The Son Tay Raid in North Vietnam

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Recommended: General military tactics

In North Vietnam in 1970 several soldiers, sailors and airman were killed, beaten, starved and confined in solitary confinement causing severe mental issues in prisons in North Vietnam. Many of the American Prisoners were pilots for the Army and Air Force shot down during the heavy bombing raids ordered by President Johnson in 1964. 1 For nearly 2,000 days, or six plus years many of these Americans imprisoned in Son Tay about 23 miles west of Hanoi in North Vietnam. After several reports to the Pentagon from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the National security Agency (NSA), one of the greatest orchestrated prison rescue attempt was coordinated in a joint effort by the armed services. This operation exhibited extreme planning and attention to detail that forever changed the North Vietnamese treatment of American Prisoners of War (POWs).2

History
44 years ago in the spring of 1970, SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance planes provided high altitude photos while Buffalo Hunter drones provided low altitude images and surveillance of a possible Prison Camp holding somewhere between 50-100 American POWs. In May, the Air Force Special Operations squadron received coded messages indicating 55 Prisoners in Son Tay. POWs had been using laundry to signal a figure eight indicating they wanted to be picked up eight miles away at Mount Ba Vi.3 These reports surfaced and small groups within the Washington area to include the Pentagon, DIA, CIA, and NSA were all at work locating and keeping an eye on all possible POW compounds utilizing several intelligence assets. 4 After several reports of deaths, and inhuman...

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...ise speed of the C-130’s is 250 Knots So, while the cruise speed was set at at 105 knots for the mission it was just above stalling speed for the C-130’s and it was almost reaching its max performance limitations for the HH-3 and 5 helicopters. 17
In addition, we learned that the Air Force, Army and key politicians in Washington D.C. can successfully work together in Joint operations and successfully plan and execute a mission without taking any casualties which in turn helped restore the Nations leaders on its credibility on doing whatever it can to get our troops home.(2)

Works Cited

Glines, CV, “The Son Tay Raid”, Air Force Magazine, 1995, web 8 March 2014.

McKinney, Mike. Chariots of the Damned. New York: Saint Martins press, 2001.

MCRaven, William H.Spec Ops. Novato, CA: Presido Press, 1995.

Schemer, Benjamin F.The Raid. New York: Harper and Row, 1976

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