Khmer National Navy

The Khmer National Navy (Khmer: កងទ័ពជើងទឹកជាតិខ្មែរ; French: Marine nationale khmère, MNK) was the naval component of the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), the official military of the Khmer Republic during the Cambodian Civil War between 1970 and 1975.

History

The

Closely modelled after the Naval and riverine component of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps (CEFEO), the MRK received training, technical and material assistance primarily from France and the United States. At first, the Cambodian naval service continued to expand rapidly under French auspices between 1955 and 1957 – at this stage, a French Military Mission in Cambodia helped in the renovation or construction of new harbour facilities, provided technical assistance and training programs, and supervised equipment deliveries. The MRK also began to receive additional assistance from the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group (US MAAG) aid program, established since June 1955 at Phnom Penh.

The cramped Chrui Chhangwar base was modernized and enlarged to accommodate a new dock designed for large-sized riverine vessels and a Naval Training School (French: École Navale), established in January 1955 to train ship crews and other specialized personnel. The MRK had no

MRK strength in February 1970 stood at about 1,600 Ratings and seamen under the command of Captain Vong Sarendy, who manned a small fleet comprising two flotillas (one sea and one riverine) and a training squadron.^[4] They were organized as follows:

• The Riverine Patrol Force (French: Force de Patrole Fluviale – FPF), headquartered at the Chrui Chhangwar riverine Navy base operated one US
  Harbour Defence Motor Launches
  , four US LCT, one British LCT, and an unspecified number of LCM (6) and LCVPs.
• The Sea Patrol Force (French: Force de Patrole Marítime – FPM), based at the Ream naval base operated one US Landing Ship Infantry Large (LSIL/LCI) in the coastal support gunboat role, three US PC-461-class Patrol Craft, three Chinese Yulin-class gunboats, two US Rescue Boats, one French EDIC III-class LCT, three US Light Tugs, plus some LCM (6) landing crafts.
• The Training Squadron (French: Escadron d'Instruction), allocated at the Naval Training School in Chrui Chhangwar, had four LCM (6) and two LCVPs employed for instruction purposes only.

The Navy's inventory also included a small number of US, Thai, and South Vietnamese riverine and sea craft seized while straying into Cambodian territory. The captured vessels comprised one

Main naval bases were located at the Chrui Chhangwar Peninsula, which harboured the MRK headquarters', the Naval Training School, and the riverine flotilla outside Phnom Penh and at Ream; the latter served not only as the headquarters of the sea flotilla, but also of the Cambodian Marine Corps – comprising four naval infantry battalions (French: Bataillons de Fusiliers-Marins – BFM) maintained primarily for static defense, and a French-trained UDT-type Combat Swimmer Unit (French: Nageurs de Combat) employed in salvage operations, obstacle clearance, and underwater demolitions.^[2]: 17

Reorganization 1970–1972

Re-designated Khmer National Navy (French: Marine Nationale Khmère – MNK) on 9 October 1970, the Cambodian Navy and its fleet were given responsibility for escorting supply convoys on the lower Mekong-Bassac corridors. Such operations were carried out in conjunction with the

By January 1972 the MNK had expanded to 5,500 men, this number including 430 officers, although only 23 of them held the rank of Lieutenant commander or higher, and these were showing signs of fatigue due to over-work. To alleviate this problem, an input of 14 Cambodian officers were sent to the United States to attend advanced courses at various US naval training institutions. Eight students attended the US Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapolis, Maryland, whilst two senior officers went to the Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, Rhode Island and the Navy Supply Corps School (NSCS) in Athens, Georgia; four other students attended the small boat tactics school at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) and the adjacent Naval Inshore Operations Center at Vallejo, California.^[1]: 241

Harbour defense and special operations

Following several attacks against merchant vessels anchored at Chrui Chhangwar Naval Base in early 1972, the MNK Fleet Command created a regimental-sized Harbour Defense Unit, the "Shock Commandos" (French: Commandos de Choc) comprising two rifle battalions, to patrol its major port facilities and provide VIP protection, equipped with an assortment of outdated and modern US and captured Soviet or Chinese small-arms. The 1st Shock Commando Battalion (French: 1ér Batallion Commando de Choc – 1 BCC) and 2nd Shock Commando Battalion (French: 2éme Batallion Commando de Choc – 2 BCC), based respectively at Chrui Chhangwar and Ream, were supported on their duties by the Naval Infantry, who performed active riverbank patrolling. An American-trained SEAL unit was raised in mid-1973, being employed on reconnaissance missions along the banks of the Mekong and as shock troops on amphibious operations,^{[2]: 18, 24} and was subordinated to the MNK Amphibious Operations Command (French: Commandement des opérations amphibies – COA).

Fleet Command

Emulating its South Vietnamese parent organization, the Cambodian Navy's Fleet Command was placed under the authority of the MNK Chief of Naval Operations, who was responsible for the readiness of all sea and river craft. The Fleet Commander assigned and scheduled vessels to operate on the Riverine and Maritime Regions, and the Mekong Special Zone, the latter turned over to the Cambodian Army Command in February 1975,^[1]: 21 which were home ported in Chrui Chhangwar and Ream naval bases and normally returned there after concluding their assignments. On the field, the two regional and zone commanders assumed control of all naval or amphibious operations on their respective Regions, and the vessels under their command operated from the following interland or coastal ports:

• Maritime Region – Ream/
  Krong Kep
• Riverine Region – Chrui Chhangwar/Kampong Chhnang/Kampong Cham
• Mekong Special Zone – Phnom Penh/Neak Leung

Expansion 1973–1974

In 1970 the Cambodian Navy had only eleven vessels in serviceable condition, including two ageing PC-461-class Patrol Craft, three LSSLs, one LSIL, one LCI, one LCT and a few armed fishing junks to patrol both the coastline and its waterways.^[4] That same year, under the auspices of the Military Equipment Delivery Team, Cambodia (MEDTC) assistance program, the MNK began to receive an influx of modern American-made sea and riverine craft after the US Navy disbanded its own Mobile Riverine Force (a.k.a. "brown-water Navy") in Vietnam, and handed over its units to his South-east Asian allies under the Vietnamization policy. Deliveries were accelerated in February 1972 and continued until 1973, allowing the MNK to standardize its equipment tables on US lines and gradually phase out some of its obsolete, worn-out ex-French and Eastern Bloc craft from active service.^[4] The MNK also received some material aid from the Royal Thai Navy, in the form of nine small motorboats delivered in July 1971.

Initially expanded in December 1973 to 13,000–14,000 personnel, the MNK authorized strength ultimately reached by September 1974 a total of 16,500 men and women under the command of the Chief of Naval Operations, Commodore (promoted to

The MRK/MNK's major repair and resupply facilities were centered at the main riverine base at Chrui Chhangwar, with most vessel maintenance being accomplished at the Fleet Repair Facility, though they apparently experienced some difficulties in repairing heavily damaged vessels – in April 1972, an LCI assigned to the Riverine Region severely hit by enemy fire had to be sent to Singapore for a major overhaul.^[1]: 246 Most shore-based naval supplies were handled by the Chrui Chhangwar base's naval warehouses; lesser activities were carried out at some of the smaller coastal and river stations,^[4] such as the Koh Rong Sam Lem naval compound, located about 10 nautical miles (16.09 km) southwest of Kompong Som.^[7]

Whereas the Chrui Chhangwar base was nonetheless able to maintain the smaller vessels, the Ream Naval Base was in a run-down condition by 1970. Built by the French in the late 1950s, it had only one small pier in decrepit condition, its internal repair capabilities were very limited and lacked completely an effective logistical support system. Plans were laid out by the MNK Fleet Command in 1974 to renovate and enlarge Ream's naval facilities, but none of these were implemented before the collapse of the Khmer Republic in April 1975.^[4]

Equipment

Escort and combat patrol craft

• Two PC-461 class Patrol Craft^[8][9][10]
• Three LSSLs^[8][9]
• 20
  PCF/Inshore Mark Mk 1 and 2 coastal patrol crafts (also known as "Swift boats")^[8][9][11]
• 64 PBR Mk 1 and 2 river patrol boats (a.k.a. "Bibber")^[8][9]
• Seven Monitors (MON, heavily gunned riverine crafts, a.k.a. "River Battleships" or "Mike boats") – out of this number six were the Monitor (H) Howitzer version armed with 40mm cannons and M49 105mm Howitzers^[8][9]
• One Monitor (F) version equipped with M10-8 Flamethrowers (a.k.a. "Zippo")^[8][9]
• Four Assault Support Patrol Boats Mk 1 (ASPB, a.k.a. "Alpha boats")^[8][9]
• Two Patrol Craft/Tug (YTL)^[8][9]

Troop transport, amphibious assault, and logistical operations craft

• One EDIC III-class LCT^[8][12]
• Two LSIL/LCIs^[8][9][13]
• Four LCU/YFUs^[8][9]
• 18 Armored Troop Carriers (ATC, a.k.a. "Tango boats"), including three ATC refuelers and one ATC recharger^[8][9]
• 30
  Landing Craft Mechanized Mk 6 Mod 1-LCM (6) Landing Craft Utility
  (LCUs)
• Five LCM (8) LCUs^[8]
• Two
  Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVPs)^[8][9]

• Two Command and Communications Boats (CCB, a.k.a. "Charlie boats")[8]
• Five Minesweeper River boats (MSR/MSM)^[8][9]
• One Combat Salvage Boat (CSB)^[8]
• Three Yard Tug Light (YTL)^[8]
• Two Mobile Support Bases (MSB)^[8]
• One Floating Crane (YD)^[8]
• One Drydock^[8]

Combat history

Regarded as the most efficient branch of the Cambodian armed forces, the Khmer National Navy combat record remains impressive.^{[citation needed]} Being an all-volunteer, technically proficient service, the MNK was plagued by shortages of officers and experienced NCOs in the early stages of the war but unlike the Cambodian Army and the Khmer Air Force, it was not seriously handicapped by corruption, constant changes in command, or military incompetence, though it did faced severe budgetary restraints after US financial aid was slashed in 1973. Under the command of Rear Admiral Vong Sarendy, the MNK generally maintained high levels of efficiency, discipline and morale – mainly due to sufficient rice rations, good leadership in the field and prompt payment of wages.^[4] Since the MNK was not highly dependent from on US air support (except on the Bassac-lower Mekong corridors), it was not adversely affected when it was terminated on 15 August 1973.^{[2][1]: 241–2}

Sea operations 1970–75

For the first three years of the war, the small and ill-equipped MNK Sea Patrol Force based at Ream proved unable to protect effectively the 400 kilometers (248.55 miles) of Cambodian coastline from North Vietnamese infiltration attempts.^[4] The coast from Ream to the Thai border was patrolled haphazardly at best by MNK's aging coastal vessels, so surveillance of the coastline from Ream to the border with South Vietnam was consequently passed to the South Vietnamese Navy. The importance of patrolling at sea became clear in April 1972, when VNN patrols reported the first attempt by a North Vietnamese vessel to infiltrate Cambodia's territorial waters. The enemy vessel was intercepted and sunk by the MNK, with heavy secondaries.^{[2]: 23–4}

Due to the shortage of assets, protection of Ream Naval Base and the deep water port of Kampong Som was largely neglected, which rendered them vulnerable to enemy frogman attacks – on the night of 20–21 January 1973 North Vietnamese frogmen managed to inflict slight damage on a cargo ship anchored at Kampong Som harbour.^[1]: 241 By 1974 this state of affairs had been corrected by the MNK Fleet Command, after the implementation of several counter-measures which included the stationing of newly received 20 radar-equipped PCF coastal patrol crafts at Ream and of four PBR river patrol boats in the Kampong Som port area, followed by the overhauling of nearly all of the older heavy craft still in the inventory.^[4]

Amphibious operations 1973–74

Besides convoy escort duties on the lower Mekong, resupply missions of governmental garrisons, and routine patrolling along the Tonle Sap River

• On 24 August 1970, the MNK riverine flotilla carried out its first amphibious operation when they transported by landing craft four infantry battalions and four airborne battalions to relieve Prek Tameak, a government outpost threatened by the PAVN, located 14 km (8.70 mi) northeast of Phnom Penh on the eastern bank of the Mekong.^[1]: 177
• During the Battle of Kampong Cham in September 1973, the MNK Fleet Command launched Operation "Castor 21", in which the Navy ran some twenty convoys between Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham. They conducted a successful combined amphibious assault by the Marines, SEALs and the Cambodian Army's 80th Infantry Brigade into the enemy-held half of the city, although the inept use of the landing crafts led to heavy losses as the boats on the river were exposed for six hours to enemy fire from the riverbanks.^{[1]: 124 [4]}
• In October 1973, the MNK riverine forces mounted Operation "Castor 27", a three-day amphibious operation in support of the Cambodian Army's
  Ta Khmao, along the northern bank of the Bassac river in Kandal Province.^[1]
  ^: 156
• In January 1974, during Operation "Castor 41" a task-force of nine river Monitors and landing crafts supported three Marine companies in a small-scale amphibious assault to clear Khmer Rouge forces out from the Peam Reang island in the southern Mekong.^[1]: 256
• In March 1974, two small operations, "Castor 45" and "Castor 46", were organized in support of Marine and Army units deployed around Dei Doh, on both banks of the Mekong.^[1]: 256
• That same month at the Battle of Oudong, the MNK carried out its second large-scale amphibious assault, Operation "Castor 50", during which another task-force of assault landing crafts was ferried up the Tonle Sap river to retake Oudong, the capital of Oudong Meanchey Province from the Khmer Rouge, who were waiting for them at the predicted landing site with B-40 rocket launchers and Type 56 75mm recoilless rifles. Although the MNK task-force lost one Armoured Troop Carrier, two LCM (8) LCUs and one LCM (6), and some 25 soldiers were killed at debarkation, they did managed to deliver thirty M113 APCs, six trucks, four M101A1 105mm towed field howitzers, and no less than 2,740 Marine and Army troops, who succeeded in recapturing the burn-out town.^{[2]: 9, 24 [1]: 242}

Final operations 1974–75

As the 1974–75 dry season opened, the already hard-pressed MNK saw its effectiveness being immediately curtailed by the Khmer Rouge's extensive mine-laying campaign on the Bassac and Mekong rivers, intended at blocking the passage of the supply convoys that allowed the beleaguered Khmer Republic to receive much-needed munitions, fuel and non-lethal aid (including food and medical supplies) transported upriver from South Vietnam to Phnom Penh.^{[6]: 153 [4]} Chinese-made submerged floating river mines had been employed early in the war by the North Vietnamese against both military and civilian commercial shipping along the Mekong River,^[2]: 7 but never at such a scale. Although the MNK did possess minesweeping capabilities, its five river MSR/MSM minesweepers lacked the proper equipment that would allow their crews to carry out the task successfully.^[2]: 33 In addition, the Khmer Rouge control of the riverbanks rendered any mine-sweeping operations virtually impossible or, at best extremely costly. On 18 January 1975, the MNK riverine forces and the Marines conducted their last joint amphibious operation – codenamed Operation "Sailor" –, in an effort to clear Khmer Rouge units from some strategic islands in the Mekong close to Phnom Penh.^[1]: 258 By 17 February, the MNK Fleet Command was forced to abandon any attempts to re-open the lower Mekong and Bassac corridors, and all convoy escort operations were suspended.^[14]

With the loss of the two remaining Government-held enclaves in the lower Mekong, one located south of Phnom Penh (codenamed "Sierra One") and Neak Leung, along with its respective river station (codenamed "Sierra Two") on 1 April,

By the end of the war in 1975, total Cambodian Navy losses amounted to a quarter of its ships and 70 percent of its sailors had been killed or wounded in action.[17] The rest of the MNK personnel that were unable to leave Cambodia – ranging from Petty Officers, enlisted men and the female clerical staff to Marines, Nageurs de Combat, SEALs and the Commandos de Choc – had no other choice but to surrender. Most of them ended up being shot by Khmer Rouge firing squads, with their bodies dumped into shallow graves dug in forest areas close to naval facilities; others were sent to be "re-educated" in labour camps (known as the "Killing Fields"), where they remained until the Cambodian–Vietnamese War of 1978–79. Later unconfirmed reports claim that a small number of qualified naval personnel escaped this fate by being pressed into service of the new Khmer Rouge regime in order to operate and maintain the remaining US-made sea and river craft left behind, and to help train ship crews.^{[citation needed]}

Many naval officers were also executed, including

The Royal Cambodian Navy owed its origin and traditions to the French Far East Naval Forces (French: Forces Maritimes en Extrême-Orient – FMEO) of the First Indochina War, and even after the United States took the role as the main foreign sponsor for the Khmer National Armed Forces at the beginning of the 1970s, French military influence was still perceptible in their uniforms and insignia.

Service dress and field uniforms

The basic Royal Cambodian Navy (MRK) work uniform for all-ranks was a local version of the French Navy's tropical working dress, consisting of a

MRK senior officers and petty officers adopted a Navy Blue overseas service uniform, which consisted of a double-breasted reefer jacket (French: Vareuse) with open collar and lapels, and featuring two internal skirt pockets with external flaps. The jacket had a narrow double row of four gilt metal anchor motif buttons, and was worn with a white shirt and black tie, completed with matching blue trousers. This uniform was seldom seen in Cambodia, being worn only by officers or officer candidate students attending courses overseas, e.g. when in France or in the US.^[1]: 249 Instead, MRK Officers serving in-country received the standard FARK summer dress uniform in white cotton, which was patterned after the French Army M1946/56 khaki dress uniform (French: Vareuse d'officier Mle 1946/56 et Pantalon droit Mle 1946/56). The jacket had two pleated breast pockets closed by pointed flaps and two unpleated at the side closed by straight ones whilst the sleeves had false turnbacks; the front fly and pocket flaps were secured by gilt buttons bearing the royal coat-of-arms. It was worn with a white shirt and black tie on formal occasions.^[1]: 171

For parades and honor guards, Naval Infantry officers and enlisted men were given a special full dress white cotton uniform, which consisted of a tunic with standing collar featuring a five-buttoned front secured by gilt buttons, worn with matching white slacks.^[1]: 248 Cambodian Marine officers and enlisted men were issued the same French all-arms M1947 drab green fatigues (French: Treillis de combat Mle 1947) as their Royal Army counterparts.

All the aforementioned uniform combinations were maintained by the MNK after 1970 and new regulation sets were added. In 1974, graduates of the Cambodian Naval Academy attending courses overseas received a new parade uniform, apparently patterned after the

MRK officers and petty officers received a Pale Stone service peaked cap with the standard gilt metal FARK cap badge, based on the French M1927 pattern (French: Casquette d'officier Mle 1927) but with a longer, lacquered black leather extended peak; a white summer top version was worn with both the white service dress and the full dress uniform. After March 1970, the MNK replaced the royal insignia on their peaked caps by a gold wreathed fouled anchor embroidered on black,[2] with the number of leaves varying according to rank – ten for officers and petty officers, and six for NCOs (enlisted men wore a simple anchor badge instead).^[1]: 251 An American-style "Dixie cup" white hat was worn with the white service uniform by enlisted ranks.

In the field, MRK sailors and naval infantrymen frequently wore a mixture of French M1946 light khaki tropical berets (French: Bérét de toile kaki clair Mle 1946), French M1946 and M1957 light khaki

The steel helmet models worn by MRK vessel crews and marines alike were the US M-1 or the French M1951 NATO (French: casque Mle 1951 OTAN) models, standard issue in the FARK. The naval infantry battalions later standardized on the M-1 1964 model provided with the US Army Mitchell "Clouds" camouflage pattern cover (an embroidered yellow fouled anchor motif was often added to the latter), though many ship crewmen and naval gunners continued to wear the older US and French steel helmets throughout the war.^{[1]: 247–9} On parade, the marines were issued white-painted M-1 helmet liners with the standard FARK cap badge stencilled at the front and colour bars painted at the sides, worn with a white chinstrap; after 1970, a FANK cap badge stencil replaced the earlier royal arms.

Footwear

MRK footwear was diverse. Ratings and sailors were issued black, brown, and whitened leather low laced shoes matching the dress uniforms worn on active service, walking-out or formal occasions. For parades, Marine officers and enlisted men were turned out in French black leather M1952 ankle boots (French: Brodequins Modèle 1952) and white French-style half-gaiters with side-lacing and a spat covering the top of the boot; Naval Academy cadets favoured white American-style long gaiters upon the adoption of their blue full dress in 1974. On the field, both seamen and naval infantrymen wore brown leather US

Navy Ranks

The MRK used the same standard FARK/FANK French-style rank chart as the Army and the Khmer Air Force, though the nomenclature was different. Flag, senior and junior officers (French: Officiers généraux, officiers supérieurs et officiers subalternes) – including their counterparts in the Naval Infantry – and petty officers' (French: Officiers mariniers) ranks were worn on various coloured removable shoulder boards (with gold laurel-like leaf embroidery on the outer edge for Admirals) or shoulder strap slides identical to the Army pattern, with the addition of a miniature royal coat-of-arms featuring a combined crown-and-anchor device on the inner end. Enlisted men and Marine NCOs (French: Quartier-maîtres et matelots/fusiliers) wore chevrons on both upper sleeves. In 1970 the MNK changed the colours of their shoulder boards and shoulder strap slides to a standardized Navy Blue or black with a simple fouled anchor on the inner end, which replaced the earlier royal crest. Naval and marine officers and NCOs adopted rank chest tabs to wear with the US-supplied OG jungle fatigues^[2] though Army-pattern metal pin-on collar rank insignia also came into use in 1972.^[2]: 45

MNK Ranks	Khmer language	French naval ranks	US naval ranks	Insignia
Pʊəl too	ពលទោ	Matelot/Fusilier-marin	Seaman/Marine rifleman	(no insignia)
Pʊəl aek	ពលឯក	Matelot breveté	Able seaman
Niey too	នាយទោ	Quartier Maître Chef	Seaman 1st Class
Niey aek	នាយឯក	Second Maître	Petty Officer 2nd class
Pʊəl baal trəy	ពលបាលត្រី	Maître	Officer 1st class
Pʊəl baal too	ពលបាលទោ	Premier Maître	Chief Petty Officer
Pʊəl baal aek	ពលបាលឯក	Maître Principal	Master Chief Petty Officer
Prɨn baal aek	ព្រឹន្ទបាលឯក	Aspirant	Midshipman
Aknu say ney trəy	អនុសេនីយ៍ត្រី	Enseigne de vaisseau de deuxième classe	Sub-Lieutenant/Ensign
Aknu say ney tor	អនុសេនីយ៍ទោ	Enseigne de vaisseau de première classe	Lieutenant Junior Grade
Aknu say ney ek	អនុសេនីយ៍ឯក	Lieutenant de vaisseau	Lieutenant
Vorak say ney trəy	វរសេនីយ៍ត្រី	Capitaine de corvette	Lieutenant Commander
Vorak say ney tor	វរសេនីយ៍ទោ	Capitaine de frégate	Commander
Vorak say ney ek	វរសេនីយ៍ឯក	Capitaine de vaisseau	Captain
Odam say ney trəy	ឧត្តមសេនីយ៍ត្រី	Amiral	Admiral
Odam say ney tor	ឧត្តមសេនីយ៍ទោ	Contre-Amiral	Rear Admiral

Insignia

There were no arm-of-service designations as such in the Khmer National Navy, although when wearing US OG jungle

• Navigator (Manuvrier) – pair of binoculars superimposed upon crossed signal flags;
• Helmsman (Timonier) – six-spoked helm wheel;
• Radio operator (Telegrafiste) – lightning bolt superimposed upon a flying spinning wheel or cutter;
• Gunner (Canonier) – crossed cannons;
• Armourer (Armurier) – cannon superimposed upon a cogwheel;
• Machinist (Mechanicien) – boat propeller inserted on a cogwheel;
• Electrician (Electricien) – dynamo with six lightning bolts;
• Quartermaster (Fourrier/Fourrière) – five-pointed leaf;
• Clerk (Secretaire) – crossed writing plumes;
• Shipyard Artificer (Ouvrier naval) – crossed axes;
• Steward/Stewardess
  (Maître d'Hotel/Maîtresse d'Hotel) – laurel-leaf wreath over a three-wave line;
• Commissary/Storekeeper (Commissaire) – lotus flower;
• Civil Engineer (Ingénieur Civile) – Buddhist temple tower and anchor inserted on a cogwheel;
• Marine Rifleman/
  Naval Infantry (Fusilier-Marin) – crossed rifles.^[1]
  ^{: 253, 261}

MNK personnel after 1970 wore over the left pocket of their Pale Stone working or service dress white shirts a cloth embroidered badge featuring two crossed anchors inserted on a wreath surmounted by three stars, all in yellow outlined black on a Pale Stone or white background. A subdued version was worn with the OG jungle fatigues.[1]^: 251 Navy Blue and subdued nametapes were worn over the right shirt or jacket pocket on OG jungle fatigues and Pale Stone working and service dress white uniforms; plastic nameplates were occasionally worn with the Navy Blue overseas service dress over the left breast and the working uniform on the right breast.^{[1]: 247–9}

Officers were entitled to wear on the right pocket of their working uniforms and jungle fatigues a full-colour cloth embroidered Navy Blue round patch with two white crossed anchors set on a yellow wreath. This patch came in two versions: one with a yellow star superimposed on the crossed anchors was worn by line officers (former officer cadets that had undergone training for the command of a vessel at the Khmer Naval Academy) whereas those without the star were given to non-line officers. Specialised services within the Khmer National Navy wore full-colour cloth embroidered shield insignia on their upper left sleeve (Nageurs de Combat and SEALs wore their round unit patches on the right pocket of their fatigue shirts); MNK personnel assigned to a specific Maritime or Riverine Region wore the correspondent insignia on the upper right sleeve. MNK headquarters insignia went to the right shoulder.^[1]: 247

MNK officers sent for training overseas wore on the upper left sleeve of their Navy Blue overseas jackets and Pale Stone working shirts a Cambodian national emblem with "Marine Nationale Khmère" tab, or a simple rectangular flash bearing "Khmer Republic" inscribed in either French or Khmer script on a Cambodian national flag background.^[1]: 249

See also

• Brownwater Navy
• Cambodian Civil War
• Cambodian Marine Corps
• Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed Forces
• Khmer National Armed Forces
• Khmer Republic
• Khmer Rouge
• Mayaguez incident
• Mobile Riverine Force
• Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
• Royal Cambodian Navy
• Royal Lao Navy
• South Vietnamese Navy
• Weapons of the Cambodian Civil War

Notes