Air strike DPR/TV/796

Bombardment of the Long Hai hills south of the Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat, Vietnam, was a fore-runner to Operation Pinnaroo by troops of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment. The hills, one of the few remaining Viet Cong strongholds in Phuoc Tuy Province, were subjected to bombardment by American B-52 bombers, strike aircraft and a destroyer. Between the Nui Dat base and the mountains 12 miles to the south are the heavy populated villagers of Baria, Long Dien and Dat Do as well as several small hamlets. The terrain between Nui Dat and the Long Hais is flat and one of the richest rice bowls in Vietnam. In this particular air strike a forward air controller in a light fixed wing aircraft marked the target and then called in the strike aircraft. The two strike aircraft moved in on the target hitting it was rockets, bombs and 20mm cannon. With the strike completed a quick check of the neighbouring coast line before returning to base.