C4 | THE FLAGSHIP | JUN 18, 2015 | FLAGSHIPNEWS.COM
U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO Four-ship formation on a defoliation spray run over Vietnam.
1961
U.S. Air Force involvement in Vietnam War begins
1962
1965
Operation Rolling Thunder begins
Operation Ranch Hand begins
20 YEARS IN VIETNAM: THE AIR FORCE STORY BY CARRIE ANDERSON As important as boots on the ground were to the U.S. strategy in Vietnam, another key element were the planes in the sky. The U.S. Air Force led the extensive and varied air campaigns that helped sustain the war effort over the entirety of the conflict. Campaigns ranged from seek and destroy missions against the North Vietnamese anti-aircraft installations to destroying strategic infrastructure elements such as trails and rail lines to spraying herbicides to deprive the North Vietnamese of the jungle cover needed for guerilla warfare tactics. U.S. Air Force involvement began in 1961, four years before the first ground troops would officially enter the country. Under Operation Farm Gate, the 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron was sent to South Vietnam to help train pilots for the Republic of Vietnam Air Force as well as fly close air support missions in response to the needs of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. This operation would last until 1965, and the beginning of the longest bombing campaign ever run by the U.S. Air Force. Operation Rolling Thunder began on March 2, 1965. The objectives were to use ever increasing degrees of air warfare to push the North Vietnamese to end their support of the insurgency in South Vietnam; to destroy rail lines, highways, bridges, and petroleum targets,
U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO Provider unloading U.S. Marines at Calu, South Vietnam. On this airlift, 13 C-123s delivered 475 troops and over 12,000 lbs of equipment.
as well as the supply lines running down the Ho Chi Minh trail to the South; and to boost the morale of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Lasting for three years and nine months, the U.S. Air Force flew almost 500,000 sorties over North Vietnam (the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps flew an additional 200,000 as a part of the operation) and dropped 600,000 tons of bombs. Operation Ranch Hand has perhaps become the most controversial mission of the Vietnam War. This operation involved spraying various herbicides and defoliants over South Vietnam in order to deprive the North Vietnamese of cover and food. From 1962-1971, more than 20 million gallons of what pilots referred to as the “Rainbow Herbicides,” including Agents Pink, Green, Purple, Blue, White and Orange, were sprayed over the course of 20,000 sorties. It is now known that many of these herbicides contained chemical compounds that are highly toxic to humans. Bombing missions run by the U.S. Air Force would be the key element that brought the North Vietnamese to the negotiating table and the element that finally brought about a peace deal. The first of the bombing campaigns that helped spur the North Vietnamese to actively participate in peace negotiations was codenamed Linebacker and was the largest bombing campaign in the war. Operation Linebacker I was launched in May of 1972 in response to an incursion by the North Vietnamese into the demilitarized zone.
U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO Patches in the summer of 1971. Unlike most C-123s later in the war, Patches was not camouflaged. The natural metal was a way to indicate to the communists it was spraying to control the mosquitoes—a common enemy—thereby making it less likely to be shot at.
TELL US YOUR VIETNAM STORY If you have a story or photos you would like to share, please contact Carrie Anderson at carrie.anderson@militarynews.com or 757-222-3983.
Operation Linebacker I begins
1972
Bombing missions run by the U.S. Air Force would be the key element that brought the North Vietnamese to the negotiating table and the element that finally brought about a peace deal. By the time Linebacker I ended in October of the same year, 155,548 tons of munitions had been dropped on North Vietnamese targets, the incursion was halted and the North Vietnamese agreed to a peace deal. Unfortunately, that deal failed. Frustrated, President Richard Nixon ordered Operation Linebacker II to begin on December 18, 1972. Originally conceived as a 3-day bombing raid, the 11-day campaign resulted in more than 2,000 sorties to targets close to major North Vietnamese cities and the dropping of 20,000 tons of bombs. The campaign ended once Washington and the North Vietnamese had agreed to an agenda for the final round of talks that would ultimately end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. From 1962-1973, over 8 million tons of bombs were dropped on southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The U.S. Air Force lost 2,257 aircraft to hostile action over Vietnam and 2,800 airmen perished.