SIGINT Collection Ships Part 2 of 8 – DESOTO Patrols

In early April 1962, the destroyer USS DeHaven (DD 727) made the first DESOTO Patrol (A) along the northern coast of China from the Taiwan Strait to the vicinity of Tsingtao and back. Thereafter, the patrols were made on a random basis every month or two into such areas as the Sea of Japan, Gulf of Tartary, the Yellow Sea, South China Sea, and Java Sea. In December 1962, USS Agerholm (DD 826) extended the patrols into the Gulf of Tonkin. The presence of DESOTO Patrols in strategically important areas stimulated reactions, which in turn provided an opportunity for intelligence collection. Particularly noteworthy reactions occurred when these patrols entered an area for the first time in the area of operations. Highly useful signal intelligence (SIGINT) and photographic intelligence were thus obtained.