9/16/2023 0 Comments Cobalt bomb first strike![]() bombs, 27 in the bomb bay and 24 on underwing pylons. Air Force lost 31 B-52s 18 were lost from hostile fire over North Vietnam and 13 from operational causes. Between June 1965 and August 1973, 126,615 sorties (B-52D/F/G) were flown over Southeast Asia. ![]() Īrc Light missions continued until the cessation of hostilities by U.S. With limited barracks and other facilities, tents were set up for use by men working 80-hour weeks. Over 15,000 men were sent to Andersen on temporary duty over the next 90 days. B-52s were instrumental in destroying enemy concentrations besieging Khe Sanh in 1968, and in 1972 at An Loc and Kontum.īombs from B-52 Arc Light strike explodingĪrc Light was re-activated at Andersen on February 8, 1972, when President Richard Nixon resumed bombing of North Vietnam in an effort to move peace talks along. ![]() ![]() Releasing their bombs from the stratosphere, the B-52s could neither be seen or heard from the ground. Missions were commonly flown in three-plane formations known as "cells". During this mission two B-52Fs were lost in a mid-air collision on June 19, 1965, while circling over the South Pacific Ocean, approximately 250 miles (400 km) offshore at the point of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), unable to conduct mid-air refueling in awaiting arrival of KC-135A tankers for pre-strike air refueling. Flying from Andersen AFB, Guam, 27 aircraft dropped 750-pound (340 kg) and 1,000-pound (455 kg) bombs on a Viet Cong stronghold. The bombers were first used in Southeast Asia on June 18, 1965. The 376th SW then ceased bomber operations, but continued flying Young Tiger tanker missions.Ĭongressional investigations of secret CIA activities in Laos revealed that B-52s were used to systematically bomb targets within Laos and Cambodia. Upon completion of the Arc Light deployment, the 376th SW B-52Ds either returned to the continental U.S. The 96th Strategic Air Wing from Dyess AFB, Texas, deployed for Arc Light in June 1970 for 180 days. ī-52Ds were also used from the 376th Strategic Wing of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Later in the Vietnam War, the B-52G was also deployed with the B-52D. and were replaced by Big Belly-modified B-52Ds. To add conventional bomb capacity, Project Big Belly modified all B-52Ds to enable them to carry 30 tons of conventional bombs.īy mid-April 1966, all B-52Fs were redeployed back to the U.S. The B-52Fs were deployed to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield in Thailand, southeast of Bangkok. Air Force began to train strategic bomber crews in 1964 to deliver conventional munitions flying the B-52F. Previously dedicated to carrying nuclear weapons, the U.S. Arc Light operations usually targeted enemy base camps, troops concentrations, and supply lines. The conventional bombing campaign was supported by ground-control-radar detachments of the 1st Combat Evaluation Group (1CEVG) in Operation Combat Skyspot. This included strikes at enemy bases, supply routes, and behind the lines troop concentrations, as well as occasionally providing close air support directly to ground combat operations in Vietnam. ![]() Territory of Guam to provide battlefield air interdiction during the Vietnam War. During Operation Arc Light (sometimes Arclight) from 1965 to 1973, the United States Air Force deployed B-52 Stratofortresses from bases in the U.S. ![]()
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