Action Viewed from the USS Maddox
8/2/1964
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Three North Vietnamese P-4 torpedo boats attacked the USS Maddox, an American destroyer patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin, on August 2, 1964 – the first Gulf of Tonkin incident. This photograph, taken from the deck of the Maddox, shows one of the enemy boats racing across the water. None of the torpedoes, and only one of the shells from a deck gun, hit the Maddox. Aircraft from the USS Ticonderoga helped drive off the attackers.
The Maddox had been conducting electronic eavesdropping on North Vietnam to assist South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) commando raids on North Vietnamese targets, though the American public didn't know that at the time. Historians now suspect the North Vietnamese boats had set out to attack an ARVN raid in progress when it encountered the Maddox.
The Maddox had been conducting electronic eavesdropping on North Vietnam to assist South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) commando raids on North Vietnamese targets, though the American public didn't know that at the time. Historians now suspect the North Vietnamese boats had set out to attack an ARVN raid in progress when it encountered the Maddox.
This primary source comes from the General Records of the Department of the Navy.
National Archives Identifier: 594290
Full Citation: Photograph 428-GX-482-N-711524; Photograph of Action Viewed from the USS Maddox During the Gulf of Tonkin Incident; 8/2/1964; Vis-Aid Index to the General Photographic Files of the Department of the Navy, 1958 - 1981; General Records of the Department of the Navy, Record Group 428; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/action-maddox, May 21, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
