1972-Contin ued

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

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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