In March 1965 when
United States Marine Corps combat troops landed at Danang, the support establishment was rudimentary. The port of Danang contained only three small piers, three
Landing Ship, Tank (LST) ramps and a stone quay that were inaccessible to oceangoing vessels; even smaller craft had trouble approaching. The scarcity of lighterage and the heavy weather that often buffeted the harbor made ship-to-craft cargo transfers hazardous and inefficient. Warehouses, open storage areas, cargo handling equipment, and good exit routes from the port were limited. From March to July 1965,
III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) troops delivered supplies to the units in the field while the
Seventh Fleet ran port operations. Soon, the fleet dispatched
Naval Beach Group One Cargo Handling Battalions 1 and 2, nucleus port crew, Mine Force, Service Force,
Underwater Demolition Team, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units to Danang. In addition, the Navy took charge of the offloading, storage and delivery of supplies common to all the allied forces in
I Corps. Additional responsibilities included harbor defense and the transshipment of cargo to the smaller ports in the region. The fleet also managed logistic operations at these locations. U.S. NSA Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965 under the operational control of Commander, III MAF. During the next several years, the command created subordinate NSA detachments at
Chu Lai,
Huế,
Tân Mỹ,
Đông Hà,
Cửa Việt,
Phú Bài and
Sa Huỳnh. These detachments decentralized the support function and improved the logistic flow. The camp was quickly expanded to include 25 new barracks able to accommodate an additional 1,700 men, together with a barber shop, post exchange and milk plant. NSA Danang originally operated from a commercial pier on the city side of the
Hàn River and this "Museum Ramp" () near the
Cham Museum began operation in November 1965 off-loading
Landing Craft Utility (LCUs) and LSTs. On 1 April 1966
Naval Forces Vietnam was established in
Saigon and assumed control of NSA Danang from III MAF. In July 1966 the "Bridge Cargo Ramp" () began operations increasing NSA's supply capability. In April 1972 all US Navy facilities in Danang were transferred to the
Republic of Vietnam Navy. ==References==