YOUR CHILDREN'S TEETH

is an immediate use and fills an imperative need it provides a film link between the air staff planner in the Pentagon and the combat operation in South East Asia it also serves to keep the American public informed on the latest progress of their fighting forces equally important it finds a lasting use as Visual History caught and recorded at the moment on the spot the highest priority in the photo squadron's mission is Armament recording photography this is overthe Target combat documentation filmed for the most part by cameras installed in the strike aircraft [Music] [Music] air strikes are filmed in direct contact with the Enemy under hostile fire as evidenced by these tracers it is combat Photography in its purest form the footage supplies vital operational information and answers urgent questions was the target hit which weapon worked best against [Music] [Music] what improvements in delivery techniques and weaponry are needed [Music] watch this Mig try to evade our [Music] missile good strike footage is operationally priceless adequate air strike coverage calls for cameras filming forward and act at various speeds and settings depending on the type of ordinance carried some of the sophisticated Fighters arriving in Vietnam had no Provisions for air strike photography others had outdated gun cameras aavs Personnel tackled the gun camera problems headon today the gun cameras installed by aavs in Southeast Asia exceed 95% effectiveness [Music] this aiming device or pipper appears on most gun camera [Music] footage a pod installation fitted to external pylons and mounted on the aircraft at an ordinance station houses two high-speed cameras one looking forward the other looking at the Pod can be used for tail Chase and for recording weapon deliveries of its own aircraft pod cameras are only an interim measure the Pod development program was tackled with two goals in mind first how to best photograph weapon deliveries and second how to install the cameras in the [Music] aircraft this latter problem was solved by devising a blister camera installation briefly a blister is a protrusion on the aircraft this approximated the ideal of mounting the camera array inside the aircraft like the pods they house cameras aimed forward and a and are automatically activated when the pilot find his guns or drops his ordinance Motion Picture cameramen and still photographers of the 600th also ride into combat with the Jets attacking heavily defended Targets in North and South Vietnam with the Forward Air controllers in their low-flying aircraft from their vantage point the combat cameraman records air strikes against the enemy below him with hundreds of combat sorties flown each day the 600th photo teams must load download service maintain and repair the air strike cameras they work fast to unload the exposed film and get it into the lab for immediate processing the photo squadron's five labs are equipped for 16 mm color Motion Picture processing housed in air transportable trailers air conditioned and fully equipped these labs are the nerve centers of the whole air strike combat documentary Mission within hours after touchdown the labs process and deliver to the fighter unit commanders Intelligence Officers and Pilots color films of the day combat missions for Rapid Post strike analysis this footage documents several strafing runs at an enemy petroleum Depot [Music] here there's no need for a return Mission the air strike footage is called by the film editors at each motion picture lab the most significant footage is used nightly to brief the commander of the seventh Air Force in Southeast Asia rush to the commander of the Pacific Air Forces to Washington for viewing by the air staff and ultimately for public release strike footage is also carefully screened by the intelligence fraternity at all levels of command South Vietnam fax ins spotter aircraft seek out the enemy Mark the location with smoke then call in the fighters to destroy North Vietnamese and Viet Kong targets such as base camps roads and truck Parks Food and munition storage areas [Music] Supply routs underground bunkers trenches foxholes and fortifications sh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] these mini guns fire 6,000 rounds per minute [Music] until March 31st 1968 Air Force Fighters and fighter bombers flew daily missions against North Vietnam major communist military targets north of the 20th parallel near Hanoi and high Fong Pilots struck communist airfields power plants Iron and Steel complexes and army barracks they encountered heavy Savage conventional and surfac to- a missile and anti-aircraft fire as well as enemy mate [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] sh you [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] the selected original is forwarded to the Air Force archives to be cataloged and stored permanently as a historical record another type of air strike photography is filmed by specially designed cameras focused on the combat aircraft radar Scopes immediately after downloading the exposed black and white film goes into an automatic processor and comes out within minutes ready for immediate evaluation by the Tactical fighter [Music] unit a panoramic strike Tammer