1972-Contin
ued
UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION
1910-1995
295
'-
--
W.
-
.
.
.
At"...
I
1_,
--
' !.,
CH-53A Sea Stallion supplying Marines S-5423 I-A
14 May
During the first two weeks of May, and the
fourth day of Linebacker I, 992 military targets in NVN
had been attacked by Navy pilots. Storage areas
accounted for 17 percent, roads and trucks 15 per-
cent, railroads 13 percent and bridges other than rail
for 11 percent of the targets hit. The number of tar-
gets attacked would be increased by nearly 50 per-
cent by the end of the month as Linebacker gained
momentum.
17 May
Two A-4 Marine squadrons, VMA-311 and
-211, arrived from Japan at the recently reactivated
base at Bien Hoa, SVN. These units concentrated air
strikes against enemy troops surrounding An Loc and
responded to calls from counterattacking SVN forces
attempting to gain ground in adjacent areas.
18 May
The scope of the air war in Vietnam
changed when the Uong Bi electric power plant near
Haiphong was struck. This marked the beginning of
strikes on a class of targets formerly avoided, includ-
ing power plants, shipyards and the Haiphong cement
plant. Over 60 of the Navy's more than 200 sorties into
NVN that day were in the Haiphong region, the first
since 10 May.
25 May
The Secretary of the Navy signed the
Incidents at Sea Agreement between the U.S. and
 |
17 |
 |