| Special Operations Craft – Riverine (SOC-R) | |
|---|---|
 SOC-R transiting the Salt River in northern Kentucky during pre-deployment training | |
| Class overview | |
| Name: | SOC-R (Special Operations Craft Riverine) |
| Builders: | United States Marine Inc. |
| Operators: |
 United States Navy |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | River boat |
| Displacement: |
23,600 pounds (10,700 kg) (empty) 42,000 pounds (19,000 kg) (max loadout) |
| Length: | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draft: | 2 ft (0.61 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × 440 hp Yanmar 6LY2M-STE diesel engines each driving a Hamilton HJ292 water pump-jet |
| Speed: | 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) |
| Range: | 125 nautical miles (232 km; 144 mi) |
| Capacity: | 700 lbs cargo |
| Troops: | 8 SEALs |
| Crew: | 4 crew (1 helmsman, 3 gunners) |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR) GPS navigation IFF (identification Friend or Foe) gear VHF/HF/UHF/FM Net & SATCOMM |
| Armament: |
2 x GAU-17 miniguns (forward) 1 × M2HB .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun (aft) 2 × M240B 7.62 mm light machine gun(s) (side-mounted) 2 × 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launcher |
| Armor: | Ballistic protection (up to .7.62mm x 39mm ball) for the engines, helmsman and gunners |
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A SOC-R during live fire training
Picture showing the specially designed hull shape
Special Operations Craft - Riverine craft perform short-range insertion and extraction of special operations forces in river and near-shore environments.
The SOC-R is designed to fit aboard C-130 or larger military aircraft. Special Boat Teams (SBT) perform an insertion/extraction delivery system called MEATS. MEATS allows an Army CH-47D helicopter to carry a SOC-R rigged to the underbelly of the helicopter with slings. The Combatant-Craft Crewmen use a rope to get from the helicopter onto the craft for insertions, and a ladder dropped down from the helicopter to get off the SOC-R craft when extracted.
Each craft is manned by a crew of four Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC) crew-members and can carry eight personnel.[1] Members of Special Boat Team 22 (SBT-22), based in Stennis, MS, who make up a tiny fraction of the total SWCCs, are the only ones who operate the SOC-R. These river crews conduct mainly clandestine combat missions, often operating at night with little or no air support.
The SOC-R speed and tight turn radius are facilitated by the hull design. The slope of the SOC-R's V-shape belly essentially allows the boat to skate along the surface, with relatively little drag on the hull. Thanks to the waterjet propulsion, there is no hanging rudder or propeller blades to snag on submerged roots and rocks.
The SOC-R's five weapon mounts provide a 360-degree field of fire. The aft-mounted .50 cal covers the boat crew as they leave the shore after an extraction.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ "United States Naval Special Warfare Command 2010 Fact File". U.S. Navy. http://www.navsoc.navy.mil/PressKit2010.pdf. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
External links[]
- United State Marine Inc. Web site
- Behind the Scenes With a Special Ops Gunboat Crew - Popular Mechanics article - March 2009
The original article can be found at Special Operations Craft – Riverine (SOC-R) and the edit history here.