Ho Chi Minh Trail Airstrike
3 February 1970
Somewhere near the Cambodian border, a branch of the
Ho Chi Minh Trail crosses a newly-constructed bridge spanning a river gorge.
Above, an FAC arrives on the scene, scouting the area
for activity.
Past the bridge, the trail travels down into a valley.
It is there that the FAC spots a Viet Cong convoy,
carrying supplies to South Vietnam.
As the plane passes overhead, the alert is sounded and
the convoy begins running for the bridge, hoping they will get across it before
it gets blown and they are stuck on this side of the river gorge.
They have not gotten far when the first respondee to
the FAC’s call for air support turns up; a US Air Force F-4 Phantom.
Unfortunately, there are hidden AA units covering the
valley and one of them opens up on the Phantom.
They are using WWII vintage Japanese AA guns, and
their aim is erratic; too slow for the fast mover they are trying to get in
their sights.
The Phantom’s crew are so busy taking evasive action
that they have to abort their airstrike.
Below, the convoy keeps moving forward, at a snail’s
pace compared to the speeds of the aircraft above.
The FAC calls up the second respondee to his call for
assistance. A South Vietnamese Skyraider, which follows the same flight path as
the Phantom that preceded it.
As it passes overhead, the AA guns open up from
behind.
The Skyraider’s bombs strike in the vicinity of the
lead truck, halting forward progress as the driver abandons his vehicle.
The Phantom returns to make another pass.
It scores a near hit on the second truck, causing its
driver to dive from his cab for cover.
The Phantom is swiftly followed by an A-4 Skyhawk.
It scores a direct hit on the lead truck.
The Phantom returns for another run.
Its bombs are close, but not close enough.
The AA battery continues firing, but fails to catch
the fast mover in its crosshairs.
Next up is a South Vietnamese Freedom Fighter, which
follows the same approach.
Its pilot loses his nerve and aborts in the face of
concentrated fire from the AA battery behind him.
Down below, the road convoy has become disordered as
the porters are ordered around the destroyed trucks and are told to get moving.
The Freedom Fighter returns for another bombing run.
This time, a battery of 12.5 mm AA MGs opens up from a
peak on the mountainous side of the valley.
The pilot finds himself caught in crossfire from both
sides of the valley.
He aborts once again, too shaken by the AA fire to
drop his bombs.
The Skyraider returns, only to be met with even more
fire from a battery of 14.5 mm AA guns across the river gorge.
They score a hit, and the Skyraider is set ablaze, its
pilot manoeuvring frantically to avoid hitting the peaks ahead.
The plane leaves the vicinity, crashing sight unseen
behind the peaks, its pilot too low to bale out.
Another USAF Phantom turns up, following the trail to
reach its target.
The 14.5 mm AA battery swivels and fires as the
Phantom passes overhead.
Undeterred, the Phantom passes over the bridge and
releases its bombs.
An ineffectual near miss follows.
As a target of opportunity arises in the form of the
AA battery on the hill, the Phantom drops a couple of more bombs but they also
miss.
The VC porters below are, by now, rushing up the hill,
with their lead elements reaching the crest.
The bridge is tantalisingly close, but will it be a
death trap?
Under the watchful gaze of the AA gunners above, order
has been restored and the convoy is ready to make a rush across the bridge.
Noting this development from a distance, the FAC calls
up the only airpower on hand; the South Vietnamese Freedom Fighter pilot who
has already aborted two bombing runs in the face of heavy AA fire.
The bomb dropped hits the bridge, but has no
structural effect.
Its machine gun fire at the AA battery in its path has
more effect though, pinning one gun crew.
Below, the convoy marshalls are ordering most of the
porters into cover while the lead element makes a run across the bridge.
They are on the verge of stepping onto the bridge when
the second Phantom comes around for another pass.
The pilot strafes the porters with machine gun fire,
but it has little effect, merely pinning one unit.
Then the Phantom pilot has to take evasive action as
he receives incoming AA fire from behind and from both sides of the valley.
The first porters manage to cross the bridge as he
flies away.
Another Skyraider turns up and is ordered by the FAC
to target the AA battery on the heights above the trail.
His bombs knock out one gun….
… and pin another.
Passing over the bridge, the Skyhawk receives fire
from the 14.5mm AA battery, causing the pilot to take evasive action.
Some more VC have just crossed the bridge when the
Phantom returns.
Its bombs score a direct hit on the bridge, collapsing
it.
The convoy’s advance has been stopped, with just two
units getting over the bridge before it was destroyed.
As the rest of the porters have vanished into the
undergrowth and the valley has now become very hot due to all the AA fire, the
FAC wheels away from the vicinity, heading back to base.
The airstrike has succeeded in destroying two trucks
and a bridge, for the loss of one aircraft. However it will not be long before
the surviving convoy elements are rerouted to another branch of the Ho Chi Minh
Trail so they can continue southwards.
© W.S. McCallum 17 April 2022
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