1972
On 5 November, the gunboat departed Guam in company with Asheville (PG-84) and headed, via Subic Bay, for Vietnamese waters. On 29 November, she and Asheville relieved Crockett (PG-88) and Welch (PG-93) and resumed "Market Time" operations interdicting communist coastal supply traffic. After almost two months patrolling the Vietnamese coastline, Tacoma departed Cam Ranh Bay on 26 January 1972 for a visit to Bangkok, Thailand. There, she welcomed officers of the Royal Thai Navy on board for tours of the ship. On 3 February, she resumed coastal surveillance patrols along the coast of Vietnam. Late in March, trouble in her starboard main engine forced her to Subic Bay for repairs. The gunboat remained there from 29 March to 24 May; then she continued on to Guam, via Yap Island.
Tacoma reached Apra Harbor on 31 May and commenced three months of sea trials, independent exercises, restricted availabilities, and inspections. After a dependents' cruise to Saipan on 3 September and 4 September, the gunboat conducted refresher training until 14 October, when she headed back to Vietnam with Asheville. Between 20 October and 15 December, she made two patrols along the Vietnamese coast, broken by a visit to Bangkok, Thailand, in mid-November. On 15 December, she cleared Vietnamese waters and set sail for the Philippines. She laid over in Subic Bay beginning 18 December awaiting the completion of Asheville's engine repairs. Then, on 21 December, the two gunboats got underway for Guam, where they arrived on 28 December.
Read more about this topic: USS Tacoma (PGM-92)