Vietnam+War+Aircraft

Aircraft of the Vietnam War By: Will H

The Vietnam War was America’s longest war. It used bigger and better aircraft than ever before. It was mostly an electronic war in the air, laser and computer guided missiles and bombs played a great part in this war. In fact, the US had the most powerful air force at the time. The Vietnam War used a wide array of planes. Some of these aircraft include: the American f-4 phantom II, B-52 Stratofortress, and the f-111A. The North Vietnamese were largely supplied by the USSR and China. One of the North Vietnamese’s planes were the Soviet MIG-19 and 21’s. The F-4 phantoms were very common in the Vietnam War. The F-4’s were very versatile planes. They could carry large bombing loads for ground attacks and they were also very good fighter planes. They were the first planes to be flown by the Navy, Air Force, and Marines at the same time. The B-52 Stratofortress was a large, heavy bombing plane. It was used for long range heavy bombing. They flew at around 50,000 feet and could even be equipped with nuclear weapons. Another common, American plane was the F-111A. It could fly at mach 2 (twice the speed of sound), and it was used for tactical bombing, as well as fighting. The main enemy of all these American planes was the MIG-21 (follower to the MIG-19). It was used by the North Vietnamese as defensive interceptor. It was responsible for many losses in American aircraft. The MIG-21’s were lightweight and single engined, making them very maneuverable and fast. These planes could also fly at mach 2. Not only jets were used in this war. Helicopters played a huge part in the Vietnam War. Because of the dense, highly vegetated environment of Vietnam, helicopters were essential for landing in tight spaces. They were used for reconnaissance, troop and supply transportation, and close air support. Even some propeller-driven planes, such as the A1-E Skyraider, took major roles in the war. One of the most famous air operations of the war was Operation Rolling Thunder. It began in March of 1965 and was the first, sustained bombing raid of North Vietnam. Its plan was to weaken the morale and power of the North Vietnamese, but it didn’t go as well as planned. The targets seemed to be very random, and had little military importance. In this effort, the US lost a B-57, two F-100’s, and three F-105D Thunderchiefs. The commanding officers behind all the operations were the Forward Air Controllers, or FAC’s. They coordinated most of the air-ground operations. The FAC’s used three main planes: the 0-1 Bird Dog, the 0-2 Skymaster, and the 0V-10 Bronco. From these planes they could get visual contact with targets, or ground troops. They could perform search and rescue missions, close air support, and could give bomb damage assessments. The Vietnam War was greatly impacted by the use of air forces.

Sources

Feltus, Pamela. The Air War in Vietnam. 21-22 May 2007. www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Air_Power/vietnam/AP40.htm

Pilsch, Tom. Air Operations-Vietnam. 22 May 2007. www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Thomas.Pilsch/AirOps/

The Planes Used During the Vietnam War. 18 May 2007. http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312830/planes.html

Vietnam War. 22 May 2007. www.vietnam-war.Dcatch.com/

Air War. 22 May 2007. www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/air/index.html