Strike in Progress
The FAC has directed a strike
against the intersection. The
plumes of smoke probably are from 750-pound general-purpose bombs.
The larger plume of smoke probably represents a strike a few minutes
earlier with very little wind to dissipate the smoke.
Perhaps the whiter plume at the base of the tall plume suggests
something was hit besides just the road and trees.
The most recent hit near the lower center of the picture probably had
the same aim point as the initial hits. USAF
fighter bombers such as the F-105s and F-4s were supposed to pull out by at
least 4,500 feet above the terrain, so this resulted in the pilots essentially
throwing the bombs from about two miles away.
I believe this picture is from
the collection of Colonel Craig Elliot and would have been taken in 1968.
