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      • Chris Hobson
      • Dave Lovelady
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    • About the Data
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    • Background to the Wars in Southeast Asia
    • 1961 to 1964: Civil War in Laos/Early Operations in South Vietnam
    • 1965: Escalation of the War/Start of Rolling Thunder
    • 1966: Rolling Thunder Gets into its Stride
    • 1967: Rolling Thunder - The Peak Year
    • 1968: Tet, Khe Sanh, and the End of Rolling Thunder
    • 1969: Interdiction on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
    • 1970: The Year of Withdrawal
    • 1971: A Much Reduced Presence
    • 1972: The Spring Invasion/Linebacker Campaigns
    • 1973: Winding Up the War
  • Statistics
    • Loss Statistics
    • Losses Due to Air Base Attacks
    • Losses Due to Accidents on the Ground or Aboard Ship
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    • US Marine Corps Loss Statistics
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Commando Hunt (Nov 1968)

The ending of the Rolling Thunder campaign against North Vietnam released a large number of aircraft for use in the interdiction campaign over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The first Commando Hunt interdiction campaign started on 15 November 1968 and eventually seven such campaigns were flown over southern Laos, corresponding to wet or dry seasons as dictated by the monsoon climate of Southeast Asia. The campaigns were intended to reduce the flow of arms and men from North Vietnam to the South and to destroy as much equipment and ordnance as possible. However, the problems of finding and destroying targets on the Trail remained as difficult as ever and the resourceful North Vietnamese always found ways to keep the troops in South Vietnam supplied with enough arms and reinforcements. The US employed its full range of available air power in the Commando Hunt operations and also introduced a number of new weapons and techniques. The B-52s, tactical fighters and the AC-119 and AC-130 gunships played a major part in the campaigns and the AC-130 Spectre was claimed to be the most effective aircraft in killing trucks. Unfortunately, most of the evidence since the war indicates that the number of trucks killed and the amount of supplies destroyed was greatly exaggerated. The series of campaigns came to an end on 10 April 1972 when Operation Linebacker started and just weeks after North Vietnam had proved its success in resupplying troops in the field by launching the Spring Invasion.

 

 

 

 

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© Chris Hobson and David Lovelady. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
      • Chris Hobson
      • Dave Lovelady
    • About the Book
    • About the Data
    • About this Site
  • Sidelines
    • Background to the Wars in Southeast Asia
    • 1961 to 1964: Civil War in Laos/Early Operations in South Vietnam
    • 1965: Escalation of the War/Start of Rolling Thunder
    • 1966: Rolling Thunder Gets into its Stride
    • 1967: Rolling Thunder - The Peak Year
    • 1968: Tet, Khe Sanh, and the End of Rolling Thunder
    • 1969: Interdiction on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
    • 1970: The Year of Withdrawal
    • 1971: A Much Reduced Presence
    • 1972: The Spring Invasion/Linebacker Campaigns
    • 1973: Winding Up the War
  • Statistics
    • Loss Statistics
    • Losses Due to Air Base Attacks
    • Losses Due to Accidents on the Ground or Aboard Ship
    • US Air Force Loss Statistics
    • US Navy Loss Statistics
    • US Marine Corps Loss Statistics
  • Details
    • Order of Battle
    • Index of Names
    • Abbreviations and Glossary of Operations, Code Names, and Projects
    • Bibliography
  • Searching the Database
    • Hints on How to Search
    • Notes and Caveats
    • Searching for Call Signs
    • Search Forms
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contact Us
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