Case Studies in the Achievement of Air Superiority - Air Force ...

SOUTHEAST ASIA
ROLLING THUNDER, the first of the three air interdiction and pressure
campaigns, lasted almost exactly three years. Its air superiority side can be
divided into several stages, described briefly as follows:
1. March 2, 1965-July 23, 1965: USAF and USN aircraft began attacking
North Vietnamese supply routes south of the 20th parallel and
gradually shifted their assault north. For the first month of these
attacks, U.S. planes faced no fighter opposition, but North Vietnam
had been training a small air force, and its MiG-17 fighters first
downed USAF aircraft on April 4. By mid-May, U.S. fighters flying
cover for strike formations (mainly F-105s) had countered the MiG
threat. After July 10, NVAF MiGs avoided combat with U.S. planes
for nearly eight months.
2. July 24, 1965-March 1966: North Vietnam fired the first of thousands
of SAMs against U.S. aircraft on July 24. To counter the new
and serious threat, U.S. air units developed electronic warfare SAM
suppression aircraft and tactics. North Vietnam also began to increase
its antiaircraft artillery strength to the point where, in
selected areas, it surpassed in density similar artillery concentrations
during World War I1 and Korea.IS
3. April 1966-February 13, 1967: North Vietnam’s air force again
attacked USAF and USN aircraft, particularly the former’s electronic
jammers. The NVAF began employing the MiG-2 1 high-altitude
interceptor at the beginning of this period, and by early 1967,
the North Vietnamese had an integrated, layered air defense system,
which required U.S. planes to employ special electronic warfare
equipment and tactics. In response to the increased intensity of
the war in South Vietnam, U.S. air units attacked some of North
Vietnam’s oil refineries, industry, and power plants, and USAF
fighters mounted a major effort (Operation BOLO) to shoot down
NVAF MiGs (January 1967).
4. February 14, 1967-December 24, 1967: U.S. planes gradually
wrecked North Vietnam’s power plants and industries, even targeting
facilities that had been in sanctuaries. North Vietnam’s military
airfields were also attacked, with the exception of the main airport
(Gia Lam) near Hanoi. The NVAF, at first unable to overcome U.S.
aircraft formations in combat, developed new tactics in September
that exploited the rules of engagement governing U.S. aircraft and
temporarily threatened U.S. air superiority. By the Christmas holiday
bombing halt, however, U.S. air units had driven the NVAF into
its sanctuary in China.
5. January 1968-March 1968: U.S. planes ranged over North Vietnam,
bombing in response to the Tet Offensive in South
Vietnam. The major threat to U.S. aircraft at this time was antiaircraft
artillery.
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