A fire support base (FSB) provided critical artillery and logistical support beyond the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) base at Nui Dat. Often built and defended by army engineers, these bases enabled rapid response and vital surveillance. Permanent sites like the Horseshoe FSB served as key operational hubs until their handover in 1971.
Battalion Headquarters could be deployed into the field, either at a fixed location – an FSB – or in a more mobile form.
FSBs were generally set up with the Battalion's artillery battery, mortars and armour. This enabled a more flexible rapid response with greater coverage for operations well beyond the Nui Dat base.
The men sometimes named an FSB after someone's wife or girlfriend, such as Beth, Coral, Diane and Susan.
17 Construction Squadron would often do the heavier construction work, including building or developing bases. 1 Field Squadron and other combat engineers would prepare, improve, defend and maintain temporary fire support bases during operations.
FSBs could remain in position for months. As the war progressed, they played an increasingly important support role for operations in outlying areas.
Gunners of the 105th Field Battery construct the command post at Fire Support Base (FSB) Susan, South Vietnam, 1969. On this second tour of duty, the battery operated from 31 different FSBs, usually in support of 5RAR. Image: private collection of (111261), used with permission.
A well-defended fire support base, apart from the shower, South Vietnam, 1969. Image: private collection of Ted Robinson (1411329), used with permission.
Land Rover drivers take laden trailers, 105 mm howitzers and gun detachments to Fire Support Base (FSB) Diane, South Vietnam, 1969. The cavalry armoured personnel carriers (APCs) are riding shotgun. Image: private collection of Arthur Burke (111261), used with permission.
A Chinook helicopter resupplies 3 Cavalry Regiment at a fire support base alongside Route 2, South Vietnam, 1971. Image: private collection of Michael 'Mick' King (312908), used with permission.
Lance-Corporal Anthony 'Mooka' Jones, 12 Platoon, 4th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (4RAR), sits in the shadow of a Centurion Tank, South Vietnam, 1968. He's doing radio watch at a fire support base (FSB). Image: private collection of Anthony 'Tony' Jones (58804), used with permission.
FSB Coral
At Fire Support Base Coral in May 1968, a forward element of 1 Field Squadron Group deployed with the initial force, and the rest of the unit arrived with 1ATF combat and support units the next day. The base was hastily prepared, and the engineers were allocated a large part of the defensive perimeter, which they held during the subsequent fighting during the Battle of Coral–Balmoral.
Members of the 102nd Field Battery, Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, watch a US Army Chinook transport helicopter deliver an artillery piece to Fire Support Base Coral, Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, 12 May 1968. This photograph was taken the day the base was established. That night, one of those guns was overrun briefly when a large enemy force attacked the base. Unable to withstand the enormous weight of firepower directed against them, the North Vietnamese and Vietcong were repulsed after hours of brutal close-quarter fighting. AWM P01770.007
Gunner Fred Bowden, Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, 12th Field Regiment, astride a US 155 mm self-propelled howitzer at Fire Support Base (FSB) Coral, 1968. Some US artillery was seconded to the Australians at FSB Coral. Image: private collection of Fred Bowen (4718527), used with permission
Horseshoe FSB
One permanent FSB was established on 'the Horseshoe', a circular hill about 8 km south-east of Nui Dat and just north of Dat Do. It was built in March 1967 as a preliminary step in building the barrier minefield from Dat Do to the sea.
The Horseshoe FSB provided an extensive view of the surrounding countryside, as well as an effective ready reaction force. That's why it was retained despite the minefield's failure. Australian troops maintained the Horseshoe FSB until June 1971, when it was handed over to the South Vietnamese troops.
The flat Vietnamese countryside viewed from the Fire Support Base on Horseshoe Hill, Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, 1968. Fortifications visible in the foreground comprise trenches and, at left, a heavily sandbagged gun position. On the right, mid-ground, is a lookout point protected by sandbags and topped with a radio antenna. AWM P01770.004
Members of the 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR), led by Corporal John Hinchey, instruct Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) soldiers on the use of the M60 machine gun at Fire Support Base Horseshoe, Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, 1970. Image: private collection of Mostyn 'Mos' Hancock (4720125), used with permission.
Troops of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) celebrate the completion of their weapons training with the 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR) at Fire Support Base Horseshoe, Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, 1970. Image: private collection of Mostyn 'Mos' Hancock (4720125), used with permission.
DVA (Department of Veterans' Affairs) (
), Use of fire support bases during the Vietnam War, DVA Anzac Portal, accessed 11 August 2026, https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/vietnam-war/experiences/fire-support-bases
