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Attacks against Suiho dam
John2:
>Does it mean then Suiho dam complex was not totally destroyed in the 6/52
>US raid?
>Anyone has info on this? John 2
It is hard that a target of such importance could be totally destroyed in
only one raid, even if such raid was huge and include many planes.
Addittionally, the repairing teams were usually well-known for re-built the
destroyed targets in record time: remember the Paul Doumer bridge in Hanoi
during Vietnam War, it was attacked, destroyed and re-built several times
during 1967. Remember that Ham Rong bridge (the famous ´Dragon Jaws´) was
visited by 593 US naval planes during 1965-68 plus more than 100 USAF planes
in 1965 and 1966, and it remained intact until 1972! and even after its
destruction on May 13 1972 by F-4D Phantoms of the 8th TFW armed with
Paveways laser-guided bombs, only the frequent visits of the USAF between
May and October 1972 prevent the Vietnamese to re-construct the bridge.
The proof that the Suiho dam was not totally destroyed on June 1952 was the
raid performed on April 12 1953 by F-84s escorted by Sabres of the 51st FIW,
who originated the aerial battles where the Soviet MiG-15s of 32nd IAD shot
down 3 F-86s (including McConnell) and 1 F-84 while lossing 2 MiGs (one of
them Fedorets) plus 2 Chinese MiGs.
One possible reason why such target resist so many attacks was the amount of
AA guns around it. It is known that many Soviet MiG-15 pilots who were in
trouble being chased by Sabres headed towards Suiho dam because the 85 and
100 mm AA guns of the plant could disuade the most brave US pilot to
continue the chase. MiG-15 pilot Captain Sergei Kramarenko (176th IAP, 324th
IAD) rememebered that during an engagement with 3 Sabres in September 1952,
he shot down one of the F-86s -probably the F-86A BuNo 49-1139 or 49-1227,
but I’m not sure, if anyone has info about it, thanks in advance- but
the remaining 2 Sabres began to chase him and when he realized that he could
not get them out of his tail, he went to Suiho. He remembered that when the
flak grenates began to explode around him and his chasers, the Sabres broke
off and headed home. Kramarenko barely evaded being shot down by the
friendly fire, but he prefered to took the chance.
I hope this give you a new perspective.
Regards,
Diego.
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