Patrol Boat, Rigid (sometimes River), or PBR, is the US Navy designation for a type of rigid hulled patrol boat used in the Vietnam War. They were most often deployed, and the most common craft, in the Mobile Riverine Force, and were used to stop and search traffic in areas such as the Mekong Delta in an attempt to disrupt weapons shipments. In this role they frequently became involved in firefights with enemy soldiers on boats and on the shore.
They were powered by a 220 hp (164 kW) General Motors engine and with a Jacuzzi Brothers water jet, the boats reached top speeds of 28.5 knots (53 km/h). The boat was typically armed with twin .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns (the forward '50s), an M60 7.62 mm machine gun, a Mark 18 grenade launcher, and sometimes a 20 mm cannon. The machine gunners and conning station were protected with ceramic armor.
A PBR is the setting for much of the action in the film Apocalypse Now.
See also:
Swift boat, a simlar but larger boat used on the coasts and in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.