This film features the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, the craft attributed with flyng over 5,000 missions in Vietnam. The film opens with images of a B-52 unloading its payload (:14). The film is presented by the Department of the Air Force (:31). The scene is Ubon Royal Air Force Base in Thailand (:56) where B-52’s had been flying out of since 1967. Pilot and co-pilot sit in the cockpit (1:32). Captain William Dietrich’s aircraft is seen parking (2:25). The ground crews arrive (2:33) as the men head to Operational Debriefing (2:57). The number two man on the mission is pointed to (3:15) as well as the Radar Navigator (3:39) and the Navigator (4:03). Staff Sergeant Johnson is also noted (4:42). Enlisted men enjoy recreational time (8:01). Captain Charles McVay speaks on the effectiveness of the B-52 (9:35). McVay was the Commanding Officer of the cruiser USS Indianapolis when it was sunk in 1945 resulting in damage to his career. The B-52 could be delivered around the clock and maintained stealth on missions (10:49). The Battle of Khe Sanh in 1968 is looked to (11:02) as the B-52’s were able to swing in close to the marine positions. The Commander of the 1st Field Force is interviewed (11:40) on the B-52 strikes. A montage of soldiers speak to the aircraft’s arrival (13:50). Radio contact is heard as a refueling takes place (15:58). Sophisticated radar bombing navigation systems prevented weather from interfering with strike capabilities (16:51). Bombs are loaded in the rain (17:45). The room is secured for a secret briefing (18:28). In the briefing, take off times (18:47), weather (16:47) and intelligence are addressed for an upcoming mission (20:44). They rise as the Chaplain enters at the close of the briefing (21:54). Pilots fit into cockpits (25:14) and the Bomber Controller is pointed to (26:34). After the mission, soldiers are seen visiting Bangkok and the floating market (32:44) as they were encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Thai culture. This film was produced by Aerospace Audio Visual Service Military Airlift Command (34:47).
In the first months of 1968, the North Vietnamese attempted to capture a U.S. Marine combat base at Khe Sanh in northern South Vietnam. Air power helped the Marines successfully break the siege. The aerial bombing campaign was named OPERATION NIAGARA because of the “waterfall” of bombs. Meanwhile, B-52s flying ARC LIGHT missions provided carefully controlled close air support that destroyed large numbers of communist soldiers. Altogether, the 98,721 tons of bombs dropped in OPERATION NIAGARA weighed more than the 93,000-ton aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65). Using B-52s for close air support at Khe Sanh was considered a radical move. Gen. William Westmoreland later said what broke the communists’ backs “the fire of the B-52s.”
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