OverviewUnderstand the historical

background and underlying causes of the Vietnam War

Know the significant events which shaped the outcome of the Vietnam War

Understand the impact the Vietnam War had upon the development of aviation

Referenceshttp://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Air_Power/vietnam/AP40.htmhttp://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/vietnam/airpower/

June 1964: General Westmoreland is appointed U.S. Commander March 2, 1965: Operation Rolling Thunder begins; a gradually intensifying

air bombardment of military bases, supply depots, and infiltration routes in North Vietnam. However the North is still able to inflict heavy casualties in South

March 8, 1965: First conventional US Ground Troops arrive. By the end of 1965, the U.S. has 184,300 troops in Vietnam

By June 1965, there had been five governments in the South, and the newest regime, headed by General Nguyen Van Thieu and Air Marshall Nguyen Cao Ky, inspired little confidence.

Early Stages

Operation Rolling Thunder The U.S. Air Force was operating in Vietnam as early as

1961 first as military advisors and then directly supporting South Vietnam on a limited basis

However as Viet Cong raids against American installations began to increase. As a result, in March 1965, Johnson ordered a bombing campaign, Rolling Thunder, to break the will of the Communists. Rolling Thunder would continue for the next three years

Rolling Thunder was designed as both a gradual application of American airpower to pressure North Vietnam to surrender and a means to interdict the transportation network that supplied the Viet Cong guerillas along the Ho Ch Minh Trail

Operation Rolling Thunder• From the beginning, there were many problems with Rolling

Thunder • The targets were selected during lunches at the White House

initially by President Johnson and his civilian advisors only. Military officers were not part of these meetings until 1967.

• These advisors chose the targets, tactics, timing, number of aircraft, and ordnance. Personnel in Vietnam could request targets, but by the time the request worked its way through Washington, the quick-moving Viet Cong would have left the area.

North Vietnamese Industrial, Supply and Military Capabilities were often not on the approved target list

Air War Over Vietnam In 1965, jet aircraft also began to arrive. The first were the Republic F-105

Thunderchiefs, large fighter-bombers with limited maneuverability. They were soon replaced by McDonnell F-4 Phantom IIs.

The Phantoms were the only equal to the aircraft the Soviet Union supplied to the North Vietnamese Air Force -the MiG-21 Fishbed.

Vietnam marked the end of the ace. There were only five aces in Vietnam. This was a result of the North Vietnamese pilots avoiding situations that might involve dogfighting.

The rules of engagement also demanded that U.S. pilots have visual confirmation of any enemy aircraft before engaging, which was too close for air-to-air missiles to be effective, and until late in the war the fighters were not armed with guns.

Air War Over Vietnam Electronic warfare became

extremely important in Vietnam. In 1965, the North Vietnamese

began to build a massive surface-to-air missile (SAM) arsenal. SAM sites had strict rules of engagement. U.S. aircraft could only attack them if their radar was turned on.

The American response was the Wild Weasels that carried equipment to detect electromagnetic energy in order to identify and destroy SAM sites.

Air War Over Vietnam For many, the Vietnam War

evokes the sound of helicopter blades whirling.

Helicopters were involved in all aspects of the war. Bell, manufacturer of the Bell UH-1 Huey sold more than 15,000.

The Huey was flexible enough to be used for everything from rescuing downed airmen to cargo to ground attack. Airmobile units, considered the most significant ground war development since tanks, consisted of ground troops transported by helicopters.

Linebacker Campaigns On November 5, 1968, Richard M. Nixon

became President Nixon’s strategy was to be supply South

Vietnam with equipment and advice while U.S. forces were withdrawn. To aid South Vietnam’s forces, Nixon authorized the LINEBACKER I bombing campaign into the forbidden areas of North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It was the largest bombing campaign in the war.

However after peace negotiations between the U.S. and North Vietnam broke down in early December 1972, President Nixon authorized LINEBACKER II . For the next 12 days U.S. B-52 bombers and other aircraft dropped 36,000 tons of bombs on North Vietnam, exceeding the tonnage for the past two years before.

Lessons Learned:Air Strategy

Ineffectiveness of Gradualism as a strategyCivil – Military relations critical to successMicromanagement can derail military

operationsTactical Mobility is KeyAir Combat

Significant technological advancementsNeed for greater precision and

coordinationAirpower as a means of coercion? Airpower as a substitute for land forces?