European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 31, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse                                South Vietnam s . Navy advisor it. Roy Pratte examines junk construction with vietnamese worker. Mad of Sao Wood so heavy it does t float and with a top Speed of Only eight knots Yabuta Junks of the South Viet Nam Navy s coastal Force jauntily ignore the improbability of it All and simply do their Job. Highly seaworthy they sail the South China sea seeking infiltrators from the North and pursuing them if necessary up some of the smallest canals and Rivers where heavy steel hulled patrol Craft can t go. The Basic design is thousands of years old. Today s version built at a shipyard in Saigon in about two weeks and out fitted in two More is a combination of japanese design american innovation and vietnamese craftsmanship. Despite technical additions plexiglass fibreglass and Metal gussets it is basically the old design with More than 85 per cent of the construction done by  photos t improbable fighting Junks Junks mostly hand built in two weeks Are armed with .30-caliber machine guns. Skills polished through countless generations guide this shipbuilder s hands saturday August 31, 1968 the stars and stripes