Crash Site Photo Processing
Two professional enlargements of the satellite photos were made using a duplicate negative to permit the best possible quality retention. The first enlargement was about an 8X of the entire river bend area in an 8 by 10-inch format. The second enlargement was approximately a 17.5X of the crash area also in an 8 by 10-inch format. This enlargement was approaching where the photo went to grain (became fuzzy). This enlargement provides a linear view of the river about 2 kilometers long.
My objective was two fold. The first photo was to provide better interpretability of the area, which it did well. The second photo was to see how far the film could be pushed and retain a degree of added interpretability. I know the upper edge of enlargement and that little was gained from this enlargement in overall interpretability of this area. Both photos are suitable for subsequent digital scanning.
The 35mm color slides were professionally reproduced into hard copy photos in a 4 by 6-inch format to permit comparative analyses and possible scanning.
Crash Site Photo Analyses
Revised Crash Location
The most profound change based on photographic interpretation is the relocation of the crash site. Comparison of the 35mm photos to the larger area satellite photos confirmed my suspicion that the crash site was in the wrong location. The difficulty with the 35mm slides in establishing the original crash location is that they did not correlate well with the maps. However, correlation of the 35mm slides to the first enlargement of the satellite photo positively located the crash site. The location moved about one kilometer to the east south east to WD 750030 or lat/long 161830N 1044330E.Revised Crash Site Description
Hard copy photos of all of the 35mm slides provide views of the crash from various angles, which was not previously available. Comparison of the 35mm photos together revises the original crash description. The aircraft is on a submerged sand or mud bar. However, the aircraft is facing down river (west). Its fuselage and tail is out of the water canted to the left. The right wing appears to be above the water, wingtip high. Since the O-1 is a high wing aircraft, the cockpit would be underwater as reported. The left wing is sheared off and lies underwater on the shallow bottom near the cockpit. It appears to have broken off on impact.Crash Site Bombing
Analysis of the satellite photos confirms the subsequent bombing of the crash location. A number of bomb craters are visible including multiple craters in the river. The aircraft wreckage is not readily distinguishable in the river on either enlarged satellite photo. However, there is something near one of the craters that may be the remains of the aircraft. Photo resolution precludes further information.Possible AW Site
One of the 35mm photos shows a prominent area that interested me in both in 35mm slide and hard copy form. It is the cleared top of a hill on the same side of the river as the crash, approximately 400 feet (320m) southeast of the crash site. The cleared area is rectangular in shape, approximately 80 feet (64m) by 110 feet (88m) in size. The clearing does not appear to be under active cultivation or is there recent tree debris typical of a slash and burn cleared area. The oblique color photo shows more vertical development of a hilltop than the near vertical satellite photo. The trees on all sides of the clearing rise abruptly along the edges. This usually indicates human intervention. There may be a dirt road or track up to the area. There are two objects in the clearing that puzzle me. One is somewhat clear and the other less sharp. The clearest object is nearest the river and a short distance away from the tree line. It appears to be a depression in the ground that contains something that cannot be determined. It looks quite similar to automatic weapons sites (12.7mm AAA) that I had seen elsewhere. The color photo shows some type of greenery around the ìholeî and in it. The larger, less distinct object is on the south edge of the same clearing adjacent to the tree line. The satellite photo shows both objects. The possible weapons site is a dark blob, which may be, shadows; however, the other object is clearly a building from its shadowing. Using basic measuring techniques, the building is estimated to be about 10 feet wide by about 20 feet long. Comparing the monochrome vertical satellite photo to the hand held oblique color photo shows that the building is naturally and quite effectively camouflaged. Using the information from the vertical photo, one can begin to discern the outline of a building on the oblique view. One must be careful with conclusions. Photos can deceive and a warning to all photo analysts is that if you begin to work a photo with a preconceived idea of what you want to find ñ you will find it, whether it exists or not. However, this is an interesting possibility. One could postulate that this was a PL/NVA ìsleeperî AW site with its crew hooch across the clearing. Its positioning could provide observation of the river and any aircraft approaching from the west similar to what the FAC may have been doing. And if necessary, protect the enemy operations area to the east. The site would have been safe from most detection, which made it particularly dangerous. One needed low altitude photography to detect its benign presence. Most camera-equipped aircraft that might fly over the area would not have chosen this area to image. I doubt that a FAC on a visual reconnaissance mission would have noticed that clearing any more than he would have noticed the thousands of other cleared areas dotting the countryside including some that overlooked the river. Could this have been what attacked Raven 30, rather than AK-47 ground fire? One cannot say with any certainty. However, 12.7mm projectiles (.50 cal) fired from an AW site could significantly do more damage to an aircraft than 7.62mm rounds. Although there were no reports of AAA in the area but this does not preclude its introduction to protect the re-equipping activity. A sure shot could have brought the FAC down without the accompanying fighters taking notice. The HOBOs reported ground fire in the area. We do not know what this meant. In retrospect we should have contacted the 56th TUOC and obtained a copy of the debriefing report of the HOBO flight. However, the trauma of losing Hoss and my being ordered from the country two weeks later for recuperation prevented this occurring. Such is 30-year-old hindsight.HOBO Bombing Unlocated
Bomb craters from the attacking A-1s were not located on the satellite photos. BDA missions I flew remind me that finding bomb craters are difficult even during very low level flight observations. From experience with other photo interpretations, bomb craters are particularly difficult to identify. Identification of land craters with the satellite high contrast, monochrome film of this resolution is very difficult if not impossible without additional information.No BDA Smoke
The 35mm photos also dispel the confusion about the possible smoke near the crash site. It is actually light reflection on that photo from the Baron¹s window or the camera lens.