Damato (DD 871) - Naval Cruise Book

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hu-2' mp anho Si Changi Phai I. . I l02e '5 1050 a W gglicmnguinathla oo alirnraytihianigialrf, 4 iY 4' Wo'-D 'Hermia Be adnt mx. Chuangl, 'f we:a,,, C' AX X , . O GEOGRAPHKIAL sou rvA1.sNrs - Chiang ,... . , ..... my Chiiw. , . . . .capqpoifrgmck Ch'ih. , ..,......, lalm Chou. , ......, . isiand Chu ....... hlllmounminsx Ch'iJn!.ao. . .arzfxfpelsgqlsfandg if u . ...,... lake resuvolr 1.1 ng ..... manmalmg migf Pantao. . . 1 . . , .png-Lwfg Sha ..,,.... lxlanajgffa.-if Shan. . , . ,maunlain-s,r.mge Tao ..., ..,, , , ,1,1,,,,d,, Wan .,... ..., . lmggulf Kra h Island i O+6300 B n Tha Kwian 2408 n arfdi 1: dire: ly t , , il On December 6, 1967, DAMATO began her last tour in Vietnam waters - duty on the Gun Line . This Gun Line , which extends the entire coast of South Vietnam up to the Demili-tarized Zone, is made up of destroyers aiding allied troops ashore with Naval gunfire support. The missions are called for by the land based shore spotters and are observed by spotter aircraft who direct the fall of shot. The first days actions were highlighted by firing on a concentration of Viet Cong bunkers 16 miles northwest of Hue ,near the DMZ. Aircraft spotters confirmed five structures destroyed and six severely damaged. Night harrassment and interdiction fire was unobserved. On 7 December, DAMATO destroyed one Viet Cong bunker, damaged another,severed a roadway, destroyed a sampan, and damaged another. The aircraft spotter reported really fine shooting . Night fire, again, was unobserved. On 9 December, DAMATO directed her gunfire at Viet Cong targets 15 miles southeast of Danang. Four bunkers were destroyed, two damaged and SO meters of Viet Cong trench line was damaged. After more night firing, DAMATO was called upon to proceed further south and on 11 December was in the III Corps area in the Mekong River Delta area where several day missions were fired. Anchoring in the Saigon River on 12 December, DAMATO fired at no less than 67 targets in twenty-four hours. These targets included a Viet Cong base camp 11 miles northeast of Vung Tau. In addition to other damage, numerous Viet Cong trails and road- ways were destroyed and all rounds were right in the ball park as reported by DAMATO'S airbOrI1C spotter. On 13 December, DAMATO pro- ceeded to Subic Bay. Her tour on the Gun Line and in Vietnam had ended successfully. It was time to start home.