Operation End Sweep
| Operation End Sweep | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Vietnam War | |
A naval mine explodes in Haiphong Harbor on 9 March 1973 during Operation End Sweep, photographed by the automatic mine locator camera aboard an American CH-53A Sea Stallion helicopter. It is believed to be the only explosion of a mine during End Sweep. The Mark 105 hydrofoil minesweeping sled the helicopter is towing is at right.
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| Operational scope | Minesweeping |
| Planned by | U.S. Navy Mine Warfare Force |
| Objective | Clear mines from North Vietnamese waters |
| Date | 6 February – 27 July 1973 |
| Executed by | |
| Outcome | Operational success |
Operation End Sweep was a United States Navy and United States Marine Corps operation to remove naval mines from Haiphong harbor and other coastal and inland waterways in North Vietnam between February and July 1973. The operation fulfilled an American obligation under the Paris Peace Accord of January 1973, which ended direct American participation in the Vietnam War. It also was the first operational deployment of a U.S. Navy air mine countermeasures capability.
The United States had largely disengaged from the Vietnam War when North Vietnam launched its Easter Offensive into South Vietnam in March 1972. In response, the United States Air Force and U.S. Navy launched Operation Linebacker, a major bombing offensive against North Vietnam. In addition, President of the United States Richard Nixon ordered the Commander-in-Chief, United States Pacific Fleet, Admiral Bernard A. Clarey, and the Commander-in-Chief, United States Seventh Fleet, Vice Admiral James L. Holloway, to begin the Operation Pocket Money mining campaign against Haiphong and other North Vietnamese ports. The mining campaign, by U.S. Navy and United States Marine Corps attack aircraft from American aircraft carriers, began on 8 May 1972, and over the next several months laid thousands of mines in North Vietnamese waters.
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