My start off point here will be the VIetnam war, Tactical air Reconnaissance has a much deeper and longer history that the one that I will portray here on my website. I will explain the history in seperate chapter.
Vietnam War
The SR-71 Blackbird and other strategic reconnaissance platforms flew in Southeast Asia, but the information they collected was geared mostly to the needs of the national intelligence agencies. For dayto-day targeting information and bomb damage assessment, 7th Air Force relied on its own tactical reconnaissance aircraft.
The RF-101C Voodoo, which had flown low-level reconnaissance missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis, was the workhorse in the early years in Vietnam. From 1967 on, RF-4Cs took over most of the tactical reconnaissance jobs in Southeast Asia. Both the RF-101 and the RF-4 were variants of fighters, but they had significantly longer noses to house their cameras and electronic equipment. The RF-101 collected the photographic intelligence required for air strikes against North Vietnam, which began in February 1965. To get pictures of the SAM sites, the RF-101s came in low and fast, popped up for the film run, then dived back down for the getaway. They were faster than the MiG-17s, but not as fast as the MiG-21s.
The RF-4C, a better match for the MiGs, began flying the missions in the North, and the Voodoos were employed in Laos and South Vietnam until their service in the war ended in 1970. Thirty-three RF-101s were lost in combat. The RF-4C packed cameras, mapping radar, and infrared imaging equipment. It had a number of innovative features, including an ejectable film cassette, but that did not work well in Southeast Asia, where the standard procedure was fast film processing when the airplane landed. RF-4C cameras had good resolution at high altitudes, but weather and the triple canopy jungle tended to keep the operations lower to the ground. The aircraft continued to fly missions over North Vietnam, typically without escort. Seventy-six RF-4Cs were lost in combat in Vietnam, most of them to antiaircraft artillery, but none were shot down by MiGs. The RF-4C set the standard for aerial photo reconnaissance and was still in service for the Persian Gulf War in 1991
Early USAF Reconnaissance in Southeast Asia
The first USAF missions in the Southeast Asia War were reconnaissance flights. These top-secret flights confirmed communist activity in South Vietnam and Laos and led to greater U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia.
Reconnaissance forces are among the first to be engaged in most i conflicts and Southeast Asia was no exception. U.S. Air Force recce began their chapter in January of 1961 with an SC-47 which was withdrawn from operations along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). 3 This aircraft was deployed to Vientiane, Laos, to support U.S. Air Attache (AIRA) aerial reconnaissance efforts over Laos. It has a I K-38 camera (24″ or 36″ focal length) and a 100′ long-range oblique camera. After 38 successful sorties, the SC-47 was shot down over the Plaine des Jarres in central Laos on 24 March 1961.
A camera-equipped C-47 flew the first missions until it was shot down by anti-aircraft fire in March 1961 (killing all but one aboard). The USAF then used an RT-33A under the code name PROJECT FIELD GOAL and later fast, highly-capable RF-101Cs under the code names PIPE STEM and ABLE MABLE.
FIELD GOAL
After the loss of the SC-47, an RT-33, received from the Philippine Air Force, was sent to Udorn Air Base, Thailand. This operation, directed by 13AF OPLAN 203-61, dated 16 April 1961,(nicknamed FIELD GOAL) provided reconnaissance of Laos and Thailand for the U.S.Country Team in Laos from April to November of 1961. Toward the end i of the period, a second RT-33 was received and moved to Don Muang Air Base, Bangkok. A combined team was recruited from the 15th and the 145th TRS’s and consisted of Captain Whitten and Lieutenant’s Linihan, Muesegaes, and Weatherby.
PIPE STEM
During the Autumn of 1961, increased Communist activity in South 3 Vietnam indicated a need for additional reconnaissance. An “air show’ came to Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon, South Vietnam, and included four RF-101’s (Voodoo’s). When the “air show’ left, the Voodoo’s remained to provide the first in-country based jet reconnaissance. ! A cover story indicated they were “providing the Vietnamese Government 3 with photographic reconnaissance of flooded areas in South Vietnam.” A Reconnaissance Task Force (RTF) (nicknamed PIPE STEM) consisting 3 of four RF-101’s and a Photo Processing Cell (PPC) was deployed to Tan Son Nhut from the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS), Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa. Initial personnel arrived 18 October1961 and first sorties were flown 21 October. The Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) provided office and maintenance space, some supplies, and an average of five or six photo interpreters each day. On 23 October, PIPE STEM crews obtained photography of the paradrop on Tchepone Airfield in Laos. Reportedly, this photography was sent to the President. The RTF was originally scheduled for only eight days of operations; however, it was extended to fulfill additional requirements. Sixty-seven sorties over both South Vietnam and Laos obtained mosaic coverage of suspected Viet Cong areas and border infiltration routes. The 3 first RTF returned to Kadena on 21 November 1961
FARM GATE
RB-26 aircraft were used for many different missions in Southeast Asia. The first was with FARM GATE, a project which arrived in South Vietnam on 5 November 1961 to train Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) personnel and to develop concepts of counterinsurgency. In the spring 3 of 1962, eight T-28’s, four SC-47’s, and four RB-26’s were stationed at Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam. The RB-26’s flew attack as well as visual and photo reconnaissance and, by 12 April, had 64 operational 141 sorties to their credit. In addition to K-17C cameras for vertical and oblique photography, there were gun cameras and K-20 cameras for 3 hand-held photography. A small PPC with capability of about 1500 feet 15/ of film per day was established.
BLACK WATCH
When Communist activity in Laos increased in May 1962, PACAF decided to adapt the RB-26’s to provide a night recce capability for that country. All the FARM GATE RB-26’s carried cameras but needed rewiring for night photo and infra-red operations. Two were sent to Clark Air Base, Philippines, for modification. While being reconfigured in May 1962, they were replaced by two from Kadena marked with the aircraft numbers of the original FARM GATE planes. The two modified aircraft were deployed to Don Muang and placed under operational control of the ABLE MABLE commander. Here they performed BLACK WATCH missions – night recce of Laos. Between 29 May and 29 July 1962, these two RB-26’s flew 50 such missions. After the Laotian cease-fire agreement was reached, the BLACK WATCH aircraft returned to the FARM GATE operation at Bien Hoa.
PATRICIA LYNN
Building on the foregoing experience, on 15 April 1963, two RB-57E’s, the first RB-57 types in Vietnam, were sent to Tan Son Nhut and nicknamed PATRICIA LYNN. This addition was welcome, indeed, since it provided an improved (Reconofax VI) and continuous infra-red capability in-country. In the past, this coverage was intermittent because it required out-of-country maintenance. IR was of vital importance in Southeast Asia where the enemy used the cloak of darkness to conceal his operations. In addition, the RB-57E would add to the day-photo capability by providing a higher-altitude, longer-range recon platform with the latest panoramic camera equipment. Since the B-57 was a jet bomber type and, therefore, politically sensitive, the U.S. Ambassador was asked to concur in its introduction to the theater. Since the PATRICIA LYNN mission and the RB-57E configuration were strictly reconnaissance, the Ambassador approved. Though there were only six PATRICIA LYNN RB-57Es — and two of these were shot down–their effectiveness far outweighed their numbers. Flying under the radio call sign Moonglow, RB-57Es remained in heavy use until the PATRICIA LYNN program ended in 1971.
