<p>Every available type of air weapon was thrown into the campaign. Fairchild UC-123 Ranch Hand aircraft sprayed the Trail with defoliants to denude the trees and deny the natural camouflage. Targets were spotted by McDonnell RF-101C and RF-4C reconnaissance aircraft, using their infra-red sensors and side-looking radars (SLAR). The strike force included forward air controllers (FACs) flying Cessna O-1 and Douglas A-1E aircraft, aided by Royal Laotian AF pilots in their North American T-28s. They got their assignments from an airborne command and control aircraft, at first a Douglas C-47 and later a Lockheed C-130. The Martin B-57, North American F-100, Republic F-105 and Douglas AC-47 gunships hit the targets. At night, the C-130 flareships orbited the areas, often supported by the Army's Grumman OV-1 Mohawk, equipped with infra-red sensors and SLAR.
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<p>During the first month of Tiger Hound the USAF flew 51 night sorties out of a total of 384; the other services made a total of 425 combat sorties. On 11 December 1965, the first B-52 strike hit the Mu Gia pass, their first attack of many against the trail network. In the dry winter months, the pace quickened. The B-52s were called in more frequently when concentrations of materiel promised worthwhile targets.
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<p>In a good month, the fighter-bombers would account for 200 or more trucks. There seemed to be an endless stream of ZIL-157s, and the jet fighters could only make a few passes before leaving the target area still full of trucks rolling along. The answer was to get a slower aircraft with more loiter time.
