North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

When we were in the jungle and in the middle of a firefight, there were times when we needed heavy duty backup support from F-105 Thunderchief  or F-4 Phantom jet fighters  The fighters came in so low and so fast however that they could not possibly see the targets they were trying to hit.  That is where the Bronco came in to help.

The Bronco had 70 mm rocket pods down low and on either side of the fuselage that contained white phosphorous rockets.  The plane was slow enough and maneuverable enough that it could spot the enemy and then mark their location with a puff of white smoke from one of those rockets.  Then the jets would come screaming in and shoot there 20 mm Gatling cannon or drop 500 pound bombs on the white smoke left behind by that unusual looking airplane.

I can remember these planes maneuvering like a biplane high over the jungle, diving at there target then shooting those white phosphorous rockets.  They looked like they were having fun up there.