Obliterating North Vietnamese military targets
From December 18 to 29, with Christmas Day as the only pause, B-52s flying from U-Tapao, Thailand, and Andersen Air Force Base (AFB) in Guam relentlessly struck North Vietnamese military targets. The United States, by then, had simply reached its limit with North Vietnam. Perhaps most noteworthy is that Operation Linebacker II unfolded largely as it had been planned.
It’s hard to imagine today, but unlike the Thailand-based bombers that had a straightforward four-hour flight to their targets, the B-52s from Guam lifted off at up to 452,000 pounds and then flew a looping 3,000–4,000-mile route over open ocean toward Southeast Asia. From there, they cut straight into North Vietnamese airspace, then one of the most heavily defended regions on the planet. The longest missions of the campaign stretched to 8,200 miles round-trip and lasted more than eighteen hours.
Even at very high altitudes, the B-52s were still vulnerable to North Vietnam’s plentiful surface-to-air missiles, which ultimately brought down fifteen U.S. bombers during the campaign—a loss rate of about 2 percent. The toughest night came on December 20, the third night of Linebacker II, when North Vietnam fired more than 220 SAMs and shot six B-52s out of the sky.
SR-71 Blackbird mission during Operation Linebacker II
During Operation Linebacker II, USAF SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft flying at over Mach 3 not only delivered crucial intelligence but also shielded B-52 crews.
The following story was from Chris Cobb about his father, Colonel Darrel Cobb (SR-71 pilot), and Reg Blackwell (SR-71 RSO).
‘My dad passed away four years ago… but boy, did we hear some of the stories in the latter years. For example, in this mission, my dad said that he was watching the SAMs coming toward him and took his eye off the speed. He checked with Reg, the RSO, what speed he showed, and he replied 2150 KTAS [which translates to 2474 mph or Mach 3.22].
‘Essentially, this mission blinded the North Vietnamese radar with the SR ECM. And within one month, the Paris peace talks were held, and the war was over.
‘An hour before midnight on 27 December 1972, Giant Scale mission GS663 got underway when SR-71 975 lifted off the Kadena runway on what would prove to be the only Habu night sortie of the entire Vietnam War.
‘Col. Darrel Cobb and RSO Capt. Reggie Blackwell’s mission objective was to conduct a coordinated EMR/HRR [Electronic Measurement and Release and High Resolution Radar] sortie to determine if the North Vietnamese had acquired new equipment or employed updated procedures for the SA-2s that were responsible for generating such high B-52 losses. To achieve this, the SR-71’s arrival over the Haiphong/Hanoi areas was timed at precisely the exact moment that 60 B-52s were to begin dropping their bombs on the rail yards at Lang Dang, Duc Noi, and Trung Quant; the Van Dien supply center; and three missile sites.
Blinding ECM blanket
‘With the North’s defensive radar systems running at full stretch to cope with the raid, intelligence planners reasoned that this would be an ideal time for such a sortie. In addition, the SR-71, with its unmatched ECM suite, would provide additional electronic support for the bombers.
‘As they arrived at the collection area on schedule, Cobb and Blackwell observed numerous SA-2 firings. During the fleeting moments when they were crossing the immediate target area, they were able to radiate a blinding ECM blanket. During the course of the raid, only one Guam-based B-52 was lost.
‘Darrel and Reggie landed back at Kadena at 0239 hours. The next day, they learned that their mission had produced a wealth of intelligence data.
‘The two 60-bomber raids launched on the final two nights of Linebacker II saw all B-52s arrive back at their bases safely. Following the action on the night of 29/30 December, the North Vietnamese government expressed a willingness to return to the negotiating table.’
Chris Cobb concludes,
‘The Habus had faithfully recorded a record of Linebacker’s enormous level of destruction. The conflict in Vietnam ended for the United States when the Paris Agreement was enacted on 27 January 1973.’
Check out the Habubrats SR-71 and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Facebook pages for further Blackbird photos and stories.
Photos by U.S. Air Force
