sketch # 1 – oscar 8 target – 18km south khe sanh at 179°
may 1967
target
description: the target can be described as shown:
location: geo coord: n 16° 15’
00” e 106° 47’ 00”
18KM south of camp khe sanh at 179°
described as:
a relatively flat area, well improved;
protected by heavy jungle canopy.
Oscar-8 was approximately 1KM (north to
south) by 3 KM (west to east). the area was in a “bowl,” a defenders’ dream.
area of oscar 8 protected by high
(horseshoe-shaped ground) to the north / east / west, affording a perfect
protective area, several hundred feet above the base of the oscar-8 area;
anti-aircraft weapons (12.7 mm guns) were emplaced (see the attached sketch).
route # 922 passed through oscar-8, moving from the west
to east toward south vietnam and ashau valley, approximately 15 km to the east
of oscar-8.
a stream passed through oscar-8 affording
water for nva troops, support personnel, and/or encampments therein.
history:
the target designated as oscar-8 became of prime
interest when the following was reported:
1.
u-2
high altitude flights reported a high volume of vehicular traffic in this area,
during the hours of darkness; and, during the day when no low-flying
u.s. aircraft were
not reconning the area.
2.
nsa
units had reported, on or about 01 jun 67, not less than 1,500 special agent
reports* (spar*) from the area known as oscar-8, in a 24-hour period.
*special agent
reports (spar’s) were radio transmissions, intercepted, intended for the hanoi
high command. nsa radio direction finding equipment on high-flying aircraft
fixed the oscar-8 area as specifically a high command field headquarters. sog
suspected that the commanding general vo nguyen giap
himself, commander of the north Vietnamese army, was within this target area.
call to action
and mission:
sog
headquarters ordered command and control (C&C headquarters) danang, to draft a
strike order for fob-1 (phu bai) to conduct the following action:
1.
TO infiltrate A HATCHET FORCE (U.S. LEAD PLATOON asap) AND IN THIS CASE
TWO HATCHET FORCE platoons, Total forces: 55 montanards, and four (4) U.S.
Special Forces unit leaders, into the area of oscar 8 via helicopter; infil to
be completed not later than 04 may 1967.
2. to attempt to kill or capture the vip
giap in oscar-8; to kill all other enemy forces
encountered.
plan of action:
on
d-day at h-hour –1 hour (0600 hours) to strike oscar-8 target with nine (9) b-52
bombers, flying a “v of V’s” formation, with 105 he bombs* of 200 kg each, per
aircraft, or 945 each 200kg he bombs. *dumbbombs
on
d-day at h-hour (0700 hrs) to insert 58 men from fob-1 of SOG, launched from the
khe sanh launch site, into landing zones in the heart of oscar-8; infiltration
to be accomplished by ch-46 marine helicopters,
to
sweep the area of oscar-8, damaged by the b-52 strikes, and to capture the vip
giap suspected to be in the target area.
to kill
and destroy enemy personnel and equipment, then prepare for a withdrawal not
later than 1500 hours the same day infiltrated.
to
return to the khe sanh area for debriefing and after-action report, while
captured personnel are transported to an interrogation site in the khe sanh
area.
plan of air
support: the following aircraft were to be made available, by the 7th
U.s.air force high command.
nine (9) b-52 heavy
bombers to drop he bombs in the oscar-8 target area at h-hours minus (-) one
hour.
three (3) ch-46 Marine helicopters for
troop transport and subsequent landing in chosen lz’s in oscar-8 target.
four (4) H-uid marine helicopter
gun-ships to clear landing zones, and be on call to support the troop landing.
two (2)
A-1e Skyraider (on station) propeller-driven aircraft to support the hatchet
force (Hf) infiltration.
hillsboro the airborne command post to be positioned within 20km of oscar-8
target area, to control all tactical aircraft which may be required to support
this operation.
four
(4) f-4c phantom jets for close air support of the ground unit(s), to orbit
within 3 minutes of the target area.
two (2)
h-34 sog helicopters for sar (search and rescue).
two (2)
o-2 forward observer-type aircraft for team and tac air support.
the
final briefing: at 1600 hours, 03 may 67, the co of the fob launch site,
khe sanh briefed the following persons: command pilots; hatchet force (hf) u.s.
personnel; the sog h-34 pilots; and the fac pilots. all personnel were set to
infiltrate at 0700 hours, 04 may 67.
the action and
infiltration: at 0400, hours 04 may 67, I, with the fac pilot major
alexander, lifted in an 0-2 aircraft to the target area vicinity. time of
flight from khe sanh to the loitering area (in this aircraft) was approx. 35
minutes.
the
pilot approached the target from the west, and approx. 15 km to the south of the
oscar-8 target. voice contact with the khe sanh commo system was established.
alexander and waugh loitered in this position to await the forthcoming b-52
strike (codename: heavy artillery).
at 0545 hours,
alexander and i, scanning the skies to the south and east, noticed at altitude
of approx. 30,000 feet, in the early-morning dawn, con-trails approaching the
target of oscar-8. no aircraft could be spotted. as the con-trails approached
on an azimuth of 330°
we viewed
from the air to the target of oscar-8 which was becoming vaguely visible in the
dawn’s early light. smoke from several early-morning cooking fires were spotted
in oscar-8, as these nva units prepared the morning rice meal.
at
exactly 0600 hours, these 3 sets of v of v b-52 aircraft, passed over the
oscar-8 target dropping a total of 945 (250 kg he dumb bombs into oscar-8 target
area)
the
fac viewed the 9-ship 52 strike on oscar-8; as the last bomb exploded, maj.
alexander and i, as the sog fac, flew above the target area. we, in the 0-2
aircraft noticed the following:
1. from the
highway# 922, to the base of the high ground marked as
(1) not less
than 30 nva attempting to extinguish secondary fires burning in numerous
locations.
2.
a the base of the high ground, in the northern
portion of oscar-8, marked aS
(2)
15 – 20 men attempting to roll barrels
(apparently fuel) away from a ferocious fuel-type fires. several secondary
explosion occurred at this time.
3.
noticed several grass shacks and houses burning
in the area marked aS
(3).
4.
received heavy 12.7 automatic weapons fire from
the high ground in the areas markeD
(4).
The pilot (air forces maj. alexander) “juked” the o-2
aircraft to evade the withering automatic weapons fire, which was actually
being fired down upon the fac aircraft.
I immediately
attempted radio contact to the airborne ch-46 troop carriers, due to land in
random lz’s in oscar-8 within 15 minutes of the last b-52 bomb impacting. Major
Alexander and I noticed, in the western side of oscar-8, two marine gunships
straffing an area intended as a landing zone for the ch-46. both these gunships
was shot down by ground fire, crashing near the landing zone area.
both alexander and I, called on the uhf and vhf radios to abort the
landing of troops; however, the landings were in progress.
as we looked on in trepidation, two (2) ch-46’s were shot down while
still airborne, prior to touch down, the ch-46’s were approximately 50 to 100
feet in the air, when both were shot into two separate pieces. troops could be
seen tumbling from both of the aircraft, as these aircraft crashed into the lz’s.
the nva guns were shooting down at the targets, from elevated positions as shown
(see sketch).
alexander flew to 4,000 feet above the landing zone to make clear
contact with hillsboro (airborne CP), while I contacted the commander of c & C
detachment who was at the launch site in khe sanh.
as i scanned
oscar-8, nva ground fire took on every bird in the sky, for two (2) h-34’s were
attempting to move into the lz’s to pick up survivors. one of the h-34 aircraft
was raked with enemy fire, and burst into flames crashing directly on route #
922. I spotted the h-34 crew members scurring out of the h-34 to the south of
route # 922.
two f4C phantom, fighters were conducting airstrikes
as directed by the fac, on the rims of the horseshoe ridge,
as I observed, ONE PHANTOM Covered THE a
2nd STRIKING PHANTOM, THE STRIKING PHANTOM WAS STRUCK IN THE RIGHT WING, WITH
THE WING EXPLODING AND THE PLANE exploding in the air. NO PARACHUTE APPEARED AS
THIS PROUD BIRD CRASHED INTO THE GROUND, bursting into a fireball.
TWO
A-1E sKY RAIDERS WERE NEXT IN LINE, AND WERE PROVIDING AIR STRIKES ALONG THE
HORSESHOE RIDGE, WHEN ONE A-1E, passing LOW TO DROP NAPALM DIRECTLY ON THE
ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS, WAS CHOPPED APART BY ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE. NO PARACHUTE WAS
SPOTTED AS THIS FINE AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO THE RIDGELINE.
I HAD
RECEIVED An FM CALL, CLEARTEXT, FROM THE GROUND TEAM, WHO WERE pleading
FOR TACTICAL AIR. THE TEAM LEADER RELATED HE AND APPROXIMATELY 25 INDIGENOUS HF
MEMBERS WERE IN TWO BOMB CRATERS, AND HOLDING THEIR OWN. THE TEAM LEADER
REQUESTED TACTICAL AIR; PREFERRING NAPLAM AND CLUSTER BOMB UNITS, TO BE DROPPED
WITHIN 30 METERS OF HIS POSITION. I attempted to calm the team leader, and
“rogered” his request. I requested a headcount asap.
THE
TEAM POSITION COULD BE SPOTTED BY TWO (2) BRIGHT RED PANELS MARKING THE EDGE OF
THE FRIENDLY AREA (AT THE EDGE OF EACH the bomb craters) the hf personnel used
as fighting positions.
A time
check showed 0800 hrs. two HOURS HAD PASSED SINCE THE INITIAL B-52 “V FORMATION
HAD PLASTERED OSCAR-8. WE RECAPPED OUR REQUEST FOR TACTICAL AIR BEING HANDLED
BY THE AIRBORNE CP ‘HILLSBORO’ WHO WAS At 10,000 METERS AND OBSERVING THE
ACTION.
I HAD NOTICED, WHEN THE
SOG H-34 IMPACTED ON ROUTE # 922, THE THREE CREW MEMBERS HAD SCRAMBLED FROM THE
BURNING BIRD, AND MOVED TO THE SOUTH, UPHILL. THIS INFORMATION WAS PASSED ASAP,
TO THE NET CONTROL IN KHE SANH.
MAJOR
ALEXANDER RELATED THE BIRDDOG WAS LOW ON FUEL, AND REQUIRED FUEL. a replacement
fac overlapped our bird; i “rogered” the rtB (RETURN TO BASE) FOR FUEL,
REQUESTING aLEXANDER TO FLY HIGH IN ORDER TO PASS INFORMATION OF KHE SANH AND
DANANG DURING THE SAME TRANSMISSION.
My
(radio call sign “mustang”) contacted LTC harold K. Rose, the co of C & C, who
was at khe sanh, and whose call sign was “gunfighter.” I, radioed to gunfighter
to take out a pad, so I could relate the count of aircraft lost. I also asked
gunfighter to sit down, for if he were not sitting (gunfighter) then he would
probably collapse when told the number of birds shot down in the target of oscar-
8.
target
oscar-7 u.s. aircraft shot down in the target
I recited the following;
(1)/(2) 2
each ch-46 shot in two pieces (each) over the drop zone; (3)
one h-uid gunship destroyed on the lz,
(4)
one h-34 shot down on attempt to rescue; (5)
one f4c phantom jet shot down with no parachute; (6)
and one a-1E shot down over the target, with no parachute.
(7)
depicts the bomb craters where the hatchet forces was
defending its existence. the airway was
silent for at least one minute. I had expected this. gunfighter said to me,
“What do you recommend,” with my reply being, “bring up another hf from phu bai,
for reinforcement for rescue may be necessary; quickly call for not less than
two ch-34 sog helicopters for rescue purposes.” “I related (that) hillsboro
(airborne cp) had ceased all bombing in North Vietnam, and had at least eight
(8) sets of jets stacked up and orbiting within 5 minutes of the target.
hILLSBORO HAD ALSO CALLED FOR RESCUE BIRDS (CH-53 jOLLY green gIANTS TO RELOCATE
FROM THAILAND TO CLOSER STRIPS IN SVN bombing runs were constant, and the
replacement fac was in contact with the hf commander on the ground. the
horseshoe ridgeline was being plastered with tons of he bombs, as the usaf
unloaded their cargo(s).
on
arrival at khe sanh, i noticed two h-34s with blades turning on the strip; i
ran to one, jumped aboard, and grabbed the pilot (mustachio) by his leg, as he
sat on his perch in the pilots chair. i had no commo now, but related to
mustachio by voice (that) i knew exactly where the crew of the shot-down sog
bird was, south of route # 922, and gave the sign of “thumbs up” to mustachio,
which indicates to lift off. without hesitation mustachio lifted –
dropped down across the barbed wire
protecting the khe sanh, as he picked up air speed and lift, turning the h-34
west.
mustachio flew the h-34 wsw to the target area, “balls to the wall,” as i
communicated to him to come into the target from the west, and south of the
target of oscar-8. on arrival to the south of the target, and south of route #
922, all aboard the h-34 scanned the ground for the crew of the destroyed h-34
lying burned directly on route # 922.
mustachio and I saw a mirror (hand-held signal mirror) at the same time, as
mustachio cut power, practically diving to the area of the mirror. on nearing
the ground, mustachio’s bird took ground fire, but this was disregarded. we
swooped into a small clearing, near the mirror site, i then noticed the three
Vietnamese crew members (hiep the pilot, with his co-pilot, and crew chief) in
an area about as large as a five sq. foot opening. the area was surrounded by
fern-like leaves and bamboo thickets. mustachio lowered the bird, with the skill
that only he possessed, as the crew chief and I grabbed the hands of the three
downed crew members, one by one; pulling these men into the h-34. mustachio
tarried not; i then gave him the ‘thumbs up’ signal, for we had the three
aboard. I slapped mustachio’s leg, and yelled for him to haul his ass out of
the area, as we lifted off in a hail of green tracers. mustachio plowed through
several small trees whose branches burst apart, as the rotor blades chopped into
these branches and trees. i screamed for mustachio not to fly to the north, for
this would take us directly over the horseshoe ridge of oscar-8, that ridgeline
rife with nva anti-aircraft firing positions. i noticed the sound of the h-34
blades had taken a different “pitch”, as one or two of the four rotor blades had
been damaged during the drive through the trees, changing the bite of that
blade. we limped along to the west and south, gained altitude, and turned
northeast toward khe sanh airstrip.
I
smiled at this h-34 crew, and let me say, these men were three happy chappies.
all three had minor 2nd and 3rd degree burns, from the
crash, but they would surely live. this crew had done well, and were out of the
danger zone. a special forces medical team met us on the airstrip a khe sanh
where this crew were treated immediately. all recovered to fly again.
note: sad to say each of
these men was killed in action in subsequent sog operations. note: this
operation continues on page # 9 to be prepared.
BY: SGM WILLIAM (BILLY) wAUGH
The sketches below were previously
furnished by Billy and has some extra notes:
Источник: http://www.macvsog.cc/target_oscar-8.htm |