Re: Did we control the air over N. Viet Nam?

[Cub Driver]

>Targets on the ATO were bombed. Of course we probably could
>have done better if Bush were there, and Kerry had stayed longer.

Thank you for that, Billy!

I wonder if either man would be running for president today, if he had
served a normal tour on the ground, or in the air or on the water, of
Vietnam? That war didn't seem conducive to creating politicians. Even
Gore didn't serve out his full year, as I recall.



all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Expedition sailboat charters www.expeditionsail.com

[tw]

"Cub Driver" > wrote in message
...
>
> >Targets on the ATO were bombed. Of course we probably could
> >have done better if Bush were there, and Kerry had stayed longer.
>
> Thank you for that, Billy!
>
> I wonder if either man would be running for president today, if he had
> served a normal tour on the ground, or in the air or on the water, of
> Vietnam? That war didn't seem conducive to creating politicians.

Colin Powell?

> Even
> Gore didn't serve out his full year, as I recall.
>
>
>
> all the best -- Dan Ford
> email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)
>
> The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
> Expedition sailboat charters www.expeditionsail.com

[Guy Alcala]

Ed Rasimus wrote:

> On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 18:06:37 -0400, Howard Berkowitz
> > wrote:

<snip>

> >Correct me if need be, but I suspect the NVN GCI stations were
> >off-limits during much of the war.
>
> Of the many things that were ROE proscribed, one that doesn't ring any
> bells is GCI sites.

<snip> We attacked what we believed to be one of the main VPAF GCI command
posts, at Bac Mai, on 4 July 1972, using an LGB. We claimed that it was
destroyed. According to Nichols in "On Yankee Station," they had three, one
each at Phuc Yen, Bac Mai and Kep. Michel agrees, and Momyer mentions Phuc
Yen and Kep in passing. Given the limitations of our intelligence, I
withhold judgement as to whether that's correct -- after all, to the VPAF
Phuc Yen was Noi Bai, and many of their other airfields weren't called what
we thought they were. In any case, although we claimed major damage on the
C3 site, it had little effect because (we postulated) they simply switched
control to one of the other sites. I have a vague memory that we may have
attacked it earlier during the Rolling Thunder period, but I can't find a
reference offhand.

BTW, I've been slightly amazed at the claims made in the thread that we were
only allowed to attack airfields as late as Linebacker -- IIRR we'd been
hitting the southern fields (Vinh and south) starting in 1965 or 1966, and I
know we hit northern fields starting in 1967. For example, Nichols'
chronology shows Kep and Hoa Lac being attacked for the first time on April
27th, Cat Bi on October 8th, Phuc Yen on October 25th, and Bac Mai on
November 17th of that year (which may be the attack I'm thinking of). IIRR
only Gia Lam remained off-limits, and even that was hit by a Buff crew that
deliberately violated the RoE during LB II.

Guy