What the heck happend durring Exersize Cobra Gold 82?

[TLAM Strike]

I came across this researching Charles F. Adams class destroyers (I'm building a 1/700 scale model of one)...

June 20, 1982 - Destroyers USS Lynde McCormick (DDG 8), USS Turner Joy (DD 951) and the cruiser USS Sterett were fired upon by machine guns from an unidentified vessel after returning from the U.S.-Thai exercise Cobra Gold, '82. The USS Lynde McCormick DDG-8 returned fire and the foreign vessel fled without further action.

The incident mentioned was off the coast of Vietnam at approx 2am. The Turner Joy was actually hit by a 30cal round in the ward room. the only casualty was the wardroom stereo of the USS Turner Joy. The USS Lynde McCormick did return fire with a deck mounted 50Cal and I believe the USS Sterett lobbed a couple of illumination rounds.

http://www.usslyndemccormick.com/His...story_1982.htm

Yes that is the Turner Joy of Gulf of Tonkin fame, and yes that is the USS Sterett of the Battle of Dong Hoi.

Wikipedia says this in its entry for the USS Benjamin Stoddert:

Leaving the Philippines on 2 June, the guided-missile destroyer sailed to Sattahip, Thailand, anchoring there on the 6th. That same day, tension between the Soviet Union and the West increased after Israel invaded Lebanon. International friction notwithstanding, the warship joined the previously scheduled exercise "Cobra Gold 82" in the Gulf of Thailand on the 7th. Her participation included naval gunfire support for an amphibious landing exercise and ASW operations with three Royal Thai Navy warships. Still, heightened Cold War tension intruded when, just before midnight on 8 June, Aneroid ***8212; a Soviet intelligence gathering trawler ***8212; fired an illumination flare over Thai ship HTMS Khirirat.


Departing Pattaya, Thailand, on 19 June, Benjamin Stoddert, guided-missile cruiser Sterett (CG-31), and two other destroyers passed into the South China Sea on their way to Subic Bay. The next evening, Soviet aircraft ***8212; presumably from bases in Vietnam ***8212; began shadowing the American warships. At around 22:00, a Soviet aircraft dropped 16 flares over Turner Joy (DD-951). A few minutes later, Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) received .30-caliber machinegun fire from an unidentified ship in the vicinity. The warship responded in kind, deliberately aiming high; and the foreign ship ceased fire. Although tension remained high the rest of the night, no other incidents occurred; and the warships arrived at Subic Bay on 23 June. After that, however, Stoddert passed her remaining five weeks in the western Pacific without incident; and, following two "war-at-sea" exercises in the waters off Japan, she steamed for home on 6 August.

Question... did a Soviet trawler or other craft (perhaps a Chinese or Vietnamese gunboat) take a shot at an American cruiser/destroyer group in the middle of a international crisis? Was this a second Gulf of Tonkin that went unnoticed? Did someone on the Red Side get a weapons free order by mistake? Did a couple of sailors get drunk while manning the .30 cal on one of the ships in the exercise?

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

Was this a second Gulf of Tonkin that went unnoticed?

More like the first

Only one version of events? .30 cal against destroyers?

The USN thought nothing of dropping grenades on Soviet submarines in international waters during the Cuban Missile Crisis, that quintessential international crisis of the Cold War.

I suspect some local commander, feeling threatened by the Task Group slipped into the Use It Or Lose It Mode and got trigger happy but there was probably less to it than that.

This was the Reagan years, had he had a chance to publicly provoke the Evil Empire this would have escalated the crisis.

[noboat1]

None of the accounts of what happened are correct, I was there on watch, on the bridge of the Turner Joy.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by noboat1

None of the accounts of what happened are correct, I was there on watch, on the bridge of the Turner Joy.

We'll need some proof of that.

Frankly, I don't believe you at all.

[Stealhead]

I think is just story doing some quick searching the "incident" is only mentioned in two places with nothing to back up the claims it also does not specify where the incident took place besides "off the coast of Vietnam" awful vague.


I think some bored former sailors just made up an interesting sounding story.Especially the part how only the radio in the ward room got hit that almost knee slapping silly to me.How dose a .30 cal round penetrate steel and or the sturdy glass used on warships?

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

I think is just story doing some quick searching the "incident" is only mentioned in two places with nothing to back up the claims it also does not specify where the incident took place besides "off the coast of Vietnam" awful vague.


I think some bored former sailors just made up an interesting sounding story.Especially the part how only the radio in the ward room got hit that almost knee slapping silly to me.How dose a .30 cal round penetrate steel and or the sturdy glass used on warships?

I'm with you on this one.

I don't believe it.

[Catfish]

OT i am just reading 'The cruise of the Lanikai', not far into yet, but was it also intended as a war ruse, to provoke an incident at the eve of Pearl Harbour ? Anyone read it ?

[Schroeder]

Do US warships have .30 cal MGs? If so I would rather think of an accidental friendly fire incident perhaps during maintenance. Nobody would be stupid enough to attack some warships with a .30 cal.

BTW nice thread necromancy.

[Stealhead]

Yes they do in 1982 they would have been M60s 7.62x51mm today they would use M240s also 7.62x51mm some also carry M134 miniguns again 7.62x51mm.

I think it is either a completely made up story or a great exaggeration of an actual event that was far less exciting.Perhaps something along the line of one of ships firing off some rounds and the others not being aware and getting a little excited and later it becomes a mystery attack.

[Haze Gray]

Here's what happened, ya land lubbers. We steamed from Thailand (we had anchored at Pattaya Beach for R&R, then stood off at Satahip for operations), on our way to Subic. From one flesh pot to the other.

The official word was that Vietnam was claiming territory greater than that which was internationally recognized, so we were to transit, in international waters, but within the area that they said was theirs, just to assert international sovereignty or whatever.

The truth was that we were crossing into their waters, even into the area that we recognized was their territory, dig?

The story told to the crew was that we were trying to get them to fire off their radar etc so we could to ECW and gather intel on their frequencies etc.

The truth was that we wanted to provoke them into attacking us (the desron) so we could paint them as bad guys.

Fine. Don't believe me. Here, read the news:
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/23/wo...china-sea.html

[Red October1984]

Seems legit...but it's also the internet...

[Stealhead]

Hey you want some Kool-Aid?

[Aktungbby]

Haze Gray!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by noboat1

None of the accounts of what happened are correct, I was there on watch, on the bridge of the Turner Joy.

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