What if, seeing the success of Operation Kingpin in 1970, members of the military(particularly the Air Force and Navy) start thinking mounting of a larger scale raid on Hoa Loa (aka: the Hanoi Hilton) in early 1971, without the approval of the civilian leadership(think of something on a vastly bigger scale than proposed in Stephen Coonts' "Flight of the Intruder") . They're driven both by the horrible restrictions placed on them in fighting the war and the overwhelming desire to rescue their fellow comrades out of the horrible situation that exists at Hoa Loa.
The plan would probably be a one night coup de main. Air Force, Navy, and Marine attack and fighter aircraft would pound the crap out of the air defenses around Hanoi as well as go after the NVA's fighter aircraft. Meanwhile, Air Force B-52s level the NVA's airfields, paving the way for a raiding force of 300 heliborne Marines to seize and hold Hoa Loa prison with while the POWs are evacuated. The helicopters would recieve close air support provided by A-1 Skyraiders to help with the exfiltration.
I guess the big question is, could the military get away with doing something this big without approval from higher up? I highly doubt that any of the brass would have had qualms about running an operation like this, and I doubt that you'd have problems finding pilots and troops who were willing to participate in something like this.
Finally if it is successful, the raid could help do a couple of things:
1)Convince the North Vietnamese that we've gotten serious about fighting the war.
2)If you're able to grab a few Soviets/East Germans at Hoa Loa and show them off to the world, it will succeed in embarassing the Russians on the world stage.
3)Provide a bump for the approval rating of the war.
Thoughts?
The plan would probably be a one night coup de main. Air Force, Navy, and Marine attack and fighter aircraft would pound the crap out of the air defenses around Hanoi as well as go after the NVA's fighter aircraft. Meanwhile, Air Force B-52s level the NVA's airfields, paving the way for a raiding force of 300 heliborne Marines to seize and hold Hoa Loa prison with while the POWs are evacuated. The helicopters would recieve close air support provided by A-1 Skyraiders to help with the exfiltration.
I guess the big question is, could the military get away with doing something this big without approval from higher up? I highly doubt that any of the brass would have had qualms about running an operation like this, and I doubt that you'd have problems finding pilots and troops who were willing to participate in something like this.
Finally if it is successful, the raid could help do a couple of things:
1)Convince the North Vietnamese that we've gotten serious about fighting the war.
2)If you're able to grab a few Soviets/East Germans at Hoa Loa and show them off to the world, it will succeed in embarassing the Russians on the world stage.
3)Provide a bump for the approval rating of the war.
Thoughts?