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The Ho Chi Minh Trail: Then and Now (Part 3)

Ho Chi Minh Trail Pipeline Network

North Vietnamese workers building a POL pipeline on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
To keep the trucks running, the NVA built a 1,400-km-long pipeline supported by 33 fuel distributions stations and 113 pump stations.
old pipe supporting a house on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Local people use sections of old pipe to hold up their houses.
Vietnamese workers installing fuel pipes on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The entire POL pipeline network was installed by hand.
couplings on a length of fuel pipe on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The sections of straight pipe were linked by couplings.
a fuel depot on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
There were numerous fuel depots along the length of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
a ruined fuel tank on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Early in the war, porters carried bladders containing petrol; an effort quickly realised to be highly inefficient.
enormous petrol storage tanks north of Sepon on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Enormous 500,000 litre storage tanks in a cave north of Sepon.
blast wall protecting petrol tanks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Blast walls protected the tanks from US bombs, which hit the Ho Chi Minh Trail only 50 metres away from the cave.

Barrels used on the Ho Chi Minh Trail

barrels on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The NVA also stored fuel and supplies inside the 44-gallon steel barrels.
buried barrel on the Laos Ho Chi Minh Trail
Local people dig up the barrels to sell as scrap metal near La Hap.
The NVA floated barrels down the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
During the monsoon season, the NVA floated supplies in barrels, especially the Sekong River.
barrels covered in bullet holes on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
barrels covered in bullet holes on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos

River Crossings and US Special Froces Bases on the Ho Chi Minh Trail

a river crossing on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The Ho Chi Minh Trail crossed numerous rivers where the NVA built fords.
a river crossing north of Bualapha on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A river ford north of Bualapha.
Vietnamese military ferry crossing on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Trucks crossed deep rivers in Laos by ferries.
a remnant of a ferry at Ban Bak on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A remnant of which still exists by the Sekong River at Ban Bak.
US special forces staging post called Leghorn on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
In southern Laos near the border with Vietnam and Cambodia, US MAC-SOG special forces set up a relay post named "Leghorn".
the view of Leghorn from near Cambodian border on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Its imposing location can still be seen while riding the Ho Chi Minh Trail near the Cambodian border.
Leghorn relay base on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Leghorn proved unassailable due to its location on top of a steep limestone cliff.
Leghorn relay base on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Local villages cut a trail to the former site in the late 1990s and removed most of the scrap metal.

AK-47s and Communication Systems used on the Ho Chi Minh Trail

Vietnamese troops with AK47s on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Vietnamese troops with AK47s on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
breakfast on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Sometimes we find AK-47s while riding the Ho Chi Minh Trail
a Vietnamese soldier with an AK-47 on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
AK-47s were simple, tough and effective.
An old AK-47 in a scrap yard near Paksan on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
An old AK-47 in a scrap yard near Paksan.
Vietnamese soldiers carrying wires to make a telephone network on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The NVA installed a wire-based telephone communication system, some 13,000 km in length.
old wire poles with insulators on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
An old pole north of Villabury still has the original insulators attached to it.
Vietnamese soldier laying cable by hand on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The wired communications network was installed by hand.
discarded wire reels north of Ban Bak on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Discarded wire reels north of Ban Bak.

SAMs, Aircraft and Gatling Guns used on the Ho Chi Minh Trail

SAM missiles protected the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
SAM missiles defended North Vietnam but were moved to the Ho Chi Minh Trail later in the war.
Explore Indochina riders by a SAM missile east of Attepeu on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
SAMs were stationed at Mu Gia Pass and Ban Karai Pass to deter B-52s, and a number were abandoned at the war's conclusion while on the way to south Vietnam.
Vietnamese soldiers with SAM missiles on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
SAMs proved effective at forcing US planes to fly lower, thereby bringing them within range of smaller AAA guns.
SAM missile at the base of the Mu Gia Pass on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A SAM missile at the base of the Mu Gia Pass.
SAM missiles being transported to the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
SAMs were transported in large cigar-like tubes.
The end of a SAM missile tube found on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
This front section of the cigar-like tube that protected SAMs during transportation lies discarded in a village north of Villabury.
A SAM missile being fired on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
All told some 205 US planes were shot down by SAMs.
An Explore Indochina motorbike rider hold the front end of a SAM near Gnomolat on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The explosive warhead was located at the front of the SAM.
A pilot of an A-1 Skyraider that flew over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The A-1 Skyraider proved a real workhorse due to its ability to soak up fire, carry a wide range of ordinance and ability to stay in the air for a long time.
cluster bomb tubes in Attepeu on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
These triangular shaped tubes, as seen in the photo to the left, carried a primitive type of cluster bomb.
a cluster bomb being used as an oil lamp on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The cluster bombs dropped from these triangular-shaped tubes were converted into oil lamps, as seen in the bottom-centre of this photo.
a cluster bomb used as an oil lamp on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
a cluster bomb used as an oil lamp on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Vietnamese soldiers fill water bottles on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Ho Chi Minh Trail workers fill their water bottles at the centre bottom of this photo.
water bottle used as a cow bell on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The same type of water bottle used as a cow bell.
bomb fuses ready to be dropped on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The US emplyed scores of different kinds of fuses to make their ordinace explode, such as timed, impact and chemical fuses.
bomb fuses used as cow bells on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Local people often use them to make cow bells.
US airman checking bomb fuses before attacking the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A fuse was located at the front and back of each bomb.
a fuse used as a cow bell on the Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos
Another cow bell made from a discarded bomb fuse.
The multi barrel M-61 Gatling gun was used by many fighter jets over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The multi-barrel M-61 Gatling gun was very lethal.
an old Gatling gun found on the Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos
The Gatling gun was attached to helicopters, jets and gun ships.
a gunship in action over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
When mounted to the left side of an AC-130 Spectre gunship, the M-61 Gatling gun proved lethal to trucks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
the AC-130 Spectre Gunship used over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The AC-130 Spectre gunships were equipped with infrared, night vision, two Gatling guns and one 105 mm cannon and were highly effective at destroying Vietnamese trucks.
Airman load M-61 ammunition into an AC-130 Spectre gunship that flew over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The M-61 Gatling gun could shoot an astonishing 6,000 rounds per minute.
an unspent M-61 shell south of the Mu Gia Pass on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
An unspent M-61 shell south of the Mu Gia Pass.
Picture of Digby Greenhalgh

By Digby Greenhalgh

Digby Greenhalgh is the founder of Explore Indochina, and a recognized expert on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All motorcycle tours are designed and guided by Digby.
Digby's Journal

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