[1]:156, The Da Nang Northern Sector Defense Command dispatched a provisional company to assist the CAP Marines as well as the security detachment. Finally, according to Marine intelligence officers, another "very reliable source" flatly stated "that the time of attack throughout MR (Military Region) 5 would be" at 01:30 and no later than 02:00 on 30 January. 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. **** TET 1968 They were ordered to the area to bolster defenses around the air base at Da Nang against possible VietCong attacks. In a message to III MAF, Robertson observed "Never have so few done so much to so many. "[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. The 3/5 Marines reported "a definite increase of enemy harassment" and the movement of sizeable enemy units into the Go Noi Island area (.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}1551N 10812E / 15.85N 108.2E / 15.85; 108.2). One of the rockets damaged one of the missile launchers and wounded three of the Marines. A reluctance to cause undue damage to the historic town and avoid civilian casualties was suggested as a reason for the slow ROKMC advance. "[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. A Company E, 2/3 Marines squad patrol in its regular area of operations just east of the confluence of the Thanh Qut and Vnh in River came under attack from an estimated squad of enemy. [1]:153, The Marines now counterattacked supported by artillery and Marine gunships and fixed-wing air. The Marines and PF troops fired at armed members of the crowd who appeared to be directing the march. On 14 February 1965 the Marine 1st LAAM Battalion established its anti-aircraft operations center colocated with the USAF CRP. The area the rockets were fired from was called the "Rocket Belt". 14 New Guns For 2022 by B. GIL HORMAN; A First-Year Magnum: Shooting The S&W "Pre-29" by JUSTIN DYAL; Contact; Donate; Eye Candy for the Gentlemen out there 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. 366th AMS, Mystery SP, Bob Hope. The RPGs missed the apertures in the tower and fell to the ground. It was the worst attack on Danang since July 5,. in foreground gives perspective. Both Marine companies encountered heavy small-arms fire and RPGs as they approached their objectives. According to a VC after-action report early in the offensive, the writer complained that the "commander did not know [the) situation accurately and that orders were not strictly obeyed ." 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. The attack started at 12:25 AM and an estimated 50 rounds of 122mm rockets were fired at the installation. West runway cratered, east runway open. Considering the amount of ordnance that the enemy expended, casualties were relatively small. 07-18 488 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Muskogee, Vietcong rocket attack on the U.S. Da Nang Airbase in Vietnam HD Stock Footage CriticalPast 308K subscribers Subscribe 56K views 8 years ago CriticalPast is an archive of historic footage.. # Not in AF records, submitted by members, # Not in AF records, submitted by members, Air Base Defense in the Republic of Vietnam, 1960-1973. Just 19 when he arrived, the horrors he witnessed would forever shape him. 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines was in the north, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines was in the center and 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines was in the south. The Stand Off Rocket attack of July 15, 1967 was the deadliest attack of the war at Nng Air Base. At Duy Xuyn, however, the PAVN/VC overran the town, forcing the district chief to flee and take refuge with the Koreans. An alert ARVN sentry took the VC under fire near the flagpole. Firing from well-concealed and dug-in firing positions, the PAVN machine gunners and infantry took a heavy toll of the Marines. 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. The remaining rocket attacks were ineffective. In the attack, the PAVN/VC fired 122mm rockets at Marine artillery positions at An Hoa, Hill 55 and Hill 10. Attacks on DaNang Air Base "Rocket City" Information in this table is extracted from, Appendix I, "Air Base Defense in the Republic of Vietnam, 1960-1973" by Roger P. Fox. 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 Marines failed to determine whether this mixed force had a specific mission or consisted of remnants from units that had participated in the earlier attack on the I Corps headquarters. The armored force pushed through the hamlet and encountered only occasional small-arms fire. The USAF 620th Tactical Control Squadron established a control and reporting post (CRP) code-named Panama on the mountain in 1964 to support operations from Danang Air Base. During the Cuban missile crisis, the U.S. Marine Corps deployed a Hawk air defense missile battery from the 3d Light Antiaircraft Missile (LAAM) Battalion to Guantnamo Bay, Cuba, to protect the U.S. naval base from a surprise low-level air attack by Soviet and Cuban aircraft. 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. "[1]:158, While the PAVN/VC forces continued to harass allied positions on the night of 31 January/1 February, the intensity of combat did not match that of the previous two nights. While the Marine battalions successfully kept these initial assaults on the night of 5/6 February in check, Robertson was not sure how much longer they could. The fighting during the preceding week had drawn down the strength of the ARVN and the two Marine battalions and the PAVN 2nd Division still had uncommitted units that it could throw into the fray. It was damaged by the fire of the adjacent aircraft (BuNo 152588) on the night of 29-30 January 1968. The NVA launched hundreds of rocket attacks on DaNang Airbase trying to hit the bomb dump. 45 USAF/USMC KIA, 10 aircraft destroyed , 41 aircraft damaged, and 13 barracks destroyed. Covered revetments to protect F-4s from rocket attacks -1969 [ Bob Kaatman photo ] American down as Marines arrive on scene just outside perimeter of DaNang AFB. 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. Tony Dostal arrived in Vietnam at the Air Force Base in Da Nang aboard a C-141 transport plane on Friday, Aug. 30, 1968. [1]:1502, On the morning of the 31st, the Marines of Company I, now reinforced by the ARVN and the AmTrac Marines, surveyed the results of the fighting and continued to mop up the remnants of the VC force. 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." Air Vietnam also used the facility from 1951 to 1975 for civilian domestic and international flights within Southeast Asia. The area was around 200 square miles, and the 140mm rockets had a range of over 6 miles. About two-and-a-half hours later, the VC units "ceased fire and withdrew." Posted: 02/01/2018. "[1]:159, The heaviest action occurred in the 3/5 Marines and 4th Battalion, 51st ARVN sectors along Highway 1. Next Photo. [ Bob Kaatman photo ] Second cache of bombs ignites. By daybreak, the engineers held their own and the situation in Hi An was at a stalemate. The U.S Marine Corps Fighter Squadron VMF (AW) 232, also based here, lost some of its F-8E Crusader aircraft in this attack. The first U.S. air strikes also occur against the Ho Chi Minh trail. A summary of these attacks can be found on the Web site of the 366th. One of the major attacks was against CAP B-3 in the hamlet of Duong Lam (1) just below the Ty Loan River. See our A-Level Essay Example on Vietnam war, Modern European History, 1789-1945 now at Marked By Teachers. March 2, 1965 - Operation Rolling Thunder begins as over 100 American fighter-bombers attack targets in North Vietnam. At 07:35, VC gunners fired two RPGs at the compound tower and a VC infantry platoon opened up upon the CAP unit. Headquarters Marines quickly manned their defenses and called in artillery illumination and a fire mission. Pictures of Danang 10. [1]:1423, From other sources, the Marine command learned of other ominous measures taken by the PAVN/VC forces in the Da Nang sector. Proud to have had . On 29 January, a local village chief told the security officer of the Naval Support Activity at Camp Tiensha that about 300 VC would attack the Marble Mountain transmitter that night. Because of an air observer on station, the Marine gunners checked their fire. 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. 1969. (AP) AP Bldg. NMCB-7 sends a Disaster. The company arrived at its dispositions at 01:00 the following morning . 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