OUR TACTICAL AIR EFFORT IN MR I

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: Library of Congress
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): LOC-HAK-23-3-3-9
• Release Decision: RIFLIM
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: January 11, 2017
• Document Release Date: April 20, 2010
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: May 6, 1972
• Content Type: MEMO

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MEMORANDUM
SECRET
ON-FILE NSC RELEASE
INSTRUCTIONS APPLY
INFORMATION
May 6, 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR: HENRY A. KISSING ER
FROM: AL HAIG
SUBJECT: Our Tactical Air Effort in MR I
General Abrams has sent in an interesting wrap-up on his efforts to
disrupt the movement of enemy units and supplies toward Hue by the use
of tactical air and B-52 strikes. The full report is attached.
-- We have evidence that the enemy is making an all-out effort
to position his artillery and combat elements in the Hue area for the
earliest possible attacks.
-- We are now staging around-the-clock tactical air strikes on all
the major arteries leading south from inside North Vietnam.
-- On 2 May 7th Air Force armed reconnaissance detected over
100 trucks coming down Route 137 north of the DMZ. They were engaged
both day and night by specially equipped F-4s. Eighty-two trucks were
destroyed.
-- In the last two days tactical air strikes have destroyed and
damaged 126 trucks north of Hue.
Our ability to operate both day and night within the heavy SAM rings is
due largely to our intensive campaign to destroy all SAMs in the last
seven days.
-- Only one SAM was fired last evening despite heavy B-52 and
tactical air activity within the SAM ring.
-- We are also engaged in an intensive effort to locate and destroy
the storage areas into which the enemy is moving his supplies and equipment.
-- This intensive air activity, coupled with heavy rains now being
experienced in the Laotian trailarea, has caused a reduction of over 50%
in censor detections since the current supply offensive began.
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General Abrams's Report on Air Efforts
Following the withdrawal from Quang Tri, I have concentrated the air
effort in an intensive campaign to disrupt the movement of enemy units
and supplies southward toward Hue. This has been an around-the-clock
effort with TacAir present on virtually all the major arteries leading
south from inside North Vietnam itself down to the defensive line at the
Song 0 Lau river north of Hue. In addition, we have been working Route
547 leading from the A Shau valley into Hue. We have evidence that the
enemy is making an all out effort to position his artillery and combat
elements in the Hue area for the earliest possible attacks. He is obviously
attempting to exploit what he believes to be the disorganized ARVN situation
in the Hue area.
On 2 May, 7th Air Force armed RECCE aircraft detected a movement of
over 100 trucks in several convoys north of the DMZ coming down Route
137. They were engaged by TacAir both day and night with specially
equipped F-4s employing flares operating in the night hours. Eighty-two
trucks were destroyed and the remainder of the convoy was dispersed.
Several thousand cubic feet of supplies being loaded on these trucks were
also taken under attack by TacAir with most being destroyed and the rest
dispersed. In the last two days, he has continued with major efforts to
move trucks down all arteries leading toward Hue. TacAir destroyed and
damaged 126 trucks in this area on 4 May and another 46 yesterday. Yes-
terday a FAC caught the enemy attempting to rebuild the bridge at Quang
Tri employing a large crane which was immediately struck and destroyed
along with the partially rebuilt bridge.
These unprecedented daylight movements and activities in the face of
overwhelming TacAir indicate the enemy is making extraordinary efforts
to speed up the attack on Hue. To complicate T.is problem, 7th Air Force has
attacked all the fords across the Ben Hai river and knocked out every bridge
from the DMZ down to the friendly defensive positions. They will be kept
knocked out. When new fords appear, they will be immediately rendered
inoperable.
Our ability to operate TacAir both day and night within the heavy SAM
rings is due largely to the fact that we have conducted an intensive campaign
to destroy all SAMs and SAM equipment in the last seven days. In
addition to our armed RECCE program which has accounted for many
SAMs and launchers destroyed, we have set up a quick reaction strike
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force colocated with the Tac RECCE at Udorn. We read out the photos
'wet, put them in the hands ;of the pilots and attack the SAM faciltity
immediately. This has reduced our reaction time and has paid high
dividends.
During the period just described we have destroyed eight SAMs and
damaged at least seven more. Today we have destroyed two more as
of noon. We now attack and mine any SAM associated earth scratchings
rather than wait until the equipment moves in.
Last evening despite heavy B-52 TacAir activity within the SAM rings,
only one SAM was fired. With regard to tank activity, I believe we are
in a position to detect and attack almost immediately, through our FAC
and DASC control system, any enemy tank activity before it assumes
threatening proportions. In this connection the 4 May report which stated
"aerial photos of 3 May detected 36 probably PT-76 tanks vicinity
Quang Tri city"was erroneous. This report stemmed from a Navy RA-5
mission flown on 1 May. The coordinates fall right in the Quang Tri
combat base which was abandoned on that day. Examination of the photos
indicate these are U. S. tanks left behind by ARVN and subsequently
struck by U. S. TacAir and B-S2s.
This morning the enemy attempted to attack south along the east side
of Highway 1 with more than 25 tanks. They are reported by the FAGS
to be a mixture of PT-76s, T-34s and PT-63s. They were immediately
detected by the FAGS and as of this reporting time eleven have been
destroyed and twelve more damaged. I.have every confidence that this
force will be destroyed or turned back before it can make a serious penetra-
tion of friendly lines.
As soon as the pressure at An Loc had decreased sufficiently, I shifted
both gunship and TacAir effort to the stell tiger area. Reports indicate
the enemy has planned an intensive re-supply-campaign between 1 and 10
May. This was reflected in movement detections by our sensors with a high
of 1, 300 detections on the 29th and 30th of April We have employed 20-
plus FAG aircraft along these arteries who are calling in TacAir to
exploit any findings and they have been successful in destroying a sub-
stantial number of trucks. However, the real purpose of our intensive
TacAir activity in this area now is to locate the storage areas into which
he has been moving his supplies and equipment. We have located several
of these which the FACs describe as extremely lucrative supply and support
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SECRET
facilities loaded with stores and PO.1. TacAir has attacked these points
and I have directed B-52 strikes in on them. We counted 159 secondary
explosions from a B-52 attack on a similar facility. This TacAir and
B-52 activity, coupled with heavy rains now being experienced in the trail
area, has caused a reduction of over 50 percent in detections since the
current supply offensive began.
We have been carefully watching the enemy activity in the B-3 front
area looking for tanks with FACs by day and gunships by night. This
morning in the vicinity of Polei Meng, FACs discovered five tanks north
of the town. TacAir with rockeye was directed in and the FAG and an
army helicopter in the immediate vicinity confirmed that the ordnance
landed-on the tanks. However, they were running for a tree line at the
time and we are unable to determine the results. This is the only
concentration of tanks we have confirmed in this area in a number of days.
In addition, we have made a major effort in support of ARVN attempts
to re-open Route 14 between Pleiku and Kontum. I have urged this
operation because of the difficulty of air supplying Kontum in the face
of enemy artillery capability against the air field. After three days of
intensive TacAir and B-52 strikes, friendly forces were able to seize
the high ground in the pass area.
We employed CBU 55 bombs delivered by A-37s in the same manner in
which we helped the ROKs open the An Khe pass last week. Recognizing
the threat posed by enemy heavy artillery, we are undertaking a major
effort to locate and destroy 130 mm and other large caliber pieces
which may be positioned around Hue. We are attempting to use the IR
detection capability of the AC-130 spectre gunship to locate and destroy
these weapons. Two nights age, 130 mm fire against fire support base
King, west of Hue, ceased when the gunship came on station and resumed
after he left. In the last 24 hours, the gunships have been on station
around the clock and the FSB has received no heavy artillery rounds.
They did fire mortars which stopped when the spectre took the suspected
mortar position under attack. We will continue to employ all means
possible to locate and destroy this artillery as it is brought up.
SECRET
No Objection to Declassification in Full 2010/04/20: LOC-HAK-23-3-3-9