The Douglas AC-47 ( "Puff, the Magic Dragon" ) was the first in a series of fixed-wing gunships developed by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War . It was designed to provide more firepower than light and medium ground-attack aircraft in certain situations when ground forces called for close air support .
135-476: The AC-47 was a United States Air Force (USAF) C-47 (the military version of the DC-3 ) that had been modified by mounting three 7.62 mm General Electric miniguns to fire through two rear window openings and the side cargo door, all on the left (pilot's) side of the aircraft, to provide close air support for ground troops. Other armament configurations could also be found on similar C-47 -based aircraft around
270-618: A forward looking infrared system. They also have the ability to carry bombs. At least one has been seen fitted with one GAU-19/A and a 20 mm cannon, most likely a French-made M621 . The BT-67s are C-47/DC-3s modified by the Basler Corporation of Oshkosh, Wisconsin , and are not variants of the Douglas AC-47. In 1970, the Indonesian Air Force converted a former civilian DC-3. The converted aircraft
405-566: A "North first", or pro-Beijing, faction led by Trường Chinh , and a "South first" faction led by Lê Duẩn. As the Sino-Soviet split widened in the following months, Hanoi began to play the two communist giants off against each other. The North Vietnamese leadership approved tentative measures to revive the southern insurgency in December 1956. Lê Duẩn's blueprint for revolution in the South
540-678: A "systemic problem" in the USAF's management of the nuclear mission. Vietcong [REDACTED] Republic of South Vietnam Non-state allies: Non-state opponents: The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist -driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam . Formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and nominally conducted military operations under
675-562: A $ 179.7 billion budget and is the second largest service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, with 321,848 active duty airmen , 147,879 civilian personnel, 68,927 reserve airmen, 105,104 Air National Guard airmen, and approximately 65,000 Civil Air Patrol auxiliarists . According to the National Security Act of 1947 (61 Stat . 502), which created the USAF: Section 9062 of Title 10 US Code defines
810-545: A VC hilltop position, killing an estimated 300 VC troops. The early gunship trials were so successful, the second aircraft was returned to the United States early in 1965 to provide crew training. In July 1965, Headquarters USAF ordered TAC to establish an AC-47 squadron. By November 1965, a total of five aircraft were operating with the 4th Air Commando Squadron , activated in August as the first operational unit, and by
945-426: A broader dimension of time or space than do tactics; they provide the means by which tactical successes are exploited to achieve strategic and operational objectives. Tactical Level Command and Control is where individual battles and engagements are fought. The tactical level of war deals with how forces are employed, and the specifics of how engagements are conducted and targets attacked. The goal of tactical level C2
1080-438: A cleanup plan for drinking water around Tucson, Arizona after the region's groundwater was contaminated by PFAS runoff from nearby Air Force bases. The United States Air Force has been involved in many wars, conflicts and operations using military air operations. The USAF possesses the lineage and heritage of its predecessor organizations, which played a pivotal role in U.S. military operations since 1907: In addition since
1215-458: A commander in planning, directing, coordinating, and controlling forces and operations in the accomplishment of the mission" (JP 1-02). This core function includes all of the C2-related capabilities and activities associated with air, cyberspace, nuclear, and agile combat support operations to achieve strategic, operational, and tactical objectives. At the strategic level command and control,
1350-894: A force multiplier. It allows air assets to more rapidly reach any trouble spot around the world with less dependence on forward staging bases or overflight/landing clearances. Air refueling significantly expands the options available to a commander by increasing the range, payload, persistence, and flexibility of receiver aircraft. Aeromedical evacuation is "the movement of patients under medical supervision to and between medical treatment facilities by air transportation" (JP 1-02). JP 4-02, Health Service Support, further defines it as "the fixed wing movement of regulated casualties to and between medical treatment facilities, using organic and/or contracted mobility airframes, with aircrew trained explicitly for this mission." Aeromedical evacuation forces can operate as far forward as fixed-wing aircraft are able to conduct airland operations. Global precision attack
1485-487: A half months of combat, fighters were in the air day and night. At night, AC-47 gunships kept up constant fire against enemy troops and provided illumination for the base. The AC-47D gunship should not be confused with a small number of C-47s that were fitted with electronic equipment in the 1950s. Prior to 1962, these aircraft were designated AC-47D. When a new designation system was adopted in 1962, these became EC-47Ds . The original gunships had been designated F C-47D by
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#17327795446371620-606: A handful of terrorist campaigns waged over the last third of the twentieth century". Major reversals in 1966 and 1967, as well as the growing American presence in Vietnam, inspired Hanoi to consult its allies and reassess strategy in April 1967. While Beijing urged a fight to the finish, Moscow suggested a negotiated settlement. Convinced that 1968 could be the last chance for decisive victory, General Nguyễn Chí Thanh , suggested an all-out offensive against urban centers. He submitted
1755-560: A live-fire test using the C-131 and revived the side-firing gunship program. By October, Terry's team under Project Gunship provided a C-47D, which was converted to a similar standard as the Project Tailchaser aircraft and armed with three miniguns, which were initially mounted on locally fabricated mounts—essentially strapped gun pods intended for fixed-wing aircraft (SUU-11/A) onto a mount allowing them to be fired remotely out
1890-631: A lull while Hanoi focused on events in Laos (1960–61). Moscow favored reducing international tensions in 1960, as it was election year for the U.S. presidency. Despite this, 1960 was a year of unrest in South Vietnam, with pro-democracy demonstrations inspired by the South Korean student uprising that year and a failed military coup in November. To counter the accusation that North Vietnam
2025-569: A main highway in broad daylight. In October 1957, a series of bombs exploded in Saigon and left 13 Americans wounded. In a speech given on September 2, 1957, Hồ reiterated the "North first" line of economic struggle. The launch of Sputnik in October boosted Soviet confidence and led to a reassessment of policy regarding Indochina , long treated as a Chinese sphere of influence. In November, Hồ traveled to Moscow with Lê Duẩn and gained approval for
2160-530: A massacre of 252 Montagnards in the village of Đắk Sơn in December 1967 using flamethrowers. VC death squads assassinated at least 37,000 civilians in South Vietnam; the real figure was far higher since the data mostly cover 1967–72. They also waged a mass murder campaign against civilian hamlets and refugee camps; in the peak war years, nearly a third of all civilian deaths were the result of VC atrocities. Ami Pedahzur has written that "the overall volume and lethality of Vietcong terrorism rivals or exceeds all but
2295-530: A maximum military effort and the troop strength of the PAVN increased from 174,000 at the end of 1963 to 300,000 in 1964. The Soviets cut aid in 1964 as an expression of annoyance with Hanoi's ties to China. Even as Hanoi embraced China's international line, it continued to follow the Soviet model of reliance on technical specialists and bureaucratic management, as opposed to mass mobilization. The winter of 1964–1965
2430-580: A more militant line. In early 1958, Lê Duẩn met with the leaders of "Inter-zone V" (northern South Vietnam) and ordered the establishment of patrols and safe areas to provide logistical support for activity in the Mekong Delta and in urban areas. In June 1958, the VC created a command structure for the eastern Mekong Delta. French scholar Bernard Fall published an influential article in July 1958 which analyzed
2565-523: A nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. The Air Force maintains and presents credible deterrent capabilities through successful visible demonstrations and exercises that assure allies, dissuade proliferation, deter potential adversaries from actions that threaten US national security or the populations, and deploy military forces of the US, its allies, and friends. Nuclear strike is the ability of nuclear forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which
2700-529: A new peak with Project Tailchaser under the direction of Captain John C. Simons. This test involved the conversion of a single Convair C-131B to be capable of firing a single GAU-2/A Minigun at a downward angle out of the left side of the aircraft. Even crude grease pencil crosshairs were quickly discovered to enable a pilot flying in a pylon turn to hit a stationary area target with relative accuracy and ease. The Armament Development and Test Center tested
2835-716: A part of the United States Army Signal Corps , the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947 . It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence . The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy , global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance , rapid global mobility , global strike , and command and control . The United States Air Force
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#17327795446372970-645: A plan for an enormous offensive against Saigon. In response to the anti-war movement , the U.S. Congress passed the Case–Church Amendment to prohibit further U.S. military intervention in Vietnam in June 1973 and reduced aid to South Vietnam in August 1974. With U.S. bombing ended, communist logistical preparations could be accelerated. An oil pipeline was built from North Vietnam to VC headquarters in Lộc Ninh , about 75 miles (121 km) northwest of Saigon. (COSVN
3105-815: A plan to Hanoi in May 1967. After Thanh's death in July, Giáp was assigned to implement this plan, now known as the Tet Offensive . The Parrot's Beak , an area in Cambodia only 30 miles (48 km) from Saigon, was prepared as a base of operations. Funeral processions were used to smuggle weapons into Saigon. VC entered the cities concealed among civilians returning home for Tết . The U.S. and South Vietnamese expected that an announced seven-day truce would be observed during Vietnam's main holiday. At this point, there were about 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, as well as 900,000 allied forces. General William Westmoreland ,
3240-575: A plan to revive the insurgency entitled "The Road to the South" to the other members of the Politburo in Hanoi. He argued adamantly that war with the United States was necessary to achieve unification. But as China and the Soviets both opposed confrontation at this time, Lê Duẩn's plan was rejected and communists in the South were ordered to limit themselves to economic struggle. Leadership divided into
3375-445: A precarious situation when requests for additional gunships began to come in because it simply lacked miniguns to fit additional aircraft after the first two conversions. The next four aircraft were equipped with ten .30 caliber AN/M2 machine guns . These weapons, using World War II and Korean War ammunition stocks, were quickly discovered to jam easily, produce large amounts of gases from firing, and, even in ten-gun groups, provide
3510-405: A precondition" (Annex 3–70, Strategic Attack). Air Interdiction is defined as "air operations conducted to divert, disrupt, delay, or destroy the enemy's military potential before it can be brought to bear effectively against friendly forces, or to otherwise achieve JFC objectives. Air Interdiction is conducted at such distance from friendly forces that detailed integration of each air mission with
3645-439: A profound psychological impact because South Vietnamese cities were otherwise safe areas during the war. U.S. President Lyndon Johnson and Westmoreland argued that panicky news coverage gave the public the unfair perception that America had been defeated. Aside from some districts in the Mekong Delta, the VC failed to create a governing apparatus in South Vietnam following Tet, according to an assessment of captured documents by
3780-494: A rapid cessation of hostilities. Post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. The Air Force may present a credible force posture in either the Continental United States , within a theater of operations, or both to effectively deter the range of potential adversaries envisioned in the 21st century. This requires the ability to engage targets globally using
3915-469: A section of Saigon, in ruins. The VC used any available tactic to demoralize and intimidate the population, including the assassination of South Vietnamese commanders. A photo by Eddie Adams showing the summary execution of a VC in Saigon on February 1 became a symbol of the brutality of the war. In an influential broadcast on February 27, newsman Walter Cronkite stated that the war was a "stalemate" and could be ended only by negotiation. The offensive
4050-618: A separate state. Elections on reunification were scheduled for July 1956. A divided Vietnam angered Vietnamese nationalists, but it made the country less of a threat to China. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai negotiated the terms of the ceasefire with France and then imposed them on the Viet Minh. About 90,000 Viet Minh were evacuated to the North while 5,000 to 10,000 cadre remained in the South, most of them with orders to refocus on political activity and agitation. The Saigon-Cholon Peace Committee,
4185-767: A sharp reduction in flight hours for crew training since 2005 and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower and Personnel directing Airmen's Time Assessments. On 5 June 2008, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates accepted the resignations of both the Secretary of the Air Force , Michael Wynne , and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force , General T. Michael Moseley . In his decision to fire both men Gates cited "systemic issues associated with... declining Air Force nuclear mission focus and performance". Left unmentioned by Gates
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4320-643: A single banner . North Vietnam established the NLF on December 20, 1960, at Tân Lập village in Tây Ninh Province to foment insurgency in the South. Many of the VC's core members were volunteer "regroupees", southern Viet Minh who had resettled in the North after the Geneva Accord (1954). Hanoi gave the regroupees military training and sent them back to the South along the Ho Chi Minh trail in
4455-538: A song about the AC-47 called "Magic Dragon". The album's cover art shows the inside of an AC-47, and the inner sleeve shows AC-47's encircling a VC camp. United States Air Force The United States Air Force ( USAF ) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces , and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States . Originally created on 1 August 1907, as
4590-475: A speech that was published prominently in the official media, so the fortunes of his "North first" faction may have revived at this time. COSVN rejected this view as "lacking resolution and absolute determination." The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 led to intense Sino-Soviet tension and to the withdrawal of Chinese forces from North Vietnam. Beginning in February 1970, Lê Duẩn's prominence in
4725-452: A strong focus on the improvement of Basic Military Training (BMT) for enlisted personnel. While the intense training has become longer, it also has shifted to include a deployment phase. This deployment phase, now called the BEAST, places the trainees in a simulated combat environment that they may experience once they deploy. While the trainees do tackle the massive obstacle courses along with
4860-510: A variety of methods; therefore, the Air Force should possess the ability to induct, train, assign, educate and exercise individuals and units to rapidly and effectively execute missions that support US NDO objectives. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of nuclear operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations. Because of their political and military importance, destructive power, and
4995-585: A walkover. After the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, the PRG moved into government offices there. At the victory parade, Tạng noticed that the units formerly dominated by southerners were missing, replaced by northerners years earlier. The bureaucracy of the Republic of Vietnam was uprooted and authority over the South was assigned to the PAVN. People considered tainted by association with the former South Vietnamese government were sent to re-education camps , despite
5130-459: Is "the acquisition of information and the provision of this information to processing elements" (JP 2-01). It provides the ability to obtain required information to satisfy intelligence needs (via use of sources and methods in all domains). Collection activities span the Range of Military Operations (ROMO). Processing and exploitation is "the conversion of collected information into forms suitable to
5265-417: Is "the employment of limited offensive action and counterattacks to deny a contested area or position to the enemy" (JP 1-02). It includes both ballistic missile defense and airborne threat defense and encompasses point defense, area defense, and high-value airborne asset defense. Passive defense is "measures taken to reduce the probability of and to minimize the effects of damage caused by hostile action without
5400-580: Is a military service branch organized within the Department of the Air Force , one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense . The Air Force through the Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force , who reports to the Secretary of Defense and is appointed by the President with Senate confirmation . The highest-ranking military officer in
5535-425: Is defined as "all the defensive measures designed to detect, identify, intercept, and destroy or negate enemy forces attempting to penetrate or attack through friendly airspace" (JP 1-02). In concert with OCA operations, a major goal of DCA operations is to provide an area from which forces can operate, secure from air and missile threats. The DCA mission comprises both active and passive defense measures. Active defense
Douglas AC-47 Spooky - Misplaced Pages Continue
5670-534: Is defined as "offensive operations to destroy, disrupt, or neutralize enemy aircraft, missiles, launch platforms, and their supporting structures and systems both before and after launch, but as close to their source as possible" (JP 1-02). OCA is the preferred method of countering air and missile threats since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source and typically enjoys the initiative. OCA comprises attack operations, sweep, escort, and suppression/destruction of enemy air defense. Defensive Counter-Air (DCA)
5805-804: Is from 1957. American soldiers referred to the Viet Cong as Victor Charlie or VC. "Victor" and "Charlie" are both letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet . "Charlie" referred to communist forces in general, both VC and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). The official Vietnamese history gives the group's name as the Liberation Army of South Vietnam or the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLFSV; Mặt trận Dân tộc Giải phóng miền Nam Việt Nam ). Many writers shorten this to National Liberation Front (NLF). In 1969,
5940-486: Is the ability to hold at risk or strike rapidly and persistently, with a wide range of munitions, any target and to create swift, decisive, and precise effects across multiple domains. Strategic attack is defined as "offensive action specifically selected to achieve national strategic objectives. These attacks seek to weaken the adversary's ability or will to engage in conflict, and may achieve strategic objectives without necessarily having to achieve operational objectives as
6075-583: Is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission. Positive nuclear command, control, communications; effective nuclear weapons security; and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. Command and control is "the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission. Command and control functions are performed through an arrangement of personnel, equipment, communications, facilities, and procedures employed by
6210-684: Is to achieve commander's intent and desired effects by gaining and keeping offensive initiative. The origins of the United States Air Force can be traced back to the Union Army Balloon Corps of the American Civil War . The Union Balloon Corps, established by aeronaut Thaddeus S. C. Lowe , provided aerial reconnaissance for the Union Army . This early use of balloons for military purposes marked
6345-524: The Battle of Jolo in 1974 In 1967, Thailand converted its first AC-47D installing it the SUU-11/A minigun pods. It kept converting a few more airframes and also received some former Khmer Air Force AC-47Ds from Cambodia in late 1975. Thai AC-47s also were equipped with a combination of two .50 cal machine guns and an M197 20mm Electric cannon . Aircraft painted to represent AC-47s are on static display at
6480-638: The Bomber Mafia ), followed by fighters ( Fighter Mafia ). In response to a 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident , Secretary of Defense Robert Gates accepted in June 2009 the resignations of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General T. Michael Moseley . Moseley's successor, General Norton A. Schwartz , a former airlift and special operations pilot,
6615-557: The Joint Chiefs of Staff , estimated that Tet resulted in 40,000 communist dead (compared to about 10,600 U.S. and South Vietnamese dead). "It is a major irony of the Vietnam War that our propaganda transformed this debacle into a brilliant victory. The truth was that Tet cost us half our forces. Our losses were so immense that we were unable to replace them with new recruits", said PRG Justice Minister Trương Như Tảng . Tet had
6750-464: The 3rd SOS, received the Medal of Honor for saving his aircraft, Spooky 71 , from destruction on 24 February 1969 during a fire-support mission at Long Binh . The aircraft was struck by an 82-mm mortar round that inflicted 3,500 shrapnel holes, wounding Levitow 40 times, but he used his body to jettison an armed magnesium flare, which ignited shortly after Levitow ejected it from the aircraft, allowing
6885-419: The AC-47 to return to base. By the end of 1969 most AC-47Ds were transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. The RVNAF kept using them until 1975 when most of them were destroyed or captured by North Vietnam at the end of the war. In 1969, Laos received its first AC-47 armed with SUU-11/A minigun pods. These pods ended up being unsatisfactory so later RLAF AC-47s were equipped with .50 cal machine guns or
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#17327795446377020-646: The Air Commando Park at Hurlburt Field and the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin Air Force Base . These airframes never were AC-47s and were actually regular unarmed C-47s. Data from General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists 13. On their 1989 album " Agent Orange ", Thrash metal band Sodom made
7155-480: The Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force retain administrative authority over their members. Along with conducting independent air operations, the United States Air Force provides air support for land and naval forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2020 , the service operates approximately 5,500 military aircraft and approximately 400 ICBMs . The world's largest air force, it has
7290-468: The Air Force is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force , who exercises supervision over Air Force units and serves as one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . As directed by the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Air Force, certain Air Force components are assigned to unified combatant commands . Combatant commanders are delegated operational authority of the forces assigned to them, while the Secretary of
7425-410: The Air Force states as global vigilance, global reach, and global power. Air superiority is "that degree of dominance in the air battle of one force over another which permits the conduct of operations by the former and its related land, sea, air, and special operations forces at a given time and place without prohibitive interference by the opposing force" (JP 1-02). Offensive Counter-Air (OCA)
7560-422: The Air Force's readiness to carry out the nuclear strike operations mission as well as from specific actions taken to assure allies as a part of extended deterrence. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD and delivering them contributes to promoting security and is also an integral part of this mission. Moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are
7695-547: The BEAST, the other portions include defending and protecting their base of operations, forming a structure of leadership, directing search and recovery, and basic self aid buddy care. During this event, the Military Training Instructors (MTI) act as mentors and opposing forces in a deployment exercise. In November 2022, the USAF announced that it will discontinue BEAST and replace it with another deployment training program called PACER FORGE. In 2007,
7830-698: The FAS had long operated C-47s, training pilots and crew to operate the aircraft as a weapons platform was easy for the United States. By all accounts, the AC-47 soon became probably the most effective weapon in the FAS arsenal. In 2006, Colombia started operating five armed Basler BT-67 (Colombian Air Force designation : AC-47T), known by civilians as avion fantasma (ghost plane), on counter-insurgency operations in conjunction with Sikorsky AH-60 Arpia armed helicopters and Cessna A-37 Dragonflys against local illegally armed groups. The BT-67s are armed with .50 cal (12.7 mm) GAU-19/A machine guns slaved to
7965-489: The Hòa Hảo and other militant religious sects in early 1956, Diệm turned his attention to the VC. Within a few months, the Viet Cong had been driven into remote swamps. The success of this campaign inspired U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower to dub Diệm the "miracle man" when he visited the U.S. in May 1957. France withdrew its last soldiers from Vietnam in April 1956. In March 1956, southern communist leader Lê Duẩn presented
8100-730: The MXU-470/A minigun modules. The Khmer Air Force received some AC-47Ds from the USAF between 1973 and 1974 and also converted some with .50 cal machine guns. Several of them were given to Thailand after the end of the Cambodian Civil War . In December 1984 and January 1985, the United States supplied two AC-47D gunships to the El Salvador Air Force (FAS) and trained aircrews to operate the system. The AC-47 gunship carried three .50 cal machine guns and could loiter and provide heavy firepower for army operations. As
8235-460: The NLF created the " Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam " ( Chính Phủ Cách Mạng Lâm Thời Cộng Hòa Miền Nam Việt Nam ), abbreviated PRG. Although the NLF was not officially abolished until 1977, the NLF no longer used the name after the PRG was created. Members generally referred to the NLF as "the Front" ( Mặt trận ). Today's Vietnamese media most frequently refers to
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#17327795446378370-797: The Navy , and the newly created Department of the Air Force. Prior to 1947, the responsibility for military aviation was shared between the Army Air Forces and its predecessor organizations (for land-based operations), the Navy (for sea-based operations from aircraft carriers and amphibious aircraft), and the Marine Corps (for close air support of Marine Corps operations). The 1940s proved to be important for military aviation in other ways as well. In 1947, Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager broke
8505-724: The North Vietnamese to reopen the Ho Chi Minh trail. Although 1970 was a much better year for the VC than 1969, it would never again be more than an adjunct to the PAVN. The 1972 Easter Offensive was a direct North Vietnamese attack across the DMZ. Despite the Paris Peace Accords , signed by all parties in January 1973, fighting continued. In March, Trà was recalled to Hanoi for a series of meetings to hammer out
8640-401: The North delivered nearly 365,000 tons of war matériel to battlefields, 2.6 times the total for the previous 13 years. The success of the 1973–74 dry season offensive convinced Hanoi to accelerate its timetable. When there was no U.S. response to a successful PAVN attack on Phước Bình in January 1975, South Vietnamese morale collapsed. The next major battle, at Buôn Ma Thuột in March, was
8775-410: The ROMO. The purpose of nuclear deterrence operations (NDO) is to operate, maintain, and secure nuclear forces to achieve an assured capability to deter an adversary from taking action against vital US interests. In the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. The sub-elements of this function are: Assure/Dissuade/Deter is a mission set derived from
8910-744: The South in 1961–63. The VC grew rapidly; an estimated 300,000 members were enrolled in "liberation associations" (affiliated groups) by early 1962. The ratio of VC to government soldiers jumped from 1:10 in 1961 to 1:5 a year later. The level of violence in the South jumped dramatically in the fall of 1961, from 50 guerrilla attacks in September to 150 in October. U.S. President John F. Kennedy decided in November 1961 to substantially increase American military aid to South Vietnam. The USS Core arrived in Saigon with 35 helicopters in December 1961. By mid-1962, there were 12,000 U.S. military advisors in Vietnam. The "special war" and "strategic hamlets" policies allowed Saigon to push back in 1962, but in 1963
9045-508: The South were northerners, but most communist military personnel were not main-force combat troops. Even in early 1970, MACV estimated that northerners made up no more than 45 percent of communist military forces overall in South Vietnam. The VC created an urban front in 1968 called the Alliance of National, Democratic, and Peace Forces . The group's manifesto called for an independent, non-aligned South Vietnam and stated that "national reunification cannot be achieved overnight." In June 1969,
9180-480: The U.S. CIA . The breakup of larger VC units increased the effectiveness of the CIA's Phoenix Program (1968–72), which targeted individual leaders, as well as the Chiêu Hồi Program, which encouraged defections. By the end of 1969, there was little communist-held territory, or "liberated zones", in the rural lowlands of Cochin China , according to the official communist military history. The US military believed that 70 percent of communist main-force combat troops in
9315-532: The U.S. commander, received reports of heavy troop movements and understood that an offensive was being planned, but his attention was focused on Khe Sanh , a remote U.S. base near the DMZ . In January and February 1968, some 80,000 VC struck more than 100 towns with orders to "crack the sky" and "shake the Earth." The offensive included a commando raid on the U.S. Embassy in Saigon and the massacre at Huế of about 3,500 residents. House-to-house fighting between VC and South Vietnamese Rangers left much of Cholon ,
9450-543: The US determines national or multinational security objectives and guidance, and develops and uses national resources to accomplish these objectives. These national objectives in turn provide the direction for developing overall military objectives, which are used to develop the objectives and strategy for each theater. At the operational level command and control, campaigns and major operations are planned, conducted, sustained, and assessed to accomplish strategic goals within theaters or areas of operations. These activities imply
9585-463: The USAF dwarfs all other U.S. and allied air components, it often provides support for allied forces in conflicts to which the United States is otherwise not involved, such as the 2013 French campaign in Mali . The USAF has also taken part in numerous humanitarian operations. Some of the more major ones include the following: The culture of the United States Air Force is primarily driven by pilots, at first those piloting bombers (driven originally by
9720-464: The USAF established the nuclear-focused Air Force Global Strike Command on 24 October 2008, which later assumed control of all USAF bomber aircraft. On 26 June 2009, the USAF released a force structure plan that cut fighter aircraft and shifted resources to better support nuclear, irregular and information warfare. On 23 July 2009, The USAF released their Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Flight Plan, detailing Air Force UAS plans through 2047. One third of
9855-509: The USAF undertook a Reduction-in-Force (RIF). Because of budget constraints, the USAF planned to reduce the service's size from 360,000 active duty personnel to 316,000. The size of the active duty force in 2007 was roughly 64% of that of what the USAF was at the end of the first Gulf War in 1991. However, the reduction was ended at approximately 330,000 personnel in 2008 in order to meet the demand signal of combatant commanders and associated mission requirements. These same constraints have seen
9990-410: The USAF, but with protests from fighter pilots, this designation was changed to A C-47D during 1965. Of the 53 aircraft converted to AC-47 configuration, 41 served in Vietnam and 19 were lost to all causes, 12 in combat. Combat reports indicate that no village or hamlet under Spooky protection was ever lost, and a plethora of reports from civilians and military personnel were made about AC-47s coming to
10125-546: The VC and government forces soon increased drastically from 180 clashes in January 1960 to 545 clashes in September. By 1960, the Sino-Soviet split was a public rivalry, making China more supportive of Hanoi's war effort. For Chinese leader Mao Zedong , aid to North Vietnam was a way to enhance his "anti-imperialist" credentials for both domestic and international audiences. About 40,000 communist soldiers infiltrated
10260-544: The VC attack. The FC-47 was then called to support a second outpost at Trung Hung, about 20 miles (32 km) away. The aircraft again blunted the VC attack and forced a retreat. Between 15 and 26 December, all the FC-47's 16 combat sorties were successful. On 8 February 1965, an FC-47 flying over the Bồng Sơn area demonstrated its capabilities in the process of blunting a VC offensive. For over four hours, it fired 20,500 rounds into
10395-677: The VC killed two U.S. military advisors at Biên Hòa , the first American dead of the Vietnam War. The "2d Liberation Battalion" ambushed two companies of South Vietnamese soldiers in September 1959, the first large unit military action of the war. This was considered the beginning of the "armed struggle" in communist accounts. A series of uprisings beginning in the Mekong Delta province of Bến Tre in January 1960 created "liberated zones", models of VC-style government. Propagandists celebrated their creation of battalions of "long-hair troops" (women). The fiery declarations of 1959 were followed by
10530-423: The VC regained the military initiative. The VC won its first military victory against South Vietnamese forces at Ấp Bắc in January 1963. A landmark party meeting was held in December 1963, shortly after a military coup in Saigon in which Diệm was assassinated. North Vietnamese leaders debated the issue of "quick victory" vs "protracted war" (guerrilla warfare). After this meeting, the communist side geared up for
10665-689: The VC was a nationalist insurgency indigenous to the South. They said that the VC was composed of several parties—the People's Revolutionary Party , the Democratic Party and the Radical Socialist Party —and that VC chairman Nguyễn Hữu Thọ was not a communist. Anti-communists countered that the VC was merely a front for Hanoi. They said some statements issued by communist leaders in the 1980s and 1990s suggested that southern communist forces were influenced by Hanoi. According to
10800-408: The VC was an insurgency indigenous to the South that represented the legitimate rights of people in South Vietnam, while the U.S. and South Vietnamese governments portrayed the group as a tool of North Vietnam. It was later conceded by the modern Vietnamese communist leadership that the movement was actually under the North Vietnamese political and military leadership, aiming to unify Vietnam under
10935-637: The VC. Later communist offensives were conducted predominantly by the North Vietnamese. The organization officially merged with the Fatherland Front of Vietnam on February 4, 1977, after North and South Vietnam were officially unified under a communist government. The term Việt Cộng appeared in Saigon newspapers beginning in 1956. It is a contraction of Việt Nam cộng sản (Vietnamese communist). The earliest citation for Viet Cong in English
11070-413: The Viet Cong. Squads were assigned monthly assassination quotas. Government employees, especially village and district heads, were the most common targets. But there were a wide variety of targets, including clinics and medical personnel. Notable VC atrocities include the massacre of over 3,000 unarmed civilians at Huế , 48 killed in the bombing of My Canh floating restaurant in Saigon in June 1965 and
11205-526: The ability to fulfill their primary mission. Rapid Global Mobility is essential to virtually every military operation, allowing forces to reach foreign or domestic destinations quickly, thus seizing the initiative through speed and surprise. Airlift is "operations to transport and deliver forces and materiel through the air in support of strategic, operational, or tactical objectives" (Annex 3–17, Air Mobility Operations). The rapid and flexible options afforded by airlift allow military forces and national leaders
11340-407: The ability to integrate, evaluate, and interpret information from available sources to create a finished intelligence product for presentation or dissemination to enable increased situational awareness. Dissemination and integration is "the delivery of intelligence to users in a suitable form and the application of the intelligence to appropriate missions, tasks, and functions" (JP 2-01). It provides
11475-476: The ability to present information and intelligence products across the ROMO enabling understanding of the operational environment to military and national decision-makers. Rapid global mobility is the timely deployment, employment, sustainment, augmentation, and redeployment of military forces and capabilities across the ROMO. It provides joint military forces the capability to move from place to place while retaining
11610-455: The ability to respond and operate in a variety of situations and time frames. The global reach capability of airlift provides the ability to apply US power worldwide by delivering forces to crisis locations. It serves as a US presence that demonstrates resolve and compassion in humanitarian crisis. Air refueling is "the refueling of an aircraft in flight by another aircraft" (JP 1-02). Air refueling extends presence, increases range, and serves as
11745-402: The aircraft and used them similarly to a helicopter gunner. South African "Dragon Daks" were known to fit 20 mm cannons Between 1980 and 1981 Uruguay converted C-47 T-508 into a gunship for COIN missions by installing three .50 cal machine guns to the last two rear windows. The Philippines also converted some C-47s by mounting .50 cal machine guns and used them against Muslim guerrillas in
11880-483: The aircraft they flew, was undoubtedly a key contributor to the award of the Presidential Unit Citation to the 14th Air Commando Wing in June 1968. One of the most publicized battles of the Vietnam War was the Battle of Khe Sanh in early 1968. More than 24,000 tactical and 2,700 B-52 strikes dropped 110,000 tons of ordnance in attacks that averaged over 300 sorties per day. During the two and
12015-521: The alliance merged with the VC to form a "Provisional Revolutionary Government" (PRG). The Tet Offensive increased American public discontent with participation in the Vietnam War and led the U.S. to gradually withdraw combat forces and to shift responsibility to the South Vietnamese, a process called Vietnamization . Pushed into Cambodia, the VC could no longer draw South Vietnamese recruits. In May 1968, Trường Chinh urged "protracted war" in
12150-430: The beginning of modern aerial warfare and set the stage for the development of the United States Air Force. The U.S. War Department created the first antecedent of the U.S. Air Force, as a part of the U.S. Army, on 1 August 1907, which through a succession of changes of organization, titles, and missions advanced toward eventual independence 40 years later. In World War II , almost 68,000 U.S. airmen died helping to win
12285-495: The craft at Eglin Air Force Base , Florida , but lack of funding soon suspended the tests. In 1964, Captain Ron W. Terry returned from temporary duty in South Vietnam as part of an Air Force Systems Command team reviewing all aspects of air operations in counter-insurgency warfare, where he had noted the usefulness of C-47s and C-123s orbiting as flare ships during night attacks on fortified hamlets. He received permission to conduct
12420-536: The density of fire of only a single minigun. All four of these aircraft were retrofitted to the standard armament configuration when additional miniguns arrived. The AC-47 initially used SUU-11/A gun pods that were installed on locally fabricated mounts for the gunship application. General Electric eventually developed the MXU-470/A to replace the gun pods, which were also used on later gunships. In August 1964, years of fixed-wing gunship experimentation reached
12555-437: The disguised colonial regime of the imperialists and the dictatorial administration, and to form a national and democratic coalition administration." Thọ, a lawyer and the VC's "neutralist" chairman, was an isolated figure among cadres and soldiers. South Vietnam's Law 10/59, approved in May 1959, authorized the death penalty for crimes "against the security of the state" and featured prominently in VC propaganda. Violence between
12690-587: The end of 1965, a total of 26 had been converted. Training Detachment 8, 1st Air Commando Wing, was subsequently established at Forbes AFB , Kansas . In Operation Big Shoot , the 4th ACS in Vietnam grew to 20 AC-47s (16 aircraft plus four reserves for attrition). The 4th ACS deployed to Tan Son Nhut Air Base , Vietnam, on 14 November 1965. Now using the call sign Spooky , each of its three 7.62 mm miniguns could selectively fire either 50 or 100 rounds per second. Cruising in an overhead left-hand orbit at 120 knots air speed at an altitude of 3,000 feet (910 m),
12825-422: The enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. If a crisis occurs, rapid generation and, if necessary, deployment of nuclear strike capabilities will demonstrate US resolve and may prompt an adversary to alter the course of action deemed threatening to our national interest. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level and lead to
12960-483: The fire and movement of friendly forces is not required" (Annex 3-03, Counterland Operations). Close Air Support is defined as "air action by fixed- and rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets that are in close proximity to friendly forces and which require detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of those forces" (JP 1-02). This can be as a pre-planned event or on demand from an alert posture (ground or airborne). It can be conducted across
13095-568: The first VC front, was founded in 1954 to provide leadership for this group. Other front names used by the VC in the 1950s implied that members were fighting for religious causes, for example, "Executive Committee of the Fatherland Front", which suggested affiliation with the Hòa Hảo sect, or "Vietnam-Cambodia Buddhist Association". Front groups were favored by the VC to such an extent that its real leadership remained shadowy until long after
13230-603: The globe to conduct current and future operations. Planning and directing is "the determination of intelligence requirements, development of appropriate intelligence architecture, preparation of a collection plan, and issuance of orders and requests to information collection agencies" (JP 2-01, Joint and National Intelligence Support to Military Operations). These activities enable the synchronization and integration of collection, processing, exploitation, analysis, and dissemination activities/resources to meet information requirements of national and military decision-makers. Collection
13365-561: The group as the " Liberation Army of South Vietnam " ( Quân Giải phóng Miền Nam Việt Nam ) . By the terms of the Geneva Accord (1954) , which ended the Indochina War , France and the Viet Minh agreed to a truce and to a separation of forces. The Viet Minh had become the government of North Vietnam, and military forces of the communists regrouped there. Military forces of the non-communists regrouped in South Vietnam , which became
13500-472: The gunship could put a bullet or glowing red tracer bullet (every fifth round) into every square yard of a football field-sized target in potentially less than 10 seconds. As long as its 45-flare and 24,000-round basic load of ammunition held out, it could do this intermittently while loitering over the target for hours. In May 1966, the squadron moved north to Nha Trang Air Base to join the newly activated 14th Air Commando Wing . The 3rd Air Commando Squadron
13635-631: The inner workings of the VC. COSVN retreated to Mimot in Cambodia . As a result of an agreement with the Cambodian government made in 1966, weapons for the Viet Cong were shipped to the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville and then trucked to VC bases near the border along the " Sihanouk Trail ", which replaced the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Many VC units operated at night, and employed terror as a standard tactic. Rice procured at gunpoint sustained
13770-442: The intention of taking the initiative" (JP 1-02). It includes detection and warning; chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense; camouflage, concealment, and deception; hardening; reconstitution; dispersion; redundancy; and mobility, counter-measures, and stealth. Airspace control is "a process used to increase operational effectiveness by promoting the safe, efficient, and flexible use of airspace" (JP 1-02). It promotes
13905-497: The late 1950s and early 1960s. The VC called for the unification of Vietnam and the overthrow of the American-backed South Vietnamese government. The VC's best-known action was the Tet Offensive , an assault on more than 100 South Vietnamese urban centers in 1968, including an attack on the U.S. embassy in Saigon . The offensive riveted the attention of the world's media for weeks, but also overextended
14040-547: The memoirs of Trà, the VC's top commander and PRG defense minister, he followed orders issued by the "Military Commission of the Party Central Committee" in Hanoi, which in turn implemented resolutions of the Politburo. Trà himself was deputy chief of staff for the PAVN before being assigned to the South. The official Vietnamese history of the war states that "The Liberation Army of South Vietnam [Viet Cong]
14175-702: The mid-2030s. On 22 October 2023, the USAF conducted its first-ever trilateral exercise with the South Korean and Japanese air forces near the Korean Peninsula. On 29 November 2023, a USAF Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey crashed in the Japan island of Yakushima killing 1 airman. In 2024, citing the Supreme Court 's ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo , the Air Force refused to comply with an EPA order that they develop
14310-476: The more moderate Võ Nguyên Giáp , who was defense minister. An assassination campaign, referred to as "extermination of traitors" or "armed propaganda" in communist literature, began in April 1957. Tales of sensational murder and mayhem soon crowded the headlines. Seventeen civilians were killed by machine gun fire at a bar in Châu Đốc in July and in September a district chief was killed with his entire family on
14445-573: The name of the Liberation Army of South Vietnam (LASV), the movement fought under the direction of North Vietnam against the South Vietnamese and United States governments during the Vietnam War . The organization had both guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of cadres who organized and mobilized peasants in the territory the VC controlled. During the war, communist fighters and some anti-war activists claimed that
14580-598: The official media increased, suggesting that he was again top leader and had regained the upper hand in his longstanding rivalry with Trường Chinh. After the overthrow of Prince Sihanouk in March 1970, the VC faced a hostile Cambodian government which authorized a U.S. offensive against its bases in April. However, the capture of the Plain of Jars and other territory in Laos, as well as five provinces in northeastern Cambodia, allowed
14715-434: The pattern of rising violence and concluded that a new war had begun. The Communist Party of Vietnam approved a "people's war" on the South at a session in January 1959 and this decision was confirmed by the Politburo in March. In May 1959, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh trail , at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. About 500 of the "regroupees" of 1954 were sent south on
14850-415: The planes that the USAF planned to buy in the future were to be unmanned. According to Air Force Chief Scientist, Greg Zacharias , the USAF anticipates having hypersonic weapons by the 2020s, hypersonic unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as remotely-piloted vehicles, or RPAs) by the 2030s and recoverable hypersonic RPAs aircraft by the 2040s. The USAF intends to deploy a Sixth-generation jet fighter by
14985-451: The port side. Terry and a testing team arrived at Bien Hoa Air Base , South Vietnam, on 2 December 1964, with equipment needed to modify two C-47s. The first test aircraft (43-48579, a C-47B-5-DK mail courier converted to C-47D standard by removal of its superchargers ) was ready by 11 December, the second by 15 December, and both were allocated to the 1st Air Commando Squadron for combat testing. The newly dubbed "FC-47" often operated under
15120-546: The potential consequences of an accident or unauthorized act, nuclear weapons and nuclear weapon systems require special consideration and protection against risks and threats inherent in their peacetime and wartime environments. In conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, the Air Force achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. This program applies to materiel, personnel, and procedures that contribute to
15255-483: The production of intelligence" (JP 2-01). It provides the ability to transform, extract, and make available collected information suitable for further analysis or action across the ROMO. Analysis and production is "the conversion of processed information into intelligence through the integration, evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of all source data and the preparation of intelligence products in support of known or anticipated user requirements" (JP 2-01). It provides
15390-584: The protests of the non-communist PRG members including Tạng. Without consulting the PRG, North Vietnamese leaders decided to rapidly dissolve the PRG at a party meeting in August 1975. North and South were merged as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in July 1976 and the PRG was dissolved. The VC was merged with the Vietnamese Fatherland Front on February 4, 1977. Activists opposing American involvement in Vietnam said that
15525-409: The purpose of the USAF as: The five core missions of the Air Force have not changed dramatically since the Air Force became independent in 1947, but they have evolved and are now articulated as air superiority, global integrated ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control. The purpose of all of these core missions is to provide what
15660-475: The radio call sign "Puff". Its primary mission involved protecting villages, hamlets, and personnel from mass attacks by Vietcong (VC) guerrilla units. Puff's first significant success occurred on the night of 23–24 December 1964. An FC-47 arrived over the Special Forces outpost at Tranh Yend in the Mekong Delta just 37 minutes after an air support request, fired 4,500 rounds of ammunition, and broke
15795-533: The rescue and saving their lives. As the United States began Project Gunship II and Project Gunship III , many of the remaining AC-47Ds were transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force , the Royal Lao Air Force , and Cambodia 's Khmer Air Force , after Prince Norodom Sihanouk was deposed in a coup by General Lon Nol . Airman First Class John L. Levitow , an AC-47 loadmaster with
15930-491: The safe, efficient, and flexible use of airspace, mitigates the risk of fratricide, enhances both offensive and defensive operations, and permits greater agility of air operations as a whole. It both deconflicts and facilitates the integration of joint air operations. Global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) is the synchronization and integration of the planning and operation of sensors, assets, and processing, exploitation, dissemination systems across
16065-602: The safety, security, and control of nuclear weapons, thus assuring no nuclear accidents, incidents, loss, or unauthorized or accidental use (a Broken Arrow incident ). The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements. Adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Force's ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations
16200-558: The sound barrier in his X-1 rocket-powered aircraft, beginning a new era of aeronautics in America. The predecessor organizations in the Army of today's Air Force are: During the early 2000s, two USAF aircraft procurement projects took longer than expected, the KC-X and F-35 programs. As a result, the USAF was setting new records for average aircraft age. Since 2005, the USAF has placed
16335-430: The target for hours, providing suppressing fire over an elliptical area about 52 yd (47.5 m) in diameter, placing a round every 2.4 yd (2.2 m) during a three-second burst. The aircraft also carried MK-24 Mod 3 parachute flares it could drop to illuminate the battleground. The AC-47 had no previous design to gauge how successful it would be, because it was the first of its kind. The USAF found itself in
16470-531: The trail during its first year of operation. The first arms delivery via the trail, a few dozen rifles, was completed in August 1959. Two regional command centers were merged to create the Central Office for South Vietnam ( Trung ương Cục miền Nam ), a unified communist party headquarters for the South. COSVN was initially located in Tây Ninh Province near the Cambodian border. On July 8,
16605-556: The war was over, prompting the expression "the faceless Viet Cong". Led by Ngô Đình Diệm , South Vietnam refused to sign the Geneva Accord. Arguing that a free election was impossible under the conditions that existed in communist-held territory, Diệm announced in July 1955 that the scheduled election on reunification would not be held. After subduing the Bình Xuyên organized crime gang in the Battle for Saigon in 1955, and
16740-467: The war, with only the infantry suffering more casualties. In practice, the U.S. Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) was virtually independent of the Army during World War II, and in virtually every way functioned as an independent service branch, but airmen still pressed for formal independence. The National Security Act of 1947 was signed on 26 July 1947, which established the Department of the Air Force , but it
16875-406: The world. The guns were actuated by a control on the pilot's yoke. The guns to be active for firing would be selected by an aerial gunner on a control panel on the right side of the cargo bay. Normally, two aerial gunners would be part of a normal crew. They would load the guns, clear malfunctions, and do inflight repair as well as select which gun(s) were online for the pilot to fire. It could orbit
17010-469: Was a high-water mark for the VC, with the Saigon government on the verge of collapse. Soviet aid soared following a visit to Hanoi by Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin in February 1965. Hanoi was soon receiving up-to-date surface-to-air missiles. The U.S. would have 200,000 soldiers in South Vietnam by the end of the year. In January 1966, Australian troops uncovered a tunnel complex that had been used by COSVN. Six thousand documents were captured, revealing
17145-438: Was activated at Nha Trang on 5 April 1968 as a second AC-47 squadron, with both squadrons redesignated as Special Operations Squadrons on 1 August 1968. Flights of both squadrons were stationed at bases throughout South Vietnam, and one flight of the 4th SOS served at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base with the 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing . The work of the two AC-47 squadrons, each with 16 AC-47s flown by aircrews younger than
17280-434: Was approved in principle, but implementation was conditional on winning international support and on modernizing the army, which was expected to take at least until 1959. President Hồ Chí Minh stressed that violence was still a last resort. Nguyễn Hữu Xuyên was assigned military command in the South, replacing Lê Duẩn, who was appointed North Vietnam's acting party boss. This represented a loss of power for Hồ, who preferred
17415-656: Was armed with three .50 cal machine guns. During 1975, the Indonesian Air Force used its "AC-47" in the Indonesian invasion of East Timor to attack the city of Dili . Later, the aircraft was used in Indonesian military close air support missions in East Timor . Its retirement date is unknown. South Africa converted some C-47s to gunships by installing gun mounts on a rotating platform on the rear of
17550-536: Was moved back to South Vietnam following the Easter Offensive.) The Ho Chi Minh Trail, beginning as a series of treacherous mountain tracks at the start of the war, was upgraded throughout the war, first into a road network driveable by trucks in the dry season, and finally, into paved, all-weather roads that could be used year-round, even during the monsoon . Between the beginning of 1974 and April 1975, with now-excellent roads and no fear of air interdiction,
17685-500: Was not until 18 September 1947, when the first secretary of the Air Force, W. Stuart Symington , was sworn into office that the Air Force was officially formed as an independent service branch. The act created the National Military Establishment (renamed Department of Defense in 1949), which was composed of three subordinate Military Departments, namely the Department of the Army , the Department of
17820-429: Was that he had repeatedly clashed with Wynne and Moseley over other important non-nuclear related issues to the service. This followed an investigation into two incidents involving mishandling of nuclear weapons : specifically a nuclear weapons incident aboard a B-52 flight between Minot AFB and Barksdale AFB , and an accidental shipment of nuclear weapons components to Taiwan. To put more emphasis on nuclear assets,
17955-530: Was the first officer appointed to that position who did not have a background as a fighter or bomber pilot. The Washington Post reported in 2010 that General Schwartz began to dismantle the rigid class system of the USAF, particularly in the officer corps. In 2014, following morale and testing/cheating scandals in the Air Force's missile launch officer community, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James admitted that there remained
18090-474: Was undertaken in the hope of triggering a general uprising, but urban Vietnamese did not respond as the VC anticipated. About 75,000 VC/PAVN soldiers were killed or wounded, according to Trần Văn Trà , commander of the "B-2" district, which consisted of southern South Vietnam. "We did not base ourselves on scientific calculation or a careful weighing of all factors, but...on an illusion based on our subjective desires", Trà concluded. Earle G. Wheeler , chairman of
18225-468: Was violating the Geneva Accord, the independence of the VC was stressed in communist propaganda. The VC created the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam in December 1960 at Tân Lập village in Tây Ninh as a " united front ", or political branch intended to encourage the participation of non-communists. The group's formation was announced by Radio Hanoi and its ten-point manifesto called for, "overthrow
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