Was fighting in the Vietnam war unusual?

Answer 1

1. It was more unusual than past US wars, in that the US jets of that era had NOT ever been used in combat before. US jets had to fight NVAF jets that were about equal in technology; and to fight weapons that the US had never fought before...SAMs! (Surface to Air Missiles).

2. The Vietnam War totally reversed the US Air Force and US Navy aircraft strategy during the cold war period. The USAF/USN jet aircraft had been designed specifically to attack Soviet bombers and to protect the US Fleets at sea with air to air MISSILES. No guns were being installed on the new aircraft (with very rare exceptions). The skies over North Vietnam (the air war) changed all of that...even today, all US jets NOW have guns on them.

3. USN warships were going all missiles. The Sherman Class US Destroyers built in the 1950's were the last US all gun destroyers (the Tonkin Gulf Incident USS Turner Joy was a Sherman class US Destroyer). Destroyers after the Sherman Class were having MISSILES as their primary weapons. Vietnam caused a new twist in the navy's thinking. Vietnam needed guns! For shore bombardment (the gunline). The battleship USS New Jersey (Iowa Class) had to be re-activated; she delivered almost 6,000 sixteen inch shells to the enemy in Vietnam. The New Jersey was history's last ALL GUN BATTLESHIP to see action...she had no missiles (as a primary battery).

4. The Vietnam War was also the last war fought by US WWII veterans.