A rainbow stands in a rain shaft over the Vietnamese coastal plain, photographed through the windscreen of an aircraft in flight. A folded navigation chart lies wedged against the glare shield and a sight head sits in shadow at the right, the ordinary furniture of a wartime cockpit. Below, a wide estuary spreads its sandbars toward the sea. Monsoon weather like this governed the tempo of the air war, closing targets, forcing diversions and making the coastline the most reliable navigational feature available. Project: 219827