In the beginning was the word- [grunt] -the spoken word which sometimes
provoked combat.
[Music]
Then came the picture- a combat picture- as man sought to record
for his fellow man the nature of his experiences and the lessons he learned.
From the picture came written words at first a kind of artists shorthand the
first crude attempts to create pictures with words but the picture is made with
words were often obscure. They couldn't tell the whole story and much of their
impact was lost in the translation. For centuries then man has relied on the
universal language of pictures to document his armed conflicts. As the
technology of war progressed, so did the techniques and the tools of the artist.
The greatest single improvement occurred in the 1860s, during the Civil War, when a
revolutionary new device for recording historic events was introduced [shutter clicks].
The camera. There was no nonsense, no romantic inaccuracy ,about the camera. It captured
exactly what it saw with sometimes appalling reality.
And as the equipment and the techniques improved, photography became an
increasingly vital source of historic reference military strategy and public
information.The invention of motion pictures added a new dimension. 1914- on
the Western Front. [Sound of gunfire and airplane motors]
The combat cameraman established himself as an indispensable member of the military
team. World War II was documented by 50 million feet
of incomparable combat footage.
[Sound of gunfire and airplane engines and explosions]
The end of World War 2 marked the beginning of a new assault in the
vanguard of the burgeoning jet age, sleek new aircraft were already smashing
through the sound barrier. New speeds and performance levels required more
sophisticated weapons, radio and radar systems- and once again as in the past
the advances in the technology of war required corresponding advances in the
tools and techniques of war's documentation. This is the story of how a
serious technological gap was closed in Southeast Asia when US Air Force combat
photography took up the challenge and gave a new look to the age-old language
of pictures and in color.
[Music]
In the mid-60s, the United States became an active participant in South Vietnam's
struggle for freedom.
[Sounds of gunfire]
Air Force fighter bombers went into action only to learn the Air Force photo
capability then in the field was too small- a stepped-up demand for films too
great-combat camera development had dropped too far behind supersonic
fighter aircraft technology and ordnance delivery techniques. In 1965 recognizing
the need for remedial action the US Air Force chief of staff directed that an
entirely new operation plan be formulated .The planning task was
assigned to aerospace audiovisual service- AAVS- through its parent
organization the Military Airlift Command- MAC. The MAC and AAVS planning
staffs followed through. The requested plan was submitted in record time and
approval was received in December of that year. Two months later the 600th
Photo Squadron, a single manager combat photo capability, including all photo
except reconnaissance, began to take shape at Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon.
(Sounds of aircraft taking off]
The combat photo function was beginning to align itself with all other Air Force
operations in the theater. Headquartered in Vietnam the squadron established
detachments throughout Southeast Asia. One primary mission is combat
documentation called "Com Doc." It produces historical documentation footage on the
ground, in the air, on every phase of the Vietnam conflict.
you see Air Force "Com Doc" photographers jump into battle
[Music]
The "Com Doc" cameraman document anything and everything of significance.
[Music and sound effects]
The wounded soldier leaves the battlefield within minutes.
Max Medical air evacuation back home in less than 24 hours.
[Music and sound effects]
Puff, the Magic Dragon-18 thousand rounds a minute. Com Doc footage finds 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 Southeast 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 .
[Sound effects]
The highest priority in the photo
squadron's mission is armament reporting photography. This is over the target
combat documentation filmed for the most part by cameras installed in the strike aircraft.
[Sound of bombs exploding]
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.
[Sound effects of aircraft and tracers firing]
The footage supplies vital operational information and answers merchant
questions. Was the target hit?
[Sounds of bombs exploding]
Which weapon work best against it?
[Sounds of bombs exploding and aircraft flying]
What improvements in delivery techniques and weaponry are needed?
Watch this MIG try to evade our missile.
[Music, aircraft sounds and explosion]
Good strike footage is operationally priceless.
Adequate airstrike coverage calls for cameras filming forward and aft, at various
speeds and settings, depending on the type of ordnance 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 head-on. Today, the gun cameras installed by AAVS
in Southeast Asia exceed 95% effectiveness. This aiming device or
kipper appears on most gun camera footage.
[Sounds of aircraft]
A pod installation fitted to external pylons and mounted on the aircraft at an
ordnance station houses two high-speed cameras- one looking forward- the other
looking aft. 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
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 aft, and are automatically
activated when the pilot fires his guns or drops his ordnance.
Motion picture cameramen and still photographers of the 600th also ride
into combat with the jets. [Sound of jet taking off]. 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 airstrike cameras. They work fast to
unload the exposed film, and get it into the lab for immediate processing. The
photo squadrons five labs are equipped for 16 millimeter color motion picture
processing. Housed in air transportable trailers, air-conditioned and fully
equipped, these labs are the nerve centers of the whole airstrike 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's combat missions, for rapid post strike analysis.
This footage documents several strafing runs at an enemy petroleum depot.
Here- there's no need for a return mission. The airstrike footage is culled
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, rushed 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 facts in spotter aircraft seek out the
enemy mark the location with smoke, then call in the fighters to destroy North
Vietnamese and Viet Cong targets such as base camps, roads and truck parks, food
and munitions storage areas,
supply routes,
underground bunkers, trenches,foxholes, and fortifications.
[Sounds of gunfire and bombs exploding]
These mini guns fire 6,000 rounds per minute.
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 Haiphong, pilots struck communist airfields, power plants,
iron and steel complexes, and army barracks. They encountered heavy savage
conventional and surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft fir, as well as enemy MIGs.
[Sounds of aircraft and bombs exploding]
A selected original is forwarded to the Air Force archives to be cataloged and
stored permanently, as a historical record. Another type of airstrike
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 Unit.
A panoramic strike camera also provides a rapid look at combat results. This
camera records an image that extends from horizon to horizon, fore and aft,
along the aircraft flight path by means of a rotating prism. A portable
processing unit, designed for 70 millimeter film, provides short
processing time, ease of operation, and quality reproduction.The transfer film
is pre-imbibed with a developer and a fixer. As the transfer film contacts the
exposed film, processing takes place producing both a negative and a positive
transparency. Within an hour after landing, prints made from the positive
transparencies are ready for viewing by Tactical Fighter Units.They provide
excellent operational information for the combat pilots and for intelligence
personnel. The most significant negatives are turned over to intelligence for
further in-depth study. The 600th maintains a fully equipped still photo
laboratory at each of its 17 theater locations for reproducing
black-and-white and color photography. The major portion of the still mission
is to produce black-and-white still photographs for release through
information channels in Southeast Asia as well as bass still lab requirements.
Additional black-and-white and color still photographs are forwarded to
Washington for release by Air Force Information. The original negatives and
color transparencies are forwarded to the Air Force Still Depository for
future use and historical preservation. These pictures represent one day's
output of quality photography. Still photo coverage includes civic
action, newsworthy events,operational combat activity, and the vital airstrike
combat mission. All Air Force combat photography from Southeast Asia
eventually finds a use. You see it everywhere-in every form of visual media
from newspapers and magazines to motion pictures and television. The Air Force
was given the job of defending South Vietnam with its massive airpower,
and F-105 has just scored another MIG kill. The pilot said I fired a burst from
my 20 millimeter cannon and the MIG blew up only 15 or 20 feet in front of me.
The following excerpts from Air Force motion picture productions best demonstrate
further use of Air Force combat photography received from Southeast Asia.
Bien Hoa, in Vietnam.A monthly news review distributed internally throughout the
entire Air Force, to provide its members with a broad view of significant and
interesting events. General William Westmoreland, Commander,Military
Assistance Command,Vietnam, in a message to the 7th Air Force, headquartered at
Tan Son Nhut, wrote, "The performance of the 7th Air Force, in meeting airlift
requirements in Vietnam over the past year, has been outstanding..."
"...equipment and supplies are unloaded near the village of Tuy Hoa..."
"...for the start of construction of a new airbase some 75 miles north of Cam Ranh Bay."
" All construction is under the engineering supervision of the Air Force
Civil Engineers, 45 days ahead of schedule, Tuy Hoa Air Base began initial
operations." "Mayday Mayday Mayday." This is Red Rooster Lee [unintelligible} that's been
shot down." Sound clips for the Air Force Command Post and the American public.
A pilot is saved by helicopter. A rescue by the Jolly Green Giant. A dramatic factual
short clip. They report for the Air Staff and the American public. "Although every air rescue is different, what you have seen is
happens all the time in this war out here. And that means hundreds of our best
men saved." On the ground and in the air, the United States Air Force Combat Photo
mission in Southeast Asia is served around the clock from 16 units and its
operating squadron headquarters at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon. The Vietnam
detachments all operating mainly out of trailers and bands are located
throughout South Vietnam. Cam Ranh Bay, Phan Rang,
Bien Hoa Da Nang, Tua Hoy, Nha Trang, Pleiku,
Binh Thuy, and Phu Cat.
The Thai detachments housed in specially designed air conditioned buildings,
report to squadron headquarters through the six all first photo flight located
at Korat. The detachments in Thailand, reporting to the Photo Flight, are Takhli, Ubon,
Udorn, U-Tapao, Don Muang, and Nakhon Phanom.
This is how the Air Force combat photo mission in Southeast Asia is being
accomplished today. An impossible task for the Air Force, and AAVS, had it not
been for the valuable contributions and material assistance afforded by various
Air Staff agencies and major commands. We've shown how the Air Force is closing
a technological gap bringing combat aircraft and combat camera together
again as a highly skilled working team. Looking back to the start,
it seems we've come a long way in a rather short while.
Looking ahead to the future, our goal is to keep pace with technology and satisfy
the needs of the Air Force. You may rest assured that when your Air
Force has done its job in Southeast Asia, the final photographic record will be complete.
[Music]
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