General Statistics-- Vietnam

Casualties

1. Estimated overall at 5,773,190

z. Estimated dead 2,122,Z44

3. Americans killed 58,169 at an average age of 23.11 years - 304,000 wounded

4. 11,465 killed were less than zo years

5. 1 in 10 Americans who served in Vietnam were casualties

6. 75,000 Veterans were severely disabled

7· Amputation and crippling wounds were 300% higher than WWz

8. 51% of deaths and 16% of wounds were caused by small arms fire.(World War   II 32%  Korea 33%). The higher rate in Vietnam was contributed to the high    velocity rapid fire weapons such as the AK47 and captured M16s.

9·  36% of deaths and 65% of wounds were caused by fragments from artillery

10. 11% of deaths and 15% of wounds were caused by booby traps and mines

11. 2% of wounds were caused by punji stakes

14. 2% of deaths and 2% of wounds were caused by other means

13. There were 18military hospitals scattered throughout Vietnam

14. Medivac helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions

15. 900,000 patients were airlifted(almost half being American)

16. Average time lapse from being wounded to hospitalisation was one hour

17· Percentage of those seriously wounded who were saved 82 %

18. Percentage of wounded ;ho died after arriving at hospital 2.6

19. There were almost twice as many casualties in South East Asia(primarily

Cambodia)in the first two years after the fall of Siagon in 1975 than there were during the ten years the US was involved.

20. 1973- US POWs in SE Asia 591, missing in action 1,380, unaccounted for 1,929.

21. US War Casualties

22. Casualties - US versus NVA/VC

23· North Vietnamese military personnel and Vietcong reported to have died in

combat 444,000 .

24· Estimated number of Vietnamese civilians killed in the war 587,000.

25· Estimated number of Vietnamese civilians wounded in the war 935,000.

26. Number of South Vietnamese military personnel killed during the war 440,357

27· Number of South Vietnamese military personnel wounded during the war 499,000

28. Number of South Vietnamese military personnel who deserted between 1965 and 1972 840,000.

29· Number of US NCOs and US Officers killed by their own troops 86.

30· Number of US NCOs and US Officers wounded by their own troops 714.

31.Number of probable explosive-device assaults (fraggings) against officers by US servicemen 788 .

The Air War

The US flew 1,899,688 sorties and dropped 6,727,084 tons bombs on Indo China,

compared with the 2,700,00 tons of bombs dropped on Germany during the Second World War

World War

2. US conducted 124,537l B57l missions, expending :1,633,035 tons of ordnance

3 .18 B52S were lost to enemy action with 13 more lost in collisions and accident!

4. 75° Aircraft (Fixed Wing) were lost in Vietnam.

5. More than 8,000 US Airmen were killed

6. Approx. 12,000 helicopters saw service in Vietnam (all services)

7. 4865 Helicopters were downed by Communist ground fire at a cost of 5250,000 ea.

8. Aircraft Flown In Vietnam

9. By the end of 1968 Royal Australian Air Force(RAAF) 9 Sqn with only 6

helicopters had amassed 100,000 sorties in support of Australian troops, carried more than 150,000 passengers and evacuated from the battle field 2,000 casualties. Overall the RAAF co nducted ))t,Ooo m issions of which )15,000 were operational sorties.

10. The RAAF N02 Sqn (Canberra Bombers) lost 2 aircraft in Vietnam. 1 shot down by a SAM and 1 lost without trace.

11. RAAF 9 Sqn (Iroqcois Helicopters) lost 7 aircraft. NO 35 Sqn(Caribou) lost 3

aircraft .

12. 35 Royal Australian Navy(RAN) Helicopter Pilots saw service in Vietnam and

flew a tornl of 33,735 hours.

13. Amount of the damage, in dollars, inflicted on North Vietnam by US bombing

raids $600,000,000

14. Cost of U S bombing raids on North Vietnam $6,000,000,000 .

The Ground War I

I . 2.59 million Americas saw service in Vietnam

2. From 1957 to 1973 the NLF assassinated 36,725 South Vietnamese and abducted another 58.499 .

The Chemical War

3,500,000 acres of Vietnam was sprayed with 19 million gallons of Defoliants. the effects that will last 100 years.

Naval Operations I

HMAS Hobart served 3 times and fired a. total of 42,475 rounds in support of ground troops. HMAS Perth, 3 deployments, firing 30,711 rounds, HMAS Brisbane, twice, firing 15.651 rounds and HMAS Vendetta once, firing 13,709 rounds of ordnance.

The Infantry Combat Soldier

1. Average age of Infantry soldiers was 20 years.

2. Average age during World War 2 was 26 years.

3· The infantry soldier in the South Pacific in WW2 saw about 40 days of combat in four years

4· The American infantry soldier in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in 1 year.

5· The Australian infantry soldier saw an average of 314 days combat in 1 year.

Logistics

1.352(US) Billion Dollars spent on the war.

2. 760,000 tons of supplies arrived each month.

3. 10 million field rations were consumed each month.

4. 71,000 tons of ammunition was expended each month.

5. 303million litres of petroleum products were consumed each month.

6. Engineers paved 33,450hectares of airfields and heliports.

7. Eingineers constructed 18,000 hectares of covered and open storage facilities plus 14,150cubic metres of refrigerated storage.

8. Engineers contructed 4,740 km of roads, built 4,600 metres of bridges and

constructed 15large fortified bases.

9. Average number of artillery rounds expended in one day by the US in Vietnam

10,000.

10. Cost per artillery round $100 .Cost per day $1,000,000

II. Cost of one sortie for a B-52 bomber $30,000

12. Amount of aid, in dollars, provided to North Vietnam and the Vietcong by the

Soviet Union and China $3,000,000,000 .

Civilian

1. There were 140,000 Vietnamese evacuees in April 1975.(The Fall Of Saigon).

2. An estimated 10 million Vietnamese were refugees being 55%of the population

including 900,000 orphans

3· Estimated number of Vietnamese civilians killed in the war 587,000.

4· Estimated number of Vietnamese civilians wounded in the war 935,000

At Wars End - Equipment Lost To Communist Forces(Estimated)

1. 550 light and medium tanks.

2. I,2OO Armoured Personnel Carrrers(APC).

3. 80 small ships and landing craft.

4· 1,000 aircraft including 200 fighters and ground attacks aircraft.

5. 10O transport aircraft and 500 helicopters.

Statistics: Total Australian service casualties in the Vietnam War, 1962-72

Service   Died  Wounded/injured/ill  Total

Army      478        3,025              3,505

RAN         8            48                  56

RAAF      14            56                  70

TOTAL    500        3129                3,629

Note: The total of 500 deaths comprises 426 battle casualties and 74 non~battle

casualties.