A superbly illustrated account of one of the key milestones in the development of modern US Special Operations Forces, the hugely complex POW rescue at Son Tay.
On November 21, 1970, a meticulously prepared force of US Special Forces in HH-53 helicopters, supported by more than a hundred combat aircraft, raided the POW camp at Son Tay, North Vietnam, just 23 miles west of Hanoi, seeking 61 American prisoners. Having trained for months in secret, and utilizing the best troops and air crews possible, the raiders executed the mission flawlessly. No Americans were killed and only two aircraft were downed, with the raiders killing several dozen North Vietnamese. It was the epitome of joint commando operations and regarded as an unheralded success. Except, the prisoners were missing. The raiders had come up empty handed.
Illustrated with original artwork and maps, and drawing on both declassified documents and new interviews with participants, in this book diplomat and historian Justin Williamson explains the significance of this highly complex commando mission, deep inside enemy territory. A joint Army-Air Force assault, with the Navy flying diversionary missions, the Son Tay raid was the first operation to be conducted under the direct command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and ranks among the most important moments in the development of modern US Special Operations Forces.
By:
Justin W. Williamson
Illustrated by:
Edouard A. Groult,
Irene Cano Rodríguez
Imprint: Osprey Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Volume: 60
Dimensions:
Height: 246mm,
Width: 184mm,
Spine: 8mm
Weight: 260g
ISBN: 9781472863010
ISBN 10: 1472863011
Series: Raid
Pages: 80
Publication Date: 04 March 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
INTRODUCTION Efforts to Find the Prisoners of War ORIGINS Polar Circle and the Planning Phase The Legendary Arthur “Bull” Simons Assembles His Men INITIAL STRATEGY Operation Ivory Coast: Training and Preparation for the Rescue Intelligence on the POWs and Son Tay Bureaucracy, Support, and Logistics POW Needs After the Rescue Training for the Ground Forces The Air Component Training When to Go THE PLAN Operation Kingpin–Son Tay Camp The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club Joins the Mission Last-Minute Intelligence Puzzles Everyone Waiting in Thailand to Launch We Are Going to Rescue American Prisoners THE RAID Operation Kingpin Launches The Assault on Son Tay The Secondary School Battle Negative Items, I Repeat, Negative Items! The Air Battle The US Navy Launches Their Mission Firebird 5 Goes Down Extraction and Rescue THE AFTERMATH Shock Among the Raiders and the Political Fallout Back Home What Happened to the POWs? Mystery of the Secondary School ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
Justin Williamson is a career US diplomat who has served in Iraq, Mexico, Spain, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, but calls Texas home. He has degrees from Texas Tech University and The University of Texas at El Paso, and graduated from the US Army Command and Staff College with a Master of Military Arts and Sciences. He is the author of Operation Eagle Claw 1980 for Osprey.
