Going Downtown

The involvement of the US Air Force in the Southeast Asian Wars began in 1962 with crews sent to train Vietnamese pilots, and with conflict in Laos, and finally ended in 1972 with the B-52 bombing of Hanoi, though there were Air Force pilots unofficially flying combat in Laos up to the end in 1975.

The missions during those years differed widely, from attacking the Ho Chi Minh Trail at night with modified T-28 trainers, to missions ‘Downtown’, the name aircrew gave Hanoi, the central target of the war.

Featuring a wide range of personal accounts and previously untold stories, this fascinating history brings together the full story of the US Air Force's struggle in the skies over Southeast Asia.