Saturday, June 3, 1972
New Missiles Hit Hard In Vietnam
SAIGON (UPI) --American wire-guided missiles and Soviet hand-held heating-seeking missiles are important new weapons in the Vietnam war, according to Allied military men.The North Vietnamese, in an effort to meet low level tactical air strikes, have introduced an easily-portable, hand-held, heat-seeking guided missile into South Vietnam.The weapon, which can be carried by one man, has been used in the Central Highlands and in Quang Tri, the Communist-held northernmost province.As of May 30 the weapon was credited with knocking down seven Allied aircraft, including at least one jet and an assortment of slower prop-driven planes and helicopters.Military men believe the weapon has a range of only a few miles and can be countered by flying high above its range of 9,000 feet.The American wire-guided missile has been installed on military jeeps and helicopter, particularly in the Central Highlands, as an antitank device.Called a "TOW" -for tube-launched, optically-tracked, wireguided -the weapon is steered to its target through an optical sight with the operator giving corrections via two small wires which trail the warhead.The U.S. command said that through May 30, at least 27 tanks have been knocked out by "antitank missiles" including the wire-guided model. They say about 400 Red tanks have been destroyed altogether."New Missiles Hit Hard in Vietnam", by (UPI) published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes Saturday, June 3, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.