ATTACK BY MIG'S ON U.S. WARSHIPS IN THE REPORTED; SOUTH VIETNAMESE TOWN OVERRUN

Report Is Preliminary The command emphasized A1'1t 2 0 197Z that its announcement on the Continued From Page 1, Col. 8 MIG attacks was preliminary and "subject to modification:' , has both surface-to- NORTH IS HIT AGAIN It said that preliminary re- air missiles for antiaircraft pur- ports indicated that one of the poses and rapid-ffiring 3-inch American ships was damaged and 5-inch guns. and added that four United It is one of a flotilla off more than 20 , guided-mis- Enemy Said to Lose States crewmen were reported sile frigates and that wounded. has been engaged in shelling One Plane and Two The command said that the targets northand south of the attack by at least three MIG's demilitarized zone since the Patrol Boats came at about 5 P.M. yesterday North Vietnamese offensive be- when an unspecified number gan 3 weeks ago. NYTimes of ships of the United States Information Limited By CRAIG R. WHITNEY Seventh Fleet were bombard- The command's announce- scaeas. to The ,New York Timex ing shore targets in the pan- ment gave no further details SAIGON, , handle. on the report of the incident Thursday, April 20 — The and said there were none avail- The command said that one able at the time the statement United States command an- of the ships, the guided missile was given to correspondents, nounced that American war- Sterett, started firing at shortly after 2 A.M. today. ships bombarding the coast of "several high-speed surface "Additional details will be re- North Vietnam yesterday came contacts" shown on the vessel's leased when available." under attack by MIG fighter The ships have been coming • radar. It said the contacts under attack from North Viet- planes and patrol boats in the "posed a threat to U.S. ships. Gulf of Tonkin. namese shore batteries almost One MIG Reported Down daily. One, the Bu- The command said that, ac- chanan, was reported hit by a cording to first reports from "Preliminary reports indicate round from North Vietnamese one MIG aircraft was destroyed the American ships one MIG shore batteries on Monday. On& was shot down and two of the and two enemy surface craft sailor was killed and seven were believed sunk by fire were wounded. attacking boats were believed Another guided-missile frig- sunk. At least three North from the Sterett," the an- nouncement said. "These re- ate, the Worden, was operating Vietnamese MIG's were said to in the northern port of the Gulf have attacked the ships, which ports indicate some damage to of Tonkin during the air raids were reported firing at targets one U.S. ship, not the Sterett. over early Sunday Four U.S. Navy men were re- in the southern panhandle and was damaged by an ex- ported wounded." plosion. The Pentagon suggest- area of North Vietnam, 20 to ed the next day that it might 30 miles north of the demili- This was believed to be the have been caused by enemy tarized zone. first time in the war that North fire from North Vietnamese tor- The reported air-sea action Vietnamese MIG's had attacked pedo boats in the same area, came as the United States com- American naval ships in the but yesterday the United States Gulf of Tonkin. command here said that exam- mand resumed the strategic ination of "ordinance frag- bombing campaign against The Sterett, one of the Bel- ments" on the ship, which has North Vietnam with more than knap class of guided-missile been towed to the naval base 125 strikes, all in the southern Continued on Page 20, Column I at Subic Bay in the Philippines, panhandle below the 20th Par- indicated it was "inadvertently struck by antiradiation missiles allel, according to informed of- launched from friendly air- ficers. The resumption followed craft." two days in which only a hand- Antiradiation missiles are de- ful of bombing missions were signed to home in on enemy flown in North Vietnam. radar installations. I Official Silence Maintained missions over Haiphong Sun- The United States command has maintained official silence day. • about both the air strikes and Any hope on the part of the United States Administration the let-up in them during the NORTH two days that followed the that the let-up in bombing raids VIETNAM weekend bombing of the Hanoi over North Vietnam would bring about a reduction in the 610 and Haiphong areas. Officers close to the planning say the intensity of the current enemy of let-up was decided on to give offensive in the south appears Tonkin. the Nixon Administration time to have been dashed by events to assess the effects on the of the last three days, with North Vietnamese Government fresh attacks in two provinces and on public and political on the central coast of South opinion. Vietnam and Continued pressure on Quangtri Province in the Since the weekend strikes, north and Binhlong Province Topyri;nlit\_... ■ informed officers said, no raids Chonthai;b have been flown as far north close to Saigon. BINHOUONG(3--:" as Hanoi or Haiphong. The weather over North Viet- PROY • They reported that the tar- nam Monday and Tuesday was L5iiche SOUTH gets for the increased number described by officers in Danang I VIETNAM of raids in the panhandle area as "clear," so the halt was yesterday were "logistical" in certainly not a result of the nature. In the previous raids, weather, as was the case at the beginning April 6, these in- beginning of the North Viet- cluded petroleum storage areas, namese offensive. roads, bridges and airfields. Missions Near Peak American planes have also been hitting surface-to-air mis- The reinforced group of about sile sites and antiaircraft artil- 700 Air Force and Navy fighter-, lery positions just north of the bombers and more than 100 demilitarized zone, to eliminate B-52's flew a near-record level the threat they pose to Ameri- of missions Monday and Tues- can and South Vietnamese air- day in support of Government planes flying bombing missions troops fighting in the South, in support of Saigon's troops and air operations along the below the zone. Ho Chi Minh Trail network in Laos have been cut by about B-52 Bombers Involved two-thirds of their previous The raids over Haiphong and levels of several hundred strikes the earlier strikes below the a day. Saudi 20th Parallel last week involved The Command's announce- Chino B-52 bombers of the Strategic ment on the Worden incident roOter SCa Air Command as well as said: smaller fighter-bombers, which "Although details have not flew 275 sorties in the North been finally confirmed, in the Vietnamese panhandle fro professional judgment of Navy April 9 to 15. officials who have examined The New York Times/April 20, 1972 The number of B-52 raids has fragments found on the Wor- U.S. warships were reportedly attacked by MIG's and not been disclosed, although in- den, it now seems mostl likely patrol boats near buffer zone (1). U.S. jets resumed formed officials have said that that two antiradiation missiles heavy raids on North Vietnam's panhandle (2). Fighting 18 of the eight-engine bombers were either inadvertently flared near Quangtri (3), and Hoaian (4) was overrun participated in the predawn launched by friendly aircraft by foe. On front north of Saigon, Laikhe (5) came under or malfunctioned upon launch attack. hi Cambodia, enemy units cut key Route 1 (6). and homed on radar emissions from the Worden, exploding close to the ship. One man was killed and nine others were injured, only one seriously, and the superstructure of the ship was penetrated by numerous small fragments." The statement said further, "the Worden was hit at 3:35 AM., 16 April (Vietnam time) while on station in the northern Gulf of Tonkin for air-sea res- cue purposes, supporting United , States aircraft conducting raids over North Vietnam. At the

Arne Worden. was hit, both at- tack and support aircraft were In the vicinity of the ship. Since high-speed North Vietnamese surface craft were also present in the vicinity of U.S.S. Worden, it was necessary to await an , examination of the fragments to rule out the possibility of hostile origin."