"“Do you see orange smoke? Over”" Topic

hen you read about the Vietnam war or watch documentaries or movies about the conflict, you see or read about colored smoke for designating LZ or friendly lines to allow fast movers or gunships to work the enemy position. I wanted to have a marker like this for my games. Just to show that a FO ordered aircraft support.

More about how I build it on link

I surely do and it is brilliantly done…as with so many of your special effects.

Must ask the experts. I know there was an SOP for this to avoid the oppo releasing a false signal. Did the airborne observer dictate the colour to be used or did the ground folk? What was the procedure for confirming the right colour seen?

That is a good question. If descriptions in books like "chickenhawk" are correct. The AO worked closely together with the inf unit HQ so I suppose they both new which colors were avalable to the troops. there were cases were the NVA used captured smoke grenades to lure the cobras etc into the wrong location.

From reading various accounts, the process was for the air unit to call for smoke and then confirm the colour afterwards.

So if the ground unit 'popped' yellow smoke say, the air unit would say 'I got yellow' and the ground unit would confirm the colour.

This limited the scope for false signals but it did happen now and then. Obviously there might be decoy smoke thrown by PAVN/NLF but it would be later than the 'real' smoke.

Another simple opsec measure was to have an agreed number – say 7. The procedure was to call out a number and the other side had to provide the number that added up to the agreed total. So if one side says 3 the other has to say 4. It seems like it would be easy to guess the code but I do remember reading it somewhere.

Looks great!

Great idea.

Thumbs up.

Nice work, Thomas.
Skarper is correct on smoke procedure.

"popping smoke"
"I see purple smoke"
"purple smoke affirmative"

In _Chickenhawk- (a fantastic read), they sometimes go through a couple of iterations, using different colors.

Great responses. Not read Chickenhawk in years. Somewhere in my garage together with Once a Warrior King and many other treasures.

I like it, Bismarck. Very hard to hack into that sequence and create a trap. I just "knew" it was something well thought out.

I'll say again just how effective the modelling of it is also. Like the missile before! We just want even more now…

Agent Orange?

Looks great!

Deadhead – could you point me to the missile you're talking about?

Apologies. I got that wrong. It was Just Jack who showed that. Tango often posts his work too, but much of the recent stuff centred on anti-Cuban ops. I simply cannot find his VN paddy field with a painted pipe cleaner impacting as a rocket round. I praised that at the time as inspired.

Smoke is really imaginative though. Never seen that attempted before

Nicely done and yes, Skarper and Bismarck are right about the smoke, as I've done it a number of times when in the Army.

But I don't remember Orange Smoke ? I remember – Red, Green, White, Yellow & Purple …

As far as OPSEC, the callsigns, freqs and passwords, etc., were changed every 24hrs at Bde and Bn levels on down to Companies, Plts and Sqds. Plts, Sqds and Fire Tms could make up challenges and passwords among themselves. Only to be used among them selves.

Of course we always had a "running" password, e.g. a unit was closing in on a friendly position and being chased by the enemy. The standard one I remember was, "RANGER, RANGER, RANGER!" … but you basically could only use it once.

But generally everything we used on this subject, comes from the little code book called the CEOI. Communications Electronic Operating Instructions, which included daily codes to ID friendly units on the radio or even field phone. Which was issued down to the Plt and even Sqd level, IIRC. The CEOI was changed every 10 days.

And it was to be destroyed if about to be captured, etc. Which sometimes would be easier said than done.

Legion,

To this day, every time I hear Jimi Hendrix song "Purple Haze"
I swear I can see and think of that purple smoke. Back in the day, we would even sing(quietly)it when that color was popped. Most of us thought that was what the song was based on. All this stuff is bringing back old 'sea stories". LOL

LOL !

Many don't know that Hendricks was a paratrooper with the 101 ABN Div. He told everyone he hurt his back on a jump. And got a medical discharge. Well Jimmy was not really "soldier" material ! But that was before he became a Rock Legend !

link

Knew he was in the Army, but sure didn't know he was with
the 101st! That's a nice piece of trivia. Didn't find out
he had served until about 15 years ago.

Thanks!

Most of the outfits I was in or operating with used the slang version of the colors, "mellow yellow", "goofy grape", etc. Naturally, I've forgotten the rest but I think you get the idea.

LT

I knew about his 101 experience, but did not realise he was jump qualified. To be honest I thought they had long lost their Parachute role by then!

I am sure many of us who lived through the late 60s and early 70s could recall what the purple haze reference was truly about…? Helps if you were a Deadhead…

No he was there in the early '60s. They were still on jump status then. It is in the link. I can't remember when the 101 went off Jump status and went to an Air Assault unit. It was some time after Vietnam.

As when I got to the 101 in '80 we were an Air Assault Div. But had many, many Vietnam Vets serving in the Div. Many who were with the 101 and 1st Cav in Vietnam. One of our Bn Sgt Majors served in Korea too. With our Bn, the 3-187.

But I was awarded both Parachute and Air Assault Wings … many of us in the 101 were. The Air Assault School was next my Bn HQ. And across the street from my Company Barracks.

Being an officer when I went thru both schools. Many of the NCO instructors enjoyed "busting" officers' every chance they got.