Thanh Hoa Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Thanh Hoa Bridge, spanning the Song Ma
Song Ma
Song Ma is a district of Son La Province in the Northwestern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 113,026. The district covers an area of 1,658 km². The district capital lies at Song Ma.-References:...

 river, is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Thanh Hóa
Thanh Hóa
Thanh Hóa is the capital city of Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province. The population is nearly 200,000 with an area of only 57.9 square kilometers....

 , the capital of Thanh Hoa province in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. The Vietnamese gave it the nickname Ham Rong (Dragon's jaw). In 1965 during the Vietnam war
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, it was the objective of many attacks by US Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 and US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 aircraft which would fail to destroy the bridge until 1972. In their first air combat, a small force of seemingly mismatched MiG-17s inflicted significant losses on much larger and more advanced American F-105 Thunderchief
F-105 Thunderchief
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, was a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. The Mach 2 capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it has the dubious distinction of being the only US aircraft to have been...

 and F-8 Crusader
F-8 Crusader
The Vought F-8 Crusader was a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass...

 fighters at a cost of 3 of their own, with an F-100 Super Sabre
F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...

 claiming the first probable American kill of the conflict. This would lead to significant changes in American tactics, training and fighter design, and a return to dogfighting in air combat doctrine. Eventually, in 1972, the bridge was destroyed by A-7 Corsair bombers using laser-guided bomb
Laser-guided bomb
A laser-guided bomb is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser homing to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. LGBs are one of the most common and widespread guided bombs, used by a large number of the world's air forces.- Overview :Laser-guided munitions use a...

s and conventional bombs.

The bridge

Originally built by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 during the colonial era in Vietnam, the Thanh Hoa bridge was sabotaged by the Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...

 in 1945. From 1957, the Vietnamese started rebuilding it.

It was a grey metallic construction, resting on a central concrete pier, and on concrete abutments at each extremity. Completed in 1964, and inaugurated by Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...

 himself, the final bridge was 540 feet (164.6 m) long, 56 feet (17.1 m) wide, and about 50 feet (15.2 m) above the river.

Allowing the passage of both road and rail traffic, it was a vital link between different regions of North Vietnam, and when the war started, became a strategic passage for supplies and reinforcements sent to the Viet Cong
National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam
The Vietcong , or National Liberation Front , was a political organization and army in South Vietnam and Cambodia that fought the United States and South Vietnamese governments during the Vietnam War . It had both guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of cadres who organized...

 fighting in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

.

Operation Rolling Thunder

With the beginning of Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the title of a gradual and sustained US 2nd Air Division , US Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force aerial bombardment campaign conducted against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 2 March 1965 until 1 November 1968, during the Vietnam War.The four objectives...

 (the bombing campaign against strategic targets in North Vietnam), the decision was made in March 1965 to interdict the North Vietnamese rail system, including the Thanh Hóa bridge. The Vietnamese, realizing the importance of the bridge, had set up an impressive air defense network, five air defense regiments being stationed in the area.

First raid, first dogfight

The first — and largest — strike package to be sent against the bridge was codenamed 9-Alpha. Led by Korean war ace Colonel Robinson Risner
James Robinson Risner
James Robinson "Robbie" Risner was a general officer and professional fighter pilot in the United States Air Force.Risner is a double recipient of the Air Force Cross, the second highest military decoration for valor that can be awarded to a member of the United States Air Force...

, it comprised 79 aircraft, including 46 F-105 Thunderchiefs as the main strike force. Other types were 21 F-100 Super Sabres as AAA
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...

 suppressors to attack ground-based guns, 14 F-100s acting as MiG CAP (combat air patrol) and two RF-101C Voodoos to do damage assessment, plus 10 KC-135 tanker aircraft. The F-100s were based in South Vietnam, while the others were based across Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

. Flights of four F-105s from Koran and Takhli would be air refueled over the Mekong River, then cross Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

 to just south of the bridge. The bombers would continue east until over the Gulf of Tonkin
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...

.

Launched on April 3, 1965, the attack saw all strike aircraft deliver their payload. Sixteen of the F-105s carried a pair of Bullpup missile
AGM-12 Bullpup
The AGM-12 Bullpup is an air-to-ground missile which was used on the A-4 Skyhawk, A-6 Intruder, F-105 Thunderchief and F-4 Phantom among others...

s, one under each outer wing pylon. This was an early combat use of early "smart" precision guided missiles that were guided by radio and joystick, requiring two passes to launch each of two missiles per plane before the evolution of laser-guided bombs which eventually felled the bridge late in the war. Capt. Bill Meyerholt observed as the missile streaked toward the bridge and made a good hit; when smoke cleared,there was no visible damage to the bridge. The tiny 250 lb warheads merely charred the massive structure. Crews grimly joked that Bullpups on the Dragon's Jaw were as effective as shooting BB pellets at a Sherman tank.

The other F-105s each carried 3 tons of explosives in the form of eight 750 lb (340.2 kg) bombs, more than B-17s had delivered over targets like Berlin. The first wave of bombs drifted due to a strong southwest wind. The last flight, led by Cpt. Carlyle S. "Smitty" Harris, scored hits on the roadway and superstructure. After 32 Bullpups and 1200 bombs had decorated the bridge with numerous hits, charring every part, the bridge did not fall, though traffic was stopped for a few hours. This was the only result of the raid, which had cost two aircraft — one F-100 (Lt. George C. Smith flying flak suppression) and one RF-101 — shot down.

Risner's Thunderchief was crippled by ground fire, but despite smoke in the cockpit, Risner continued to direct the strike before flying safely back to Da Nang
Da Nang Air Base
Da Nang Air Base was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force facility. The United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War , stationing Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine units there...

.

To meet the raid, the VPAF had sent out two flights of four MiG-17PFs from Noi Bai airbase at 9:47. The original plan was for the first flight to act as decoy. The second flight never reached the strike force, as flight leader Pham Ngoc Lan
Pham Ngoc Lan
Pham Ngoc Lan is a general of the People's Army of Vietnam. He is most noted for being Vietnam's first pilot to shoot down American planes in aerial combat on April 3, 1965.- Early life :...

 spotted F-8E Crusaders
F-8 Crusader
The Vought F-8 Crusader was a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass...

 from the USS Hancock
USS Hancock (CV-19)
USS Hancock was one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress and first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...

 covering the operation. The metal-finished MiG-17PF which would later be finished in a "snake" camouflage was an all-weather interceptor version of the MiG-17 first flown in 1951. Armed and 3 23mm cannons but no missles, it was a faster upgraded MiG-15 fitted with an afterburning
AfterBurner
The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs.Originally, portablemonopoly.net was a website created to petition Nintendo to put some kind of light in their Game Boy Advance system...

 engine, and a radar-ranging gunsight reversed-engineered from the F-86A .
By comparison, the American Crusader was a daylight gunfighter capable of speeds of nearly twice the speed of sound, armed with both cannon and Sidewinder missiles. Lan dived to attack at about 1,000 feet, and fired at a range of 700 feet. His gun camera showed a blazing F-8 which he reported had crashed. At 10:15 wingman Lieutenant Phan Van Tuc fired on another F-8, claiming a second victory. Pilots Ho Van Quy and Tran Minh Phuong also opened fire on two F-8s, but were out of gun range. In the VPAF's evaluation, their success was due to proper preparation, using surprise and engaging only in close dogfights. While the US Navy records that all of the Crusaders returned, a plane flown by Lt. Cdr. Spence Thomas was so damaged it diverted to Da Nang and was written off as destroyed upon landing. That could make Lan's attack the first air-to-air kill not only by the VPAF's MiG-17s, but the first air victory of the conflict. The Navy recorded that an A-4 Skyhawk
A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The delta winged, single-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated the A4D...

 of Lt. Cdr. R. A. Vohden was lost to AAA; Vohden spent the rest of the war as a POW. After his victory, Lan found himself short on fuel. He elected to save his plane by making a hard landing by a riverbed in the Ke Tam valley (Nghe An province). He ironically was beseiged by locals who expected to find an American pilot until he showed his VPAF badge.

The VPAF had nevertheless demonstrated the ability to engage modern US fighters, and afterwards recognized April 3 as Air Force's Day. On the American side, the failure to drop any spans led to a new attack scheduled for the next day; it was expected by VPAF commanders. This time, 80 planes were engaged, including 48 F-105s, carrying only 750 lb (340.2 kg) bombs, as the inadequacy of the Bullpup had been fully demonstrated.

MiG-17s jump USAF F-105s

During the 4 April 1965 engagement, a tiny force of eight MiG-17s (half flying as decoys) from the 921st "Sao Do" (Red Star) Fighter Regiment (FR) was again given the daunting task of confronting a massive armada of modern American supersonic fighter-bombers. The 46 F-105 Thunderchiefs tasked as fast attack bombers were escorted by a flight of 21 F-100 Super Sabres daylight fighters from the 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS), 4 Sidewinder
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried mostly by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. The missile entered service with United States Air Force in the early 1950s, and variants and upgrades remain in active service with many air forces...

-armed for MiGCAP, and 17 armed with 2.75-inch HVAR to suppress AAA batteries. Each flight was given a call sign. These included "Steel," "Iron," "Copper," "Moon," "Carbon," "Zinc," "Argon," "Graphite," "Esso," "Mobil," "Shell," and "Petrol." "Cadillac" flight conducted Bomb Damage Assessment, while the search and rescue included A-1 Skyraider
A-1 Skyraider
The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the late 1940s and early 1980s. It became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a French World War I fighter...

s, call sign "Sandy," and HH-3 Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopters, call sign "Jolly Green."

The VPAF made ground-based AAA sites the first line of defence, with fighters attacking after ground gunners ceased fire. After taking off at about 10:20, the MiGs would break into decoy and attack flights. The leader was second-in-command Nguyen Van Tien, while Dao Ngo Ngu handled the ground control command.

The Americans started with recon flights over Thanh Hoa. Then the attacking jets flew in flights of four. One flight would attack at a time while others circled awaiting their turn. Although, on paper, the F-105 was double supersonic, when loaded with ordnance under its small wings, it was subsonic and unready to tangle with any fighters that might get past the escorts. Covering the north, in the direction of Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...

's airfields, escorting F-100s sixty miles north of the Song Chu estuary where the river meets the sea, were to warn of enemy aircraft. and if possible to intercept, while 4 others orbited south of the estuary. The MiG attack came instead from the south, with part angling off toward the west, perhaps to draw away escorts as a decoy. As the MIGCAP F-100s flew south, they spotted MiG-17s flying in from the sea toward the F-105s, and urgently radioed the warning: "Break off!" But their warnings weren't heeded due to garbled transmission. The strike aircraft flew on like sitting ducks, unaware of the incoming threat. While North Vietnam had full radar coverage and ground control of their pilots, the short-range, forward-scanning radars in the F-100s didn't spot the MiGs in a part of the sky where they were not expected. The USAF would later use EC-121s and develop the E-3 AWACS to provide full 360-degree radar coverage for strike packages.

Coming from clouds above, the MiG-17s tore past the escorts and dove onto the bomb laden Thunderchiefs, Communist flight leader Trần Hanh
Tran Hanh
Lieutenant General Trần Hanh is a pilot of the Vietnam People's Air Force and later Deputy Minister of Defence of Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, Trần Hanh was a MIG-17 pilot and officer of the 921st Regiment, he shot down a F-105D in April 1965...

 spotted four F-105Ds at 10:30 starting to drop their bombs, ordering his wingman, Pham Giay, to cover his attack. He fired at 400 meters, observing one F-105, piloted by Major Frank E. Bennett (355th TFW, KIA) fall in flames into the Gulf of Tonkin. The flight leader attempted to recover at Da Nang but had his controls freeze up within sight of the base. Ejecting, he was killed when his parachute failed to open before he struck the water and he drowned. As the Thuds turned to attack the MiGs, the MiG split into two groups on the north and south sides of the bridge. Supported by Tran Nguyen Nam, Le Minh Huan downed another F-105D, callsign Zinc 2 piloted by Capt. J. A. Magnusson. He radioed that he was heading for the Gulf if he could maintain control of his aircraft. Magnusson's aircraft finally bailed out 20 miles away over the Gulf of Tonkin near the island of Hon Me, and was eventually listed as missing and then killed after a 48-hour search. The USAF confirmed the two F-105 losses during that engagement.

The remaining fourth plane found himself in the sights of another MiG-17 who he could not shake. In desperation, he tried a snap roll which slowed his plane so that the MiG-17 over-shot him, as his captain had recommended. Finding himself on the MiG's tail, he was too surprised to attempt to shoot down the MiG with his gun. The fortunate survivor was briefed the day before about this maneuver by the captain from Nellis
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Combat Command .-Overview:...

 whoes name was the legendary John Boyd
John Boyd (military strategist)
Colonel John Boyd was a United States Air Force fighter pilot and Pentagon consultant of the late 20th century, whose theories have been highly influential in the military, sports, and business.-Biography:...

 who would be a significant voice in the design of America's future dogfighters.

After the quick success of downing two American fighters, the outnumbered North Vietnamese defenders faced a sky full of the remaining angered Thuds and Huns now fully alerted to their presence and turning their attention to the MiGs. Tranh Hanh ordered his flight to split into two groups. He and wingman Pham Giay stayed south side of the bridge, while Le Minh Huan and Tran Nguyen Nam flew to the north. Three F-100s from the MiGCAP, piloted by LTC Emmett L. Hays, CPT Keith B. Connolly, and CPT Donald W. Kilgus, all from the 416th TFS, engaged the MiG-17s. As the F-100s closed in, they hesitated to fire missiles which might hit their F-105s. The lead F-100 got a locking tone as he fired an IR guided Sidewinder air-to-air missile once he had a clear shot, but it passed above its target, while Connolly and Kilgus engaged with 20mm cannon.

Kilgus recognized what was Pham Giay's MiG just after it appeared out of the haze. He dropped his wing tanks and turned into the target that had just turned a 90 degree corner to face him. He shook off Tranh Hanh's second MiG which appeared as Giay overshot and missed him. Closing in from behind Giay, Kilgus closed in and pulled up his nose so that the four M39 20mm
M39 cannon
The M39 cannon was a 20 mm caliber single-barreled revolver cannon developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s. It was used on a number of fighter aircraft from the early 1950s through the 1980s.-Development:...

 guns mounted under the belly of his airplane would just be visible winking to his target. Lighting his afterburner
AfterBurner
The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs.Originally, portablemonopoly.net was a website created to petition Nintendo to put some kind of light in their Game Boy Advance system...

 and using his height advantage, he accelerated and dived after the MiG at 450 knots. Kilgus recognized the Vietnamese pilot was pulling him into a game of chicken as both jets hurtled down towards waters of the Gulf of Tonkin and the lighter MiG should have been able pull out of a dangerous dive more quickly. Now headed nearly straight down, Kilgus armed his guns and took aim at the spot projected on the glass of his A4 radar-ranging gunsight
Reflector sight
A reflector or reflex sight is a generally non-magnifying optical device that allows the user to look through a partially reflecting glass element and see an illuminated projection of an aiming point or some other image superimposed on the field of view...

. While worrying about the rapidly falling altitude, he opened fire at 7,100 feet, observing puffs and sparks coming off Giay's vertical tail fin before losing visual contact as he pulled up, just barely clearing the Gulf of Tonkin.

Historian Don McCarthy later concluded he was certain Kilgus brought down the MiG-17. Aviation writer Larry Davis also records his that Kilgus' wing man also reported a kill, but it was denied by higher headquarters at 7th Air Force. Although not immediately reported that day, only Kilgus claimed and was credited with a probable kill. Based upon the report, the F-100s had obtained the first US aerial combat victories during the Vietnam War. If confirmed, Kilgus would have made the be the only air-to-air MiG kill by an F-100 during the conflict. , while it was assumed the other MiGs escaped.

MiG-17 flight leader and sole survivor Tran Hanh was credited with his confirmed F-105. His own plane narrowly escaped through hard manoeuvring, but he lost contact with ground control. Low on fuel, he opted to land at the nearby Ke Tam valley, but was detained the locals until he produced his VPAF badge. Hanh says that he saw his wingman, Le Minh Huan and Tran Nguyen Nam also shot down by F-105s.. Hanh probably confused the escorting F-100s for F-105s. As only one American pilot even claimed a probable kill, his other comrades may have instead collided or been hit by their own AA fire. Nevertheless, in exchange for their significant sacrifice, the North Vietnamese MiG-17s had scored their first confirmed aerial victories in jet-to-jet combat against supersonic fighters.

North Vietnamese AAA gunners on the ground was credited with downing a "Sandy" A-1H Skyraider, killing Capt. Walter Draeger, and also initially credited with the F-105 of Capt. Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, who survived and became one of the earliest American prisoners of war. Later on 15 April 1965, a communist publication interviewed a MiG pilot who had actually shot down Capt. Harris' F-105 rather than ground fire. Harris was classified MIA, but had been actually imprisoned in Hanoi until 1973, when fellow POWs credited Capt. Harris with introducing the "tap code" into the prison system.

In North Vietnam, MiG-17 flight leader Tran Hanh became a national hero. What in retrospect might seem to be tactical draw after losing all of their defending fighters and three pilots, and viewed by anti-war activists as aggression against civilian targets, the action was celebrated as a "glorious victory over US aircraft to ensure the flow of war supplies to the south". For their part, anti-aircraft gunners received the Victory Order and the Military Exploit Order. On the 45th anniversary of the battle in 2010, Vietnam celebrated the downing of 47 US aircraft over the two days of the 454 sorties over two days that dropped 350 bombs on and around the bridge, calling it "the symbol of the Vietnamese people's will to defend their country...the Great Spring Victory to liberate the South and reunify the country."

American lessons

The raid had been carried out with great precision, but despite having been hit by more than 300 bombs, the Thanh Hoa bridge still stood. As minor damage caused the circulation to be interrupted for a few days, it was seen as a modest success cost that had cost the US Air Force three F-105s. But U.S. Air Force chief of staff General John P. McConnell, was "hopping mad" to hear that two of America's most advanced F-105 Thunderchiefs had been shot down by slow, elderly left-over MIGs of the tiny 36-jet North Vietnamese air force. The subsonic MiG-17s had been in service for over 12 years since 1953, and was barely improved over the original MiG-15s that sparred with F-86 Sabre
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...

s in dogfights over the Yalu River
Yalu River
The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....

. By contrast, the F-105 which was on the drawing boards as the MiG entered service was two generations ahead (and the escorting F-100s one generation ahead). The Thud was the USAF's most advanced Mach 2 class fighter bomber with sophisticated navigation and radar systems which could be armed with sidewinder missiles and a bombload comparable to WWII bombers. But at slower speeds, the older MiG could out-manoeuvre any of its adversaries, and at a time when air-to-air missiles highly unlikely to actually destroy their targets, the cannons of the MiG were much more reliable, and deadly against F-105s which at the time were vulnerable to hits on systems such as hydraulics.

The losses to MiGs resulted in the subsequent replacement of the F-100 Super Sabre escorts with F-4 Phantoms. The incident would start a series of events that would lead to a reassessment of fighters better suited to close-in dogfighting. While the F-105 would finish off its service with a slightly better than even kill to loss ratio over MiGs, the large plane had been designed primarily to deliver bombs at low level rather than shoot down other fighters. Its replacement was the even larger Phantom which had been designed without any guns to fire missiles at stand-off ranges rather than tangle in turning dogfights. This experience would re-introduce the requirement that future fighters would need to be able to mix with MiGs on more equal terms and not just shoot missiles from a distance. This would lead to training programs such as Top Gun. The expensive swing-wing F-111B which could not dogfight was dropped in favor of the VFAX
VFAX
VFAX for Naval Fighter Attack Experimental was actually two specifications for two US Naval fighter projects. The first was for a low cost lightweight complement for the F-111B which could replace the F-4 Phantom II for air superiority, escort, and ground attack missions in the early 1960s. This...

 which evolved into the F-14 Tomcat
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...

. The USAF would develop its own purpose-built FX supersonic air superiority fighter
Air superiority fighter
An air superiority fighter is a type of fighter aircraft intended to gain air superiority in a war, by entering and seizing control of enemy airspace. Air superiority fighters are designed to effectively engage enemy fighters, more than other types of aircraft...

 as the F-15 Eagle
F-15 Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...

 along with smaller teen-series fighters. The new fighters that came on line during the 1970s would dominate American airpower for the remainder of the twentieth century and inspire similar Soviet designs.

US Navy attacks

With the establishment of the Route Package system, the Thanh Hoa area was allocated to the US Navy. Between 1965 and 1968, until US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

 temporarily called off air raids against North Vietnam, the bridge was a regular objective for navy Alpha strike
Alpha strike
Alpha strike may refer to:* Alpha strike , when an alpha particle enters and causes damage to the data contained in a computer processor.* Alpha strike , a massive all-out attack launched near the beginning of a tabletop wargame....

s.
Different types of aircraft were engaged including A-3 Skywarrior
A-3 Skywarrior
The Douglas A-3 Skywarrior was originally designed as a strategic bomber for the United States Navy and was among the longest serving carrier-based jet aircraft in history. It entered service in the mid-1950s and was retired in 1991...

s, A-4 Skyhawk
A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The delta winged, single-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated the A4D...

s, A-6 Intruder
A-6 Intruder
The Grumman A-6 Intruder was an American, twin jet-engine, mid-wing attack aircraft built by Grumman Aerospace. In service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps between 1963 and 1997, the Intruder was designed as an all-weather medium attack aircraft to replace the piston-engined A-1 Skyraider...

s, F-4 Phantoms and F-8 Crusader
F-8 Crusader
The Vought F-8 Crusader was a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass...

s.
Several types of weapons were launched at the bridge including AGM-62 Walleye
AGM-62 Walleye
The AGM-62 Walleye is a television-guided glide bomb which was produced by Martin Marietta and used by the United States armed forces during the 1960s. Most had a 250 lb high-explosive warhead, some had a nuclear warhead...

 missiles, but none had the precision and power to destroy it permanently. Several times, traffic over the bridge was interrupted, but every time, the North Vietnamese dutifully repaired the damage.

Operation Carolina Moon

In May 1966, an innovative attack, Operation Carolina Moon, was planned by the US Air Force. A new weapon was to be used: a large magnetic mine, that implemented a new energy mass-focusing concept. The plan was to float the mines down the river, till they reached the bridge, where the magnetic sensors would set off the charges, hopefully wrecking it permanently. The only aircraft with a large enough hold to carry these weapons was the slow-flying C-130 Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...

 transport, so the operation was due to take place at night, to reduce its vulnerability.

On the night of May 30, a first Hercules dropped 5 mines. A North Vietnamese prisoner later revealed that 4 of the 5 mines had in fact exploded under the bridge, but not caused any significant damage. However at the time the Americans did not know this, as after-mission reconnaissance had showed the bridge still standing, and a second raid was planned, with a different crew, for the following night. This second attempt turned to disaster: the Hercules was hit during its low-level run and crashed, killing the entire crew. An F-4 engaged in a diversionary attack nearby was also brought down and its crew lost.

The final blow

Between 1968 and 1972, bombing of North Vietnam was discontinued, enabling the North Vietnamese to repair their infrastructures, including the Thanh Hoa bridge. With the communist invasion of South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

 in 1972, a new bombing campaign was instituted: Operation Linebacker
Operation Linebacker
Operation Linebacker was the title of a U.S. Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 aerial interdiction campaign conducted against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 9 May to 23 October 1972, during the Vietnam War....

.

On 27 April, 12 Phantoms of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing
8th Fighter Wing
The United States Air Force 8th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea and is assigned to Seventh Air Force...

, based at Ubon
Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base
Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force facility and is the home of Wing 21 of the RTAF 2nd Air Division. It is located in East-Central Thailand, near the city of Ubon Ratchathani, in the Ubon Ratchathani Province. It is approximately 305 miles North-East of Bangkok...

, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 attacked the Thanh Hoa bridge. 8 of their number carried laser-guided bombs. The raid was carried out without hitch, and when the dust of the explosions had cleared, it became apparent that the bridge had been dislodged from its western abutment, dropping one half into the river. To complete its destruction, a second attack was scheduled for the 13 of May when 14 Phantoms were engaged, with LGBs of up to 2000 lb (907.2 kg) aimed at the central pillar supporting the bridge. Once again the attack was successful and the "Dragon's jaw" was rendered completely unusable. The US command, however, was not satisfied, and ordered a final attack on the 6th of October.

This time, four U.S. Navy A-7
A-7 Corsair II
The Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II is a carrier-based subsonic light attack aircraft introduced to replace the United States Navy's Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, initially entering service during the Vietnam War...

s from VA-82
VFA-82
VFA-82, Strike Fighter Squadron 82, known as the Marauders was a U.S. Navy strike fighter squadron formerly based at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, established in 1967 and deactivated in 2005.-History:Call sign: StreetCar...

, aboard USS America, successfully delivered 8,000 lbs of high explosives with two planes carrying two 2000 lb (907.2 kg) Walleyes, while two other carried also 2,000 lbs in Mk 84
Mark 84 bomb
The Mark 84 is an American general-purpose bomb, it is also the largest of the Mark 80 series of weapons. Entering service during the Vietnam War, it became a commonly used US heavy unguided bomb to be dropped, second only to the BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" then in service and presently third only to...

 GP
General-purpose bomb
A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect.-Characteristics:...

 bombs. In a simultaneous attack, the centre pilling on the bridge's west side was hit and broke the span in a half. After this, the Thanh Hoa bridge was considered permanently destroyed and removed from the target list.

Aftermath and losses

The North Vietnamese made various fanciful claims as to how many planes they shot down, but the US recognizes the loss of only 11 aircraft during attacks against the bridge. However, the concentration of air defense assets also took its toll on passing aircraft and in total an estimated 104 American pilots were shot down over a 75 square miles (194.2 km²) area around the bridge during the war.

873 air sorties were expended against the bridge and it was hit by hundreds of bombs and missiles before being finally destroyed. It became something of a symbol of resistance for the North Vietnamese, and various legends of invincibility were attached to it.
For the US planners, it became an obsession, and many raids were planned against it, despite their unpopularity with the pilots. A cynical rewording of the song the "Red River Valley
Red River Valley (song)
Red River Valley is a folk song and cowboy music standard of controversial origins that has gone by different names—e.g., "Cowboy Love Song", "Bright Sherman Valley", "Bright Laurel Valley", "In the Bright Mohawk Valley", and "Bright Little Valley"—depending on where it has been sung. ...

" was sung by fighter pilots, referring to this dangerous target.
In his 1976 essay collection, Mauve Gloves & Madmen, Clutter and Vine, Tom Wolfe recounted a rueful story that circulated among Navy pilots who flew sorties against the Thanh Hoa Bridge. In their telling, the Earth consisted of two hemispheres, spring-loaded and held together opposite the hinge by the bridge. When it was destroyed, the story went, the two hemispheres would fly apart, flinging humanity into space.

While the first employment of the Bullpup in 1965 proved a disappointment, the ultimate destruction of the bridge finally proved the promise and effectiveness of precision-guided munition
Precision-guided munition
A precision-guided munition is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, and to minimize damage to things other than the target....

s, opening the way to a new era of aerial warfare. The 1965 strikes were the first employment of modern strike packages which were combined and launched against
that specific target, leading up to an evolution of air warfare to 1972 which was employed very effectively with minimal losses in Desert Storm. The shock of losses of modern fighters in dogfights in 1965 was a landmark which led to a major shift in fighter design away from missile firing interceptors to agile designs capable in short-range air combat.

External links

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