[48], Linebacker saw several other "firsts". [33], At precisely 09:00 (local time) on 8 May six Navy A-7 Corsair IIs and three A-6 Intruders from Coral Sea entered Haiphong harbor and dropped 36 1,000-pound Mark-52 and Mark-55 mines into the water. Crowd sourced content that is contributed to World Heritage Encyclopedia is peer reviewed and edited by our editorial staff to ensure quality scholarly research articles. Hours before the president's speech announcing the mining, Kissinger had delivered a letter to Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin which outlined the U.S. plan, but which also made clear Nixon's willingness to proceed with the summit. [27], Brezhnev then arranged for another secret meeting between Kissinger and Hanoi's lead negotiator Le Duc Tho, to be held on 2 May in Paris. 1974: Tragedy strikes at the DMZ Navy strength: 545,903 people (0.26% of U.S. population) While inspecting a secret tunnel in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, which were and still are technically at war, an explosion caused the death of Comdr. "Appendix I – Linebacker Losses". Air Force and Navy commanders and pilots were relieved that Nixon (unlike President Johnson) left the operational planning to local commanders and loosened the targeting restrictions that had hampered Operation Rolling Thunder. Linebacker was the first continuous bombing effort conducted against North Vietnam since the bombing halt instituted by President Lyndon B. Johnson in November 1968. Friedheim refused to say whether the remaining ships now bottled up behind the mine barrier will be bombed. The Chinese, who had previously hoped that a long war in Southeast Asia would bleed both the Americans and their Vietnamese neighbors, now feared that a decline in American power would deprive them of a counterweight to the Soviet Union. [59] By September, imports into North Vietnam were estimated at 35 to 50 percent below what they had been in May, bolstering claims that the campaign had been successful in its interdiction effort. On 27 August 1972. This raid, which took place off the Do Son Peninsula and Cat Ba Island area at the entrance to Haiphong Harbor was carried out by Task Unit 77.1.2., which included four ships, USS Newport News (CA 148), an 8-inch gun cruiser; USS Providence (CLG 6), a 6-inch gun missile cruiser; USS Robison (DDG 12), a guided-missile destroyer; and USS Rowan (DD 782) a Gearing class destroyer. On the assigned day, the two men met for a session that Kissinger later described as "brutal and insulting. Navy pilots, employing a mutually supporting "loose deuce" tactical formation and many with TOPGUN training, enjoyed a kill ratio of 6:1 in their favor in May and June, such that after that the VPAF rarely engaged them thereafter. [43] B-52s provided an additional 1,000 sorties during the same period. [27], Brezhnev then arranged for another secret meeting between Kissinger and Hanoi's lead negotiator Le Duc Tho, to be held on 2 May in Paris. [16] Another 114 fighter-bombers were located at bases in Thailand. "[52] It succeeded, where Rolling Thunder had failed, he claimed, for three reasons: President Nixon was decisive in his actions and gave the military greater latitude in targeting; American airpower was forcefully and appropriately used; and the immense difference in the technology utilized made Linebacker the first bombing campaign in a "new era" of aerial warfare. MAIN LIBRARY. [48] During August, however, the introduction of real-time early warning systems, increased aircrew combat experience and degraded VPAF ground control interception capabilities reversed the trend to a more favorable 4:1 kill ratio. [55], During and immediately following the PAVN offensive, U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps aviators had flown 18,000 sorties in the four northern provinces of South Vietnam and dropped 40,000 tons of ordnance in the Battle of An Lộc. From 1974 to 1978, he served as the senior uniformed officer in the U.S. Navy and as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under three Presidents; Nixon, Ford and Carter. [49], Although Linebacker was largely carried out by air, naval forces were also deployed to provide counter battery fire against enemy targets along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and other important logistical areas and in support of ground troops. [4] This three-division force caught the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and their American allies unprepared. On the morning of November 20, 1946, a French patrol ship seized a Chinese junk attempting to bring contrabandinto Haiphong. By 6 April, at naval and air bases around the globe, American forces were put on alert and ships and aircraft squadrons began moving toward Southeast Asia. [56] During Freedom Train and Linebacker proper, B-52s had dropped 150,237 tons of bombs on the North while Air Force and Navy tactical aircraft had flown 1,216 sorties and dropped another 5,000 tons of ordnance. The Battle of Haiphong Harbor was one of the few naval battles fought in the Vietnam War. [53], Air Force historian Earl Tilford has written that Linebacker was "a watershed in aerial warfare...it was the first modern aerial campaign in which precision guided munitions changed the way in which air power was used. Another four were destroyed between the capital and Haiphong, including the notorious Thanh Hóa Bridge. I was talking about the mining of Haiphong which was about to come--the bombing had just started. [13] Between the 6th and the 15th, U.S. aircraft also struck and destroyed the Paul Doumer and Thanh Hóa bridges and the Yen Vien railway marshalling yard. Losses are enumerated by date, aircraft type and serial number, and crew members. These strikes were conducted in support of ARVN forces, and included those of the air wings of the carriers USS Coral Sea and USS Hancock. Their air wings totaled approximately 140 aircraft.[18]. On 13 October another weapons officer, Captain Jeffrey S. Feinstein, was credited with his fifth MiG, making him the final Air Force ace. [7] The North Vietnamese then proceeded east toward the provincial seat of Kon Tum. Between March and May, B-52 sortie rates had climbed from 700 to 2,200 per month and the big bombers had dropped 57,000 tons of bombs in Quảng Trị Province alone. [17] The U.S. Navy's Task Force 77 (stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin), had four aircraft carriers assigned to it, but only two were available at any one time to conduct operations. Division 8 formed (possibly 1973 or 1974) from previously separate RegimentsZ15 and Z18, it first served in the 1975 spring offensive. Though she writes her son's messages after he dies, the Vietnam war was over in 1972, so there was not a Battle of Haiphong in 1974. Lipsman and Weiss, p. 9. "[29], On 27 April, ARVN defenses in Quảng Trị Province began to collapse. Unwilling to jeopardize increasingly normalized relations with the West and wary of Washington's growing relationship with Beijing, Brezhnev agreed to apply pressure to Hanoi to end the offensive and negotiate seriously. SYND 5-5-72 AFTERMATH OF BOMBING ON HAIPHONG - Duration: 1:09. By Samuel J. Cox Rear Adm., USN (retired) Director of Naval History, Curator for the Navy Director, Naval History and Heritage Command A note from the editor: Admiral James L. Holloway III, USN (Ret. The Battle of Xa Cam My was a battle of the Vietnam War fought over two days from April 11–12, 1966. [12], U.S. Air Force tactical strikes against North Vietnam north of the 20th parallel were authorized on 5 April under the nickname Freedom Train. One such operation was Operation Lion's Den, or "The Battle of Haiphong Harbor". An "induced loss" occurred when a MiG was credited with indirectly causing a U.S. aircraft loss, including fuel exhaustion, fratricide, and loss of control while maneuvering. PAVN had evolved into a conventional military force, and such a force depended upon a complex logistical system, which made it vulnerable to aerial attack. [55], From the beginning of Freedom Train in April to the end of June 1972 the United States lost 52 aircraft over North Vietnam: 17 to missiles; 11 to anti-aircraft weapons; three to small arms fire; 14 to MiGs; and seven to unknown causes. [13], The following day 18 B-52s struck Thanh Hóa's Bai Thuong Air Base. Their targets included the railroad switching yards at Yên Viên and the Paul Doumer Bridge, on the northern outskirts of Hanoi. Gone were Hanoi's demands for the ouster of South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and his replacement by a coalition government in which the National Liberation Front would participate. They were protected from attack by North Vietnamese MiG fighters by the guided-missile cruisers Chicago and Long Beach, several destroyers including the guided missile destroyer Berkeley, and by flights of F-4 Phantoms. By 6 April, at naval and air bases around the globe, American forces were put on alert and ships and aircraft squadrons began moving toward Southeast Asia. Amongst the group were two sailors who were on board Providence the night of the pitched battle in Haiphong Harbor: Gary Cheever and Ken Chambers. Are you certain this article is inappropriate? De la Houssaye. [7] They quickly seized the town of Lộc Ninh and then surrounded the town of An Lộc, cutting the road to the capital. Several more bridges were brought down along the rail line leading to the south toward the DMZ. [5] The PAVN force struck the defensive positions of the ARVN 3rd Division and threw it into disarray. [58] During the same time period, the RVNAF lost ten aircraft. Several more bridges were brought down along the rail line leading to the south toward the DMZ. The VPAF, with approximately 200 interceptors, strongly contested these attacks throughout the campaign. Hours before Nixon's speech announcing the mining, Kissinger had delivered a letter to Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin which outlined the U.S. plan, but which also made clear Nixon's willingness to proceed with the summit. [23], By mid-month, nearly all of North Vietnam had been cleared for bombing raids for the first time in over three years. [23], By mid-month, nearly all of North Vietnam had been cleared for bombing raids for the first time in over three years. On the assigned day, the two men met for a session that Kissinger later described as "brutal and insulting. [31] As the North Vietnamese continued to gain ground in three of South Vietnam's four military regions, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff updated their contingency plans (drawn up before the bombing halt of 1968) for the resumption of bombing in the north and recommended it to the president, who approved it on 8 May. Air Force historian Earl Tilford has written that Linebacker was "a watershed in aerial warfare...it was the first modern aerial campaign in which precision guided munitions changed the way in which air power was used. This article was sourced from Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. [56] During the same time period, the Republic of Vietnam Air Force lost ten aircraft. Vice Admiral James L. Holloway III took with him his ship, the heavy cruiser Newport News, the guided missile cruiser Providence, and the destroyers Robison and Rowan conducted a brief night raid against the North Vietnamese forces protecting the port of Haiphong. The U.S. immediately began a rapid build-up of airpower. On the opening day of the operation, Navy Lieutenant Randall H. Cunningham and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant (j.g.) The continuing bad weather, however, limited the ability of the U.S. aircraft to assist in stemming the North Vietnamese onslaught. Division 341 was reformed 1972 and sent south in Jan 1975. [11], Both Nixon and Kissinger considered a plan offered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to be both unimaginative and lacking in aggressiveness. The reason for the precise timing of the strike became apparent when Nixon simultaneously delivered a televised speech explaining the escalation to the American people: "The only way to stop the killing is to take the weapons of war out of the hands of the international outlaws of North Vietnam.". The shell penetrated the superstructure and exploded, killing one man and Yes No | Share this [40] Anti-aircraft artillery and over 100 surface-to-air missile firings also brought down two U.S. Navy aircraft (one of which was flown by aces Duke Cunningham and William P. ), Charlie Company soon found itself fighting for survival in the rubber plantations of Cam My village, approximately 42 miles (68 km) east of Saigon. Also contributing to the parity was a lack of air combat training against dissimilar aircraft, a deficient early warning system, and ECM pod formations that mandated strict adherence to formation flying. Although both Moscow and Beijing publicly denounced the American operation, they were not willing to jeopardize their thawing relationship with the U.S. and Hanoi's requests for support and aid from its socialist allies met with only cool responses. [49] On 28 August, the Air Force gained its first ace when Captain Richard S. Ritchie downed his fifth enemy aircraft. [46], Air Force pilots were hampered by use of the outdated "fluid four" tactical formations (a four-plane, two element formation in which only the leader did the shooting and in which the outside wingmen were vulnerable) dictated by service doctrine. [40] Anti-aircraft artillery and over 100 surface-to-air missile firings also brought down two U.S. Navy aircraft. Linebacker was the first continuous bombing effort conducted against North Vietnam since the end of Operation Rolling Thunder in November 1968. [8] The PAVN then proceeded east toward the provincial capital of Kon Tum. In addition to interdicting the road and rail system of North Vietnam, Linebacker also systematically attacked its air defense system. One such operation was Operation Lion's Den, or "The Battle of Haiphong Harbor". [49] The meetings produced new concessions from Hanoi which promised to end the deadlock that had plagued negotiations since their inception in 1968. [4] The PAVN force struck the defensive positions of the Third ARVN Division and threw it into disarray. [13], U.S. Air Force tactical strikes against North Vietnam north of the 20th parallel were authorized on 5 April under the nickname Freedom Train. [37] The next day, Nixon shook the hand of Soviet Foreign Trade Minister Nikolai Patolichev at the White House. At the beginning of 1972, the U.S. Air Force had only three squadrons of F-4s and a single squadron of A-37s, a total of 76 aircraft, stationed in South Vietnam. [51] The diplomatic impasse was broken and Nixon ordered a halt to all bombing above the 20th parallel on 23 October. "[63] Although Henry Kissinger may have announced that peace was at hand, it was not going to come easily. Funding for USA.gov and content contributors is made possible from the U.S. Congress, E-Government Act of 2002. VIETNAM: BATTLE OF HAIPHONG HARBOR 313 Robison would team with the Providence, a 6-inch gun and missile cruiser, as one task element, and the World War II Gearing-class destroyer Rowan (DD-782) would join the heavy cruiser Newport News as a second task element. [10] Another stumbling block to the plan was General Abrams' desire to utilize the available bombers (with their all-weather capability) to support the ARVN defense.          Political / Social. The U.S. Navy had also been updating its own contingency plans for just such a mining operation since 1965. "[35] The mines were activated five days after their delivery in order to allow any vessels then in port to escape without damage. Holloway served with honor and distinction for 36 years. "[61] Although Henry Kissinger may have announced that peace was at hand, it was not going to come easily. "[29], On 27 April, ARVN defenses in Quảng Trị Province began to collapse. It took place on Hill 937 (as it was 937-meter above the sea) which would be later known as “Hamburger Hill” due to its grinding nature as a reference to a similar battle called “The Battle of Pork Chop Hill” during Korean war. On the following day, while engaged in a sharp exchange of gunfire with hostile shore batteries, one enemy artillery shell found its mark. [12] On 4 April, he authorized the bombing of North Vietnam (which had been limited to reprisal raids just above the DMZ) up to the 18th parallel. Article Id: [24] Between 1 May and 30 June B-52s, fighter-bombers, and gunships had flown 18,000 sorties against formidable AAA defenses with the loss of 29 aircraft. [41] There was an immediate impact on the battlefield in South Vietnam. On 21 February 1972 Nixon had landed in Beijing for his dramatic diplomatic breakthrough with the People's Republic of China. The reason for the precise timing of the strike became apparent when President Nixon simultaneously delivered a televised speech explaining the escalation to the American people: "the only way to stop the killing is to take the weapons of war out of the hands of the international outlaws of North Vietnam. ^ Ed Rasimus (2006). [45] The Air Force, opposed by MiG-21s, MiG-17s, and J-6s (the Chinese version of the MiG-19), experienced a virtual 1:1 shoot-down ratio through the first two months of the campaign, as seven of its eventual 24 Linebacker air-to-air losses occurred without any corresponding North Vietnamese loss in a twelve-day period between 24 June and 5 July. One of those aircraft was an. [33] Operation Duck Hook was to include an invasion of the north itself and included a proposal to mine its major harbors. On 12 April, the PAVN struck again, this time moving in from eastern Laos and seizing a series of border outposts around Đắk Tô in Kon Tum Province in the Central Highlands. [38] With nearly 85 percent of North Vietnam's imports (which arrived by sea) blocked by Pocket Money, the administration and the Pentagon believed that this would cut its final lines of communication with its socialist allies. [52] The U.S. on its part agreed to a cease fire in place which conceded that PAVN soldiers could remain in South Vietnam after a peace agreement. [citation needed], Operation Linebacker, the designation for the new interdiction campaign, would have four objectives: to isolate North Vietnam from its outside sources of supply by destroying railroad bridges and rolling stock in and around Hanoi and northeastward toward the Chinese frontier; the targeting of primary storage areas and marshalling yards; to destroy storage and transshipment points; and finally, to eliminate (or at least damage) the North's air defense system. 78713 Phone: (512) 495-4250 The B-52s were then withdrawn from operations in the north, and when they returned in June, their missions would be limited to South Vietnam. They were followed by more than 100 tactical aircraft attacking targets around Hanoi and Haiphong during daylight. [30] PAVN forces entered the city on the same day as the meeting between Kissinger and Le Duc Tho. The PAVN offensive had become a massive conventional military operation that was being conducted on three fronts simultaneously, involving the equivalent of 15 divisions and 600 tanks. [47] During August, however, the introduction of real-time early warning systems, increased aircrew combat experience, and degraded North Vietnamese ground control interception capabilities reversed the trend to a more favorable 4:1 kill ratio. 108–109. They were protected from attack by North Vietnamese MiG fighters by the guided-missile cruisers Chicago and Long Beach , several destroyers including the guided missile destroyer Berkeley , and by flights of F-4 … Casey, Michael, Clark Dougan, Samuel Lipsman, Jack Sweetman, Stephen Weiss, et al.. Fulghum, David and Terrence Maitland, et al.. Lipsman, Samuel and Stephen Weiss, et al., Bibliography: Operations Linebacker and Linebacker II. [20] Strategic Air Command (SAC) dispatched 124 B-52s from the U.S. to Guam bringing the total B-52 strength available for operations to 209. Losses by service were:[64], World War II, Chief of Naval Operations, Charleston, South Carolina, United States Navy, Korean War, For the December 1972 military operation, see, For more details on on the PAVN offensive, see, For more details on on the negotiations, see. This once again placed Hanoi and Haiphong off-limits, and halted Linebacker operations. [3] This three-division force caught the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and their American allies unprepared. Operation Linebacker, the designation for the new interdiction campaign, would have four objectives: to isolate North Vietnam from its outside sources of supply by destroying railroad bridges and rolling stock in and around Hanoi and northeastward toward the Chinese frontier; the targeting of primary storage areas and marshalling yards; to destroy storage and transshipment points; and finally, to eliminate (or at least damage) the north's air defense system. They were protected from attacks by Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) MiG fighter aircraft by the guided-missile cruisers Chicago and Long Beach, with several destroyers including the guided-missile destroyer USS Berkeley launching Operation Custom Tailor, and by supporting flights of F-4 Phantoms. Following two routine deployments in 1974 and 1976, BERKELEY made her next deployment in 1979. 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