B-52 Busters - Vietnam War Communist Commando Raids
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- North Vietnamese commandos made a series of daring raids on airfields in Thailand during the Vietnam War used by USAF aircraft, including the massive B-52 Stratofortress.
Dr. Mark Felton is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.o...
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Credit: Mark Limb
My aunt was a USAF librarian stationed in Bangkok during the Vietnam War. She would fly into the bases to circulate books, etc. She had a close call once, when she happened to fly into a base right after commandos had infiltrated and blown up a few planes. The story rings true.
Wow.
It Ring's true because it is true. Maybe I don't understand the term. But I don't have any doubts about the truthfulness of any Mark Felton documentaries. Maybe you didn't mean it like that. Or I don't understand the saying, like I think I do.
@@catfan5756 No doubt about anything Mark Felton produces. The attacks on the bases were not widely known or publicized; some people might doubt the attacks. Sorry if my use of the phrase sowed some confusion.
@@catfan5756 I think he just meant it resonates with his family's experience
@@sheltontodd8122 no worries,. My best wishes to your dear mother.
At this point I'm assuming that mark is millions of years old and is recalling events that he lived
B - 52 busta Pepelaugh
My theory is that Mark is one of the Forerunners from Halo.
I first encountered Mark Felton back in 792 when I was a scribe at Lindisfarne and he was already a seasoned story teller. The place was raided by Northmen a year after I left but I hear the only survivor was Mark.
😂
@@kingjoe3rd tee hee
My uncle served at Utapao during the war. He was actually present during one of the attacks and heard explosions and gunfire. BUT, he was watching a war movie in the base theater and thought, at first, it was sound effects from the film.
bruh
Lol
Neat excuse
Know what film?
@@Brave_Sir_Robin he never mentioned the title...
B-52's: The only time a Grandfather...Son...Grandson and Great-grandson could have piloted the exact same aircraft...Legendary.
No such thing has occurred in the B-52.
@@gordomg he said COULD A*hole.
The B-52H variants that the Americans currently fly were built from around 1960 until 1962. The earlier variants have been taken out of service because their engines were worse and a treaty with Russia mandated it.
@@B52Stratofortress1 some of the B-52s currently in service may have been built in 1960 -1962, that said they weren't built as H models because the Hs only entered service in the early 2000s
Also probably the Tu-95 Bear.
I just finished playing this episode for my father over the phone. He was stationed at Utapao from March-Sept 1969. I knew he
Would enjoy it. He did. Thanks Mark. Great job as always.
Did he know a USAF Chief Master Sergeant named Richard “Dick” Dobbyn?
@@andrewlawrence990 I checked with my Dad but he did not recognize the name. His unit,
The 509th out of Pease AFB, NH, was the operational group at Utapao for this time frame in 1969.
Thank you for checking. My Uncle Dick passed away many years ago, but I was hoping that there might be a connection so I could share that with his surviving brother. All the best to you both.
Yes, your dad was there......peeling potatoes and cleaning the toilets........thank you for your service
You got the Richard part right , dick.
Finally! A Mark Felton video where I was a participant. U-Tapao RTNAB 72-73...an exciting time.
Those amazing North Vietnamese. It was always such a David vs. Goliath contest with them. They demonstrated such bravery and resourcefulness time and again throughout the war.
It always seems to be forgotten stories that are the most interesting...
US did some did a lot of horror, fighting the communists, mad US Army!
Just American Nazi's!
@@googlegmail4636 whot
@google gmail is a Chinese troll of the communist party.
Maybe if the communists partied more, then they wouldn't be so pissed off all the time.
@@googlegmail4636, Hah!
Just like how the FBI wanted to oof US cities to justify war on Cuba
My father is a retired officer from the USAF. He served as a munitions officer during the war and was stationed in Okinawa, Guam and Thailand working with the B-52s. I remember him talking about this happening. Great to see this story documented on this channel.
My Dad was at U-Tapao in '69 and I remember him telling me about these raids when I was a kid. He said he always figured they were safe at his base because it was so far from Laos and Vietnam. Then the NVA gave them a lesson about underestimating your enemy.
...And wow! What about that guy who was caught carrying EIGHT satchel charges?....Good golly, man!
NVA don't f around I suppose lmao
Little known fact: the HH-43 helicopter was used from U=Tapao to run missions into Laos dropping supplies and personnel and picking them up. An USAF liaison officer I worked with few the HH-43 from that base. One time he flew into Laos to pickup some CIA or "spook types" as he called them. He landed at the given location and was quickly surrounded by hundreds of "little brown people". The pucker factor went through the roof. The spook types showed up a few minutes later much his relief. He couldn't tell me much more as he was still active duty at the time (1980s).
I've theorized the HH-43 was used because if it crashed in Laos then the Johnson Admin could say it was a non-combat aircraft on some civil mercy mission. Or maybe it was just handy at the moment. Hard to say. The Air Force does some strange things as I found out.
@@LuvBorderCollies Seems like a heck of a long flight from U Tapao to anywhere in Laos in an aircraft like the HH-43, doesn't it?
@@rickb1973 Yeh, I agree. Its either my memory or the major was being vague about where he really was. My memory isn't that bad. Since the major was still active duty and those covert missions still classified he likely was disguising some details.
@@LuvBorderCollies Yep, of course....It's not that big of a deal to set up a refueling point near the border, too...Have a Jolly Green drop a fuel blivet and a couple airmen on a mountaintop somewhere, just for the afternoon.
My regards on the Border Collie thing, too...I've got mine laying under my desk, here.
1:27 - Side notes about the B-52. It was only produced for ten years, from 1952-1962. Some of the planes currently in service have had three generations of the same family flying them, first Don Sprague, later his son in law Don Welch, and starting in 2010, his grandson Daniel Welch.
Don Sprague was an ass who left a trail of ruined lives behind him as he progressed through the ranks. He only cared for himself - not for the Air Force, not for SAC and not for his fellow airmen.
I worked in the recent past years with a guy who was stationed at U-Tapao airfield during the war as a guard. He would tell me some crazy stories. Sadly this man recently suffered a stroke and can no longer speak
I guess he is a crazy freak, fighting the communists, mad people did that!
Everyone was a communist back then, FCK the US for doing that! Evil system it is!
@@googlegmail4636 Better dead than red
I’ve been to Utapao many times after the Vietnam war was over. A VERY creepy place. I always felt like ghosts were everywhere. But OMG the liberty there was unbelievable.
@@googlegmail4636, Hah!
@@googlegmail4636 From reading your other comments.....you’re certifiably insane.
I was an ammo troop stationed at U-Tapao when the first B=52 landed from Guam on April 6, 1967. Great video. Keep up the good work.
how old are you?
IYAAYAS
Utapau? Did you meet Grievous?
Probably at least just old enough to have served in Vietnam - respect for service in such dangerous place even if it was questionable that America was ever there in the first place o7
@@comradekenobi6908 lmaooo
I was stationed on a firebase in the Ashau Valley and saw a distant B-52 raid, you could feel the concussion from miles away, I can't imagine what it would be like if you are on the Ho Chi Minh Trail under such an attack.
I forget the minimum "safe" distance friendly troops had to be from the strike area but it was a fair distance. A friend of mine was a helmsman on the USS Coral Sea during Rolling Thunder. At night they'd go out on deck to watch the B-52 strikes close to the coast. The light show was incredible but so was the waves of concussion that hit them. Sound travels much easier and faster over water so its not like the Coral Sea was right off the beach.
That is why we called our Buffs "rolling thunder". :-)
Ashau Valley...I think that's where Lt James Webb got wounded attacking a bunker. He worked under Ronald Reagan as Navy Secretary and later as US Senator from Virginia. My kid worked for him. Still has grenade shrapnel in one leg. Guess the NVA took exception to him throwing grenades at them. LOL He's married to a Vietnamese woman, a little trivia.
However, the US relied on massive Bombing and spraying 500,000 acres of food crops with Agent Orange rather than learn how to fight jungle guerrilla warfare. Australian and New Zealand Forces withdrew from Vietnam in disgust in 1972.
@@dnickaroo3574 your lies are recorded forever, sorry for kids
It is very reassuring to be able to learn history from an unbiased source.
Pedantic is an insulting word used to describe someone who annoys others by correcting small errors, caring too much about minor details, or emphasizing their own expertise especially in some narrow or boring subject matter.
@@bortstanson2034 it would be ironic if I didn't realize I was being pedantic back toward you, but that was the point. Shall I define oblivious?
Apart from words like "fortunate"
@@tmclaug90 no such thing
@@peterknight7880 he uses fortunate and unfortunate alot in his narrations. It doesnt seem to matter which political group or military organization he is talking about.
that wreckage in the pond. i remember the great "Hanoi Turkey Shoot", watching burning B-52s falling from the sky. we were at Rescue point Bravo, outside of Haiphong harbor mine field, to bring them home. we didn't, and lost 4 of 6 helo crews trying. what an absolutely horrible era. "those who forget history..." another banger of a vid, mark!
A good thing they were shot down. They were on their way to bomb a city of civilians. Over 1,600 civilians lost their lives to the Linebacker II raids.
@@thegenericguy8309 More than 150, 000 South Vietnamese were killed by VC/NVA troops during and after the war.
@@Gearparadummies Significantly over 400,000 civilians were killed by the South Vietnamese and US armies.
Too bad about those last 2 Helos, Couldn’t get ‘em all
@@Gearparadummies 👍
*Turns around to see I have a notification*
"Mark Felton? OH HELL YEAH"
brownnoser
one of the best creator on youtube keep up the amazing work
Oh Hell Yeah!!!
Nazi fanboys!
@@googlegmail4636, Hah!
Irrespective of what side you're on, you can't deny the bravery and ingenuity. Fair play to them
@Zoomer Waffen there was rights and wrongs on both sides, that's how all wars go.
@Zoomer Waffen I don't get your sub-human logic. So they are bad for whatever reasons but when they do it we're still the good guys.
@Zoomer Waffen Lol but they hate China and they toppled Pol Pot. By the way the US did some messed up things also like wiping out whole villages just to inflate and count them as enemy killed.
@Zoomer Waffen whereas dumping tonnes of bombs on said babies from 30,000 feet requires a heap of courage. Go home, Yankee.
@@bugsygoo I am an American too and we're not all that stupid. My dad even fought and Vietnam and I can say what we did was absolutely wrong. However, there are a huge number of Americans who believe that no matter what America is always right. I despise them.
I watching this at my gym while I am working out. Thanks Mark for keeping my mind busy while I am doing my workouts.
Another grueling 8-minute workout?
@@demef758 I watch the videos as a playlist while I do my 45 minute workout set.
@@The105ODST Good for you, we're all really interested in that.......
@@demef758 8 minutes is all it takes...
☝😉
I think I'd done exactly the same once, some time last year. I might as well do that when I'm going to the gym again.
The Vietnamese people fighting off us aggression until victory against the largest military in the world has to be the greatest feat of patriotism and bravery of the latter half of the last century, truly inspirational.
It begins earlier against the French.
And many others
I was stationed at U-Tapao in 1973, just before the end of all bombing missions. Guys still talked about the occasional mortar rounds that hit the base in the past. Some guys even joked that it was worth the extra money. Everyone on base qualified for a month of combat pay when that happened.
Did the North Vietnamese ever try to shoot down a B-52 right after take-off? From mid-1972 (maybe earlier?) they had shoulder-launched Strela-2/Grail missiles.
Just taught about Pol Pot to my Freshmen today! Dr. Felton knew exactly what I needed to supplement my own knowledge.
Every teacher needs to inform their students of the great evils of Marxism, before history repeats itself. However you are sadly alone. Good job though!
@@catified2081 Funny how the biggest butcher of the modern era, Pol Pot, was armed and backed by the CIA and China. It was Vietnam and the USSR who overthrew Pol Pot.
That’s awesome that you taught them that, but sadly they probably don’t care and have already forgotten
@@catified2081 Yeah.... except the US basically encouraged Pol Pot because he was raiding and committing atrocities in Vietnam. The US simplistic notion that "my enemie's enemy is my friend" has caused countless wars and acts of horror and the toxic mix of machismo and pride means they will never admit they are wrong and back down.
@@catified2081 don't be a programmed bootlicker bro. You don't even know why you said that.
Never heard this about the North Vietnamese raiding a B-52 base in Thailand. Thanks for sharing!
It would have been classified as they wouldn't have wanted to give locals any ideas.
It was the most open secret in the world at the time. Everybody knew it was there as it takes a huge amount of land and structure to support B-52s and everything associated with them. Even the US media didn't make noise about it. I'd heard faint rumors about 52's stationed in Thailand which was confirmed later by a HH-43 pilot who'd been stationed there.
Add: everyone knew about it except the US public.
@@LuvBorderCollies r u saying that USA government lied to its own people.. Hehehe what kind of patriot r u.. Hehehe just saying..
@@LuvBorderCollies To easily deceive the public
I thought I knew A LOT about the SE Asia air war. I literally had never heard these stories before. Thanks, Mark.
Keep the history lessons coming.
The US only needs one lesson, clean up America first! Bomb the Wall Street corruption!
why Iraq, why fight communists, cleanup America first!!!!
@@googlegmail4636 Make America Great Again!
@@googlegmail4636, Hah!
Nice hat my friend. God bless you
I flew those things 30 years ago in Desert Storm after they had already been around for 30 years! And not only are they still flying, but they’re projected to keep going for another 20 years! It’s unbelievable!
When I was in first grade (early 60s) I had a lunch box that had a picture of every USAF aircraft on the inside of the lid. One was a B-52. I thought it would be fun to fly something that big but I thought they'd be long gone by the time I'd be old enough to learn how to fly. Over 50 years later and they are still flying. Amazing.
@@vanceb1 Well, Vance, you’d have been disappointed because it was far from fun! In fact, it was very uncomfortable! That being said, I’d be happy to be back doing it again! It might not have been fun, but it sure as hell was interesting, and when people were shooting bullets and missiles at you, it was actually pretty exciting!
@@nordan00 When you're the first grade you don't know any better. ;-)
Learning so much more about history in each ten min video from this man, than any amount of boring school teachers ever taught me back in the day.
Were these B52s .........................The Aircraft that sprayed thousands of gallons
of " Agent Orange " over innocent people killing children / women and men , Also destroying the lives of numberless Vietnamese people for Generations ?????
I served as a Security Policeman during the 90's, its nice to get some SP history, thank you
Yeah, me, too. They should have taught about these actions in Lackland.
@@M0rmagil When I was at Lackland, we heard a few stories from the instructors. I went through SP school in 1976 so several of them had been in 'Nam and Thailand. They made it a point to make us listen to an audio recording of the SP radio traffic from the attack on Tan Son Nhut airbase during the Tet Offensive.
My dad was that airman defending the C141 at udorn. I still have the news paper clipping of him being awarded a Purple Heart. He passed away April 6. I never knew this video existed.
I'm American but my father in law was in the NBA regular army. He fought as far down south as DaNang, constantly traveling within sight at times of ARVN and US soldiers. It isn't something he frequently talks about but the experience must have been astonishing. Not just the Viet Cong but thousands of Northerners fought like that. Hard to imagine.
The Vietnamese people have always love their country and are not afraid to make sacrifices for it. That is why Vietnam exists independently next to the expanding China ,who has annexed and assimilated many other ethnic groups.
in 1962, before the US even brought B-52's to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh asked Commander Phung The Tai of the Air Defence Forces if he already knew about the B-52's, the commander awkwardly said no and Ho Chi Minh responded "It's okay, even if you already knew it, you couldn't do anything about it because at this time we only have flak. But, as a commander, you should learn about it and prepare for it when we have the means"
Right !!! A good VC is a dead VC
@Alfred Wedmore : Not necessarily 'racism.' The Viet Cong were killing people, and in such circumstances I believe it is perfectly ok to hate your enemy, call it whatever you will, and destroy it. Dead.
@@WanderingShadow100 The stupid and cowardly American henchmen have not seen the VC, have taken off their pants and run away, how can they kill them?
Cowardice of the Yanks make me sịck
@@WanderingShadow100 The invaders and their henchmen must pay with a humiliating defeat
These courageous soldiers only destroyed to protect their homeland from being completely obliterated. An amazing video to see the Vietnamese soldiers prospective.
My brother was station at Tac-Li AFB in Thailand and mention that they were always concern about what you just showed. However no attach occurred at his location. Thanks Professor Felton for sharing this little known piece of history.
Takli is in Central Thailand where Thai government control was much more established and the distance a lot greater. I would be interested to know if the North Vietnamese spoke Lao as this would have meant they could blend in with the local population of Isan (NE Thailand). Whereas Takli the people are Central Thai.
@@Fighting_Irish184 Good question and I will have to ask my brother. He was in AF from 1968-1972 and I think was a Takli AFB in 1969. Were you station at that base?? regarding me I was lucky, my "lottery" birthday ## was 269 so I did not have to go. My classification was changes to 1-H, meaning I was in the lottery system but did not have to go.
B-52 in service so long it would be like keeping a Wright Flyer in service until the year 2000 or a Spitfire Mk1 in service as a fighter in the present.
Well summed up! 👍
@@geobloxmodels1186... And we're closer to the Tyrannosaurus Rex than it was to the Stegosaurus 😉
There are Legends that the British still using the Avro lancaster to scare some germans now and than😎🤙
@@geobloxmodels1186 🙄 yeah, don't go there mate, I feel old enough as it is 👴🏻😭🤣 ( born just 25 years after ww2!!) Cheers mate, have a long & happy life 👍🏻
The Douglas DC-3, Consolidated PBY, and Antonov AN2 are still in commercial use and the DC-3 will probably outlive the B52.
This is actually quite well known nowadays in Vietnam that NVA commandos would do these kinds of attacks quite often because it cost less to blow these things up on land than shooting a bunch of missiles at them during the bombings.
Only 2 soldiers of this special unit destroyed 5 B52s.1 of 2 died.
My father was stationed at Ubon Bator, he said he sold more guns to the Aussies than the government did. They loved the Savage rifle-over-shotgun combos.
Think you are confusing Ulan Bator Mongolia with Ubon Ratchathani Thailand - Aussies were in Thailand.
@@schoolssection I only remember the name from a unit wall hanging Dad had. UBON was prominent and I thought it said Bator under it. I could be wrong easily enough, it's been a long time, but it certainly wasn't Ratchathani, maybe Utapao, that's much closer. I know it was Thailand, he did a lot of trading with the Aussies, he even had a stiff hat with the folded brim.
@@petepal55 Just for your info, we call that hat, a slouch hat. The folded side brim is sometimes worn in the down position, but never while on official parades etc.
Everytime I watch Felton I always tap the “like” from the beginning because I already know the documentary is going to be excellent.
With all of the modern military technology available today, there is still no more awe inspiring sight than that of a B-52 taking to the air...
TU-95: You are joking, aren't you?
And watching it drop it’s bombs.
@@anthonystark3959 Prop driven junk
@@TheCerebralDude Still strikes terror in the heart of western nations
@@anthonystark3959 What modern western air defense would it penetrate? None
Mark knows the most about history in the world!!! He’s the king of history!!!
What the US did is just Nazi tactics, fight the communists in Azia.
They need to Bomb Wall Street! Fight the corruption!
US Army is dirty skum, and they know they are!
In 1972 I was a USAF sergeant stationed at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base (NKP) also known as “naked fanny”. It was our northern most base located across the Mekong river from Laos. We had a large variety of mostly propeller driven aircraft (A-1s, AC119s, C47s, OV-10s, T-28s, O-2s) which were used to support the Laotian government against the Communist Pathet Lao; and many HH-53 Super Jolly Green helicopters used for Search and Rescue operations. The base also held a command center that controlled electronic surveillance of North Vietnamese supply routes through southern Laos. The base was attacked unsuccessfully by “sappers” while I was on R&R in Bangkok.
Stationed at NKP from September 1971 to September 1972. I remember this well. Assigned to TFA. Unit security augmentee.
@@tomroderick8213 I was a controller working in the Rapcon near the runway. I was also assigned to the security augmentee program. Which I thought was funny because It took me several tries to qualify with the M16 before going overseas. We may have met during one of the alerts.
Regarding your comment at 8:10 of the video that "no further attacks were launched in Thailand after the attack on U-Tapao: In October of '72 the NVA and Pathet Lao attacked Udorn RTAFB. I was on the area monitor radar console at the GCI site (621st TCS, C/S "Brigham"). Not much flying going on that night but I located an AC-130 and diverted it to Udorn where it supported the base USAF and RTAF security forces. When my shift ended the next morning, .50cal gunfire could still be heard. I was told that two of the gomers were killed in the klong leading toward the radar site but they may have been headed for the Royal Thai restaurant or the motor pool. Udorn was attacked twice more that Autumn; I slept through both.
Dr Mark Felton has to be some type of a genius we only get once every few hundred years, right????
Seriously, not a joke.
Once again; learning about things I never knew even happened!
It goest to show the scope of how much stuff has to go down in order to fight a war.
It’s sobering honestly.
Thanks Mark!
These raids are fairly well know in the USAF Security Forces dog handler community because so many of the commandos were detected by the dogs...great video...this goes to show that in war combatants will do the unexpected and accomplish the "impossible".
American dogs are afraid of the smell of human feces.
I watched this video with great interest. We are led to believe that this was some great military feat. I spent 5 years in this area as a B-52 Crew Chief and later as a KC135 Crew Chief. The enemy "commandos" looked and dressed like Thai Nationals, we referred to them as "Sappers". The video mentioned that attacks were carried out Ubon and Udorn, these bases were in Northern Thailand, housing primarily Fighter Wings and special purpose aircraft. B 52 or KC135 aircraft were never stationed in the North, only at U-Tapao. In January of 72, the video correctly stated that 3 Sappers penetrated the Security perimeter and made their way to East Side of the field, the B-52 ramp. Tankers (135s) were positioned on the West side. The Sappers did use satchel charges and grenades, damaging 3 aircraft. Full disclosure, I was home in bed at the time of the attack ! ! When I got to work security was a little tighter, and the attack was topic of conversation at our usual coffee spots. The narrator said the attack very successful, 3 valuable aircraft were out of actions. In truth, all 3 damaged B-52s were (FMC) "fully mission capable " within 3 days. Just an Old Maintainer remembering my experiences as if they happened yesterday>
1967 and1968 I was there crew chief kc135
@@jessevadney9458 My load crew had just driven away from loading one of the 52's damaged. Successful raid... no. It could have been devastating since many others were fully loaded, too, with minor damage only. I wonder if we crossed paths on the flight line. Your story is far closer to the BS some folks are putting out. Clearly not even there, and talking with others who could not have been there either.
Thank you; there needs to be much more attention paid to NVA and NLF operations that were astonishingly bold and successful.
Mark, I absolutely love the channel. Can't thank you enough.
You love all Nazi content on RUclips and corrupt US Army Nazi movies?
You watch any non Nazi movies here?
Why bomb the communists? Why not Bomb Wall Street?
@@googlegmail4636 Wow, what kinda drugs are you smoking. How on earth you came up with all that from me saying; "thank you" is just astonishing. I don't even know what you're talking about
@@thecatguy4301 Let's ignore this guy he's high
@@CyrexEdits420 Ya, I'd say so. At the very least, aiyayai.
Thanks so much for this long overdue video about U-Tapao and other bases in Thailand during the Vietnam era. I was a munitions tech at U-Tapao from 6/68 to 6/69 and I recall the attack on Udorn shortly after my tour began. I was long gone by the time U-Tapao was attacked but I was there in 1968 when our bomb dump was partially destroyed due to human error. It knocked me out of bed from 1.5 miles away. Quite disconcerting!! Thanks again and keep the great videos coming.
635 MMS 74-75
@@goober208 635th MMS 68-69. Glad you made it back alright, my friend. You must have been among the last troops there.
The man of the NVA special forces, when discovered, ran towards the bomb area, so the American soldiers did not dare to shoot, so he escaped and is still alive today.
I remember visiting Hanoi and seeing the remains of the shot down B52 while drinking orange juice at the "B52 Cafe" it was a very peculiar site 😂
Nazi US Army!
@@googlegmail4636 it's the sheep like you that are put up against the wall first
Celebrate the dead USAF war criminals that went down with it
@@MozTS There were more then enough dead commies to make up for them.🖕
@@Barabel22 Who won the war at the end ?
The B-52 is like the Queen Elizabeth II of aircrafts, it's old and have outlived all of its peers and even more modern aircrafts
A-10 and B-52 would've been the royal couple
Bombers of this role will never go out of fashion...
Alright everyone, it's history time with the professor 👍
Mark is not a professor, just your daily clickbait ad!
@@googlegmail4636 what's up? You seem very unhappy. All your comments are angry and making no sense. You had a bad day? Stubbed your toe? Discovered Santa isn't real? What's up?
@@bigbootros4362 he/she misses papa
@@bigbootros4362 hes not wrong though, Mark Felton is a Doctor of history not a professor, BIG difference.
The amount of manpower such simple ideas tied up in maintaining security at the bases must have been phenomenal.
Absolutely, keeping your enemy paranoid and off balance in rear areas is priceless
Just immagine the technological jump from 1945 to 1952. Amazing
think even in the last year of ww2 from 44 to 45 there was a huge technological jump in that year on both sides
First they got the B-29s, less than 10 years later their flying B-52s
@@shutup2751 that's for sure. But just immagine the aerodynamics, the payload and power of the jet engines. Incredible that during vietnam the B-52 was already 20 years old
@@angeledduirbonesu1989 yes and the b-52 is still in use today now even able to launch cruise missiles from hundreds or even thousands of miles away
Amazing what was done with captured German technology/scientists you mean.
Mark should be rewarded for making these historical videos so well.
But unfortunately he won’t.
Certain people in power don’t like the truth, so Mark probably won’t be rewarded.
Mark, all of us put you on the top of the best historians in our day.
Thank you.
Mark, see if you can find info on this one. August 24, 1973 at Korat AFB, Thailand an incoming C-141 Starlifter (with me on it) was being scanned by a SAM 6 but Korat was home for the only Wild Weasel or SAM killer unit in the world with at least 2 Weasels armed and fueled on the alert pad. The ECM shop picked up the 6 radar signal, called the base commander, the base commander called the alert, the Weasels got the 6 before the 6 could get lock on and make things just a wee bit warm for me. That should make you a good story. :-)
As a pilot that flew many combat missions in Vietnam (and who later flew the B-52) there is no doubt in my mind that the B-52 was the MOST "instrumental" weapon in that war and was THE REASON North Vietnam HAD to sign a peace treaty with the USA and South Vietnam in early 1973.
My dad was a radar navigator for the B-52 in the 90s. He flew on the Highway of death during the Gulf War. He Still has replica shells that he hopes are passed down through the family
Well on the other hand your dad killed a defeated army even when ceasefire was declared by Russia but orders are orders right?
@@nightwalker9828 It is disgusting to think that many americans are proud of things like this
The American civil religion is disgusting
My dad was a B-52 pilot stationed at Uban air base in Thailand and he would tell us stories about how NVA snipers would attack almost weekly and they would target the air crew. Many times they were shot at and he recalled several times getting peppered with small arms on short final. It was much better to fly from Guam, he said.
If your dad flew B-52’s he was stationed at U-Tapio. No B-52’s we’re at Ubon.
I was taken to that bomber wreckage in Hanoi by a local when I was visiting. They're very proud as they said it's a monument of their defiance
The third commando deserves Vietnam War MVP - he attempted to or succeeded in destroying anything even slightly resembling a US war plane and then achieved an unlikely escape from a military airfield inside another country
Nothing gets me more hype than the Mark Felton intro music
he loves army music i guess, mad people here!
He should use German Nazi songs, royalty free too!
BUM bum bum bum bum bum BUM bum bum bum bum bum always lets me know there's interesting history coming!
@@AF-tv6uf Wipe them out, all of them!
Why he loves this evil content, freaky community it is here!
You Nazi skull freaks love him?
@@googlegmail4636 Um...I don't condone Naziism whatsoever. I'm vocally against fascism. I enjoy watching WW2 documentaries and Felton does good ones.
@@googlegmail4636 don’t you have an Antifa meeting to attend
With no direct border with Thailand meant the commandos had to traverse either Laos, Cambodia or Myanmar to reach their objectives. Quite an ambitious undertaking
Họ chọn những người biết đi đến đich ngay cả khi không có bản đồ .
My father was stationed at U-Tapao when that raid happened and mentioned it at some point while I was growing up. Perhaps some of the other people who mentioned they knew someone who was there as well might be able to corroborate this, but the story I was told was the same as Mark's until after the satchel being tossed into the B-52's engine. This is from the memory of a child, but if I recall correctly, he stated that one of the techs who was servicing a B-52 at the time had a grenade thrown at him but it didn't go off, the NVA pulled a revolver and attempted to fire at him, but that it miss fired multiple times. The technician in question later passed out while recanting the story when he realized what had happened and got a gash on his head when he fell. The other significant difference was that the NVA did not escape and were captured, "tried", and executed at the back fence by the Thai Royal Police the same day, as they had slit one of the guard's throats while sneaking onto the base. The large number of missfires and non functioning explosives were attributed to the humidity and overall age of the equiment the NVA were carrying. My father personally only heard an explosion and some gun fire, but later heard the other details from other airmen. That is how I recall it having been told to me, but again, this was 20-30 years ago when I heard this story.
Edit-spelling
I just sent the video to my dad who was a B-52 crew chief from about 1973-1978 at Castle Airforce Base California.
Charlie may not surf, but apparently he can walk one hell of a long ways carrying explosives. That's an impressive feat.
They did march a long way down south after all
Mark Felton's history lessons is like getting a puzzle of 1,000 pieces and adding one piece at a time to complete the puzzle. Long way to go though.....
I am an Australian but My hat goes of to those men.
I know. Every one of those Vietnamese patriots deserves our hats. Just like Washington and Hamilton stood tall against a distant overseas colonial empire, those martyrs to freedom risked everything to impede the distant overseas colonial imperialists.
Australia served in Vietnam as well.
@@GeckoGamer-sk8rv yes but we pulled out the year before I joined
Between you, dark docs, and the atomic Cafe, I have learned more about history than I have in years.
Brave men who remind me of British commando raids in WWII.
The NVA could have done more damage with mortar attacks and perhaps even with no loss of personnel.
It not easy to bring a mortal nearby US base,firing sound also alert entire base from the first shot and make another raid become harder
The Special Air Service destroyed more planes on the ground than the R A F shot down in North Africa. They did it again in the Falklands campaign.
@@floydvaughn836 what planes did British commandos destroy on the ground in 1982?
@@IblameBlame Pebble Island raid.
While at Tay Ninh I never saw the B-52’s but at first light we heard what sounded like thunder and knew it wasn’t the weather. I was at Bien Hoa during the ‘68’ Tet offensive and while they managed to capture a bunker they never made it onto the airbase. Between the artillery, helicopter gunships, and f-4’s dropping napalm they didn’t have a chance of succeeding, The engineers dug a pit and buried scores of bodies and body parts in a mass grave not far from the runway. The odor of rotting corpses lingered for many days after the initial attack. A more successful attack on Bien Hoa airbase happened years before I arrived in 1964.
Intro music: dramatic
History: tragic
Visuals: epic
Knowledge level: magic
Producer: Mark Felton
I was stationed at the Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in October 1972, when some guerillas attacked the flight line with the intention of blowing up the F4 reconnaissance planes flying out of there. From the second floor fire escape of my barracks I could see the smoke and hear the gunfire. This was of particular interest to me since my work station was about 50 yards from the very planes they were attacking! A Thai guard was killed and I believe a couple MPs were wounded. I got to watch from a safe distance. And that, I am happy to say, is my one and only "war story."
So my hubby is into military docs. Gets it from both his mum who was in RAF as was his dads side of the family.
Have shown him your docs and he is now hooked on your channel.
Thanks for keeping him quite and from under me feet hahaha
His mum did bomb Dresden is guess, a Nazi himself!
Why he loves this content, how dirty is that Mark dude?
Hahaha that's nice to hear
As much as I love Dr. Felton's WWII content, I love when he talks about other historical events.
The horror those people must have went through , shell shock does not even come close to describing & surviving an Arc Light strike. Great work as usual Mark.
Ya, it's terrible when your country attacks another coubtry, and then has to pay the price for it. Just awful - or is it justice?
@@Mike-gt1cs War is war, death comes in many forms, but a B-52 strike at 32k feet even in caves multiple stories down would not have a chance.I was ARMY 13 Bravo & 11 Bravo & I thought 155mm howitzer was destructive! More bombs dropped in Vietnam than WW1 & WW2 combined! All Im saying is big bombs dropped from miles up would have been messed up.
No more horrifying than the pilots who were shot to pieces in the sky over Hanoi with their planes
My dad was at Udorn in 69 and Ubon in 70 flying gunships. He never told us about the attacks, guess he didn't want us worrying about it. Very proud of my dad as he was part of the original team at Hurlbert Field in Florida testing the 105mm howitzer which they still use today on a version of the AC 130.
Amazing content Mark. 👏
I was astounded that the VC actually shot down some B52's during the war, as they fly at a very high altitude. I was most fortunate to have a guided tour of a B52 on Anderson Base in Guam Island in the late 1980's, incredible aircraft.
The Vietnamese air defense troops had been dealing with the B52 many years ago and had to suffer losses to gain experience to shoot down the B52 and protect themselves against Shrike. The Americans despised them so they had to pay a heavy price. .
great content as always
The all knowing Mark has blessed us once more with knowledge of wars of days gone by. Let us pray he gives us more
One thing B-52s and MiG-21s have in common-they have been piloted by 3 generations of pilots.
MIG 21 is still flying in some countries
One of my dads many jobs as a Sgt. in the U.S. Special Forces as a LRRP was to go out and designate these spots. I asked him once if he ever went across borders and he wouldn't give me an answer. He takes his oaths seriously. And the fact he was drafted gave me even more respect for what he accomplished. And I thank him for talking me out of involvement in what has been going on since 9/11.
Thanks Mark, I love and appreciate all of your work
The attack on Lima site 85 in Laos was another amazing feat of soldiering . To get at the critical site the NVA had to climb one mile of sheer cliff face at night, a feat the Americans on the site thought not possible.
ahhh my Felton hit has been satisfied! Don't leave it so long professor Felton! I suffer from withdrawal symptoms! So glad you out out the best content on you tube full stop
Fascinating Dr Felton. I had no idea that the NVA or Thailand were involved during the war. I did know that Pattaya's nightlife scene began for troops who were on R+R. This makes sense as U-Tapao is now Pattaya's international airport. I've flown through many times! ;-) Thanks for sharing!
Teacher: Wait why aren't you answering my questions?
Me: Mark Felton posted, I'm in my real classroom now
Sjoak 408: Not needing any PhD, this RUclips propaganda is better than what you tell me!
Teacher : Sjoak, u are expelled from school now!
Hey hey! He posted when I was at lunch.
@@googlegmail4636 LOL
@@googlegmail4636, Hah!
Another great lesson in history...that i loved watching!
The bravery of the Vietnamese is incredible. True heroes
American agent Orange heroes here only! Mad people!
No doubt, though keeping in mind the hell being rained down back home every day by these targets, I suspect you'd have no trouble finding volunteers for such missions in pretty much any country.
It would be hard to imagine a clearer, more immediate motivation.
@@GK-yi4xv exactly
Blah blah blah!
True communists- from Venezuela to Vietnam
The B52 and the TU-95 are my absolute favorite Cold War era aircraft.
What, no Vulcan! 😱
Sabre jet for me
My Dad served 4 full tours in Vietnam in the USAF, and spoke of it very little, but one time after I joined the USMC we did an operation in Thailand and after I got out it came up in conversation. I asked Dad if he ever served or took leave to Thailand, and he said he had been stationed there. He was actually a bit harsh when he said, "Yeah, I was there and because it was called a non-combat zone, we had to go out in town to buy our rifles and pistols."
At our base at Tan Son Nhut (in a USAF flight crew squadron) we were never given weapons. They were always kept locked up in a Conex Base. When we thought the Sh-t was about to hit the fan, we were told to keep in groups of two's because we had only HALF the number M-16's needed to supply every man. What a lovely war that was!
@@badguy1481 Bananas. Bananas and McNamaras.
Time to learn some more knowledge that I somehow haven't heard of, keep up these awesome videos Mr Felton!
He is actually Dr Felton! Phd. Greetings from Pretoria South Africa.
@@adriaanpretorius3411 I see, my mistake. Greetings from British Columbia Canada!
@@chigbungus875 With his knowledge he ( Dr Felton) should be a professor!
Mark Felton is the greatest, modern historian of war in my opinion. God bless you sir, and your work.
The North Vietnamese Army is the type of army that fights till the bitter end. Respect!
The B-52 is the symbol of american firepower during the Vietnam war. Still flying today ... The BUFF is an amazing airplane !
What is more amazing was how the VPA Commandos made their way across Laos, and into Thailand. Our Commandos were quite good at infiltration, it would seem.
Yes that's very good deep infiltration for uniformed troops.
@@crhu319 They didn't wear uniforms, they dressed like Thai people
@ 7:50 - there were no B-52s stationed at Ubon. That joint-use installation was, in fact, infiltrated by a small number of enemy saboteurs at the very end of September 1972 - it's been a while, so my recollection of September could be wrong. What I do remember is that since the raid occurred in two separate calendar months everyone there was given hazardous duty (or maybe it was called 'combat') pay for those months.
Mark Felton your such a chad we worship you in our lessons and the teacher put a picture of you on the board
Lol wtf
He's a 'chad'?!
How is he a small African country?
History teacher here, I have shown my classes a video or two here and there ;)
That... Is creepy...
Any Commando Raid is fraught with danger and excitement. Anyone would jump at the chance be involved in one. The courage and commitment to such an operation no matter which army they belong to is commendable.
The general public might think that the vietnam war confined to vietnam. People who get Mark Felton recommended in their feed will know it didnt.