Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh, Occasional Paper, 2009 PDF Download

Author: United States. Marine Corps
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Author: Lt.-Col Shawn Callahan USMC
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1782894438
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
Includes 7 maps, 3 tables, and more than 80 photo illustrations. In the 77 days from 20 Jan. to 18 March of 1968, two divisions of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) surrounded a regiment of U.S. Marines on a mountain plateau in the northwest corner of South Vietnam known as Khe Sanh. The episode was no accident; it was in fact a carefully orchestrated meeting in which both sides got what they wanted. The North Vietnamese succeeded in surrounding the Marines in a situation in many ways similar to Dien Bien Phu, and may have been seeking similar tactical, operational, and strategic results. General William C. Westmoreland, the commander of the joint U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (COMUSMACV), meanwhile, sought to lure the NVA into the unpopulated terrain around the 26th Marines in order to wage a battle of annihilation with air power. In this respect Khe Sanh has been lauded as a great victory of air power, a military instrument of dubious suitability to much of the Vietnam conflict. The facts support the assessment that air power was the decisive element at Khe Sanh, delivering more than 96 percent of the ordnance used against the NVA. Most histories of the battle, however, do not delve much deeper than this. Comprehensive histories like John Prados and Ray Stubbe’s Valley of Decision, Robert Pisor’s End of the Line, and Eric Hammel’s Siege in the Clouds provide excellent accounts of the battle, supported by detailed analyses of its strategic and operational background but tend to focus on the ground battle and treat the application of air power in general terms. They do not, however, make significant distinction between the contributions of the two primary air combat elements in this air-land battle: the 7th Air Force and the 1st Marine Air Wing. An analysis of their respective contributions to the campaign reveals that they each made very different contributions that reflected very different approaches to the application of air power.

Author: Shawn P. Callahan
Publisher: www.Militarybookshop.CompanyUK
ISBN: 9781839310546
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Originally published by the United States Marine Corps History Division in 2009.

Author: Shawn P. Callahan
Publisher: Marine Corps Association
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Chapters include the Hill Battles of 1967, The Seige of 1968, Operation Pegasus and the Relief of Khe Sanh, the Deep Air Battle and the B-52, Radar Controlled Tactical Air Support, Close Air Support, and Conclusions. Mixed within the text are black and white photographs, charts, and figures. An appendix with a glossary and acronym of terms and extensive bibliography support this occasional paper work. These "Occasional Papers" are chosen for intrinsic worth, must reflect structured research, present a contribution to historical knowledge not readily available in published sources, and reflect original content on the part of the author, compiler, or editor.

Author: Shawn P. Callahan
Publisher: www.Militarybookshop.CompanyUK
ISBN: 9781907521829
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Originally published by the United States Marine Corps History Division in 2009.

Author: Shawn P. Callahan
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 9780160872563
Category : Close air support
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Author: Bernard C. Nalty
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Khe Sanh, 2nd Battle of, Vietnam, 1968
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Author: Bernard C. Nalty
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1786250144
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Includes 60 photos and 7 maps and charts The 1968 fight for Khe Sanh pitted some 6,000 U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese Rangers against an enemy force roughly three times as large. For more than 70 days North Vietnamese troops maintained pressure on Khe Sanh’s defenders, who had dug in around the base’s airstrip. The original purpose for deploying the Marines and South Vietnamese into the northwest corner of South Vietnam was to block Communist troop movements along Highway 9 toward Quang Tri City and the heavily populated coastal areas. When U.S. intelligence detected large enemy forces assembling near Khe Sanh, the senior American commander in Vietnam, Gen. William C. Westmoreland, ordered the Marines to hold the base. During the siege that followed, U.S. strike aircraft rained nearly 100,000 tons of munitions down upon the North Vietnamese while other planes—primarily U.S. Air Force transports—flew in essential supplies of food, ammunition, and other necessities to Khe Sanh’s defenders. The Leathernecks also used their own aircraft to provision Marine outposts which denied the enemy the high ground overlooking the base. Other military elements participating in the battle included U.S. Army artillerymen dug in east of Khe Sanh, who fired deadly concentrations against the besieging forces. Marine howitzers and mortars added to the heavy U.S. fire, while Army engineers joined Navy Seabees in helping prepare airstrips which supported the allied defense effort. Finally, the relief of Khe Sanh—though spearheaded by Army troops—also involved American Marines and soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.

Author: S. P. Callahan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Close air support
Languages : en
Pages : 494

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Author: Ralph A Rowley
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1939335124
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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This study traces the development of close air support tactics and operations in South Vietnam from 1961 through 1973. The early years (1961-64) witnessed the buildup of Farm Gate operations and introduction of the Tactical Air Control System (Barn Door). Tactics evolved for the 0-1 Bird Dog FAC and for such strike aircraft as the T-28 Trojan, B-26 Invader, and A-lE Skyraider. Ordnance problems were tackled and headway made. During the buildup (1965-68) the 0-2A Skymaster and OV-10 Bronco bolstered forward air control. Strike operations were strengthened by the F-100 Super Sabre, B-57 Canberra, F-4 Phantom, F-5 Freedom Fighter, and A-37 Dragonfly. Gunships (the AC-47 Spooky, AC-130 Spectre, AC-119G Shadow, and AC-119K Stinger) also gave excellent assistance to group troops. Support of Special Forces commenced. Inroads were made on problems of coordination, command, and control of tactical air power. Tactics were further refined to meet the changing needs of close air support. In the final period (1969-73) the OV-10 acted as an armed FAC. The A-7 Corsair II entered the war. In 1973 the pullout of American troops began. Lastly, the study discusses the A-10 close air support aircraft.