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  • What is a Wild Weasel?

    "Wild Weasel" describes the specialized USAF crews, aircraft and missions that suppress enemy air defenses with direct attacks. It originates with the name of the USAF's first anti-SAM program in 1965 -- Project Wild Weasel.Click here to return to First In, Last Out: Wild Weasels vs. SAMs.

  • First In, Last Out: Wild Weasels vs. SAMs

    The Soviet SA-2 surface to air missile (SAM) threatened to halt air operations over North Vietnam. To suppress and destroy this threat, the U.S. Air Force countered with the courage and skill of the Wild Weasels, who flew some of the most dangerous missions in Southeast Asia.First In, Last Out: Wild

  • Sawadee! The Party Suit Tradition in Southeast Asia

    Party suits were a local and unofficial creation that arose in 1967 from the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, stationed at Tahkli Royal Thai Air Base. They created "special flight suits" in response to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wings' usage of black dyed cotton

  • War over Radio Waves: Signals Intelligence

    The Radar War: Electronics IntelligenceThe enemy's air defense system depended heavily on radar signals. Enemy radars detected incoming U.S. aircraft, guided surface-to-air missiles and directed anti-aircraft fire.Air Force RB-66C, RB-47H and RC-135 crews identified enemy radar locations and

  • Planes without Pilots: SAC Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA)

    Remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) saw their first widespread combat use during the Southeast Asia War. Strategic Air Command (SAC) remotely piloted AQM-34 Firebees obtained excellent photography of dangerous areas without risking aircrews. First deployed to South Vietnam in 1964, AQM-34s flew

  • Optical Reconnaissance Cameras

    Air Force reconnaissance aircraft in Southeast Asia carried optical and infrared cameras. Optical cameras needed visible light to record images on film -- they could also be used at night with photoflash cartridges. Some USAF aircraft took photographs of variations in heat using infrared cameras,

  • PATRICIA LYNN: Taking Away the Night

    PATRICIA LYNN was a highly-classified reconnaissance program using specially-modified RB-57Es. The sophisticated equipment in these aircraft revealed enemy positions and transportation even on the darkest of nights. They also carried optical cameras for day missions. Though there were only six

  • Capt. Jack Wilton Weatherby

    On July 29, 1965, Capt. Jack Weatherby volunteered to lead an extremely dangerous photo mission against a key surface-to-air missile (SAM) site deep in North Vietnam.Forty miles from the target, Weatherby and his wingman, Maj. Jerry Lents, descended to 200 feet and accelerated to more than 600 miles

  • Photo-reconnaissance: Alone, Unarmed and Unafraid

    The majority of Air Force reconnaissance flights in Southeast Asia involved unarmed RF-101C Voodoo and RF-4C Phantom II aircraft. Both were developed from fighter aircraft and had cameras installed in the forward fuselage.Voodoo and Phantom aircrews photographed communist positions in South Vietnam

  • 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.A camera-equipped C-47 flew the first missions until it was shot down by anti-aircraft