Bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base
Bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base | |||||||
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Part of Fall of Saigon, Vietnam War | |||||||
On 28 April 1975, Tan Son Nhut Air Base became the target of North Vietnam's first successful air-attack against a South Vietnamese target | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
South Vietnam | North Vietnam | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Nguyen Huu Tan |
Nguyen Van Luc | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
5th Air Force Division | Quyet Thang Squadron | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1 air force division | 1 squadron | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3 F-5, 4 C-119, 3 C-47 and 1 DC-3 destroyed[1] | None |
History of Ho Chi Minh City |
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Attack on USNS Card (2 May 1964) | |
1964 Brinks Hotel bombing (24 December 1964) | |
1965 United States embassy bombing (30 March 1965) | |
1965 Saigon bombing (25 June 1965) | |
Operation Jackstay (26 March – 6 April 1966) | |
Operation Fairfax (November 1966 - 15 December 1967) | |
Viet Cong attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (4–5 December 1966) | |
Tet offensive battle of Cholon and Phu Tho Racetrack (31 January-11 February 1968) | |
Tet offensive attack on Joint General Staff Compound (31 January-1 February 1968) | |
Tet offensive attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (31 January 1968) | |
Tet offensive attack on US Embassy (31 January 1968) | |
Battle of West Saigon (5–12 May 1968) | |
Battle of South Saigon (7–12 May 1968) | |
Hijacking of Pan Am Flight 841 (2 July 1972) | |
Bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base (28 April 1975) | |
Operation Frequent Wind (29–30 April 1975) | |
Fall of Saigon (30 April 1975) |
The Bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base occurred on April 28, 1975, just two days before the
In 1973, by the time the Paris Peace Accords were concluded, South Vietnam possessed the fourth largest air force in the world. Despite their size, however, RVNAF operations were severely curtailed due to cutbacks in U.S. military aid. Furthermore, the RVNAF were prevented from undertaking reconnaissance and ground support missions due to the threat posed by formidable anti-aircraft weapons deployed by North Vietnam. When the North Vietnamese military renewed their offensive early in 1975, the RVNAF was handicapped and many of their aircraft were either lost or captured as formations of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) swept through the Central Highlands of South Vietnam.
Background
Strategic situation
Although the Paris Peace Accords of 1973 were supposed to end the war in Vietnam, fighting continued between South Vietnam and North Vietnam and the Viet Cong (VC). Despite a pledge of support from U.S. President Richard Nixon, military aid to South Vietnam was sharply reduced.[2] By the end of 1972 the RVNAF was the fourth largest air force in the world, with 2,075 aircraft and over 61,000 personnel.[2]: 60 However, RVNAF operations were severely affected by cutbacks in military aid, flying hours had to be reduced by 51% and bomb loads on fighter aircraft halved from four to two pieces of ordnance.[2]: 62
North Vietnam continued to build up its combat units in South Vietnam. With the threat of U.S. airpower removed, the North Vietnamese military moved anti-aircraft units into South Vietnam, and deployed a sophisticated air-defence network that included the long-range
Ho Chi Minh Campaign
The
On 28 March PAVN forces closed in on Da Nang, and they subjected
Attack on the Presidential Palace
On 8 April, a formation of three RVNAF
Shortly afterwards Trung took off again and flew out to
Battle
Preparation for the mission
Prior to the bombing of the Presidential Palace, North Vietnamese General
The decision to use the captured aircraft presented a challenge for the VPAF, because they lacked experience in flying U.S.-made aircraft. Furthermore, VPAF pilots were not proficient in the English language; most had trained on Soviet equipment using the Russian language.[6]: 170 Upon receiving news of Trung's actions on 8 April, General Dung decided that Trung would provide conversion training so that a group of VPAF pilots would be able to fly the A-37 Dragonfly, the type selected for an upcoming operation. Trung was sent out to Da Nang Air Base, where he was joined by Lieutenants Tran Van On and Tran Van Xanh, both former RVNAF pilots, captured when Da Nang capitulated on 29 March. Trung, Xanh, and On were tasked with translating manuals from English to the Vietnamese language, as well as translating instructions on board the A-37 into Vietnamese.[7]: 156
On 19 April the VPAF Command was ordered to prepare for an operation in South Vietnam, so a group of pilots from the 4th Squadron of the VPAF 923rd Fighter Regiment was selected to undertake conversion training in Da Nang and form a new squadron for the operation. The selected group was led by Upper Captain Nguyen Van Luc along with Tu De, Tran Cao Thang, Han Van Quang and Hoang Mai Vuong.[7]: 155 Together with former RVNAF pilots Trung and On, the group would form the Quyet Thang ("Determined to Win") Squadron. On 22 April the VPAF pilots arrived at Da Nang Air Base and they began training on two A-37 aircraft that were restored to flying condition with support from Trung, On, Xanh and a few captured South Vietnamese technicians. In just five days, the VPAF pilots were able to independently fly the A-37 without support from the former RVNAF pilots.[7]: 156
As the VPAF pilots were completing the final phases of their conversion training, the VPAF Command chose to attack Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon. On the afternoon of 27 April, the pilots were flown out to
The attack
At Phan Rang AB, Luc submitted the squadron's plan of attack to the VPAF Command, Trung would lead the formation in the first aircraft because he was familiar with the skies over Saigon, De would be positioned behind Trung in the second aircraft, followed by Luc in the third, Vuong and On together in the fourth and Quang would pilot the last aircraft in the formation.[8] At around 16:05 on 28 April the five A-37 bombers of the Quyet Thang Squadron, each armed with four 250-pound bombs, took off from Phan Rang and each aircraft flew between 600 meters (2,000 ft) and 800 meters (2,600 ft) apart from each other. The five-aircraft formation flew at a height of just 1,000 meters (3,300 ft). Their first navigation point was Vũng Tàu, from where the formation would turn towards Tan Son Nhut. When the squadron flew over Bien Hoa Air Base, two RVNAF A-1 Skyraiders were sighted conducting bombing sorties near the area, but they were not allowed to engage.[6]: 172
Shortly after 17:00 the formation was able to approach Tan Son Nhut Air Base unchallenged as they were still wearing South Vietnamese code numbers. From about 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) above the target Trung dived down on the target, but his bombs could not be released from the pylons, so Trung was forced to pull his aircraft up again.[7]: 156 Next in line was De, who was able to drop his entire bomb load on the target. Luc dived on the target, but he too experienced problems with the weapons release system, so only two bombs were dropped. After the last two aircraft piloted by Vuong, Quang and On had successfully hit their targets, they strafed aircraft on the ground with gunfire. Trung and Luc made another pass, but again their bombs could not be released from the pylon.[7]: 156
By that stage the South Vietnamese had already responded by firing their anti-aircraft guns, so Luc ordered the squadron to withdraw as Trung made one final attempt at dropping his load using emergency mode. Several RVNAF Force F-5s were scrambled to pursue the attackers, but they escaped without any damage.[8] On the return trip Quang led the formation, followed by Luc, De and Vuong and On. Trung, who had flown back for the third bombing attempt, was trailing the rest of the group. As they flew over Phan Thiết, they had to fly at a lower altitude to avoid mistakenly being hit by PAVN anti-aircraft weapons.[7]: 156 When the formation came within 40 kilometers (25 mi) of Phan Rang AB, De was granted permission to land first because he only had about 600 liters (130 imp gal; 160 U.S. gal) of fuel left. Squadron commander Luc was next to land, followed by Vuong and On, then Quang. Trung, who had led the attack during the mission, was the last aircraft to arrive back at base.[7]: 156 By 18:00 on 28 April all the pilots of the VPAF Quyet Thang Squadron had landed at Phan Rang, after completing North Vietnam's first successful air attack against Saigon during the entire Vietnam War.[7]: 157
Aftermath
The attack on Tan Son Nhut temporarily closed the airport, but it was soon returned to operation. The true extent of the damage is unknown; the North Vietnamese claimed that 24 aircraft had been destroyed and about 200 South Vietnamese personnel were killed,[6]: 172 but U.S. sources state that only three AC-119s and several C-47s were destroyed, with no mention of casualties.[9]
By the night of 28 April, North Vietnamese artillery and rockets were hitting Tan Son Nhut. At dawn on 29 April, the RVNAF began to haphazardly depart Tan Son Nhut Air Base as A-37s, F-5s, C-7s, C-119s, and C-130s departed for Thailand, while UH-1 helicopters took off in search of the evacuation fleet of Task Force 76.[10] Some RVNAF aircraft, however, did stay and continue to fight the advancing PAVN. One AC-119 gunship had spent the night of 28/29 April dropping flares and firing on the approaching PAVN. At dawn on 29 April, two A-1 Skyraiders began patrolling the perimeter of Tan Son Nhut at 2,500 feet (760 m) until one was shot down, presumably by an SA-7. At 07:00, the AC-119 was firing on PAVN formations to the east of Tan Son Nhut when it too was hit by an SA-7 and fell in flames to the ground.[10]: 82 Due to the deteriorating situation at Tan Son Nhut, the fixed-wing evacuation of Saigon was cancelled and Operation Frequent Wind was commenced.[10]: 82
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ "Military sources said later they were flown by Communists. The sources said the air strikes destroyed three F5 Freedom Fighter jets, four C119 Flying Boxcars, three C47 aircraft and a DC3."/Captured U.S. Planes Bomb Saigon Airport. Desert Sun. April 28, 1975
- ^ ISBN 0912799285.
- ^ OCLC 10022184.
- ^ ISBN 0828320594.
- ISBN 9780704321564.
- ^ ISBN 9780853454090.
- ^ ISBN 9780811706964.
- ^ ISBN 1411647483.
- ^ Leeker, Dr Joe F (2009). Air America in South Vietnam III: The Collapse (PDF). University of Texas at Dallas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-05.
- ^ ISBN 9781508713005.