U.S. Fighter-Bombers Penetrate Deep into North Vietnam

June 22, 1965 - United States fighter-bombers made their deepest penetration into North Vietnam today and, for the first time, poured bombs and rockets on targets north of the “Hanoi line.”

A U.S. spokesman said one raid was against army barracks at Son La, 110 miles northwest of Hanoi and only 80 miles from the Red Chinese border. It also was 55 miles from Dien Bien Phu, where the French went down to defeat in Indochina in 1954.

Eight U.S. Air Force F-105 Thunderchiefs dropped 17 tons of 750-pound bombs on the complex, destroying nine buildings and damaging 20 others, the spokesman said. The Thunderchiefs, escorted by 20 other planes, were over the target for 30 minutes. 

Another group of eight Thunderchiefs with the same 20 escorts attacked the Van Nuoc Chien ammunition depot 70 miles west northwest of Hanoi. Moderate damage was reported to the target, an indication that there were no secondary explosions caused by exploding ammunition. No enemy aircraft were sighted, and antiaircraft fire was light to moderate, the spokesman said.

The previous northernmost penetration of North Vietnam was a U.S. Navy strike against Hon Gay, 75 miles east of Hanoi. This was during the August 1964 Gulf of Tonkin crisis. The nearest raid to Hanoi was 45 miles to the south earlier this year.

In all, some 60 U.S. and Vietnamese air force and U.S. Navy planes dropped about 300 tons of bombs on widely scattered targets in North Vietnam today. 

In related news, two U.S. Marines were killed when their jeep hit a land mine 8½ miles west of Danang. They were en route to reestablish contact with an artillery unit which was without communications. The death of the Marines brought the number of American combat dead in Vietnam to 419.

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