Introduction
The Vietnam War took place between 1961 and 1975. The technology of helicopters goes back to the 20th century. The US army had acquired experience on the effectiveness using helicopters during the World War II. Mobility set the pace of the war. Time, policy, politics, and circumstances converged with technology and adequate funding to create the Vietnam War. The US army entered Vietnam in May 1965 to find they were fighting a different kind of war than that for which they had been trained. However, they did not enter blindly. There were a large number of army officers already serving in the Republic of Vietnam armed forces (RVNAF). The United States knew that the war had no front lines. It was a war of ambushes and small unit actions that would rely largely on foot movement on difficult terrain. The army and the air force reached an understanding to allow helicopter operations to be assigned to the army. The use of the helicopter became the most significant tactical advance of the US army. Helicopter reached its peak of importance during the Vietnam War.
Vietnam War broke as a result of social and political turmoil. Vietnam was an arena of international conflict during the cold war. Powerful outsiders, France and China, had shaped Vietnamese life for two thousand years by the time American troops arrived in Southeast Asia. There was a non-Communist government ruling the South Vietnam and a Vietnamese government ruling the North Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh signed an agreement with communist China to unite Vietnam under communist rule. Ngo Dinh Diem made himself president of South Vietnam and decided to oppose the decision to unite Vietnam. France, on the other, supported South Vietnam. France appealed to the United States to prevent the spread of communism. The John F. Kennedy administration accepted to send military troops to South Vietnam to prevent the Communists from taking over South Vietnam. The role of the US army was to establish a safe environment within which the people of South Vietnam could form an independent government. RVNAF joined forces with American Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) allowing them to share technological and tactical solutions against the enemy.
The Introduction of Helicopters in the Vietnam War
The US Navy pilots and US air force received extensive training in preparation for the Vietnam War. The number of available helicopter pilots was extremely low at the time. Besides advisors, among the first army and marine personnel to deploy to Vietnam were helicopter units. The army deployed two helicopter companies to Vietnam at the end of 1961 and the first automobile assault operation with American army was conducted on January 2, 1962. An experimental attack helicopter unit arrived in 1961 and three more helicopter companies. The first marine medium helicopter squadron and army medical evacuation arrived in April the same year. These units were deployed to provide airmobile support to the ARVN units. The marine squadron rotated every six months in the far North of South Vietnam. The helicopters they used were better suited for higher altitudes. These early US efforts prior to the war developed many of the basic tactics and techniques used in the Vietnam War. The introduction of helicopters made the Vietnam War to be the largest war the U.S. has ever fought in its history and to be the most criticized war so far. Many historians believe that the Vietnam War turned out the way it did because of the introduction of helicopters.
The design of the helicopter was constantly evolving throughout the war. Completely new models were being fielded by the time US combat units arrived in Vietnam. Existing models were repeatedly modified, improved, and experimented with weapon systems. There were different helicopter design systems that provide different services prior to US combat arrival in Vietnam. The basic categories included cargo helicopters, attack helicopters, utility helicopters, and observation helicopters. Modifications were characterized by improved endurance, engine power, crew accommodation, and avionics. Army helicopters were named after Indian tribes. For example, Bell AH-IG Cobra was named Huey Cobra. There were also numerous slang terms. For example, the UH-1 utility helicopter was called school buses or slicks and attack helicopters were called gunships.
Being Vertol CH-21B was the first helicopter to be used in the Vietnam War. The armed forces had to start training on operating the helicopter as it was newly formed to engage in the war. The helicopter had been ordered on July 1, 1965 and was ready for use in Vietnam by August 27 the same year. The helicopter could carry 22 troops and was armed with a 30cal machine gun. It was later replaced by the UH-1. The introduction of helicopter in Vietnam War attracted more than fifty aviation companies and automobile units wanting to be deployed in the Vietnam War by the end of 1965. Twenty two more joined the following year. There were the SIKORSKY CH-37B Mojave that was used by both the army and the marines. This helicopter could carry 26 troops or two jeeps or a 105mm howitzer. It was a heavy life helicopter that recovered downed helicopters and other heavy lift missions. There was the CH-47A, CH54A used by the army and the CH-53A used by the marines. By far the most widely used helicopters were the Bell UH-1 Iroquois series. Bell UH-1 was to be used as the medevac chopper, but during the war, it was found to be an excellent troop-lifter. UH-1B served as a troop-lifter, gunship, and liaison chopper. UH-1C was introduced, which had a more powerful engine. It was mainly used as a gunship. There was then the UH-1D and the UH-1H which had even more powerful engines. The Bell AH-1G Cobra became the standard gunship in the Vietnam War. Bell Helicopter built 10005 Hueys between 1957 and 1975. 7013 of the produced Hueys served in the Vietnam War.
The United States assigned 16000 troops and more than 400 helicopters to Vietnam. In many aspects the Vietnam War was a helicopter war and by 1970 the U.S. army had employed about 12000 aircraft in the Vietnam War. The total non-pilot crew members were 2704. The estimated helicopter pilots in the Vietnam War were 40000. The Vietnam War led to more pilots and support personnel flew than ever before in the U.S. Air Force. A total number of 2202 helicopter pilots died during the war. About 4128 helicopters were lost in the war in which 1846 were due to hostile action and the other 2282 due to operational accidents. Despite these figures, the helicopter did not prove to be as vulnerable as the army had predicted.
Usefulness of Helicopters in the Vietnam War
Accessibility
The flexible nature of helicopter in takeoff and landing enabled U.S. troops engage in combat areas that otherwise would be inaccessible. The ability to land helicopters in any area with a small cleared space enabled the United States to establish bases known as landing zones. South Vietnam consisted of jungles, mountains, and marshy plains. There were few passable roads or serviceable railroads. The mountains were steep and sharp and covered with tangled jungles and narrow passes. The Viet Cong were highly motivated to defeat the armed forces. They targeted to strike in raids and ambushes of American and South Vietnamese patrols. The obstacles of jungle, mountains, and floodplain could only be overcome only by helicopters. The armed forces were to wage a frontless war against a seldom unseen enemy. Hueys could fly in the hot and humid skies of Vietnam. The flexibility of helicopter helped the army maintain tactical cohesion irrespective of time, climate, distance, and terrain factor.
Combat Support
Helicopters provided American commanders in Vietnam a great deal of support in their operations. The North Vietnamese military forces also used helicopters, but on a much smaller scale. Helicopters enabled the armed forces to rapidly deploy and sustain troops. There were utility helicopters and armed escorts engaging in the war. Hueys was fitted with spraying equipment to dispense riot agents or defoliation chemicals. All Hueys carried a selection of smoke grenades in various colors to mark targets for other aircraft as well as fragmentation and riot agent grenades. Helicopters were fitted with loudspeakers for psychological warfare operations. Helicopters were also used to shift and relocate supplies in the battle area. The Helicopters gave American troops the confidence that they will be able to win the war against lightly armed guerrilla forces in the North. The use of helicopters in Vietnam War helped U.S. military mark a key moment in the secretive expansion of their military power.
Command and Control
There was a command and control helicopter which had a communication system known as Heliborne Command Post. The command group comprised of the ARVN commander, his senior US adviser, an artillery coordinator, and the air liaison officer. An advanced communication system was later developed in 1965 comprising of AN/ARC-44, AN/ARC-102, AN/ARC-73, and AN/ARC-6. AN/ARC-6 was designed to allow rapid installation and removal. AN/ARC-10 was then later introduced with an intercom system for the command group on board the aircraft. AN/ARC-11 and AN/ARC-15 superseded the previous communication systems as they had secure video devices. The range of communication systems allowed the commander and the army has considerable control over combat operations. The commander, the air liaison officer, and the artillery coordinator could maintain contact with each other and with the ground units.
Fire Support and Suppression
The helicopter made it possible for the armed forces to use direct fire. The helicopter enabled the army to use the M-60 machine gun which could fire up to 550 bullets in quick succession 2000 yards away. The cartridge belts of the M-60 were heavy in a way that the soldiers could not carry. Armed forces were able use M-16, a rifle that could fire 223 caliber bullets for hundreds of yards at 700-900 rounds per minute. All models of the UH-1 were fitted with machine guns in the doorways for suppressive fire. Armor protection kits were fitted to the helicopters and tipping plate armor in the door panels and side plates on the pilot’s seats to protect the crew and the pilot from small arms fire. The armed forces would use the helicopter to locate the enemy units and fix them in one location, making it easy for the armed forces to destroy them. The army would also seek, pursue, and surprise the enemy by applying fire and force. American military forces could force decisions on the battlefield.
A white smoke grenade was attached to the Helicopter landing skids with a pull wire to the grenade pin. When receive a hostile fire, the grenade was activated while the pilot would put the helicopter into a tight spiral or other maneuver to indicate a loss of control. This technology was developed to disguise the enemy into believing that the helicopter was hit. It was hoped that the enemy would stop firing to wait for the helicopter to crash. Then the army would use that time to attack the enemy unaware.
Medical Evacuation
The capability of helicopters created a more effective fighting force in Vietnam. However, the landing zones produced a battlefield which lacked a clear demarcation between friendly and enemy lines. They limited the imagination of the tacticians in situations where helicopters were not necessary. The guerilla nature of the Vietnam War in South Vietnam demanded for emergency medical services. American forces had a medical helicopter that enabled quick evacuation of wounded troops from the battlefield. The helicopter also saved thousands of lives, holding the politically important death statistics down.
Conclusion
The introduction of the helicopter in the Vietnam War had a profound impact on the operational and tactical levels of the US army and perhaps an equal importance to the development of helicopter technology. The United States found helicopters to be the best solution for countering the operations of the Viet Cong which were increasingly expanding to South Vietnam. The government of the United States recognized that helicopters were extremely valuable for the mission. The helicopter not only created a deadly weapon platform for defeating the enemy, but also provided support for major roles in warfare, such as rescue operations, command and control, target spotting, medical evacuation, and logistical operations. The introduction of the helicopter in the Vietnam War reflected the rapid changes of the American society and the nation’s faith in technology and efficiency. Until today, the Huey helicopter symbolizes the indelible image of the long and frustrating war in Vietnam. There are still many uncertainties and controversies surrounding how the helicopter was used during the Vietnam War and its contributions to the defeat of the US army. The United States lost the war, but the bottom line is that the helicopter provided mobility and firepower that became the key to US army operations in Vietnam.
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