The Don Englebreston Collection
Gallery: JPEG SM
Helicopter photographs from Operation Tailwind, the September 1970 MACV-SOG operation into Laos: a haze-shrouded formation crossing open water, an AH-1 Cobra escorting Hueys over mountainous jungle along the Laotian border, and a row of Cobra gunships staged at a forward airfield. Shot from within the formations themselves by participants in the Barry Pencek collection, these images convey the scale and coordination needed to insert, protect, and extract reconnaissance teams deep in contested territory.
USAF OV-10 Bronco Light Attack/Observation Aircraft on Runway
Servicemen Display a Python for Onlooking Troops at Base Camp (Alternate Frame)
U.S. Army AH-1 Cobra Gunships Staged Along Airfield Access Road, Operation Tailwind Era
Line of AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopters Along Dirt Airstrip, South Vietnam
C-7 Caribou Transport Aircraft "KN 150" Taxiing on Airfield Runway
AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopters Staged at a Forward Airstrip, Vietnam War (Operation Tailwind Collection)
USAF Cessna O-2A Skymaster (Tail No. 11069) Taxiing at Vietnam Airbase
AH-1 Cobra Gunship with Shark-Mouth Nose Art and Pilot, Southeast Asia
Helicopter Pilot Beside AH-1 Cobra Gunship 'VT 25,' Operation Tailwind Era, Vietnam War
CH-53 Sea Stallions and AH-1 Cobra Gunship Staging During Operation Tailwind, Laos, 1970
AH-1 Cobra and Helicopter Formation Over Jungle Terrain, Operation Tailwind, Laos, 1970
US Army Recon Sergeant Holding a Python at Base Camp
American Serviceman Holding Python with Allied Indigenous Troops at Forward Base, Vietnam War/Operation Tailwind Collection (Small Version)
Perimeter Wire, Guard Tower, and Compound Buildings at a U.S. Military Base in South Vietnam, circa 1970
AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter with Painted Snake Nose Art and Pilot, Vietnam
AH-1 Cobra Gunships and CH-47 Chinooks on Airfield Apron, Vietnam War, Barry Pencek Collection
Row of AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopters on Flight Line, "United States Army" Markings Visible
Aerial View of River Valley with Helicopter in Flight, South Vietnam
Aerial View of Helicopter Formation over River Valley, South Vietnam
Formation of Army Helicopters in Silhouette Over Misty Valley at Dusk
Distant Helicopter Formation in Flight Over Water, Operation Tailwind Photo Series
Aviator at "Dak To Officers Club" Bunker Built from Rocket Crates
Wrecked Military Vehicle and Aircraft Debris Field, Vietnam War Era
Wreckage of a Downed Military Aircraft in an Open Field, Southeast Asia, Operation Tailwind Era
Sandbagged Bunker and Watchtower at Forward Firebase, Vietnam War Era
Group Portrait of American Serviceman with Vietnamese/Montagnard Comrades at Camp Gathering
Row of AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopters on Flight Line, Central Highlands, Vietnam
AH-1 Cobra Pilot in Flight Gear Beside His Aircraft, Marked "VT10"
Close-Up Candid Portrait of Two Servicemen Against the Sky
Indigenous SOG Troops Filling Canteens at Water Tanker, Operation Tailwind Era, Vietnam/Laos Border Region
Helicopter Over Laotian Highlands — Operation Tailwind, Barry Pencek Collection
Burned Helicopter Wreckage, Vietnam War, Barry Pencek Collection (Operation Tailwind)
Cobra Gunship Crew Posed at Forward Airstrip, Vietnam War
Aerial Reconnaissance Photograph with Ordnance Impacts, Laos (Operation Tailwind)
