Operation Farm Gate
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Operation Farm Gate | |||||
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Part of the Vietnam War | |||||
A Farm Gate B-26B over South Vietnam | |||||
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Belligerents | |||||
United States South Vietnam | Viet Cong | ||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||
United States Rollen Henry Anthis | |||||
Units involved | |||||
United States 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron | |||||
Casualties and losses | |||||
United States 16 killed |
Farm Gate was the code name for an American air force mission operating in Vietnam before the overt US entry into the Vietnam War.
History
In the early 1960s, the
On 26 December 1961, Washington issued new regulations directing that all Farm Gate missions would include at least one South Vietnamese national on board every aircraft. Secretary of Defense
Within days of arrival, the T-28s and pilots were ready for orientation flights. The Farm Gate pilots launched with RVNAF escorts and delivered their ordnance, but, when mission reports were reviewed, the crews were told not to conduct independent air operations. The cover story was that the Americans were in-country to train South Vietnamese pilots. The first Farm Gate combat sorties were flown on 13 January 1962; by month's end, 229 missions had been flown. Flying from Bien Hoa and air bases being improved up-country at Da Nang and Pleiku, T-28 and B-26 operations emphasized "training" for reconnaissance, surveillance, interdiction, and close air support missions.
The SC-47s began flying airdrop and "psyop" leaflet and loudspeaker broadcast missions to forward bases where the
Realizing that he needed more assets, the commander of 2nd Air Division, then Brig. Gen. Rollen Henry Anthis, asked for additional Air Force personnel and aircraft for Farm Gate use. Anthis wanted 10 more B-26s, five more T-28s, and two more SC-47s. McNamara reviewed the request, but he was cool to the idea of expanding Farm Gate units for combat use. His goal was to build up the RVNAF so it could operate without American help. Still, McNamara approved the request for additional aircraft and also assigned two U-10s to Farm Gate.
On 20 July 1963 an SC-47 crew flew an emergency night mission to
On 17 June 1963 Headquarters USAF disestablished Farm Gate as a detachment of the Special Air Warfare Center and activated in its place the 1st Air Commando Squadron (Composite) at Bien Hoa Air Base, with Detachment 1 at Pleiku Air Base and Detachment 2 at Sóc Trăng. On 8 July the squadron, with an approved strength of 41 aircraft and 474 men, was assigned to 34th Tactical Group, 2nd Air Division.[3]: 33 Between October 1961 and July 1963, 16 Farm Gate air commandos were killed. Also lost were one SC-47, four T-28s, one U-10, and four B-26s.
References
- ISBN 9780897452168.
- ^ Simpson, Martin J. "Operation Haik". Douglas A/B-26 Invader.
- ^ .
- ^ "Operation Farm Gate combat missions authorized — History.com This Day in History — 12/6/1961". www.history.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010.