Air+Cavalry

Helicopters
=Air Cavalry=

Roles of the **Air cavalry**

During the Vietnam War the Air Calvary was one of the most important part in the survival of the American soldiers. The Air Calvary were responsible for putting down the agent orange, dropping the napalm, and leveling the ground where the enemies were thought to be before the ground forces would move in. The most remembered air cavalry unit is the 1ST Battalion, 7TH Cavalry. (Battle of Ia Drang Vally)

Operation Rolling Thunder was started February 24, 1965 and was officially over in October of 1968. The operation mainly consisted of 4 airplanes. The F-4 Phantom, A-6 Intruder, F-105 Thunderchief, and the biggest of them... The B-52 bomber. The main purpose of the bombing was to destroy the Ho Chi Minh trail and cut off the NVA's supplies. Although the operation did cut off the supplies the United States used about 643,000 tons of bombs and lost about 900 aircraft in the process. The estimated cost of the operation which included the bombs and gas and the cost of the airplanes was nearly 900 million dollars! The damage to the north Vietnamese was only around 300 million in damages.

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The magnificent B-52 bomber with all of its bombs laid out

F-6 Intruder firing some missiles

F-4 Phantom flying high in the sky

1st Platoon B Company 1st Battalion 5th US Cavalry __** Chart of Artillery and Air Calvary support along with the squads. **__ **1ST Battalion, 7TH Cavalry**
 * [[image:http://www.ranger25.com/Ranger25Photos/Mongoose%20Bravo%20Streamer.jpg width="163" height="30" link="http://www.ranger25.com/our_photo_album.htm"]] || [[image:http://www.ranger25.com/Ranger25Photos/CHARGIN_CHARLIE2.jpg width="163" height="28" link="http://www.ranger25.com/CHARLIE%20COMPANY%20PHOTOS.htm"]] || [|Delta] 1-5  ||
 * ** A 1-5 ** || ** B 1-5 ** || ** C 1-5 ** ||  ||
 * [|Echo 1-5 Site] ||  ||   ||   ||
 * || [|HHC, Artillery] 1-5  || [|Alpha 2-5] || [|Bravo 2-5] ||
 * [|Delta 2-5] || [|HHC 2-5] || [|Things We Carried] || [|Delta 1/12] ||
 * || [|Echo 2-5] ||  ||   ||
 * [|Charlie 1-5 Site] ||  || [|6 Bandaid C 2-5 site] || [|77th Artillery Association] ||
 * [|Charlie 1-5 Site] ||  || [|6 Bandaid C 2-5 site] || [|77th Artillery Association] ||

The most remembered fight of the war was the battle of Ia Drang Vally which was made into a movie,(//We Were Soldiers//) this was the first time U.S. troops engaged the NVA. To see the after action report click on the link [|After Action Report]. During this fight the US learned how important the air support was, due to the fact americans were dropped off in the middle of nowhere surrounded by woods they used Artillery and close air support. During this fight three members of the 1st battalion 7th cavalry received the medal of honor, Ed Freeman, Bruce Crandall, and Joe Mare. Back to the Home Page