Operation Iron Hand

Operation Iron Hand began on August 12, 1965, but the first actual strike against a SAM site was not accomplished until the morning of October 17. Four A-4E aircraft from USS Independence, with an A-6 Intruder pathfinder, found a site near Kép Air Base, northeast of Hanoi, and destroyed it.^[1]

For the Navy, the A-4 and A-3 Skywarrior played pivotal roles during Iron Hand anti-SAM missions; the two aircraft were armed with "beam-riding" AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missiles, which could be launched against SAM sites.^[2] A typical Iron Hand mission involved an F-8 fighter escorting a slower A-4 ahead of the main Alpha strike force of 20 aircraft and would attempt to eliminate enemy SAM sites; first the A-4 would launch the anti-radar Shrike missile at the SAM site and then the F-8 would strafe the site with 20-millimeter cannon fire.^[3] Cluster bombs and rocket fire were both very effective tools against dispersed SAM sites.

A more common application of a Navy Iron Hand mission involved an A-4 Skyhawk or A-6 Intruder, armed with Shrikes, which would fly low-level ("above deck"), detectable by SAM search radar while still having ready access to much lower, radar-free altitudes ("hard deck"). The pilot's avionics would detect a SAM radar's acquisition ("lock") onto his aircraft; the pilot would then dive for the hard deck, choose another approach track, suddenly pitch 15 degrees up without re-entering the SAM radar field ("cone") and launch the Shrike into the cone. The Shrike would then acquire the SAM radar's location, fly to it and destroy it, thus disabling SAM missiles associated with the particular radar, allowing American aircraft to conduct their missions unharassed.

A USAF Iron Hand mission was similar. A group of four fighter/bombers flew in ahead of the strike package to suppress SAMs. One or more would be two-seat F-100F Super Sabre or F-105F Thunderchief Wild Weasels with SAM detection and analysis electronics. Initially, the fighter/bombers had to attack SAM sites with gravity bombs. When F-105F Wild Weasels arrived, they brought the Shrike anti-radiation missile (ARM) for limited stand-off capability. Later, F-105G Wild Weasels could also be armed with the AGM-78 Standard ARM.

North Vietnamese forces eventually attempted to defeat Iron Hand missions by using SAM radars intermittently or by shutting off the radar entirely if they felt threatened; this worked with the initial iron bomb attacks and with the initial Shrike anti-radiation missile, which could not 'remember' the location of the enemy radar source if the radar was turned off. Later Iron Hand aircraft carried the large, expensive Standard ARM, which was capable of locking in the location of the source even if the radar was turned off.

The AGM-78 Standard ARM as a deterrent for suppression of North Vietnam's AA defenses was noticeably effective. During the course of six months (in 1970) the A-6B(PAT) aircraft, loaded with the AGM-78s, were employed as escorts for various reconnaissance and strike missions. The Iron Hand escorts broadcast their presence and intentions to communications intercept facilities. No ARM missiles were launched on any active AA radars. None of the escorted aircraft were ever taken under fire by any electronically controlled AA systems. None of the escorted aircraft ever sustained any battle damage. Because most of the losses that occurred during the bombing raids into North Vietnam were caused by SAMs, Iron Hand missions continued to be of vital importance throughout the war.

21°23′28″N 106°15′00″E / 21.391°N 106.250°E / 21.391; 106.250