Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #505… The USMACV Command History; 1967 dated September 1968 (TS) is the source for a quick snapshot of the North Vietnamese Air Defense system in the summer of 1967. Humble host will spread it out in three parts, Part I in RS #505… but first…
Good Morning: Day FIVE HUNDRED FIVE of remembering a war fought fifty years ago, and the band of brothers who flew and fought in the skies over North Vietnam…
23 JULY 1967…HEAD LINES from The New York Times on a hot and humid Sunday in NYC…
VIETNAM: Page 1: “U.S. Is Planning Rise in advisors For Saigon Units–50 Per Cent Increase Likely–Goal Is to Up Combat Readiness–Other Moves Weighed–South Vietnamese May Get Request to Expand Their Local Forces By 1/3”... “The Johnson Administration is planning a 50% increase in the number of American advisors assigned to South Vietnamese combat units…among a series of moves…5,200 currently in advisor role with SVN combat units…South Vietnam may lower draft age to 18… Page 1: “Fighting Renewed Near Buffer Zone–9 Marines Killed in 5-Hour Fight Near Khe Sanh After 2-Week Lull”... “A North Vietnamese battalion attacked a Marine platoon just below the demilitarized zone bombarding it with 120 rounds of mortar fire as action flared for the first time in two weeks.Nine Marines were killed and 30 wounded. Twenty-four enemy troops were killed in the clash.”… Page 2: “Eisenhower’s Proposal On War Runs Into Bipartisan Opposition”... “A proposal by general of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower that Congress consider a declaration of war against North Vietnam ran into strong bipartisan opposition today. Critics say…this would imply an all-out effort to destroy North Vietnam…greatly increasing the probability of an armed conflict with Communist China or the Soviet union or both.”… Page 3: “Reorganization Pledged”… “Premier Nguyen Cao Ky promised today a drastic reorganization of the South Vietnamese army starting at the top…forces expanded by at least 55,000 bringing the total to 675,000, Ky said that ‘to improve the efficiency of any army you need two things, first leadership, second, good living conditions.’ “… Page 3: “Seoul Weighs U.S. Request“…”for more troops. Now field 56,000 in South Vietnam…South Korea says they have no plans to increase the commitment.”… Page 4: “Ambush Is Recounted”... “…40 miles northeast of Saigon fifteen men were killed and 60 wounded in a two-hour fight with a Vietcong force said to be a reinforced 275th Vietcong Regiment. Ninety enemy dead were reported. Half the regiment was North Vietnamese troops. Ambushed on Highway 20. ‘They must have known we were coming. There were bunkers , trenches and even a three-foot breastworks. They struck with recoilless rifles and Russian rockets. The U.S. commander of the troops was killed in the first moments. commander of another group was wounded. A sergeant, not yet identified, was reported to have taken command. He led a grenade attack up to the guerrilla trenches and as the personnel carriers began to run out of ammunition he repeatedly ran through the savage fire to bring them more..the enemy broke contact after artillery and eight air strikes smashed their positions.”… (who was that super Sarge?)…
SUMMER 1967: Page 1: “National Guard On Patrol in Minneapolis–Taverns Closed and Roads Cut Off in Negro Sections”… “Calm prevailed…as National Guard patrolled with fixed bayonets.”... Page 20: “Newark Leaders Scored By LeRoi Jones”… “…the militant author, playwright, poet charged today the ‘callousness and illiteracy’ characterized the government of this city. Mr. Jones warned that Negroes in Newark would govern themselves ‘or no one will govern them.’ He said that ‘as long as these swine continue to dominate our lives, there will continue to be violence and rebellion.”… Page 22: “Police in Harlem Pelted By Rocks–400 Throw Debris After Man in Fight is Killed”…”An off-duty patrolman shot and killed a Puerto Rican while trying to break up a knife fight…more than 60 helmeted policemen including three bus loads of Tactical Patrol Fore were rushed to the largely Puerto Rican neighborhood… the off duty policeman was slashed by one of the street-fighters, pushed up against his civilian auto, identified himself to little avail as the slasher came at the patrolman, who shot the knife wielding Puerto Rican in the chest. Then came the reaction from the neighborhood.”…
Page 36: “Howard Hughes Purchases Sand Hotel In Vegas For $15-Million”… Page 36: “Reagan Assessed a Being ‘the Batman’ of Politics”... “…he has a remarkable immunity to the slings and arrows that ordinarily affect people in public office…the public is disinclined to apply conventional yardsticks of performance.”... Page 1: “Carl Sandburg, 89, Poet and Biographer, Is Dead”… “…the snowy haired poet, folk singer and biographer of Lincoln died here (Flat Rock, North Carolina) today at his 240-acre goat ranch. The Pulitzer Prize winner had been in poor health…after two heart attacks he spent the last six weeks at home ‘looking out the window at the pine trees and mountains that he had come to love in his 22 years here.’ “…
23 JULY 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…New York Times (24 July reporting 23 July ops) Page 4: “Air Attacks in the North were curtailed in unfavorable weather in the Hanoi-Haiphong areas. American strikes were diverted to secondary targets in the southern part of North Vietnam. In all 97 multi-plane missions were flown against bridges, roads and barges.”… “Vietnam: Air Losses” (Hobson) There were no fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia for the third day in a row…oohrah…
RIPPLE SALVO… #505… PART I of a quick snapshot of the North Vietnam defense system in mid-1967. Source: the United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Command History for 1967, Volume 1.
“The NVN air defense system developed into a formidable threat to US air operations in NVN. The Air Defense Command in NVN relied on conventional AA weapons, surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and MIG aircraft. The NVN succeeded in achieving a definite buildup in the number of AA weapons and , by June, US aircraft bombi9ng runs over NVN were encountering extremely heavy flak barrages. An authoritative article written by the NVA Chief of Staff, General Van Tien Dung, provides an insight into the increased use of the conventional 37, 57 and 85mm weapons. General Dung stated that the NVA intended to rely primarily on conventional AA weapons rather than SAM or MIG aircraft increase. The effectiveness of the SAMs and MIGs were disparaged by General Dung who did not mention the USSR, but did stress the theme of self-reliance an disassociation of the NVA from dependence on CHICOM forces. The evident NVA decision to rely most heavily on conventional AA defense weapons appeared to have been a sound measure in view of the fact that prepared positions rose in excess of 40,000 of which approximately 9,000 were occupied. During 1967 a greater number of US aircraft were downed by conventional AA fire than by SAMs or MIG aircraft. An unconfirmed report indicated that the Soviets might have introduced a new compact and highly mobile Russian AA gun with self-contained radar tracking equipment into NVN. Such a weapon could permit the NVN to shift their air defenses rapidly to defend convoys and set up unsuspected ambushes of US aircraft.”
RTR QUOTE for 23 July: SENECA: “No man can with safety expose himself often to danger…The man who has often escaped is caught at last.”…
Lest we forget… Bear
