Attempts to create helicopter landing zones through the use of tactical strikes were made as early as October 1966 in the eastern II Corps Tactical Zone (CTZ) under Operation Irving, only to meet with a conspicuous lack of success. The general opinion of the FACs and air liaison officers (ALOs) after the over-all operation was that the use of a tactical air effort to construct LZs for the Army was 'quite a waste of tactical airpower.' Even after sufficient strikes had been put in to clear the area, the resulting craters usually made the landing zone unsuitable for helicopter operations. This report follows the evolution of a different concept: that of dropping a 'big' bomb from a transport type aircraft to create 'instant' helicopter landing zones in Southeast Asia (SEA)--from inception, through development and testing, to eventual adoption as a standard, highly successful operational tactic which would stand as an exemplar of interservice cooperation.


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    Title :

    Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report. Commando Vault


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    1970


    Size :

    45 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English