PBR Mark II (Hackensack, New Jersey)

 museum, military, display, United States Navy

The Patrol Boat, River (PBR) Mark II, or "Pibber" is a 31ft fiberglass-hulled patrol boat designed and produced by the United States to patrol inland river and "Brown Water" areas to prevent infiltration, smuggling or transport of enemy arms or personnel.

Heavily used during the Vietnam War, a force of over 250 PBR's were operated by an all-volunteer crew in the used in Mekong Delta, the Rung Sat Special Zone and Saigon River from March 1966 until the end of 1971. In addition to their intended roles, many PBR's and their crews to insert and recover special warfare teams from deep within enemy territory, something which got the lightly armored but heavily armed boats into pitched firefights with much larger enemy forces. This typically hazardous duty earned PBR crews the distinctions of being both most decorated and highest casualty rated US Naval Units of the Vietnam War.

The PBR Mark II on display at the New Jersey Naval Museum is one of only a few remaining examples of the boat left in existence, and is the only one in the Northeastern United States. Maintained by volunteer crews, the boat is displayed in typical Vietnam-era markings.

www.njnm.com/exhibits.html
www.hnsa.org/doc/boatcat/cat-0043.htm