Paveway I laser guided bomb carried by fighter bomber in Vietnam. Aerial view over wooded terrain of a U.S. Air Force F-4D Phantom jet, from Ubon Air Base in Thailand, descending and, while still at fairly high altitude, releasing a 2000 lb Mk 84 laser guided bomb against Viet Cong ground target.
A USAF F-4C aircraft makes long low approach and landing, with use of drogue chute at Ubon Royal Thai Airbase, in Thailand. during the Vietnam War. Next a two-seater training version of CAC Sabre aircraft from 79 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, is seen taxing beside the active runway. Pilot is in front cockpit only. A U.S. Air Force Kaman HH-43F Huskie (K-600) helicopter is seen carrying cargo underneath in a sling. It is passed by a fire truck moving near the active runwy. Final scene shows a McDonald F-101 Voodoo aircraft landing.
Opening scene shows two U.S. Air Force F-105 Thunderchief aircraft taking off in pre-dawn from Vietnam on a bombing mission, in 1966, during the Vietnam War. Next, the F-105s are seen diving and dropping bombs that explode into fire and smoke on the ground. Closeup of a Strategic Air Command (SAC) KC-135 aircraft in flight. It has been modified to serve as as a "Combat Lightning" aircraft that serves as a communication link between the Tactical Air Reporting Center at Monkey Mountain, near Danang, Vietnam and ground radar, airborne radar and any U.S. aircraft operating over North Vietnam. KC-135 "Combat Lightning" crew members are seated in a briefing room at the U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, in Thailand. A briefing officer explains their mission, using charts and a map labeled SECRET Noforn (no foreign access) showing Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin. The briefer points to an area in the Gulf, and sketches a figure eight, showing where and how the KC-135 should maneuver in a holding pattern during its mission. Crew members rise and leave at the end of the briefing. View of a Strategic Air Command EC-135L that arrived on May 29, 1967, along with another, to support 24 hour "Combat Lightning" operations. Ground crewman directs the EC-135L as it taxis out and then takes off, past a C-130 aircraft holding short of the active runway. (Narrator notes that by the end of July, 1967, there were four "Combat Lightning" C-135 aircraft operating at U-Tapao airfield.) View from above of EC-135L aircraft in flight above clouds, en route to its assigned location over the Gulf of Tonkin. View of radio operator inside the aircraft, who is in radio contact with U-Tapao and the aircraft they are going to relieve. View of map showing their destination figure-eight holding pattern. Radio operator establishes the same contacts used by the aircraft they are relieving, to assure continuity of communications. Remainder of the film contains extended views of the radio operator at his station and of the EC-135 aircraft in flight. Near the end, the crew's Armaments and Electronics Technician is seen pulling a piece of malfunctioning electronic gear from a rack and replacing it with a spare, stored nearby.
Interior of an empty hangar. View of an empty flightline at Dyess Airforce Base. The Commander of the United States 4018th Combat Crew Training Squadron is interviewed. A B-1B Bomber takes off from a runway. Aerial view of a B-1B Bomber flying over a rugged terrain en route to Dyess Airforce Base, Abilene, Texas. The Commander talks about his experience with the transfer of the B-1B to Dyess Airforce Base, noting that they are "starting from scratch."
Aerial view of Abilene, Texas and a prominent building, The Enterprise, 500 Chestnut St, Abilene, TX 79602, United States. Fred Lee Hughes speaks about living in Abilene and Abilene’s relationship with the United States Air Force. Aerial view of Dyess Airforce Base, Texas. Front view of a vehicle slowing down to a checkpoint with a United States guard. A sign reads “Dyess AFB and Abilene Community welcome the B-1B in 2 Days”. Aerial view of Texas farmlands. Wheat bows gently from the wind in the foreground as combine harvests wheat. Close up of a Green John Deere Combine harvesting wheat. Trucks line up at concrete grain silos. Railroad hopper car pulling up to grain silos. Man crosses gap between two railroad grain hopper cars. Men walking on hopper cars open roof doors to receive grain and position grain shoot over hopper door. A man crouches as he harvests potatoes from a field. Fred Lee Hughes speaks about the people of Abilene. Aerial view of Abilene’s outskirts and the Hardy Grissom Ranch east of Abilene. View of large corral with many head of cattle. Phil Guitar, owner operator of the Grissom Ranch, speaks about the community having a good relationship with Dyess Airforce Base. Fred Lee Hughes speaks about the feelings of Abilene residents of the impending arrival of the B-1B, and notes that the community is anxious to get the B-1 bomber and associated combat crew training squadron.
The Star of Abilene, the first operational United States Rockwell B-1B Lancer supersonic heavy bomber, serial number 83-0065, lands at Dyess Airforce Base for the first time. Aerial view of Dyess Airforce Base, with the B1-B along with other planes and a large crowd. United States Air Force Colonel Alan Rogers, Commander of the 96th Bomb Wing, speaks before a podium displaying the 96th Bomb Wing insignia, noting that the B1-B is "a dream that triggers the beginning of a new era."
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