 Give me a 77 on the INS. Okay, sir, this is our first checkpoint. This is the area here. And sir, that looks like it, right there. And that's it. Assignment, aerial reconnaissance. Reconnaissance that includes photography, radar, or infrared and ultraviolet sensing devices. A wide range of modern techniques. 5.175, mission number Charlie Yankee 4-0-0-1. There'll be no fighter escort required. Mission, primary mission will be stripped and pinpoint photos of suspected heavy enemy truck movements along Route 9 into the K-SAN area. Time on target, 1,300. Communications wise, no changes. Provider and primary remains 28-28. IFF, mode 1, squad 0-3, and mode 3-2-3 and 2-5. Coming back. Weather, local existing F-9, 2,500 scattered, 10,000 broken with 6-plus visibility. And forecast no change for your ETA. Gertfield, U-Bahn, and U-Darm are clear, some high scattered, two line about the same as the name. All field facilities are up. The approach and midfield arresting gear, status is up. The enemy situation. There is a small arms fire along Route 9 where you'd be flying your photo. Suspected 37 and 57. Radar directed AAA in the line bay pass. Two briefings precede each mission. First, the overall assignment. Target, enemy defenses, fighter support, and other critical considerations. Bob, that's Sparky Dask in the north. What's the terrain like? The elevation along the road to the pass where you'll be shooting is 1,000 feet. There are hills on either side of the road 22 to 2,300 feet. Morning, sirs. We've got a priority one target for you this morning. I'd like to have you make one run along Highway 9 just out of Quezon using all three of your camera stations. The altitude will be 1,000 feet, AGL, 1,200 feet MSL. All your camera stations, sir, are loaded with full rows of film. Your station one will have a KS-87, 6-inch vocal length lens. Your station two will have a K-56, low altitude pan with a 3-inch vocal length lens, and your station three, sir, will have a split-vert configuration with KS-87, 6-inch vocal length. The second briefing lays out the photographic aspects of the mission. The pilot and observer concern themselves with camera station. The primary camera, the backup camera, the technical factors. Do you want the cameras on all the way down this road or do you just want the two targets? Right, so you'd like to have your cameras on to start the run here at this point, run them all the way through to this point, then bank off. The circled points, sir, are points of most interest at this time. Okay, do you want my station one, the vertical or the blank? Okay, Andy, you've got the radio. The teamwork of these two men is of critical importance, not only to the aerial mission, but to ground operations to follow. When combating an illusive enemy who frequently moves by night and works in small numbers in mountainous terrain with heavy cover, often moving supplies by bicycle, it can be extremely difficult to locate his position. One photo mission by these two men can make the difference. Have a good officers. Hey, Andy, which aircraft do we have? Number 15, I think. 15, I flew that yesterday, that's a good aircraft. Just back from Barsman. Yeah, it sure is. Okay, Bob, I'm just going to stop by a parallel for a minute, pick up my mask. All right, Andy, I'll meet you in the flight line and get my gear out. Goodness. Behind each flight mission is a complex of sophisticated electronic equipment, which must be continually checked and maintained. For modern surveillance aircraft to do their job requires knowledge in the heads of the men on the ground and skill in their hands. A complete film processing unit is ready to develop and print photographs, making the information recorded available to intelligence personnel in the shortest possible time. Enemy air defenses are not ignored. Photomissions frequently requiring low altitudes and high speeds means special attention to ejection seat equipment. Maintenance work seems unending. Aircraft requires hours of servicing for every hour applied. Each photo mission is individual. Cameras for that mission, lenses specially selected, angles precisely calculated, are carefully installed. Complex aiming, exposure and triggering mechanisms for each camera are connected to dual controls, so that they can be operated by either the pilot or the observer. Continual inspections are made for previously undetected damage from enemy fire or any other defects which could cause the mission to fail. Ejection seats are double checked for obvious reasons. In fact, just before takeoff, the entire aircraft is given a final inspection by a skilled maintenance crew. Finally, specially chosen magazines of film are delivered for loading into the carefully mounted cameras. The final inspection is by the pilot himself. Before each mission, he makes a personal check, a complete visual examination of his aircraft. He knows the places to check for possible trouble. Roger 29 or 88. Roger 29. The culmination of so much work by so many marine specialists is at hand. The tent, the mission, sweeping low over enemy-dominated terrain. Now it is a matter of time. If there was something on that road recorded by the cameras, the location can be identified and action taken. The enemy has been in this area. Now is the time to pin him down. This then is aerial reconnaissance, combining the eyes of the eagle, the intelligence of men, and modern firepower. Almost before the aircraft goes to a stop, the cameras will be unloaded and the magazines rushed on their way to the film processing unit. Pilots normally go to the film processing center to check the results of the flight and to determine that all camera equipment was functioning correctly. The proof is in the film. Okay, off to the right-hand side here, you can see the trucks leading off the road where the truck park is. Of course, there's quite a few along the road here. I can see those with my naked eye. Let's see what I hear up here. Okay, sir, I think I found the truck park right here in this area. Right, it's up on the right side of the road there. How about the trucks down there at the bottom of the negative? Yes, sir, they're all full, they are moving. Okay. The pilot knows that much depends on the clarity of the images that he brought back. If they are not good or show no results, the danger will have been risked without gain. Good pictures and good intelligence can bring sudden action by artillery, ground or air, with a devastating effect on the enemy. One picture can save a thousand lives and win a battle. Yes, sir, I think we've got 100% target completion here. Good job, sir. Well, let's get out in time tonight for the attack sorties. The aerial reconnaissance mission of Marine Corps aviation is one more of the tough, dangerous, highly sophisticated specialties that go into making the Marines a complete fighting team. Mission, find the enemy from the air. Mission accomplished. Enemy sighted, plotted and destroyed.