PIRAZ
Encyclopedia
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United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
acronym for Positive Identification RADAR Advisory Zone. The zone is defined by the air search RADAR
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
coverage of a ship patrolling a designated PIRAZ station. The PIRAZ ship requires a Naval Tactical Data System
Naval Tactical Data System
Naval Tactical Data System, commonly NTDS, refers to a computerized information processing system developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s and first deployed in the early 1960s for use in combat ships.- Reason for development :...
radio-linked computer installation to effectively identify and track all aircraft anticipated to utilize zone airspace during combat.
History
Yankee Station
Yankee Station was a point in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam used by the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers of Task Force 77 to launch strikes in the Vietnam War. While its official designation was "Point Yankee," it was universally referred to as Yankee Station...
was established for United States Task Force 77 aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s launching strikes against North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
. A fixed patrol station within range of land-based aircraft made the stationed aircraft carriers vulnerable to attack. A PIRAZ station was established in the westernmost portion of the Gulf of Tonkin
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...
where air search RADAR coverage might extend over North Vietnam and the air-strike routes from Yankee station. This PIRAZ station radio call sign was "Red Crown." The first PIRAZ ships were USS King (DLG-10)
USS King (DDG-41)
USS King was a Farragut-class guided missile destroyer leader. She was named for Fleet Admiral Ernest Joseph King USN ,...
, USS Mahan (DLG-11)
USS Mahan (DDG-42)
USS Mahan , named for Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan USN , was a Farragut-class guided missile frigate laid down as DLG-11 by the San Francisco Naval Shipyard on July 31, 1957, launched on October 7, 1959 by Mrs. H. P. Smith, wife of Vice Adm. H. Page Smith, and commissioned on December 25, 1960...
, USS Long Beach (CGN-9)
USS Long Beach (CGN-9)
USS Long Beach was a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy. She was the only ship of her class....
, and USS Chicago (CG-11). Belknap class cruiser
Belknap class cruiser
The Belknap class cruiser was a class of single-ended guided missile cruisers built for the United States Navy during the 1960s...
s began rotating into PIRAZ station assignments in 1967; and USS Wainwright (CG-28), assisted in the Son Tay Raid on 21 November 1970.
RIM-2 Terrier
The Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile , and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. Originally, the Terrier had a launch thrust of 23 kN , and weight of 1392 kg...
or RIM-8 Talos
RIM-8 Talos
The Bendix RIM-8 Talos was a long-range naval surface-to-air missile, and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. The Talos used radar beam riding for guidance to the vicinity of its target, and semiactive radar homing for terminal guidance...
surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
s to defend their stations. Chicago fired RIM-8H Talos-ARM anti-radar homing missiles against North Vietnamese shore-based radar stations. Each PIRAZ cruiser was accompanied on station by a "shotgun" torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
with quick-firing gun
Quick-firing gun
A quick-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, which has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate...
s to defend the PIRAZ cruiser from torpedo boat attack. PIRAZ cruisers provided protective RADAR surveillance of the remotely piloted vehicles performing aerial photo reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
of North Vietnam.
As the Gulf of Tonkin PIRAZ station routine developed, a PIRAZ cruiser would typically remain on station for approximately 30 days before being relieved by another cruiser. During the 30-day relief period, the cruiser would usually travel to a liberty port in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
or Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and then to the U. S. Naval Base Subic Bay for minor repairs and missile firing exercises before returning to the PIRAZ station. The cruiser would typically return to a United States home port for approximately six months after three PIRAZ station assignments with two intervening relief periods.
Combat Information Center
The PIRAZ ship Combat Information CenterCombat Information Center
The Operations Room is the tactical center of a warship or AWAC aircraft providing processed information for command and control of the near battle space or 'area of operations'...
(or CIC) was continuously manned by 35 to 40 officers and men watching RADAR displays, updating position and identification information for NTDS computers, and maintaining radio communication with aircraft and other ships. Some CIC personnel acted as air traffic controllers providing either advisory control or close control. Close (or positive) control occurred when the controller provided specific altitudes, courses, and speeds to the pilot. Personnel providing positive control are called Air Intercept Controllers (AIC). Advisory control simply offered advice concerning proximity to operating area boundaries, nearby air traffic, or known Surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
(SAM) or Anti-Aircraft Artillery
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
(AAA) sites.
Chicagos CIC included a secret signals intelligence (Sigint) team using modern electronics to evaluate very weak electromagnetic radiations from North Vietnamese aircraft or SAM sites. The team could transfer real time Sigint information to PIRAZ air controllers. Chicago AICs monitored up to 50 North Vietnamese MiGs simultaneously. On the Tonkin Gulf PIRAZ station, successful AICs concentrated on providing threat information, collecting and sorting tactical information as it developed, and informing the Combat Air Patrol
Combat air patrol
Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...
s (or CAP) about the threat location and activities while letting aircrews deal with bearing drift and controlling their headings.
Combat Air Patrol
Chief Operations Specialist Larry Nowell, controlled more than 1500 intercepts aboard Mahan and Chicago, and became one of the best known PIRAZ air controllers of the Vietnam War. Chief Nowell provided air control information for more than 100 live engagements with enemy aircraft including 25 percent of intercepts leading to destruction of North Vietnamese fighters in 1972. In August 1972, Chief Nowell became the second enlisted man in Navy history to be awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
.
Search and Rescue
One PIRAZ shipboard air controller was designated as "flight follower" for each Navy or Air Force formation of strike aircraft to track the strike's progress and offer information required to complete the mission. Flight followers worked with as many as 24 aircraft on a single frequency. PIRAZ ships had the most recent position information for downed aircraft, and were often the closest surface force to a crash site. All PIRAZ ships were equipped with landing platforms for SH-3 Sea King "Big Mother" or SH-2 SeaspriteSH-2 Seasprite
The Kaman SH-2 Seasprite is a ship-based helicopter with anti-submarine, anti-surface threat capability, including over-the-horizon targeting. This aircraft extends and increases shipboard sensor and weapon capabilities against several types of enemy threats, including submarines of all types,...
"Clementine" armored helicopters for Search and Rescue (SAR) work. The weapons arrangement of Belknap class cruisers was more favorable for helicopter operation, because helicopters on the fantail
Poop deck
In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or "aft", part of the superstructure of a ship.The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis...
landing platform would be damaged during missile firing from the stern launcher of Leahy class cruiser
Leahy class cruiser
Leahy class cruisers were a class of guided missile cruisers built for the United States Navy. They were originally designated as DLG destroyers, but in the 1975 cruiser realignment, they were reclassified as guided missile cruisers .-Description:...
s and Coontz class frigates
Farragut class destroyer (1958)
The Farragut class was the second destroyer class of the United States Navy to be named for Admiral David Glasgow Farragut. The class is sometimes referred to as the Coontz class, since Coontz was first to be designed and built as a guided missile ship, whereas the previous three ships were...
. PIRAZ shipboard air controllers could provide positive control for SAR aircraft; and PIRAZ ships could provide on-deck refueling service for Navy and Air Force helicopters.