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learned from Laos will be studied intently for years to come to find better and safer means to carry out the airmobile mission. The general reaction of the Army aviator after LAMSON 719 was "if we could pull this off under these conditions, we can do it anywhere in the world." The senior commanders on the scene seem to share this conclusion.
In the context of the enemy's highly developed antiaircraft defense capability, can we make a valid judgment of the airmobile concept from the results of LAMSON 719? Let's be candid. Our total helicopter losses during this operation were 107 aircraft. Taken by itself, that figure seems a de facto indictment of the concept. But the last statistic does not tell the whole story—indeed, it is totally misleading if left unqualified.
The basic fact is: LAMSON 719 would never have been undertaken, much less successfully completed, without the support of thousands of helicopter sorties. And for every thousand sorties the loss rate was only one quarter of one percent. Granted, every helicopter loss was regrettable; however, this ratio does show a very high rate of accomplishment versus attrition. Most of these losses were troop transport Hueys—and more than half of these were lost just as they approached landing zones. This again points out in the strongest way that the helicopter is most vulnerable as it comes to a hover over an unsecured or partially secured area. In other words, the safety of the helicopter pilot depends very much on the infantryman on the ground who he supports.
Not unexpectedly, the older Huey gunships did not fare as well as the Cobra in this intense air defense environment. The higher attrition rate of the armed Huey's proved that the move to the faster and better protected Cobra was timely and necessary. Many of the Cobras were hit by 12.7-mm fire but managed to return to base and, eventually, return to combat.
I recognize that this account of LAMSON 719 focuses on the airmobility aspects and does not pretend to tell the entire story of this important battle, a battle that is perhaps too recent to put into true historical perspective. One thing is certain. Without the air support of the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marines, LAMSON 719 would never have even been planned, much less would it have succeeded.