Soviet Ships in Cam Ranh Bay
by Edward L. Cooper, 1985

In the early 1980s, the USSR began transforming Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, into a major forward deployment base enhancing Soviet military capabilities in the Pacific, Southeast Asian, and Indian Ocean regions. The Soviets routinely deployed between 25 and 30 ships to the South China Sea, including surface combatants, attack and cruise missile submarines, and naval auxiliary ships.