| Operation Arc Light | |
|---|---|
| Part of Second Indochina War (Vietnam •Laos •Cambodia),Combat Skyspot | |
| Type | Close air support operations |
| Location | |
| Commanded by | United States Air Force;National Security Agency;Lyndon B. Johnson;Richard Nixon |
| Target | Vietnam,Laos,Cambodia |
| Date | 1965–1973 |
| Executed by | U.S. Air Force,Strategic Air Command,Combat Skyspot; National Security Agency |
| Casualties | 16B-52 Stratofortresses lost |
DuringOperation Arc Light (sometimesArclight) from 1965 to 1973, theUnited States Air Force deployedB-52 Stratofortresses from bases in the U.S. Territory ofGuam to provide battlefield air interdiction during theVietnam War. 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 inVietnam.[1]
Theconventional bombing campaign was supported by ground-control-radar detachments of the1st Combat Evaluation Group (1CEVG) inOperation Combat Skyspot. Arc Light operations usually targeted enemy base camps, troops concentrations, and supply lines.[citation needed]
Previously dedicated to carryingnuclear weapons, the U.S. Air Force began to train strategic bomber crews in 1964 to deliver conventional munitions flying the B-52F.
The B-52Fs were deployed toAndersen Air Force Base on Guam andU-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield inThailand, southeast ofBangkok. To add conventional bomb capacity, Project Big Belly modified all B-52Ds to enable them to carry 30 tons of conventional bombs.
By mid-April 1966, all B-52Fs were redeployed back to the U.S. and were replaced by Big Belly-modified B-52Ds.[citation needed] Later in theVietnam War, the B-52G was also deployed with the B-52D.[2]
B-52Ds were also used from the376th Strategic Wing ofKadena Air Base,Okinawa,Japan. The96th Strategic Air Wing fromDyess AFB,Texas, deployed for Arc Light in June 1970 for 180 days. Upon completion of the Arc Light deployment, the 376th SW B-52Ds either returned to the continental U.S. or were sent to U-Tapao. The 376th SW then ceased bomber operations, but continued flying Young Tiger tanker missions.
Congressional investigations of secretCIA activities in Laos revealed that B-52s were used to systematically bomb targets within Laos and Cambodia.
The bombers were first used inSoutheast Asia on June 18, 1965. Flying from Andersen AFB, Guam, 27 aircraft dropped 750-pound (340 kg) and 1,000-pound (455 kg) bombs on aViet Cong stronghold.[2] During this mission two B-52Fs were lost in a mid-air collision on June 19, 1965,[3] while circling over the South Pacific Ocean, approximately 250 miles (400 km) offshore at the point of theDemilitarized Zone (DMZ), unable to conduct mid-air refueling in awaiting arrival ofKC-135A tankers for pre-strike air refueling.
Missions were commonly flown in three-plane formations known as "cells". Releasing their bombs from thestratosphere, the B-52s could neither be seen or heard from the ground. B-52s were instrumental in destroying enemy concentrations besiegingKhe Sanh in 1968,[2] and in 1972 atAn Loc andKontum.
Arc Light was re-activated at Andersen on February 8, 1972, whenPresidentRichard Nixon resumed bombing ofNorth Vietnam in an effort to move peace talks along. Operation Bullet Shot saw over 15,000 men were sent to Andersen on temporary duty over the next 90 days. With limited barracks and other facilities, tents were set up for use by men working 80-hour weeks. Bullet Shot included B-52-D and B-52-G aircraft.[citation needed]
Arc Light missions continued until the cessation of hostilities by U.S. forces on August 15, 1973. Between June 1965 and August 1973, 126,615 sorties (B-52D/F/G) were flown over Southeast Asia. During those operations, the U.S. Air Force lost 31 B-52s; 18 were lost from hostile fire over North Vietnam and 13 from operational causes.[citation needed]
The typical full bomb loads were:[citation needed]
Communication leaks undermined the effectiveness of the campaign. According to Stephen Budiansky, "DespiteNSA's occasional success in tightening up particularly leaky communication practices, the problems continued throughout the war. On Andersen the Vietcong were given as much as eight hours' warning and often revealing exact launch times and likely targets, because of aSoviet trawler stationed off the island listening to conversations and seeing actual B-52 launches."[4]
Nineteentechnicians of the1st Combat Evaluation Group were lost in ground combat.[5] On September 21, 2010, PresidentBarack Obama presented theMedal of Honor to the sons of Chief Master SergeantRichard L. Etchberger for his actions in thebattle of Lima Site 85. A memorial to all 1CEVG technicians is located directly behind the Arc Light memorial.[6]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)The memorial consists of an AN/MSQ-77 (AN/TSQ-81) parabolic antenna poised at 45 degrees elevation…situated directly behind the ARC LIGHT Memorial, a B52D Stratofortress…. The aircraft and the radar are facing the Vietnam theater, in solemn tribute to the men who flew the weapons and the men who directed them over targets of opportunity.[permanent dead link]
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