Vietnam: Part II Uses of Air Power

Uses of Air Power Background  War was primarily a land war -- most air power used in conjunction with ground operations  North stayed above DMZ, so air superiority over the South was never a concern  In-country operations centered around interdiction, close air support, airlift, recce, search and rescue, and air refueling

Uses of Air Power Background air  After Tonkin, US air units built up rapidly  US Air Force occupied 10 major air bases All were built and defended by the Air Force Huge logistical effort  Also flew from 6 bases in Thailand  Navy flew from carriers in Gulf of Tonkin  B-52s flew from Guam and, at times, from the US

Uses of Air Power 1964 to 1968  Forestall suspected enemy offensives  Defend and supply isolated outposts  Interdict the Southern end of the Ho Chi Minh Trail a series of roads and paths through the dense junglea series of roads and paths through the dense jungle North Vietnam’s primary supply route into South VietnamNorth Vietnam’s primary supply route into South Vietnam

Uses of Air Power During Vietnamization  Train the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF)  Support the South Vietnamese Army  Forestall suspected enemy attacks against withdrawing American units

Uses of Air Power Interdiction  A major mission during SEA war  Aircraft used: F-4 Phantom, F-100 Super Sabre, F-105 Thunderchief (Thud), AC-130 Gunships  Best known interdiction aircraft was the B-52- a nuclear bomber modified to carry conventional bombs conventional bombs Arc Light--Name for B-52 interdiction missionsArc Light--Name for B-52 interdiction missions

Uses of Air Power Close Air Support  Missions to support forces of the ground  Aircraft used: A-4 Skyhawk, F-4, F-100, A-37 Dragonfly, A-1 Skyraider and AC-47 Gunships (Puff the Magic Dragon)  Gunships, cargo aircraft armed with rapid-fire machine guns, were very effective  Forward Air Controllers (FACs) were used to locate the enemy and mark targets for faster flying jets

Close Air Support ( Cont)  B-52 Arc Light aircraft were occasionally used for close air support  B-52 were used extensively in close air support at Khe Sanh Flew 2,548 sorties and dropped bombs within 300 yards of of US Marine perimeterFlew 2,548 sorties and dropped bombs within 300 yards of of US Marine perimeter  B-52 credited with saving Khe Sanh and repelling the Tet and Easter Offensives

Uses of Air Power Tactical Airlift  Vital to successful US operations because of poor security on roads  Aircraft used: UH-1 Hueys, C-7 Caribous, C-123 Providers, and C-130 Hercules C-123 Providers, and C-130 Hercules  Missions often flown while under attack  Supplies often air-dropped because of enemy fire and poor landing facilities  A major factor in keeping Khe Sanh alive

Uses of Air Power Reconnaissance  Aircraft used: RF-4C, RB-57 Canberra, and RB-66 Destroyers  Aircraft were equipped with variety of cameras and sensing devices  Missions consisted of locating lucrative targets and assessing battle damage  A valuable part of repelling Tet and protecting Khe Sanh

Uses of Air Power Search and Rescue  An extremely important part of the air support mission throughout Southeast Asia  Buttressed aircrew morale -- fliers knew every effort would be made to save them if shot down  Aircraft used: HH-3 Jolly Green Giants and HH-53 Super Jolly Greens  By’73, USAF had rescued 3,883 Americans

Uses of Air Power Air to Air Refueling  Indispensable -- extended the range of combat aircraft and enabled many aircraft to return safely  C-130s refueled helicopters, KC-135s refueled fixed wing aircraft  SAC tankers flew 195,000 sorties, unloaded 9 billion pounds of fuel and took part in 814,000 individual refuelings

Campaigns: “Rolling Thunder”  Officially began 2 March 1965  Objectives Interdict the flow of supplies from the NorthInterdict the flow of supplies from the North Force the North to stop supporting the Vietcong and quit the warForce the North to stop supporting the Vietcong and quit the war Raise South Vietnamese moraleRaise South Vietnamese morale

Rolling Thunder  Strategic bombing and interdiction campaign Strategic because it was aimed at the North’s will to wage warStrategic because it was aimed at the North’s will to wage war Interdiction because the North had few large industries and got most of their material from China and the Soviet UnionInterdiction because the North had few large industries and got most of their material from China and the Soviet Union  Employed mostly tactical aircraft -- F-105s, F-4s and F-111s -- B-52s used in ‘66 in the Southern part of North Vietnam

Rolling Thunder Restrictions  Johnson administration controlled campaign tightly  Restriction imposed by civilians included: Hanoi, Haiphong, China border -- off limitsHanoi, Haiphong, China border -- off limits MIG bases and non-firing SAM sites--off limitsMIG bases and non-firing SAM sites--off limits Dams, dikes, hydroelectric plants--off limitsDams, dikes, hydroelectric plants--off limits  White House selected targets, weapons and flying routes -- with little military input

Rolling Thunder  Graduated increases in bombing intensity worked to advantage of North Vietnamese Gave them time to recover from damageGave them time to recover from damage Allowed them to establish the world’s most intense antiaircraft defense systemAllowed them to establish the world’s most intense antiaircraft defense system Provided them the will to fight on and a sense they could surviveProvided them the will to fight on and a sense they could survive  By 1965, it became clear that Rolling Thunder didn’t work

Rolling Thunder  Impacts South’s morale improved as the North suffered under the bombingSouth’s morale improved as the North suffered under the bombing North used frequent halts and restrictions to repair damage and resupply forces in SouthNorth used frequent halts and restrictions to repair damage and resupply forces in South Criticism grew at home and internationallyCriticism grew at home and internationally  Johnson ended Rolling Thunder prior to 1968 elections  Campaign, America’s longest, was a failure

Linebacker I  Easter Offensive (Mar 72) made it apparent the North was not willing to negotiate  Objectives of Linebacker Initially a close air support effort to aid retreating South Vietnamese forcesInitially a close air support effort to aid retreating South Vietnamese forces Later, changed to an interdiction campaign against North VietnamLater, changed to an interdiction campaign against North Vietnam  A systematic campaign with little civilian control -- unlike Rolling Thunder

Linebacker I  Civilian casualties were a consideration but didn’t determine how missions were flown  Haiphong harbor was mined for the first time to restrict in-coming supplies  Strikes were flown over Hanoi and Haiphong -- B-52 strikes on Haiphong began April ‘72  “Smart bombs’ were used extensively

Linebacker I  Linebacker I was the most successful US bombing campaign of the war Had more impact on the North Vietnam in 9 months than Rolling Thunder did in 4 yearsHad more impact on the North Vietnam in 9 months than Rolling Thunder did in 4 years  Successful largely because Easter Offensive was a conventional, mechanized attack  Peace Talks resumed in July 1972  Nixon restricted Linebacker I attacks to below the 20th parallel

Linebacker II  Peace Talks stalled again in Dec 72  Nixon ordered Linebacker II to run concurrently with Linebacker I  Purpose of Linebacker II was to force the North Vietnamese to negotiate and sign a peace treaty  Ran from 18 Dec to 30 Dec referred to as the “Christmas Campaign”

Linebacker II  Very intense and logistically complex  Specific targets in Hanoi and Haiphong  B-52s used for the first time over Hanoi  By the end of Linebacker II, North Vietnam was defenseless 1,200 SAMs were fired1,200 SAMs were fired 80% of the North’s electrical systems and 25% of their POL facilities were destroyed80% of the North’s electrical systems and 25% of their POL facilities were destroyed

Linebacker II  North Vietnam returned to the bargaining table 30 Dec 72  All bombing ceased on 15 Jan 73  Peace treaty was signed on 27 Jan 73  Linebacker II was a success Some believe that if Rolling Thunder had been conducted like Linebacker II, the war would have ended in unlikelySome believe that if Rolling Thunder had been conducted like Linebacker II, the war would have ended in unlikely

Summary Uses of Airpower  Uses of Airpower InterdictionClose Air Support InterdictionClose Air Support AirliftAir Refueling AirliftAir Refueling ReconnaissanceSearch and Rescue ReconnaissanceSearch and Rescue  Rolling Thunder  Linebacker I  Linebacker II