Page 10 - Desert Lightning News, So. AZ Edition, Sept. 1 2017

10 September 2017 Desert Lightning News www.aerotechnews.com/davis-monthanafb
Vietnam War
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The U.S. Air Force was heavily deployed during the Vietnam War.
The first bombing raids against North Vietnam occurred in
1964, following the Gulf of Tonkin In- cident.
In March 1965, a sustained bombing campaign began, code-named Operation Rolling Thunder. This campaign’s pur- pose was to destroy the will of the North Vietnamese to fight, destroy industrial bases and air defenses, and to stop the flow of men and supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, while forcing North Vietnam into peace negotiations.
The Air Force dropped more bombs in all combat operations in Vietnam during the period 1965–68 than it did during World War II, and the Rolling Thunder campaign lasted until the U.S. presiden- tial election of 1968. Except for heavily damaging the North Vietnamese economy and infrastructure, Rolling Thunder failed in its political and strategic goals.
The Air Force also played a critical role in defeating the Easter Offensive of 1972. The rapid redeployment of fighters, bombers and attack aircraft helped the South Vietnamese Army repel the
invasion. Operation Linebacker dem- onstrated to both the North and South Vietnamese that even without significant U.S. Army ground forces, the United States could still influence the war. The air war for the United States ended with Operation Linebacker II, also known as the “Christmas Bombings.” These helped to finalize the Paris peace negotiations.
The insurgent nature of combat opera- tions early in the war, and the necessity of interdicting the North Vietnamese regular army and its supply lines in third-party countries of Southeast Asia led to the development of a significant special operations capability within the Air Force.
Provisional and experimental concepts such as air commandos and aerial gun- ships, tactical missions such as the par- tially successful Operation Ivory Coast deep inside enemy territory, and a dedi- cated Combat Search and Rescue mission resulted in development of operational doctrines, units, and equipment.
When the Vietnam War came to an end, the U.S. Air Force was responsible for fly- ing newly freed POWs from Hanoi, North Vietnam, to the United States. Between Feb. 12 and April 4, 1973, the Air Force flew 54 C-141 flights as part of Operation Homecoming.
Air Force photograph
Newly freed prisoners of war celebrate as their C-141A aircraft lifts off from Hanoi, North Vietnam, on Feb. 12, 1973, during Operation Homecoming. The mission in- cluded 54 C-141 flights between Feb. 12 and April 4, 1973, returning 591 POWs to American soil.
See VIETNAM, Page 15