Son Tay 1970
- Brand: Osprey
- Product Code: RAID 60 [30989]
- Availability: Available upon request within 20 - 40 days.
- Date added: 14/11/2024
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22.00€
RAID Series, book No 60: Son Tay 1970 - The Operation Ivory Coast POW rescue mission
A superbly illustrated account of one of the key milestones in the development of modern US Special Operations Forces, the hugely complex POW rescue at Son Tay.
On November 21, 1970, a meticulously prepared force of US Special Forces in HH-53 helicopters, supported by more than a hundred combat aircraft, raided the POW camp at Son Tay, North Vietnam, just 23 miles west of Hanoi, seeking 61 American prisoners. Having trained for months in secret, and utilizing the best troops and air crews possible, the raiders executed the mission flawlessly. No Americans were killed and only two aircraft were downed, with the raiders killing several dozen North Vietnamese. It was the epitome of joint commando operations and regarded as an unheralded success. Except, the prisoners were missing. The raiders had come up empty handed.
Illustrated with original artwork and maps, and drawing on both declassified documents and new interviews with participants, in this book diplomat and historian Justin Williamson explains the significance of this highly complex commando mission, deep inside enemy territory. A joint Army-Air Force assault, with the Navy flying diversionary missions, the Son Tay raid was the first operation to be conducted under the direct command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and ranks among the most important moments in the development of modern US Special Operations Forces.
Contents:
INTRODUCTION
- Efforts to Find the Prisoners of War
ORIGINS
- Polar Circle and the Planning Phase
- The Legendary Arthur “Bull” Simons Assembles His Men
INITIAL STRATEGY
- Operation Ivory Coast: Training and Preparation for the Rescue
- Intelligence on the POWs and Son Tay
- Bureaucracy, Support, and Logistics
- POW Needs After the Rescue
- Training for the Ground Forces
- The Air Component Training
- When to Go
THE PLAN
- Operation Kingpin–Son Tay Camp
- The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club Joins the Mission
- Last-Minute Intelligence Puzzles Everyone
- Waiting in Thailand to Launch
- We Are Going to Rescue American Prisoners
THE RAID
- Operation Kingpin Launches
- The Assault on Son Tay
- The Secondary School Battle
- Negative Items, I Repeat, Negative Items!
- The Air Battle
- The US Navy Launches Their Mission
- Firebird 5 Goes Down
- Extraction and Rescue
THE AFTERMATH
- Shock Among the Raiders and the Political Fallout Back Home
- What Happened to the POWs?
- Mystery of the Secondary School
ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
Author: Justin W. Williamson
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Description: 80 pages, Paperback, 247 X 184 mm.
Condition: NEW COPY
Shipping weight: 0.42 Kg.