Operation Tiger Hound was a covert U.S. 2nd Air Division, later

Seventh Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...

and

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

Task Force 77 aerial interdiction campaign conducted in southeastern Laos from 5 December 1965 till 11 November 1968, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. The purpose of the operation was to interdict the flow of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) supplies on the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Truong Son Strategic Supply Route to the North Vietnamese) from the

Democratic Republic of Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

(North Vietnam), through southeastern Laos, and into the northern provinces of the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of t ...

(South Vietnam). The missions were originally controlled by the 2d Air Division until that headquarters was superseded by the Seventh Air Force on 1 April 1966. The geographic boundary of the operation was carved from the area of Laos already under bombardment under

Operation Steel Tiger Operation Steel Tiger was a covert U.S. 2nd Air Division, later Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 aerial interdiction effort targeted against the infiltration of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) men and material moving south from t ...

. This was done at the behest of the American commander in South Vietnam, General William C. Westmoreland, who saw the area of Laos that bordered the five northernmost provinces of South Vietnam as an extension of his area of operations. The U.S.

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

agreed. Unlike Operation Barrel Roll and ''Steel Tiger,'' however, the bombing in the new area would be conducted by aircraft of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force and by U.S. Air Force units based in South Vietnam (aircraft participating in ''Barrel Roll'' and ''Steel Tiger'' were generally based in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

). By the end of 1968 and the absorption of ''Tiger Hound'' operations by

Operation Commando Hunt Operation Commando Hunt was a covert U.S. Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 aerial interdiction campaign that took place during the Vietnam War. The operation began on 15 November 1968 and ended on 29 March 1972. The objective of ...

, 103,148 tactical air sorties had been flown over Laos. These missions were supplemented by 1,718 B-52 Stratofortress sorties under

Operation Arc Light During Operation Arc Light (sometimes Arclight) from 1965 to 1973, the United States Air Force deployed B-52 Stratofortresses from bases in the U.S. Territory of Guam to provide battlefield air interdiction during the Vietnam War. This included ...

. During the same time period, 132 U.S. aircraft or helicopters were shot down over Laos.Jacob Van Staaveren, ''Interdiction in Southern Laos, 1960–1968''. Washington DC: Center for Air Force History, 1993, p. 287.

Notes

References

* Littauer, Raphael and Norman Uphoff, eds, ''The Air War in Indochina''. Boston: Beacon Press, 1972. * Schlight, John, ''A War Too Long''. Washington DC: Center of Air Force History, 1993. * Van Staaveren, Jacob, ''Interdiction in Southern Laos: 1960–1968''. Washington DC: Center for Air Force History, 1993. {{DEFAULTSORT:TigerHound, Operation Conflicts in 1965 Conflicts in 1966 Conflicts in 1967 Conflicts in 1968 Tiger Hound Tiger Hound Tiger Hound Tiger Hound Tiger Hound 1965 in Vietnam 1966 in Vietnam 1967 in Vietnam 1968 in Vietnam United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War Laos–United States relations Laotian Civil War