From 1962 to 1971, the Air Force performed aerial spraying missions over South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, under an operation known as Ranch Hand. The idea was to defoliate jungle areas-such as along the Ho Chi Minh Trail-thus depriving communist insurgents of cover and to destroy crops that would sustain the enemy. More than 20,000 sorties delivered 20 million gallons of chemicals over some six million acres in South Vietnam. The various herbicides used each had a color name, such as Agent Purple, Blue, White, Orange, or Pink. They were nicknamed "rainbow" agents and applied in concentrations many times that intended for agricultural use. Spray aircraft would fly in formation to denude an area as much as 10 miles long at a time. |1| The spray apparatus hangs from the wings and tail of this UC-123 Provider. |2| This UH-1 Huey helicopter based at Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, was also used in the spray mission-for the mosquitoes that plagued US troops. |3| The aircraft got quite low to ensure effectiveness. |4| A crew chief checks the oil in a C-123. Aircraft had high in-service rates.
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