There was no war in Vietnam — officially. None of the countless attempts at peace, however, could stop the long and bloody series of skirmishes, raids, ambushes, guerrillas, and finally pitched battles that ravaged Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. These unusual conditions for a “war” does not only belong to the political domain; they upset the strategy as well as the tactics. In Vietnam, In Vietnam in the 1960s, we saw the battleship reappear. Some old planes that we thought were forgotten found a new role, such as the Skyraider or the indestructible Dakota
Besides that, ultra modern techniques were experimented, and the air war sometimes reached an unprecedented intensity. it was the political will of the American leaders not to commit too much that led to the collapse of South Vietnam. This defeat is militarily absurd since Saigon and its allies did not lose control of the sky for a moment. but maybe they lost the mastery of souls?
Barely a year after the Korean War, the Geneva Conference (1954) decided to divide Vietnam into two zones, North and South:their antagonism would give rise to an immensely long and painful conflict, the "Vietnam War (1954- 1975). With Cambodia and Laos, Vietnam had formed French Indochina. However, the French had just suffered a stinging setback at Dien Dien Bien Phu, due to an underestimation of General Giap's forces. "The North Vietnamese infantry is the best in the world," gauged General Salan.
This setback was not an irreversible defeat, but it was exploited by communist propaganda, etc. Added to the desire in France to end this conflict at all costs. France left Vietnam in a hurry, leaving the country divided into two areas, on either side of the 17th parallel.
But North Vietnam was preparing to reunite the country for the benefit of the Communists. Giap set up a Guerrilla force, the Viet Cong The guerrillas prevailed without the threat of total war, subversion and guerrilla activity. imposed themselves as a completely natural offensive choice. From this point of view the Communists never concealed that they constituted an offensive force; thus many communist parties have adopted guerrilla warfare to seize power. Vietnam seemed ideal for these activities:rice fields, harsh mountains, very dense jungles, high temperature climates, and little extreme infrastructure.
On the other hand, the country lent itself perfectly to any form of guerrilla warfare:this is how night fighters became peaceful peasants by day. Western leaders paid little attention to the first operations of the viet cong in 1957. more serious was the way in which to react the troops of president Diem.
In 1960, faced with the seriousness of the military situation, Diem appealed to the United States. Green beret units were sent to Vietnam. The USAF installed the Special Air Wafare Center at Eglin AFB, Florida for the development of anti-guerrilla techniques.
the army defined the desired characteristics of an aircraft specialized in this type of activities the LARA/COIN (light armed reconnaissance aircraf/counter insurgency) short takeoff, capacity to carry heavy weapons and capacity to evacuate the wounded. From the organized competition emerged the North American OV-10A Bronco, an unusual aircraft that was actually to be used in Vietnam