initially been reluctant to equip the Vietnamese Air Force with jet aircraft, since this would be a technical violation of the Geneva Accords and might further escalate the war. However, the US had already equipped other friendly nations in the region with jet aircraft, and pressure from the government leadership in Saigon coupled with a need to boost the sagging morale of the South Vietnamese people, led to a change of heart. The first VNAF B-57 crews began training in secret with 405th aircraft at Clark AB later in 1964. One of the students was none other than Nguyen Cao Ky, the commander of the VNAF and later president of the Republic of Vietnam. As the crews completed their training at Clark, they went to Da Nang Air Base and flew combat missions with the 405th's 8th or 13th Bombardment Squadrons, whichever happened to be on station at the time. To gain combat experience, each new crewmember flew with an American pilot or navigator, whichever the case may be. Eventually, the VNAF crew members flew in VNAF-marked B-57s, but their combat missions always remained strictly under USAF operational control. The South Vietnamese government felt at this stage that the VNAF B-57 program should be given some more visibility, and to celebrate Vietnamese Armed Forces Day, on 29 October 1965, five B-57s from the 8th Bombardment Squadron, then based at Da Nang AB, were repainted with VNAF insignia and carried out an air strike against a suspected Viet Cong stronghold and landed Tan Son Nhut Air Base. After landing, the planes took off again and joined other VNAF aircraft in a formation flyover of Saigon. Although manned solely by American crews, this attack was heralded as the introduction of VNAF B-57s into combat. However, Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots had severe difficulties operating the B-57. Vietnamese crews suddenly began to complain of various illnesses, which grounded many trainees and brought their training to a standstill. In addition, on 8 January 1966 a B-57 was destroyed in a training accident, further lowering morale. Some Vietnamese crews flatly stated that they could not physically perform the maneuvers required in the B-57. To make matters even worse, Major Nguyen Ngoc Bien, the leader of the VNAF B-57 program, was killed in a freak ground accident on 23 February 1966 at Da Nang. The death of Major Bien, who was well-liked and well-respected by