1966 to June 1967 and author of a book about US Army Special Forces in Vietnam, praised the Aircat for its "speed and firepower," writing that once tactics adjusted to employ the Aircat to maximum effect, Aircats enabled "telling victories over the Viet Cong" and turned the flood season into a tactical advantage for US forces.
  The use of Aircats, increases in troop strength, and introduction of other tactics allowed the 5th Special Forces Group to take the fight to the VC and capture territory in the Delta, helping to make the 50% of territory and CIDG bases that were previously too overrun with Viet Cong to enter safe enough to operate in. It also helped the 5th Special Forces Group mount operations and establish CIDG bases deep into territory previously under the control of the Viet Cong. These gains were not without cost, however: 55 Special Forces and 1,654 Vietnamese were killed during 1967, as well as an estimated 7,000 Viet Cong. The 5th Special Forces Group found that the Aircats were most effective when used in combined arms operations with gunships, as the gunships would locate and engage the enemy while the Aircats would use their speed and maneuverability to seal off escape routes.
  The Aircat was also valuable to special forces because it could be easily transported by Chinook helicopter, allowing for flexible operations across southern Vietnam.
  In addition to special warfare use, Aircats were used by the South Vietnamese government for transporting important officials and by Vietnamese police forces for inspecting fishing boats.
  Crew sizes varied greatly 
caption: Vietnamese strike troops man a Hurricane Aircat in a river operation
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