Operation Barrell Roll

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Operation Barrell Roll
Part of Vietnam Conflict
Barrell Roll Area of Operations
Date 14 December 1964-29 March 1972 Location Southern Laos Result
Combatants
United States Republic of Vietnam	Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Strength
200,000+	Unknown

Operation Barrell Roll was a covert US Navy/2d Air Division, US Air Force aerial interdiction campaign in Laos that began on 14 December 1964 and lasted for the duration of the Vietnam Conflict. Its purpose was to impede the flow of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) troops and materiel from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) that supported the communist Pathet Lao in the north, and which also travelled south down the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Truong Son Strategic Supply Route to the North Vietnamese) to South Vietnam.

With the initiation of Operation Rolling Thunder, the sustained aerial campaign against the DRV, the Barrell Roll area of operations was divided on 3 April 1965. Barrell Roll continued in northeastern Laos while the southern portion of the area was redesignated Tiger Hound and command and control was handed over to the American command in Saigon.

On 6 January 1966, responsibility for Barrell Roll devolved from the 2d Air Division to the newly-established Seventh/Thirteenth Air Force, based in Udon Thani, Thailand. Beyond the consideration of interdicting PAVN supplies, the US government believed that the operation would serve as a signal to Hanoi that would discourage its increasing aggressiveness of the PAVN in South Vietnam.^[1] By the end of 1967, 103,148 tactical air support missions had been flown in Laos. These strikes were supplemented by 1,718 B-52 strikes. During the same time period, 132 US aircraft or helicopters were shot down over Laos.^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ John Schlight, A War Too Long. Washingtonm DC: Center of Air Force History, 1993, p. 19.
2. ^ Jacob Van Staaveren, Interdiction in Southern Laos, 1961-1968. Washington DC: Center of Air Force History, 1993, p. 287.