History of The Republic of Korea Navy - 1960s

1960s

Continuing from the '50s, the ROK Navy continued to build naval surface forces mainly with ships transferred from the US Navy.

In May 1963, the ROK Navy acquired its first destroyer ROKS Chungmu (DD 91 and later DD 911), the former USS Erben (DD-631), a Fletcher class destroyer. On October 3, 1964, ROKS Chungnam (DE 73, later DE 821), formerly USS Holt (DE-706), "successfully prosecuted an unidentified submarine contact for more than 17 hours until the contact surfaced and was positively identified as a Soviet Whiskey class submarine with pendant number 017".

During the Vietnam War, the ROK Navy dispatched naval transport units called Baekgu; the ROKMC dispatched combat units called Cheongryong to Vietnam.

In 1969, the ROK Navy began "Isolated Islands Visiting Program" to support people living in small and remote islands around the peninsula.

On January 19, 1967, ROKS Dangpo (PCEC 56), the former USS Marfa (PCE-842), was sunk by North Korean coastal artillery north of the demarcation line off the east coast of Korea (USS Pueblo (AGER-2)) was captured by North Korea in January 1968.). In June 1970, a navy broadcast vessel (ROKS I-2) was captured by North Korean patrol craft in the vicinity of Yeonpyeong Islands in the West Sea (Yellow Sea).