Emergencies and World Disasters
They Sank an Aircraft Carrier Through the Sewers - Midnight Saboteurs
23 min•24 juli 2026
Om avsnittet
They Sank an Aircraft Carrier Through the Sewers - Midnight Saboteurs
The Saigon River swallowed a ship at 1:10 a.m. on May 2, 1964, when two explosions tore a twelve-foot by three-foot hole in the USNS Card’s starboard hull and forty-eight feet of river water covered her flight deck-five American civilians died and two saboteurs vanished into the sewers. How did two men carrying eighty pounds of explosives each navigate toxic, pitch-black tunnels, fail once, then return to sink a civilian-crewed carrier?
In this episode, we follow the timeline, the people, and the tunnel-born tactics behind the bombing of the USNS Card, from the ship’s civilian status and wartime cargo runs to the Viet Cong unit that planned the attack. What combination of access, memory, and engineering turned a sewer network into a delivery route for explosives?
Person: Lâm Sơn Náo
Person: Nguyễn Văn Cậy
Person: Trần Hải Phụng
Date: December 29, 1963 (failed attempt)
Date: May 2, 1964 (successful attack)
- The explosions opened a hole 12 feet long and 3 feet high in Card’s starboard hull.
- Within hours, 48 feet of dark river water covered the carrier’s flight deck.
- Each operative carried 80 pounds of explosives while moving through the sewer tunnels.
- The first attempt on December 29, 1963 failed because the timer battery had expired.
- Card had been recommissioned into service on May 16, 1958, making regular supply runs to Saigon from 1961 onward.
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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
The Saigon River swallowed a ship at 1:10 a.m. on May 2, 1964, when two explosions tore a twelve-foot by three-foot hole in the USNS Card’s starboard hull and forty-eight feet of river water covered her flight deck-five American civilians died and two saboteurs vanished into the sewers. How did two men carrying eighty pounds of explosives each navigate toxic, pitch-black tunnels, fail once, then return to sink a civilian-crewed carrier?
In this episode, we follow the timeline, the people, and the tunnel-born tactics behind the bombing of the USNS Card, from the ship’s civilian status and wartime cargo runs to the Viet Cong unit that planned the attack. What combination of access, memory, and engineering turned a sewer network into a delivery route for explosives?
Person: Lâm Sơn Náo
Person: Nguyễn Văn Cậy
Person: Trần Hải Phụng
Date: December 29, 1963 (failed attempt)
Date: May 2, 1964 (successful attack)
- The explosions opened a hole 12 feet long and 3 feet high in Card’s starboard hull.
- Within hours, 48 feet of dark river water covered the carrier’s flight deck.
- Each operative carried 80 pounds of explosives while moving through the sewer tunnels.
- The first attempt on December 29, 1963 failed because the timer battery had expired.
- Card had been recommissioned into service on May 16, 1958, making regular supply runs to Saigon from 1961 onward.
To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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