11/01/1964: Viet Cong Escalates with Mortar & Rocket Attack on Bien Hoa Air Base
In the early hours of November 1st 1964, the Bien Hoa Air Base, situated 12 miles North of Saigon, came under fierce rocket and mortar fire from the Viet Cong. A squadron of B-57 bombers was immobilized, with 5 destroyed, and a further 15 damaged. Four U.S. servicemen and two Vietnamese were killed, and a [...]
10/16/1964: China Tests Atomic Bomb
China, an ally of North Vietnam, triggered a 22 kiloton atomic bomb on October 16th 1964. In doing so, it became the world’s 5th nuclear power. The project was started in June 1959 (hence codenamed “596″) after the Soviets ceased assisting the Chinese in nuclear weapons development. Two years later, China would develop a nuclear [...]
10/14/1964: US to Accompany Laotian Air Force
1964: The Pentagon authorizes U.S. fighters from Navy aircraft carriers at “Yankee Station” off the coast in the Gulf of Tonkin to fly escort for Laotian Air Force T-28 fighter-bombers on bombing missions against Viet Cong and North Vietnamese targets in Laos, protecting the T-28s from North Vietnamese MiGs. (Article for “Vietnam War Timeline” / [...]