THE Air ForcE AssociATion The Air Force In The Vietnam War

USAF Order of BattleUSAF Aircraft in Thailand and South VietnamAll 6752421853SAC B-52 bombers were the workhorses of the Vietnam War.Figures are as of June 30 each year. Additional B-52s were based on Guam, the number varying from about 30 in 1965 toabout 150 in 1972. In Thailand, the attack force included 65 A-7s and 45 F-111s by late 1972.Source: Wayne Thompson, To Hanoi and Back (Smithsonian/USAF).The F-105 Thunderchief was a key factor early in the war.USAF Squadrons in Southeast AsiaIn 1968SquadronsAircraftVietnamTactical Fighter/Bomber/Attack23408Special Operations11204Tactical Airlift7167Tactical Air Control6280Recon/EW6101Rescue340Total Vietnam561,200In landStrategic Bombers, Tankers266—Tactical Fighter/Bomber1323911Special Operations5854Tactical Airlift—12—Tactical Air Control2413Recon/EW/Drone Support61042Rescue1211Total Thailand2956821142371458586130715Total Southeast Asia989851,76829Figures are as of the end of FY68 and FY72.Source: USAF Management Summary Southeast Asia, September 1973.9

USAF Attack AircraftJuly 1968-December 19721968July 31Dec. 31Bases in South VietnamBien HoaBinh ThuyAC-474F-454Nha Trang1970June 30 Dec. 311971June 30Dec. 311972June 30 Dec. 31322A-1555AC-474AC-1194755502219F-100Cam Ranh BayDa Nang1969June 30Dec. 5768666777657559F-100Phu Cat433AC-47361AC-1193434303236F-46965F-100Tan Son NhutTuy HoaA-1AC-47183184AC-1191735AC-119887486F-100Total South Vietnam45542815137Phan RangPleiku5417559104888635028818617962920Bases in -105Nakhon AC-473AC-1193940353534273742104F-412113Total Thailand269281296290253243187225419409Grand Total724709713640541429366287428429Source: Col. Perry L. Lamy, Air War College, 1995.10673124

Principal USAF Aircraft of the Vietnam WarFighter and Attack AircraftA-1 Skyraider. Propeller-driven Navyattack bomber, adapted for use by AirForce. Air Commandos flew the A-1E“Spad” two-seat version. The singleseat A-1H “Sandy” flew escort forrescue operations.A-7D Corsair II. Began service withNavy, deployed in Southeast Asia bythe Air Force in the late summer of1972, and used in the closing monthsof the war for tactical bombing and asan escort on gunship missions.F-4 Phantom. Best fighter of theVietnam War and most versatile. Usedfor air superiority, dropping bombs, reconnaissance, and forward air control.Originally developed by the Navy, adopted by the Air Force and deployed toSoutheast Asia in 1965. Early versionsrelied on missiles in combat, havingno guns. The F-4E had a 20 mm cannon. F-4s accounted for 107 of the 137MiGs shot down by the Air Force.C-5A Galaxy. Huge, with more capacity than other airlifters but did not makeits appearance in Vietnam until August1971 in the later phase of the war.C-7 Caribou. Light airlifters, takenover by the Air Force from the Armyin 1966. Worked smaller and moreremote locations.A-7D Corsair IIF-100 Super Sabre. USAF’s firstsupersonic fighter. Used extensivelyon missions over North Vietnam inthe early part of the war. F-100F hadtwo cockpits, was flown by the “Misty”forward air controllers.F-105 Thunderchief. The Lead Sled,The Thud. Signature airplane of theRolling Thunder campaign from 1965to 1968. Thuds flew 75 percent of thestrikes and took more of the lossesover North Vietnam than any othertype of airplane. F-105Fs flew as WildWeasel aircraft, finding and destroyingsurface-to-air missile (SAM) sites.C-5A GalaxyAirlifters and TankersPhoto by Ed Skowron via Warren ThompsonA-37 Dragonfly. Armed variant of theT-37 jet trainer, it was flown by USAFand the South Vietnamese Air Force. Itwas an effective performer, both in theattack role and as a forward air controlaircraft.A-1H SkyraiderC-123 Provider. Previously declaredobsolete and scheduled for retirement.Supported South Vietnamese groundforces in early 1960s, later served aslight airlifter for US forces as well. Performed with distinction at Khe Sanh,landing with supplies that could not beairdropped and evacuating casualties.C-124 Globemaster. Aging, propellerdriven aircraft known as “Old Shaky.” Itwas the Air Force’s long-range airlifteruntil the C-141 was fielded. Clamshelldoors opened in the nose so vehiclescould be driven on and off.F-100 Super SabreC-130 Hercules. Four-engine turboprop. USAF’s main tactical airlifter inSoutheast Asia. Also used as gunship,airborne command post, and for othermissions. Still in service 40 years laterand going strong.BombersB-52 Stratofortress. The Buff. In action from 1965 on, flying Arc Light missions, but political constraints kept itfrom being used with full effect againsttargets in North Vietnam until Operation Linebacker II in December 1972.B-52D StratofortressB-57 Canberra. First American jetaircraft deployed to Vietnam. Used inNorth Vietnam in early part of the war,later employed for night interdiction inLaos and in other roles. Variant of aBritish design.B-57 Canberra11

C-141 Starlifter. Main strategic airlifterin the war. First deployed in 1965.Twice as fast as C-124 and twice theload capability. Made daily shuttleflights between US and SoutheastAsia, taking cargo in and bringingpeople and casualties out.KC-135 tankers. On their way into combat, strike flights met the KC-135s to topoff their fuel tanks, then met them againon the way out for fuel to get home. Thetankers were notorious for violating therules and crossing “the fence” into NorthVietnam to gas up fighters running onfumes.C-141 StarlifterRescue HelicoptersHH-3E Jolly Green Giant. Most famousof the rescue and recovery helicopters,built for missions deep in North Vietnam.It could be refueled in flight and had arange of 736 miles. It entered service inSoutheast Asia in 1967.Forward Air ControllersO-1 Bird Dog. Forward air control aircraft,found and marked targets for strike flights.Low and slow, with a top speed of 115mph. Carried smoke rockets but no armament.O-2 Skymaster. A little bigger and a littlefaster than the O-1. It had two enginesto the Bird Dog’s one, making it morelikely to survive a hit from ground fire. Itcould be fitted with a pod for a 7.62 mmminigun.O-2 SkymasterOV-10 Bronco. Twin turboprop, introducedin 1968, considerably sturdier than O-1and O-2. Four 7.62 mm machine guns.Max speed of 281 mph.Reconnaissance and ControlAC-130A SpectreAC-119G Shadow and AC-119K Stinger.Shadow had four miniguns instead ofthree. Stinger added two 20 mm cannon.Shadow flew close air support and airbase defense missions. Stinger concentrated on trucks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.RF-4C. Took over most of the tactical reconnaissance job from 1967 on. Typicallyflew missions over North Vietnam withoutescort. Continued to set the standard foraerial photo reconnaissance through GulfWar I in 1991.RF-101. USAF’s primary photo reconnaissance aircraft over North Vietnam in theearly years of the war. RF-4C, which hadmore sophisticated cameras and sensorsand which could better cope with the MiG21, took over in the north, but the RF-101flew missions in Laos and South Vietnamuntil 1970.AC-130 Spectre. The ultimate gunship. Inaddition to miniguns, two 20 mm cannonsand two 40 mm Bofors guns. It workedat night, enabled by infrared sensors, alow-level TV sensor, and a “Black Crow”sensor that detected electronic emissions.EC-121D Super Constellation12HH-43F Huskie. “Pedro.” Utility helicopterdesigned for base fire and crash work,pressed into service for rescue missionsearly in the war. It was slow and had ashort operating range, but it accounted formore lives saved than any other rescuehelicopter in the war.HH-53C Super Jolly. Largest, fastest,and most powerful of the rescue helicopters. It had a top speed of 195 mph andcould carry up to 24 litter patients. In addition to its other capabilities, it mountedthree 7.62 miniguns for defense.GunshipsAC-47 Spooky. The first gunship. Madeits debut with the Air Commandos inDecember 1964, breaking up a Viet Congattack on an outpost. It had three 7.62mm miniguns that could pump out 6,000rounds a minute.HH-3E Jolly Green GiantEC-121 Super Constellation. Twovariants saw service in Southeast Asia.“College Eye” EC-121Ds—the oneswith radomes above and below thefuselage—flew radar and airborne earlywarning missions. “Bat Cat” EC-121Rs,with camouflage but no radomes, flewlong missions to monitor “Igloo White”intelligence sensors seeded along the HoChi Minh Trail.

Principal US Navy and Marine Corps AircraftA-4 Skyhawk. The single-engine A-4 lightattack bomber was the Navy’s primarylight attack aircraft at the beginning of thewar. It had been designed in the 1950sto be light and agile. Unlike most carrier aircraft, it did not have folding wingsbecause of its short (27 feet, 6 inches)wingspan. It was also used by the MarineCorps from land bases. The “Scooter” flewmore bombing missions in Vietnam thanany other Navy aircraft. In 1974, a variantof the A-4 replaced the F-4 for the Navy’sBlue Angels aerial demonstration team.F-4 Phantom. The F-4 entered servicefirst with the Navy, then with the Air Force.It was the best fighter of the Vietnam War.All of the Navy and Air Force aces wereF-4 pilots. The F-4 was also used for interdiction, reconnaissance, close air support,and forward air control missions. It remained in production until 1979 and flewwith the air arms of numerous nations.A-4 SkyhawkA-6 Intruder. The twin-engine A-6 wasan excellent all-weather bomber. It couldcarry more than 15,000 pounds of ordnance. It has been operational since 1963.It was subsonic but had good range andaccuracy not available from other aircraftin the theater. The A-6 was instantlyrecognizable by the refueling probe, whichrose like a crank handle in front of thecockpit. It was crewed by a pilot and anavigator, seated side by side. It was stillin service for Gulf War I in 1991.A-7 Corsair. The A-7 deployed to Vietnamin 1967, supposedly to replace the A-4 inthe light attack role. Instead, both of theaircraft continued in service for the rest ofthe war. The A-7 was modeled on the F-8Crusader (both were Vought aircraft) butwas shorter and had less sweep to thewings. The A-7 was also flown by the AirForce late in the war and stayed in servicewith the Navy until replaced years later bythe F/A-18.F-8 Crusader. The F-8 was the principalfighter for the Navy and Marine Corps inthe early part of the war. It carried Sidewinder missiles but relied mainly on its 20mm cannon, being the last US fighter designed with guns as the primary weapon.It accounted for 18 MiGs shot down incombat and also operated in other roles,including photo reconnaissance.A-6A IntruderF-8 CrusaderThe MiGsMiG-15. An updated model of the Soviet jet fighter that confronted—and wasbested by—the American F-86 Sabrein the Korean War. The MiG-15 wasobsolete and of limited combat value,but the North Vietnamese continued tofield it in considerable numbers. It wasused mostly for training.MiG-17. Advanced , faster, and morestable version of the MiG-15. Three ofNorth Vietnam’s 16 fighter aces flewMiG-17s. Especially effective at loweraltitudes, where its 23 mm and 37 mmcannons could be used to advantagein a turning fight. The MiG-17 defendedNorth Vietnam’s airfields and patrolledthe approach and departure routesused by US aircraft.MiG-19. Chinese variant of the supersonic Soviet fighter of the late 1950s.It did not appear in Vietnam until afterthe 1968 bombing halt. It carried twoheat-seeking Atoll missiles (similar tothe US AIM-9 Sidewinder) but depended mostly on its three 30 mm guns.MiG-21MiG-21. North Vietnam’s best fighterand a close match in capability withthe American F-4. The F-4 was slightlyfaster, but the MiG-21 had better acceleration. The MiG-21 was especiallyeffective at higher altitudes. It had a23 mm cannon but relied mainly on itsfour Atoll missiles. Thirteen of NorthViet nam’s 16 fighter aces flew MiG21s.13

OperationsNotable Air OperationsOperationDatesDescriptionFarm GateOct. 1, 1961-July 28, 1963Training and support for South Vietnamese Air Force.Ranch HandJan. 7, 1962-Jan. 7, 1971Defoliation of jungle to expose Viet Cong sanctuaries, movements,and ambushes.Barrel RollDec. 14-April 17, 1964Support of ground forces in northern Laos.Flaming DartFeb. 7-11, 1965Precursor to Rolling Thunder. Air strikes against North Vietnam inreprisal for Viet Cong attacks on US bases.Rolling ThunderMarch 2, 1965-Oct. 31, 1968Sustained air campaign over North Vietnam.Steel TigerApril 3, 1965-Feb. 21, 1973Interdiction of Ho Chi Minh Trail.Arc LightJune 18, 1965-Aug. 15, 1973Strategic Air Command B-52 strikes in Southeast Asia.BoloJan. 2, 1967“MiG Sweep” in which seven North Vietnamese aircraft are shotdown in 12 minutes.Eagle ThrustNov. 17-Dec. 29, 1967Huge airlift of troops and cargo from Ft. Campbell, Ky., to BienHoa.Commando HuntNov. 1, 1968-March 30, 1972Intensified air strikes in southern Laos.The “Menus”March 18, 1969-May 1970Covert bombing of Cambodia; series of missions named Breakfast,Lunch, Dinner, Snack, Supper, and Dessert.Linebacker IMay 10-Oct. 23, 1972Resumed bombing of North Vietnam, almost four years after endof Rolling Thunder.Linebacker IIDec. 18-29, 1972Massive air strikes on Hanoi and Haiphong.Attack Sorties in Southeast AsiaBy US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and South Vietnamese Air Force1966196719681969197019711972January1973In North 6—10—459VNAF814127—————In South ,429Other SEALaos, ,958244,21521,121Source: Department of Defense report, November 1973.1472978744—

The Route PacksRailroad linesReRiver6AThuThai Nguyen idgd R5dChinaPhuc YeneSon Tay6B Hanoi Kep HaiphongGulf of TonkinLaos4 Thanh HoaRailroad lines3 Vinh2Photo via Martin Winter1An RF-101 took this reconnaissancephoto while passing over North Vietnamese AAA batteries.Photo via Martin WinterIn December 1965, US Pacific Command divided North Vietnam into “routepackages.” Route Pack 6 was laterdivided into 6A and 6B. The Air Forceroute packs were 5 and 6A. Navy packswere 2, 3, 4, and 6B. Route Pack 1, initially assigned to the Navy, was placedunder operational control of MACV inApril 1966.The F-100 Super Sabre performedclose air support.An F-4 was armed with a new weaponthat would change warfare—the laserguided bomb.15

USAF Sorties in North 327Total171,4087,30340,69641,18091,357351,949Five gunship sorties (four in 1967, one in 1972) have been added to the “Total” column.Source: Wayne Thompson, To Hanoi and Back (Smithsonian/USAF).Air Operations in Laos“Barrel Roll” in northern Laos and“Steel Tiger” in the south referred bothto operations and to geographic designations. Steel Tiger East—also called“Tiger Hound”—was considered anextension of the fight in South Vietnamand was under the operational controlof MACV. Pacific Command retainedcontrol in the rest of the country. TheUS ambassador to Laos exerted stronginfluence and constraints on all operations in Laos. Air operations, bothsouth and north, were conducted by7th Air Force, employing aircraft basedin Thailand and South Vietnam. SAC B52s also operated extensively in Laos.North VietnamBarrelRollNorthBarrel RollWestBarrel RollEastPlain of JarsSources: Col. Perry L. Lamy, Air War College, 1995;Gen. William W. Momyer, USAF (Ret.), Air Power inThree Wars (USAF). VientianeThailandSteelTigerEastSteelTiger WestCambodia16

USAF MiG Victoriesby Aircraft and WeaponWeapons/TacticsMiG-17MiG-19 MiG-21TotalF-4CAIM-7 SparrowAIM-9 Sidewinder20 mm gunManeuvering tactics412320000101010142242F-4DAIM-4 FalconAIM-7 SparrowAIM-9 Sidewinder20 mm gunManeuvering tactics4404002200120322526562F-4EAIM-7 SparrowAIM-9 SidewinderAIM-9/20 mm gun (combined)20 mm gunManeuvering tactics00000200118414010415120 mm gun1001F-105D20 mm gunAIM-9 SidewinderAIM-9/20 mm gun (combined)22210000002221F-105F20 mm gun2002B-52D.50 cal. gun002261868137F-4D/F-105FTotalsPhotos via Martin WinterAircraftMaj. Ralph Kuster shot down this MiG17 with his F-105’s 20 mm guns.The Air Force fighter most successful against the MiGs in aerial combat was the F-4. The radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow accounted for more of the victories than any other weapon.Source: Carl Berger, Aces & Aerial Victories (USAF).Bombing Halts and Pauses in Air Operations Over North VietnamMay 12-May 18, 1965.Purpose was to test Hanoi’s response and willingness to negotiate.March 31, 1968.Halt of bombing north of 20th parallel. Under political pressure,the line was moved south to the 19th parallel.Dec. 24, 1965-Jan. 31, 1966.Christmas cease-fire, extended by Lyndon B. Johnson’s “peaceinitiative.” Hanoi failed to respond.Nov. 1, 1968-April 6, 1972.Halt of all bombing of North Vietnam. Reconnaissance flightscontinued and attacks on them led to “protective reaction” strikes.Feb. 8-13, 1967.Cease-fire for Tet religious holiday. Perception was that Hanoimight be willing to negotiate. Instead, North Vietnam took the opportunity to move 25,000 tons of war materiel south.Jan. 15, 1973.Suspension of mining, bombing, and other offensive operationsagainst North Vietnam as Paris peace talks approached conclusion.Aug. 24-Sept. 4, 1967.Cessation of attacks around Hanoi.Jan. 28, 1973.Cease-fire, prior to US disengagement from the war.Jan. 29, 1968.Unilateral 36-hour cease-fire for Tet. On Jan. 31, North Vietnamand the Viet Cong launched the Tet Offensive against bases allover South Vietnam.In addition, there were routine halts of 48 hours at Christmasand

Seventh Air Force in Saigon was under operational control of MACV for operations in South Vietnam and Route Pack 1 (the southern part of North Vietnam), but 7th Air Force was controlled by PACAF for operations in North Vietnam (Route Packs 5 and 6A). Air Force wings in Thailand were part of 13th Air Force in the Philippines, but were under the