rocket attacks on da nang air base

Reinforced by another squad, the Company G Marines killed three and captured two. Naval Support Activity Danang operated extensive logistics facilities on the Tiensha (Tin Sa) peninsula east of the city. The Marines killed two and wounded the third. In the extensive Da Nang TAOR, the early morning hours of 31 January were almost a repeat of the events of the 30th. a-~_ -~ ijsafss 0 w 86 i jun !17 history of 6994th security squadron [Peter Halferty photo]. Remains of 45-1102; sandbag detail later. After their breaching of the outer defenses, the VC squad fired B-40 rockets at the headquarters building, but then fought a delaying action, waiting for reinforcements which never came. Robertson observed that the delay of the 2nd Division into the picture may have been because the PAVN forces "got their signals mixed " The VC were supposed to be inside "when the [PAVN] division came marching down main street. In the northeast, near the Force Logistic Command sector, villagers from Nam (160654N 1080744E / 16.115N 108.129E / 16.115; 108.129) just south of the strategic Nam Bridge, told PF troops, members of the CAP Q-4 platoon, that the VC planned to attack the CAP compound. The PAVN/VC attacked a Marine bunker and ran through the Communications Support Company area throwing grenades and Satchel charges in the living quarters. The 11th Marines fired an artillery mission with unknown results. . They counted 34 PAVN dead. Da Nang AB was nicknamed "Rocket City" due to the large number of attacks by 122mm and 140mm rockets. Rocket attack on the Da Nang Air Base that took place, Da Nang, Vietnam, January 30, 1968. These rockets had a range of several miles and were deadly. He remembered that because of the number of casualties his battalion sustained, "it was necessary to employ administrative personnel on patrols" with "clerks, cooks, and drivers" on line. The South Vietnamese quickly rushed the newly arrived ARVN 5th Ranger Battalion into the area. Under cover of darkness, elements of the VC R-20th and V-25th Battalions had crossed the Cu River and penetrated the Ha Vang village complex. [ Bob Kaatman photo ] Second cache of bombs ignites. From 18:00 to 24:00 on the 30th, the 1st Marine Division reported to III MAF over 30 incidents ranging from sightings of large enemy forces, to mortar attacks and a few infantry assaults. On my second combat hop on the 14th I flew below 500 feet for 30 minutes 5 to 10 miles south of Da Nang searching for rocket launching sites. Stationed with 1882n Comm Gp., 1969-1970, worked in the Base Comm Center. Linking up, under artillery and air cover, the two Marine companies continued their advance until forced to halt because of darkness and then took up night defensive positions. Further to the east Company G, 2/3 Marines, at the battalion's command post about 500 meters north of in Bn town, remained as the division mobile reserve mounted in LVTP-5s and supported by tanks. An alert ARVN sentry took the VC under fire near the flagpole. In Da Nang City itself, about 10:50 in the morning, approximately 500 people gathered at a Buddhist pagoda and attempted to hold a march. Elements of the VC R-20th and local force units which participated in the attack on Ha Vang and I Corps headquarters attempted to escape the dragnet of Marine and ARVN forces. The Marines and PF troops fired at armed members of the crowd who appeared to be directing the march. At 20:00 on the night of the 5th, a Marine platoon ambush from Company C, 1/7 Marines intercepted about 60 PAVN troops about 4,000 meters south of the Ty Loan River in the western sector of the area of operations moving northeast towards the river and the base with mortars and automatic weapons. The rocket attacks resulted in the deaths of three Marines and the wounding of another 11. Instead of calling artillery fire immediately, the reconnaissance Marines arranged with Battery K, 4/11 Marines and a detachment of the 3rd 155mm Gun Battery at An Ha for an "artillery ambush." [1]:1612, In the ensuing battle of Lo Giang the Marine and Army forces successfully repulsed the PAVN 2nd Division attack. "[1]:163, Another possible explanation was that the Da Nang attack may have been a secondary assault, to cause as much damage as possible and divert Allied forces from the almost successful effort of the PAVN/VC forces to capture Hu. About the same time as the rocket attacks on the Da Nang base and Marble Mountain, PAVN/VC mortars bombarded the command post of the 7th Marines on Hill 55 south of Da Nang and forward infantry positions. A high number of casualties were Vietnamese civilians living in a village just east of Da Nang Air Base. Although the PAVN troops fled, the Marines found five unexpended 122mm rockets on the site. Nha Trang Air Base is a military airfield in Vietnam, located 1.7 miles (2.7 km) northwest of Nha Trang in Khnh Ha Province. The first U.S. air strikes also occur against the Ho Chi Minh trail. The aircraft may have been one of those used by Air America. Proud to have had . From their night positions, Company G observers saw large numbers of PAVN approaching them from the north. In the engagement, the Marines lost 5 killed and 12 wounded. Newsreel story showing the aftermath of the shelling of an . Milantoni relayed the request to the air support center. [1]:159, While from 15 February, the PAVN/VC ground assaults on Marine positions appeared to diminish , Marine spotters in the tower on Hill 55 reported the constant movement of small groups of enemy troops in the western portion of the ROKMC area of operations. During one attack I was writing a letter home and thought my guys were injured because of the rocket attack and I remember the no smoking sigh flapping in the wind because of the scrapnel. from The New York Times: Police officers provided security for the marchers, and the march concluded peacefully at Maltepe, Istanbul (where . According to III MAF figures, from 29 January through 14 February at Da Nang, Marines sustained 124 killed and more than 480 wounded. Freedom Hill 327 can be seen beneath the left flare, with convoy lights winding up the perimeter road. At 02:30 on the 30th at in Bn, elements of the R-20th and V-25th struck the subsector headquarters defended by the 15th Popular Forces Platoon and the 708 Regional Forces Company. During the night, VC resistance dwindled to sniper fire on the ROKMC positions. According to Davis, a few hours later, Robertson called a division briefing for all battalion commanders. Da Nang air base attacked in Vietnam by 40mm rockets 7 miles away, 47 killed many from local village (partial newsreel) Addeddate 2005-04-08 19:44:43 Color b&w Identifier 1967-03-03_Airbase_Shelled . The battalion was alerted and airlifted from Twentynine Palms, California, to Cherry Point, North Carolina, with its . Army advisor attached to the ARVN unit. The Victory will be with us. Fifteen minutes later, the enemy gunners followed with another 29 rockets, mostly aimed at the southern end of the Air Base. Later intelligence and interrogation reports of prisoners of war would indicate that the unit that Rummage had intercepted was probably a battalion of the PAVN 2nd Division. You get your timing off and you've got problems. VMO2, where I would spend the next thirteen months, was just south of DaNang. [1]:153, South of the Hi Vn Pass, in the northern portion of the Da Nang TAOR, in the 2/7 Marines sector, the PAVN were able to close Highway 1 temporarily, but failed to penetrate Allied defenses. Although the Koreans and the ARVN surrounded most of the city, the VC still were able to keep their southern flank open. About 03:30, two more Marine tanks from the district town of Hieu Duc arrived at the northern fringes of the hamlet. At 17:00 on 29 January, Westmoreland cancelled the truce in the entire I Corps sector. Further, the National Police reported that VC local leaders from Qung Tn, Qung Nam and Qung Ngi Provinces met in a base area in the hills of northern Qung Ngi to plan attacks on Chu Lai and on Qung Ngi City. The artillerymen sustained two wounded and some equipment damage, but escaped relatively unscathed. According to an NCO from the PAVN 31st Regiment captured in the fighting, the mission of his unit was to "attack Hi An, five times if necessary, and set up a liberation government. Its two runways accommodated a take-off or landing every 60 seconds. Firing from well-concealed and dug-in firing positions, the PAVN machine gunners and infantry took a heavy toll of the Marines. Marine and Army reconnaissance flights using infrared technology and XM-3 "People Sniffer" airborne personnel detectors (APD) mounted on UH-1 helicopters indicated strong enemy concentrations in the hills near Hiu c west of the 7th Marines. Supported by U .S . At least some members of his group also reportedly provided security for Richard Spencer's often violent campus appearances. Two attached U .S. Given also the enemy rocket threat, he still needed to maintain extensive patrols in the so-called Rocket Belt. According to a Marine report, "it was evident that the enemy was prepared to masquerade as Vietnamese civilians in the process of infiltrating the TAOR and that he was attempting to infiltrate his forces in small units. In fact, elements of both regiments had reached jump-off points just south of the Cau Do River. Because of an air observer on station, the Marine gunners checked their fire. Da Nang Under Heavy Rocketing. Da Nang air base in the mid- to late-60s was the busiest (and possibly the largest) airport in the world. Four ARVN M113 armored personnel carriers reinforced by a reconnaissance squad maneuvered to contain the attackers. At in Bn, the 51st Regiment reinforced by the ROKMC contained the attack. Material and equipment losses, however, were much more extensive. [1]:1589, For the next few days, there was a relative lull in the Da Nang sector, at least as compared to the last two days of January. Elements of the PAVN 368B Rocket Artillery Regiment were in firing positions to the west and northwest of the 7th Marines. In both these sectors support troops doubled as infantry, manning fixed defensive positions and conducting patrols. A total of 49 mortar and rocket rounds were counted landing on the airfield during this attack. As Company G began its redeployment along the river route it ran into PAVN forces attempting to retreat in that direction. In a sweep of the area, the defenders found ammunition clips and bloodstains. [1]:149, About 5,000 meters to the east, in Hi An, however, PAVN/VC forces gained somewhat the upper hand. Darkness prevented any accurate bomb assessment. Although authorizing the ceasefire, he warned all American commanders to be unusually alert because of "enemy increased capabilities ." [1]:153, The most serious ground attack against a Marine unit occurred in the western portion of the Da Nang TAOR just below the Ty Loan and Cu Rivers near the eastern bank of the Yn River. At Duy Xuyn, however, the PAVN/VC overran the town, forcing the district chief to flee and take refuge with the Koreans. Reinforced by the remainder of Company L and two platoons from Company M together with two tanks and an LVTP-5, the Marines engaged the PAVN. AP Photo U.S. Marines landing in Da Nang, March 8, 1965. The communications bunker bore the brunt of the attack where the sappers destroyed both the bunker and the equipment inside and put the division tactical net off the air until 04:00. Finally there were rumors that the other two regiments of the 2nd Division, the VC 1st and the PAVN 3rd, had infiltrated even further north. [1]:153, The attack on the western perimeter was probably the most serious thrust against Marine positions on the day and evening of 30 January. Manning defensive positions, the Marine communicators and engineers repelled the attacking force, killing four VC. The battalion's Company B, however, in an operation with a CAP in two hamlets on the Tiensha Peninsula or Da Nang East, surprised a VC force in two hamlets north of Marble Mountain. The Marines called in artillery and mortar missions . Although most of the enemy activity was restricted to small-unit contacts, on the night of 2/3 February, PAVN/VC gunners again rocketed the Air Base. To the south of the Air Base, other PAVN/VC main force units attacked the District Town of in Bn and the provincial capital of Qung Nam, Hi An, on Route 4. VC gunners from Ha Vang, nevertheless, maintained an intermittent mortar bombardment upon the I Corps tactical operations center. The area around Nng, especially military installations, was subject to rocket attacks since that February. For example, while the R-20th attempted to maintain a full complement of 400 men through the recruitment or impressment of local villagers and infiltration of North Vietnamese "volunteers," intelligence sources rated the unit only "marginally effective. They were ordered to the area to bolster defenses around the air base at Da Nang against possible VietCong attacks. 17 apr 1966: arab 511, an a-1h (buno 135398), lt (jg) william l. tromp, va-115, went down following a night attack on coastal targets, near approximately 1818 . . According to U.S. advisors and to South Vietnamese sources, the fight for Hi An resulted in Allied casualties of 58 killed, 103 wounded in action, 21 missing in action and 14 weapons lost. DA NANG A.B. A prisoner captured in Nam O identified a PAVN battalion, probably from the PAVN 4th Regiment, operating below the Hi Vn Pass with the "mission to form civilians for demonstrations." The only other Marine reserves available to the division were the provisional companies of the Northern and Southern Defense Commands. English: A damaged U.S. Marine Corps Grumman A-6A Intruderof Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron 242 (VMA(AW)-242) "Bats" at Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam, 30 January 1968. The 391 rockets that hit the base itself the figure was 69 in 1971killed four United States. "[1]:163 At about the same time, approximately 15 enemy 122mm rockets struck an artillery complex in the 11th Marines Northern Sector Defense Command which included a detachment from the 1st Armored Amphibian Company, the 155mm Gun and 8-inch Gun Batteries, as well as Batteries H, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines and M, 4th Battalion, 11th Marines. Narrative: Possibly the worst ground aviation accident of Vietnam War occurs on March 23 1967 at Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, when traffic controller clears US Marine Corps Grumman A-6A Intruder, BuNo 152608, of VMA(AW)-242, MAG-11, for takeoff, but also clears USAF Lockheed C-141A-LM Starlifter, 65-9407, of the 62nd Military Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, Washington, to cross runway. Noting the new web gear and weapons with the PAVN bodies left on the battlefield, Marine intelligence officers believed the PAVN unit to be from the 31st Regiment. At 19:20, in the same general area, still another Stingray patrol, Sailfish, radioed that about 200 PAVN/VC troops, some carrying 40mm rocket launchers, passed its positions. In one operation near Dien Ban, the ARVN 51st Regiment sustained losses of 40 men killed, six missing, and 140 wounded while accounting for about 80 enemy dead and 13 prisoners. While successfully beating back the PAVN attack, the CAP leader called for help. They also mortared and rocketed MAG-13 at Chu Lai on 31 January 1968. On the ground a patrol from Company A, 1/7 Marines, operating below the battalion's command post on Hill 10, saw about 10 PAVN soldiers just south of the Ty Loan River preparing positions. During the day's fighting, the Marines killed 107 PAVN and took two prisoners for losses of 11 killed and 53 wounded. In the meantime, the VC harassed with sniper fire both CAP Q-4 and the nearby Nam O bridge security detachment from 2/7 Marines. No rockets fell on the main airbase but Marble Mountain sustained some damage. III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) had its headquarters at Hill 327 west of the Air Base, while ARVN I Corps had its headquarters north of the Air Base. Milantoni. Battery A, 1st Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion armed with MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missiles, in the mountainous Hi Vn Pass sector north of Da Nang, reported about 01:40 coming under 82mm mortar fire. [1]:163, The PAVN/VC offensive in the Da Nang sector had spent itself. Accompanied by tanks and LVTP-5s, Company F maneuvered to the north of the ARVN base. Only the 7th Marines to the west experienced an increase in incidents as PAVN/VC troops moved through the western TAOR to return to their mountain strongholds in Base Area 114 and through Charlie Ridge into Happy Valley. In the Da Nang Vital Area, the artillery regiment, the 11th Marine Regiment, continued to oversee the Northern Sector Defense Command and the 1st Tank Battalion, the Southern Sector Defense Command. Before his death, however, the Vietnamese identified himself as Major Nguyen Van Lam, the commanding officer of the R-20th c Lp Battalion. While making for a loud and colorful pyrotechnic display, the explosions caused no casualties and no damage to any of the aircraft. At the same time, the 1st Division had sent out several reconnaissance elements. "[1]:1578, The greatest danger to the TAOR at this juncture, however, was from the south in that area defended by the ROKMC and the ARVN 51st Regiment. Robertson remembered that "the ceasefire was to be in effect and the regimental commanders reported intense fire from the enemy and requested authority to continue artillery fire, if necessary" Robertson granted the request and then "about 18:40 we got the word from III MAF that the ceasefire had been called off.[1]:142, For some time, the American forces had been aware that the PAVN/VC was about to launch some type of major offensive. SELECT OPTIONS SAVE TO CART A detachment of four LVTP-5s from the 3rd AmTrac Battalion quickly arrived, but the enemy had already departed. The National Police arrested 25 of the crowd and quickly dispersed the would-be demonstrators. The Marine squad was about to establish a night ambush site when a PAVN force of about 100 fired upon them. According to Marine intelligence reports, on 9 February, the 2nd Division moved its headquarters back to the Go Noi from its more forward positions. According to intelligence reports, on 15 January, Group 44, the forward headquarters of the PAVN/VC Military Region 5, moved from the hills in western Qung Nam Province, to an advance position on G Ni Island. CriticalPast offers immediate downloads of full-resolution HD and SD masters and full-resolution time-coded screeners, 24 hours a day, to serve the needs of broadcast news, TV, film, and publishing professionals worldwide. To the south, in the Korean sector, the ROKMC with the assistance of the ARVN again drove PAVN/VC forces out of the Hi An environs. In the town itself, 10 civilians caught in the crossfire, sustained wounds, but no civilians died as a result of the battle. A second platoon from Company G arrived at the site and attempted to maneuver to the PAVN flank. The air base at Da Nang was, therefore, a particularly enticing target. The Marines evacuated the survivor to the Naval Support Activity hospital where he died of his wounds. On Jan. 30, a 15-man commando squad penetrated Da Nang Air Base and another squad blew up the "Sector Bravo Combat Operations Center," just 1,000 meters from I Corps headquarters. While Marine fixed-wing aircraft flew strike missions against the gun emplacements, another helicopter evacuated the survivors. With the departure of the 5th Marine Regiment to support operations further north in I Corps, there was only one Marine infantry regimental headquarters in the extensive Da Nang Tactical area of responsibility (TAOR). A contingent of South Vietnamese Nng mercenaries from the Special Forces Thng c Camp took over the defense of Hill 52 from Company M.[1]:158, Still the Marine command believed the new positions of Company M not only covered the approaches to i Lc, but provided the division with another reserve force. Major General Donn J. Robertson, the 1st Marine Division commanding general, kept under his direct control the 3/5 Marines and the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines. Da Nang Air Base was one of the major air bases used for offensive air operations within South Vietnam and for the support of USMC and ARVN forces. At 02:40, a squad from the 1/7 Marines, supported by two tanks from the 1st Tank Battalion, moved to assist the embattled CAP unit. Despite the Marine patrolling, PAVN sappers, probably from the 2nd Sapper Battalion, blew three bridges and one culvert over Highway 1 in the pass area. They fired, killing one of the enemy underwater demolition team, while the other member surrendered to the Marines. In the morning when searching the battle area, the Marines would find "ample evidence of enemy casualties, but only two enemy bodies." According to Marine pilot reports, the PAVN/VC had approximately 250 men in the area equipped with automatic weapons, including at least one .51-caliber machine gun. Able to establish clear fields of fire in the rice paddy where the heaviest firefight occurred, the PAVN prevented the 7th Marines elements from closing with them. In one contact about 16:45, Company M, 3/5 Marines met a force of 100 PAVN/VC troops. According to the prisoner accounts, they were from the PAVN 3rd Battalion, 31st Regiment and confirmed that "Da Nang itself was the ultimate objective. The main body advanced in column maintaining about three to four feet space between each man. The 6252nd Tactical Fighter Wing was activated at Da Nang on 18 July, 1965, and was responsible as the host unit for operational squadrons assigned to Da Nang, including the 8th and 13th Bombardment Squadrons. The Sequence number refers to the sequence number assigned to all attacks on ten primary US Air Force operating bases in Vietnam. Two other squad patrols from Company C in the vicinity quickly joined the first squad. Glasgow, Steve: YN3: Mar 20, 1969 - Mar 20, 1970: US Navy Post Office @ China Beach: . Darkness prevented Sailfish from observing the number of casualties that the artillery and air inflicted upon the enemy. One of the major attacks was against CAP B-3 in the hamlet of Duong Lam (1) just below the Ty Loan River. A high number of casualties were Vietnamese civilians living in a village just east of DaNang Air Base. At the meeting Westmoreland ordered Americal Division commander General Samuel W. Koster to reinforce Danang. [1]:1467, About 05:45, the 1st Division learned that the VC squad in the I Corps headquarters compound had disengaged and took its casualties with it. The VC continued to hold the hospital, however, and part of the engineer compound. According to documents captured later, the two VC assault companies were to pull out at first light, but became bogged down in the city. The provisional company linked up with two ARVN Ranger companies that were operating in the area to contain the battalion from the PAVN 4th Regiment which had slipped through the Hi Vn Pass the night before. Marine commanders and staff officers could only speculate that the enemy was probably infiltrating north in small groups to "predetermined rallying points" for a further assault either on the city or on the Air Base. Two days later, Marine intelligence officers learned that the PAVN 21st Regiment was in the Go Noi area. (L to R) Attack of 13 April 1972. 366th AMS, Rocket attack BX, Gunfighter Pilots. With one of his companies on the Tiensha Peninsula and the other three protecting the Air Base perimeter, Hill argued that he could not spare three platoons. About an hour later, PAVN troops who had infiltrated Duong Lam rushed the CAP compound. Da Nang Air Base : Sapper & Rocket Attacks During The Vietnam War militaryvideocom 40.6K subscribers Subscribe 566 Share Save 123K views 10 years ago This is a preview of our 78-minute. This information should also include any information involving plane crashes at the Da Nang base in early 1968. Mar 3, 2021. The III MAF Command Center later that evening radioed MACV in Saigon: "Although the enemy has suffered heavy losses within his local and main force VC units during the past two days, he still possesses a formidable threat utilizing [PAVN] troops poised on the periphery of the Da Nang TAOR. "[1]:1545, By this time, the Tet Offensive was in full bloom, not only at Da Nang, but throughout South Vietnam. Milantoni replied, "General Lm just gave it. 16. *** The first time that rockets were used in RVN by the Viet Cong/North Vietnamese Army. Beginning their attack about 03:00, two companies of the V-25th Battalion used the noise of firecrackers set off and general firing by Tt celebrants to cover their approach. While the 1st MP Battalion supported by the 1st Tank Battalion established blocking positions north of the Cu River, the ARVN 3rd Battalion, 51st Regiment swept the sector south of the river. **** TET 1968 The Koreans kept one company at the MACV compound for security and prepared for a sweep to clear out the city in the morning. Flight line VMO-2 after mortar / rocket attack "Tet Offensive" 1968. . He ordered the 3rd Amphibian Tractor Battalion to form a blocking position on the southeastern bank of the Vien Dien River. The area was around 200 square miles, and the 140mm rockets had a range of over 6 miles. Large numbers of flares shot high into the air and burst into . The Marine staff speculated that the enemy launched the mortar attacks largely as a cover for the rocket attacks against Marble Mountain. All clips are licensed royalty-free, worldwide, in perpetuity. [1]:1556, During the day and evening of the 31st, the PAVN/VC infantry units pressed the offensive on the ground. Next Photo. with rocket and mortar attacks at the Da Nang and Marhle Mountain Airfields on 30 January, and hit the Marble Mountain facility once again on 31 January, They hit the new Quang Tri airstrip with Doth rockets and mortars on 24, 27, and 29 January. [1]:149, The fighting did not subside with the coming of daylight. "[1]:163, During the Tet Offensive in Da Nang, both sides experienced heavy casualties. Headquarters Marines quickly manned their defenses and called in artillery illumination and a fire mission. Of the prisoners, the South Vietnamese identified six as military, 109 as workers, and the remaining 80 as VC cadre. 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Repulsed the PAVN 368B rocket artillery Regiment were in firing positions to the air Support center Second of... Range of over 6 miles sectors Support troops doubled as infantry, manning fixed positions... By the ROKMC contained the attack the perimeter road from 2/7 Marines )... While making for a loud and colorful pyrotechnic display, the South Vietnamese quickly rushed the arrived... Pavn/Vc overran the town, forcing the district town of Hieu Duc arrived at the southern of. Resulted in the world also reportedly provided security for Richard Spencer & # x27 ; s violent.

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