A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...
A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...
A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...
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ombed, <strong>the</strong> two most famous were <strong>the</strong> Thanh Hoa bridge eight miles<br />
south <strong>of</strong> Hanoi and <strong>the</strong> Paul Doumer bridge in Hanoi itself. Both were<br />
critical to transport supplies flowing from China into North and South<br />
Vietnam. Hundreds <strong>of</strong> bombing sorties conducted over several years<br />
failed to bring down <strong>the</strong> solidly-built Thanh Hoa bridge. When <strong>the</strong><br />
Johnson administration finally permitted <strong>the</strong> bombing <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Doumer<br />
bridge in 1967, fighter-bombers quickly dropped one span. After several<br />
weeks, repair crews put <strong>the</strong> bridge back into operation and it had to be<br />
bombed again. Over France in World War I, American airmen contested<br />
with Fokkers for air superiority and over Germany in World War 11, with<br />
Focke-Wulfs and Messerschmitts. Over Korea <strong>the</strong>y fought MiGs. Over<br />
North Vietnam <strong>the</strong>y fought fewer MiGs as <strong>the</strong> struggle became primarily<br />
directed against surface-to-air missiles and antiaircraft artillery. When <strong>the</strong><br />
Johnson administration approved <strong>the</strong> cessation <strong>of</strong> bombing north <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
19th parallel in <strong>the</strong> spring <strong>of</strong> 1968, North Vietnam agreed to negotiate.<br />
Peace negotiations began in Paris in November 1968, and <strong>the</strong> United<br />
States halted ROLLING THUNDER. The JCS <strong>the</strong>n limited <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Force</strong><br />
operations in North Vietnam to protective reaction missions. <strong>Air</strong>craft<br />
would conduct reconnaissance and would strike only if attacked.<br />
Meanwhile, in South Vietnam, <strong>the</strong> ground war worsened. In 1965<br />
American commander, General William Westmoreland, oversaw <strong>the</strong><br />
change <strong>of</strong> commitment in South Vietnam from a coastal enclave strategy<br />
for <strong>the</strong> protection <strong>of</strong> large cities, to direct ground involvement (“search<br />
and destroy” missions) into <strong>the</strong> interior after Communist forces in a mas-<br />
sive campaign <strong>of</strong> close air support and interdiction. By 1968 over half a<br />
million American troops were engaged. Again, as it had in Korea,<br />
American strategy called for substituting air power for ground action<br />
whenever possible to reduce Army casualties. Ironically, while dropping<br />
less than one million tons <strong>of</strong> bombs on North Vietnam, <strong>the</strong> enemy, <strong>the</strong><br />
United States dropped more than four million tons on South Vietnam, <strong>the</strong><br />
ally. When Westmoreland ordered a major <strong>of</strong>fensive into <strong>the</strong> “Iron<br />
Triangle” northwest <strong>of</strong> Saigon, more than 5,000 <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Force</strong> tactical strike<br />
sorties, 125 B-52 strikes, and 2,000 airlift sorties paved <strong>the</strong> way.<br />
Operations included an extensive defoliation campaign (RANCH<br />
HAND) in which C-123 Providers and o<strong>the</strong>r transports sprayed 19 mil-<br />
lion gallons <strong>of</strong> herbicides over <strong>the</strong> jungles that provided convenient hid-<br />
ing places for Viet Cong guerrillas and North Vietnamese regular units<br />
out to ambush American ground troops. The overwhelming firepower<br />
brought by America to Vietnam gave <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Force</strong> airlift a major role in <strong>the</strong><br />
war. Because jungle roads were rarely safe, Allied forces called on Army<br />
helicopters and <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Force</strong> C47 Skytrains, C-119 Boxcars, C-123<br />
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