323. Memorandum From Secretary of Defense McNamara to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff (Wheeler)1
Washington, December 18, 1967.
SUBJECT
- The Use of Propeller and Jet Aircraft in Laos
The enclosed study indicates that propeller aircraft are approximately 9
times as effective as jet aircraft per sortie in destroying trucks and
water craft in Laos. It appears possible to substitute two A–1 squadrons
for two F–4 squadrons in Thailand and significantly increase the
effectiveness
[Page 641]
of our air
interdiction campaign in the Laotian Panhandle without reducing the
number of jet sorties in North Vietnam.
Would you please review the enclosed study and give me your
recommendations by December 29, 1967.2
Enclosure
ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF PROPELLER VS JET AIRCRAFT IN
LAOS
Summary and Conclusions
- 1.
- Jet aircraft are relatively ineffective against moving targets
in Laos. During the first nine months of 1967 jets destroyed or
damaged (D/D) only 366 moving
vehicles, 1.5 per 100 attack sorties, at a cost of $700,000 for
each truck or water vessel destroyed or damaged.
- 2.
- Propeller aircraft are approximately 9 times as effective as
jet aircraft per sortie in destroying trucks and water craft in
Laos. The prop aircraft destroyed/damaged 996 vehicles, or 12.8
per 100 attack sorties. The cost per vehicle D/D was only $55,000, even though
loss rates for propeller aircraft operating in Laos are
approximately 4 times greater than the comparable loss rates for
jet aircraft.
- 3.
- Two additional A–1 squadrons could be deployed to Thailand in
1968 and two F4 squadrons returned to the U.S. without reducing
the jet sorties available for use in North Vietnam. The A–1
aircraft are expected to destroy or damage an additional 1200
moving vehicles in Laos over a 12 month period. This proposal
would save about $28 million per year over the current plan for
the next 2 years. However, an additional 18 aircraft and 8
pilots would be lost under the proposed plan.
[Here follow an analysis of “Aircraft Effectiveness,” a table on
“Attack Sorties, Losses, and Results in Laos,” a “Discussion of
Relative Mission/Effectiveness,” a table of “Propeller Aircraft
Deployments,” a discussion and tables of “Alternative Deployments,”
a discussion and table of the “Cost of Additional Deployments,” a
discussion and table of the “Cost of Proposed Plan,” two enclosures
on the USAF A–1 Program, and a
table on planned sorties in NVN by Thai-based F–4’s.]
