These extraordinary silent, Super 8mm home movies from the Vietnam War, come from a member of the “Ravens”. The Raven Forward Air Controllers, also known simply as The Ravens, were fighter pilots used for forward air control in a covert operation in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States in Laos during America’s Vietnam War. The Ravens provided direction for most of the air strikes against communist Pathet Lao targets and People’s Army of Vietnam’s infiltrators in support of the Laotian Hmong guerrilla army.

This reel shows the following: (00:00:00) T-28, Saravane, Laos, stuck in mud being pulled out using jeeps. (00:01:18) Pakse, Laos. Loading Daisy-Cutter 500# bomb on T-28 Trojan. (00:01:52) T-28, Pakse, Laos. T-28 with Napalm (silver), CBU (yellow-capped), and Daisy-Cutter 500# bomb (protrusion from bomb) ordnance. Laotian pilot getting into cockpit. Starting T-28. Taxing to runway. T-28 taking off. (00:05:58) Smoke from bombing in distance.

(00:07:14) T-28 in flight. Film taken from 0-1 (Birddog) by FAC (Raven) pilot. T-28 flying with wheels down in order to slow down to the airspeed of an O-1. (00:08:08) T-28 on bombing run. (00:08:14) T-28 dropping Napalm. (00:08:20) T-28 bomb run dropping Daisy-Cutter 500# bomb. (00:08:50) T-28 bomb run dropping Daisy-Cutter 500# bomb. (00:09:23) T-28 bomb run dropping Daisy-Cutter 500# bomb. (00:09:36) T-28 bomb run dropping Daisy-Cutter 500# bomb. (00:09:49) Several “dry runs”, drop not recorded, but … (00:10:20) Smoke from bomb runs

(00:11:06) Target … trees covering enemy location … (00:11:53) Smoke (WP, Willy Pete, White Phosphorous Marking Rocket) on target. (00:11:58) T-28 500# bomb near smoke target. (00:12:34) T-28 dropping 2, 500# bombs on target. (00:13:35) 2 WP smokes on target. (00:13:42) T-28 on bomb run, dropping 500# bomb. (00:14:04) T-28 dropping CBU (Cluster Bomb Units) on target between 2 WP smokes (firecracker-type flashes). (00:14:58) T-28 dropping CBU (Cluster Bomb Units) on target between 2 WP smokes (firecracker-type flashes). (00:15:32) 2, T-28’s flying in formation, landing at Pakse, Laos.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com