296

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

1972-Contin ued

USSR. Since 1945 Naval Aviation history recorded 15

serious incidents of firing on U.S. Navy planes by

Communist bloc aircraft. The agreement was designed

to help prevent unintentional accidents between the

two navies and help reduce tension on or over the

high seas.

31 May During the month, the Navy had flown 3,949

attack sorties against NVN as compared to 1,250 during

April; continuing attack sorties into SVN numbered

3,290 for May compared to 4,833 in April. While naval

sorties in SVN had dropped by over 500 from the pre-

vious month of April, USMC air attack sorties in sup-

port of allied forces in SVN increased from 543 in April

to 1,502 during May. Targets in NVN hit by naval

planes increased to 2,416 in May from 719 during

April, with railroads accounting for 16 percent, roads

and trucks 14, storage areas 13 and bridges 10 percent

of the targets hit. Enemy MiGs shot down over NVN by

naval flyers during May totaled 16, including 11 MiG-

17s, two MiG-19s and three MiG-21s, while the Navy

lost six planes, including two F-4s and two A-7s to SA-

2 surface-to-air missiles, and one F-8 and one RA-5 to

unknown causes, probably surface-to-air missiles. With

Saratoga joining the other five carriers on Yankee

Station during the month, carrier strength totaled six,

the greatest number since the war began. Meanwhile,

by the end of the month, the term "quasi-stalemate"

best described the war situation in SVN. The SVN army

was still regrouping and holding on, and the forward

thrust of the NVN seemed to be halted.

20 June VMA(AW)-533 with A-6A Intruders arrived

at the remote jungle base of Nam Phong, known as

the "Rose Garden," in the east central plains of

Thailand in juxtaposition to the NVN attacks in the

SVN highlands. Roads, aircraft parking and storage

areas had been hacked out of the jungle by a joint

USN/USMC engineering team in preparing this

advance base. Between 23 May and 18 June the fol-

lowing Marine Corps units had arrived in preparation

for operations against the invading NVN forces: Task

Force Delta; VMGR-152, Det D with KC-130 Hercules;

H&MS-36, Det D with CH-46 Sea Knights; VMFA-115

with F-4B Phantom IIs and VMFA-232 with F-4J

Phantom IIs.

21 June VF-31 aircraft from Saratoga shot down a

MiG-21. This was the third MiG downing by Navy

pilots during June. On 11 June VF-51 aircraft from

Coral Sea shot down two MiG-17s in the Nam Dinh

area of NVN.

21 June The Chief of Naval Material directed that

the Commander, Naval Electronic Systems Command

(ELEX) take on the responsibility and authority for

final decisions involving development, acquisition and

support for equipment and capabilities providing plat-

form-to-platform command, control and communica-

tions (C3) involving satellites, air, surface and sub-sur-

face elements. The directive involved a proposal to

rename the ELEX to reflect this assignment and pro-

hibited large scale lateral movements between the sys-

tems commands. Despite these qualifications, a dis-

pute arose as to whether ELEX should undertake

detailed management of most electronic material pro-

gram or apply control through broad gauged deci-

sions. The decision has resulted in the transfer of

Project Management Offices for Space (PM-16) and

Reconnaissances, Electronic Warfare and Special

Operations (or REWSON-PM-7) from the Chief of

Naval Material to the Commander, ELEX (as PME-107)

and in the redesignation of the Naval Air Systems

Command's Electronic Warfare Project Management

Office as REWSON followed by the physical merging

of the two REWSON project management offices with

a double hatting of the incumbents.

23 June HS-2, -15, -74 and -75 came to the aid of

flood stricken residents in the Wilkes-Barre, Scranton

and Pottstown areas of Pennsylvania. Besides the

extensive rescue and evacuation work conducted by

these squadrons they were also involved in transport-

ing medical supplies and personnel, equipment, food

and clothing to the flood victims.

29 June NAVAIR announced the formation of a

"Buddy-Up" Program whereby reserve officers

attached to Naval Air Systems Command Reserve Units

would establish a working relationship with various

Naval Air Systems Command activities. This was envi-

sioned as developing into a means whereby the

reserve officers would identify and undertake to per-

form meaningful project work for the activities.

30 June Navy tactical air attack sorties in SVN dur-

ing June were 2,021. This was a considerable decrease

in comparison to the April and May figures. The

decrease reflected the stalemate on the ground in SVN.

Navy attack sorties against Linebacker I targets in NVN

involved 3,844 sorties in June. Linebacker I attack sor-

ties against the road transport system, water transport

craft and storage targets increased from the pre-June

levels. The greatest number of Navy concentrated

strikes, which involved 10 or more attack aircraft strik-

ing a compact cluster of tactical targets, was flown

from April through June and comprised 40 percent of

the total Navy attack effort.