1962 South Vietnamese Independence Palace Bombing - Attack

Attack

Quốc and Cử, who were trained in France and the United States, respectively, were given orders to fly from Saigon to the Mekong Delta in an early morning mission against the Vietcong (VC), an armed Marxist guerilla army who wished to overthrow the government and who had backing from the Marxist government of North Vietnam. The communists had been involved in attacks on Army of the Republic of Vietnam units 60 km (37 mi) south of the capital and had inflicted heavy damage. Instead of proceeding south as ordered, they changed course to attack the Independence Palace, the official presidential residence. This meant that two companies of communist guerrillas were able to retreat after their attack without counter-attack.

At around 07:00, the deer on the expansive lawns of the French colonial-era palace were frightened off as Quốc and Cử — flying American-built A-1 Skyraiders (A1H/AD-6 variant) single-seater ground attack planes — flew low over their target to inspect the ruling family's residence. On their second run, they attacked with bombs and napalm before strafing the presidential compound with rocket and machine-gun fire. The duo continued their runs for 30 minutes before units loyal to the president arrived and launched a counter-attack. Taking advantage of poor weather and low cloud cover, the two pilots circled the palace at altitudes of around 150 m (490 ft), periodically diving out of the clouds to re-attack before darting back into them. The airstrike caught the Saigon garrison off guard and, in the confusion, they were unable to determine whether the aircraft were acting alone or with ground forces. Loyalist tanks and armoured personnel carriers rushed to their battle stations and anti-aircraft batteries opened fire, nearly hitting the loyalist aircraft from Bien Hoa Air Base in pursuit of the two rebel planes. Two tanks and a number of jeeps armed with 50-calibre machine guns patrolled the smoke-filled streets as a precaution.

The first 500 lb (230 kg) bomb penetrated a room in the western wing where Diệm was reading a biography of George Washington. The bomb failed to detonate, which gave Diệm enough time to seek shelter in a cellar in the eastern wing. He was joined there by his elder brother Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục, younger brother Ngô Đình Nhu, Madame Nhu — who sustained an arm fracture while running toward the cellar — and their children. Elsewhere within the palace, three servants and guards were killed, and about thirty more staff were injured. Outside the palace grounds, an American contractor died after falling from a rooftop where he had been watching the bombing. Despite the confusion, most of the city's inhabitants went about their usual business, indifferent to the chaos. The attack lasted 30 minutes and although they carried enough bombs to level the palace, the pilots did not expend all their munitions. Quốc's aircraft was damaged by fire from a minesweeper, forcing him to eject over the Saigon River and land in Nhà Bè, suffering minor facial injuries in the landing. He was arrested by a nearby naval patrol, and before being taken away for interrogation reportedly asked, "id I kill that filthy character?" Cử believed the attack had been successful and managed to safely flee to Cambodia. Commenting on the attack, a US Air Force officer opined: "ith that weather, they did a hell of a job".