FOIA: 2/G11/VHN/R20-64 SIGINT Readiness Bravo Lantern Report Nr. 16

relea00124.pdf
2/G11/VHN/R20-64 SIGINT Readiness Bravo Lantern Report Nr. 16
This is a report following the USS Maddox attack on 2 August 1964
Document date: 1964-08-05
Department: NSA Headquarters, Ft. Meade, MD (DIRNSDA)
Author: SIGINT; Phu Bai
Document type: Report
pages: 2


Archivist's Notes: DRV Vessel T142 communicated to Port Wallut that T146 would not be able to rendezvous with the 2 ships of 135 Squadron to protect them and requested another ship to meet them. See other reports Nr 12 and 15.

This document is one of several readiness reports of communications from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, in which the DRV attacked US Naval vessels on Aug. 2nd, 1964.

This message was about a ship “SWATOW PGM T-142” was unable to rendezvous with two other ships to protect them, and they should send another ship. Because the communication occurred on Aug. 5th, this could have been in preparation of another attack, but another possibility is that these were the ships damaged in the air strike that needed help. It is hard to tell.

The Gulf of Tonkin Incident prompted the US Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Johnson authority to use military force to defend allies in the area and ultimately lead to the beginning of the Vietnam War.

Related FOIA Documents:
FOIA: DRV attack on US Ships in Gulf of Tonkin; 2 - 4 August 1964
FOIA: Summary of DRV Naval Communications Revealing Pre-Planned Attacks on USS Maddox

Other Readiness Reports:
FOIA: 2/G11/VHN/R15-64 SIGINT Readiness Bravo Lantern Report Nr 11
FOIA: 2/G11/VHN/R16-64 SIGINT Readiness Report Bravo Lantern Report Nr. 12
FOIA: 2/G11/VHN/R19-64 SIGINT Readiness Bravo Lantern Report Nr. 15
FOIA: 2/G11/VHN/R21-64 SIGINT Readiness Bravo Lantern Report Nr. 17
FOIA: 2/G11/VHN/R18-64 SIGINT Readiness Bravo Lantern Report Nr. 18

Not much else to add to the above.

Further reading/comparisons on the gulf of tonking incident can be found ...

navy mil faq version

gwu edu version

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