On this day 50 years ago. Dec 18 1972.
Operation LINEBACKER II, described more generally as the Christmas Bombing and sometimes as "The Eleven-Day
War", began at 2:51 pm as the first of 87 B-52 bombers, piloted by Major Bill Stocker, lifted off from Andersen AFB
in Guam. These were joined by 42 more B-52s flying from Thailand, along with 400 fighters and refueling tankers.
At 7:40 pm Hanoi time, from an altitude of 35,000 feet, the bombers began dropping their payloads on targets in
North Vietnam, and were met by hundreds of SAM missiles and some MiG-21 fighters. There were 121 bombing
runs in the first 24 hours.
The targets of the first wave of bombers were the North Vietnamese airfields at Kép, Phúc Yên and Hòa Lạc and a
warehouse complex at Yên Viên while the second and third waves struck targets around Hanoi. Three aircraft were
shot down by the 68 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) launched by North Vietnamese batteries, two B-52Gs from
Andersen and a B-52D from U-Tapao. Two D models from Andersen with heavy battle damage managed to limp
into U-Tapao for repairs. Only one of the three downed crews could be rescued. That same evening, an Air Force
F-111 Aardvark was shot down while on a mission to bomb the broadcasting facilities of Radio Hanoi. Unlike Linebacker,
which had been launched in response to a North Vietnamese offensive in South Vietnam, President Nixon did not
address the nation on television to explain the escalation. Instead, Kissinger held a press conference at which he
accused (at Nixon's behest) Lê Đức Thọ of having "backed off" on some of the October understandings.
With the future of the peace talks in doubt, President Nixon today withdrew his October restrictions on bombing North
Vietnam above the 20th parallel. Unrestricted bombing was renewed as well as the mining of North Vietnamese harbors.
North Vietnam says that U.S. planted mines in Haiphong harbor today and followed that with severe bombing. Defense
Secretary Laird confirmed that bombing is underway throughout Vietnam. Elliot Richardson accompanied Laird through
the Pentagon as reporters asked questions. The Pentagon has imposed a strict news blackout regarding the renewed
bombing, but U.S. pilots are now operating with the fewest restrictions ever.
In response, Hanoi accused the U.S. of an about-face in policy and then toughened its terms for the release of American
POW's. Two months ago, Hanoi promised to release the POW's within 60 days of the signing of a peace agreement. Now
that has changed, as has the entire international climate. The U.S. stated that Hanoi made a basic decision last week to stall
on peace; Hanoi says that the peace talks are deadlocked
and the prospects for peace are being destroyed.
North Vietnam suspended the technical talks which were underway in Paris regarding the Vietnam peace settlement.
In Saigon, President Thiệu is unhappy because President Nixon said that he will sign a peace pact when he alone feels
it is right. But Thiệu is pleased that the U.S. now holds North Vietnam, and not South Vietnam, responsible for the breakdown
in talks. The South Vietnamese people are not surprised at the suspension of the peace talks.