F-4 Phantom "Snake & Nape" Close Air Support Vietnam

F-4 strafe with 3 x SUU-23 20mm gunpods and low level delivery of 4 x napalm tanks and 3 x 500lb Snakeyes. We'll never see'em get in that low again...

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• McDonnell
• Douglas
• F-4
• Phantom
• Close
• Air
• Support
• Vietnam
• SUU-23
• 20mm
• gunpods
• napalm
• Snakeye

[kjb86]

That took real skill to accurately deliver those ordinance, not like today where it's all radar guided and such..........

[Stover36]

That was a smart tactic; injure the enemy with 20mm shells and when they're wounded just sterilize the wounds with some napalm... the bad thing is that there is an excessive use of napalm...

[TheRidersChoice]

@kjb86 oh really? Were you in the cockpit back then dropping it or are you flying an F-18 today and want to pay your respects?

[dkroll92]

@drumgrey915 We have thermobaric weapons now.

[dkroll92]

@FrancoHitlini The N. Vietnamese weren't fighting for freedom. They were the bad guys. It's like if Canada decided to invade the U.S. and started putting people into gulags and collectivizing farms, and then the EU decided to help out against Canada. How would that make the EU the bad guys?

[douglasmcmillion]

The term was "Shake & Bake" not snake and nape. Any load configuration with GP bombs and napalm was a S&B. The Army has reached back and stolen our coining of that phrase in Nam for their use now. They consider 105mm arty followed by Willy pete (white phosphorus) as S&B. But we all know the origins...lol Get your own catch phrases grunts!

Weapons Crew Chief 1973-79 USAF

[gallantrycross]

With the Phoenix program we pretty much got rid of the Viet Cong in the South, so that North Vietnam had to rely on convential warfare, which they were no good at. Giap was a lousy general. With Linebacker I and II we brought North Vietnam to its knees and forced them to sign the Paris Peace Accords. We left by 1972, but three years later the South Vietnamese lost. I've heard reports that the Christmas Bombing was so intense that the knees of the North Vietnamese were knocking together .

[N609B]

Should be called "snake, nape, and rape"

[jonesy97]

@peeweek1w1 Your witt and clever cliche' is amazing. Gives the reader the illusion of intelligence, by its author. Any independant thought in there, or are you going to plagiarize/ pervert other notables from history? Wait. New Zealand? No, I'm not going to get into some juvenile pissing contest about world contributions. You have your own problems to deal with. Why open that can of worms.

[peeweek1w1]

@jonesy97 Yes. I do have the answers, and no, its not funny. The primary export of the U.S. is its arrogant hypocrisy. We know Russia and China for what they are. America however, claims to be somehow the upholder of virtuous Christian morality, which it clearly isn't.

As not what you can do for your country, Ask what your country is doing to you.

[FLSHBK1]

@cassius969 Not quite accurate, Sir. Close Air Support was low-level, usually visual air-to-ground, repeated passes with rockets/guns/bombs. B-52 strikes were strategic, and flew over so high I could see them but not hear them. And I don't recall ever seeing a lone B-52, but that's not saying it didn't happen. Even in I-Corps, we could feel the earth shake from the ArcLight bombings, but never heard the thunder. Hanoi must have been a very bad place to be.

[FrancoHitlini]

Why did the Vietnamese keep fighting? Simple! The Vietnamese had been fighting for freedom from foreign invaders for decades and the USA was no different - just another foreign invader. Imagine, your country has been invaded by foreigners, your family and neighbours are being murdered and your 14 yeard old sister had been raped by those same foreigners. You are in your own country....how would you feel? Would YOU give up fighting? I know I would want to kill every one of those invaders!