VIETNAM CHRONICLES

CAPTAIN RICHARD L. KLOPPENBURG

SHORT STORIES FROM 1966-1967 IN VIETNAM

BELOW ARE SOME TRUE BUT UNTOLD STORIES
VIETNAM WAS THE GREAT ADVENTURE OF MY GENERATION

HOW TO FIRE A 2.75 INCH ROCKET

NICE SHOT: SEE THE 2.75 ROUND ROCKET HOLE IN THE ROOF. I shot a 10 pound high explosive rocket to make the round hole in the roof of the above building. The buiding was in Viet Cong territory and after the rocket exploded, two Viet Cong ran out of the building. Here is how to shoot rockets? Altitude is best at 1,500 feet over the ground. Why 1,500 feet? Because you can still hit the target and your aircraft is difficult to hit by small arms ground fire. Use the bomb sight on the hood of the airplane. Make a mark on the window of the airplane, which can be aligned with target, the bomb site,and the grease pencil mark on the windshield. See the below picture of the sight? Use a heading that is into the wind. Pull up the nose of the airplane and then gently drop the nose of the airplane so the circle of the bomb site is over the target. Do not use any rudder pedal—left or right. If the airplane has any yaw, the rocket will NOT go straight. When the target is in the circle—pull the trigger on the stick. The trigger pull should be a smooth and perfect squeeze. Remember the wind will affect the flight path of the rocket.

TOT LAM in Vietnamese means good job!