June 18, 1965

IN VIETNAM

During Operation ARC LIGHT, the United States deployed B-52F Stratofortresses from bases in the US to Guam to provide battlefield air interdiction, including strikes at enemy bases, supply routes and behind the lines troop concentrations, as well as occasionally providing close air support directly to ground combat operations in Vietnam. The bombers were first used in Southeast Asia on June 18, 1965. Flying from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, 27 aircraft dropped 750 pounds and 1,000 pounds bombs on a Viet Cong stronghold. During this mission two B-52Fs were lost in a mid-air collision on June 19, 1965, while circling over the South Pacific Ocean, approximately 250 miles offshore at the point of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), unable to conduct mid-air refueling in awaiting arrival of KC-135A tankers for pre-strike air refueling.