Book- Vikings at War for CIA: Norwegian Contributions to CIA's Secret Small Boat Operations During the Vietnam War

466 pages!

Long before the Vietnam War escalated in the late summer of 1964,

the CIA waged a secret war inside North Vietnam using South Vietnamese agents and sabotage groups.

From the sea, locally built slow-moving junks were initially used, manned by crews trained by the CIA and US special forces.

Low speed, poor weaponry, and counterintelligence caused most of the boat operations to fail.

On the night of July 1, 1962, the first attempt to carry out a sabotage mission with frogmen in a North Vietnamese harbor ended in disaster.

In the operation called VULCAN, the boat, crew, and all but one commando was lost.

Both the CIA, the Pentagon, and the Pacific Fleet came to realize that faster boats with better armament and more competent crews were necessary if the operations were to continue.

The solution to the CIA’s challenge was found in Norway.

In complete secrecy, the CIA first purchased two, and the Pentagon later twelve more boats of the Norwegian-produced Nasty-class torpedo boat.

At the time, it was the world’s most advanced torpedo boat, designed by the renowned designer Jan Hermann Linge.

It took time to prepare the boats for operations into North Vietnam,

and in the meantime, a smaller boat type called Swift was used.

The Norwegian intelligence officer Alf Martens Meyer supplied the CIA with three young men from Norway to serve as skippers on the

Swift boats.

These young, skilled, and fearless men quickly earned the nickname “The Vikings.”

During the Vietnam War, the Swift and Nasty boats carried out hundreds of missions into North Vietnam.

Both crew members and several boats were lost.

There were rumors that Norwegians were also on board the Nasty boats.

In Vikings at War for the CIA, you can for the first time read all the details about how Norway and Norwegians came to play a key role in the escalation of the Vietnam War.

Declassified material and contributions from veterans of the CIA,

US Navy, Navy SEALS, and Norway make it possible for the first time to delve into some of the most secret events that took place during the Vietnam War.

466 pages.