Operation Linebacker II - The B-52s go to Hanoi, 1972 - Animated 

I flew from Thailand in an F4 all eleven nights. I still remember seeing B52s. Hit by SAMs and hearing the beepers as the crews bailed out. Today I wonder if the sacrifices were worth the effort?

It's insane. Exactly the same raid three nights running? Either the SAC staff were extraordinarily arrogant or unbelievably stupid. What a waste of aircraft and crews!

I flew all eleven Linebacker II missions in as a WSO 497TFS from Ubon AFB Thailand. We laid a chaff corridor for the B 52’s. Although many SA2s were fired and MIGs were sighted we made home safe each night. Not so lucky were the ten B 52’s and crew members that were lost. I can still remember seeing a fireball from a B 52 that was hit at the time I was RTB miles away over Laos!

My mom was 2 yrs old, my uncle was a few months old during the attack. Must have been so scary to live in such condition. My grandpa was a communication officer in Vietnamese People Army, he was frequently tasked to check out communication posts around Hanoi. I remembered him telling me he was so exhausted 1 night during the attack after having brought his family to the bunker and returned to his house, he felt asleep despite being so close to the 100mm AA gun battery. The sound of bomb, AA fire did not seem to effect him, he was just too tired. I can't imagine what it was like to be in such a condition.

My uncle was the commander of Charcoal 1 and one of the ones who perished. It was hit by two SAMs at once and one of them hit the cockpit fatally wounding my uncle and killing his copilot and gunner. The other three guys managed to eject and became short term residents of the Hanoi Hilton until they were released in early 1973. My uncle managed to eject, but he was dead before he hit the ground from a massive abdominal wound. The wreckage of the aircraft is in a military museum in Hanoi to this day. The bravery required from everyone involved in LB2 to penetrate one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world at that time is nothing short of amazing.

"Sir, our jamming isn't really working." "Ok, grab all the Reynolds tin foil out of the mess and chop it up. We're gonna make it rain."

My aunt’s family used to live in Khâm Thiên street, next to Dân Chủ Theater (fun fact, Dân Chủ means Democracy, LoL) very close to Hanoi Railway Station - a major bombing raid target during Linebacker II. November 26, 1972 was the day a B-52 raid stripped the whole street clean - 2000 houses were destroyed, included my aunt’s house. Luckily she and her husband went down the bomb shelter just in time, survived the raid and was later rescued from the rumble - many other weren’t such fortunate. She would later have 5 daughters, become a great auntie, but after 50 years she still sometimes complains about having nightmares of bomb raids. No matter which side you are, war is terrible.

I love the way you present this OP. The details are fascinating, the more the better. The only way to present such accounts is with complete objectivity with the view from both antagonists and this you've done. Bravo!

Another military history channel with a charming British narrator? I'm sold. (Seriously though, your channel is fantastic. Keep up the content!)

Was in Guam for 6 mo and worked this operation. We launched 3 B-52's per hour, called ball games, 24 hrs a day for a total of 72 aircraft a day to bomb Viet Nam. Did that for 6 months straight just out of Anderson AFB. About a 13 hr flight. A few never came back.

I was on Guam (Andersen AFB) during this time. My father was a fuel manager in the Air Force. I went to School in Aganda and we would see miles and miles of flatbed trucks carrying MK-82 bombs headed for Anderson. Also over 100 B-52's were stationed on Guam. For a little kid...it was quite amazing and surreal. I remember how hard it was for me to sleep, and everyone else. The B-52's were taking off every 5 min 24 hrs a day for 2 weeks! A lot of folks have no idea how many bombs were dropped. My dad would come home and I knew right away because I could smell JP-4 Jet Fuel all over him!

My dad's B52 got hit by a SAM over Hanoi one of those nights - right in the nose radome. Smoke filled the cockpit. They opened the bomb bay doors to let the smoke out. My dad sat on the lower bomb rail (this was prior to rotary bomb rack conversion). U-Tapao foamed the runway, as landing gear would not go down. Flaps would not engage. They had bled too much hydraulic fluid. The BUFF slammed down on the runway, compressing every disk in my dad's back. In 1995 I found him unconscious beside the house in a pool of blood - he had passed out from a back spasm and fell to the side and struck his head on a stone flower bed retainer wall. That's when I started watching him closely and standing near him to catch him if he falls.

What a brutal and relentless mission this was. Had no idea about this. Thank you for the lesson.

please continue to make more amazing history videos good sir!

These videos you make are priceless. Really impressed by everything you do!

Been watching a few of your presentations. Well, documentaries I would call them. These are awesome. Not only are you very well informed on all details of the subject. The way you present the information by means of, frankly awesome, animation that is not confusing. yet it is very usable to anyone who may be trying to replicate these scenarios in Command for example. Honestly I found you by randomness. I am so glad I did. Love this channel. Keep up your brilliant work and keep safe.

I grew up during that era. My father was in Vietnam. This is the best description of "Linebacker 2" I have ever seen.

I remember reading accounts from NVN and Vietcong veterans after the war. Pretty much all of them mentioned being genuinely scared of the B-52's. Up until Charcoal 1 was downed, they were seen as untouchable and able to penetrate all but the absolute deepest redoubts. Plus even if you survived you knew you were gonna spend a few days/weeks waiting for someone to dig you out as there usually wasn't enough oxygen flow left after the strikes to allow those trapped to do much of anything but wait.

There's a famous caution given to military leaders when they engage in a new conflict, "Don't fight the last war". An air campaign on this scale with those objectives is clearly reminiscent of the bombings over Germany during WWII. Waves of heavy bombers, dropping massive payloads, following the same routes multiple times over the same targets was the hallmark strategy of the air campaign in the 40s. It's fascinating to see how SAC adapted in such a short time and maximized the effectiveness of their resources at hand (ie large numbers of B52s, Wild Weasels, Aardvarks, and electronic warfare equipment), despite having had access to the same equipment for almost a decade already. Thanks for the excellent video.

"Aside from an accidental bomb load drop on a civilian shipping center, the night was considered a success" LMFAOO out of context that is so funny

This was fascinating and (seemingly) so well told/animated. Thank you for this.

Excellent program. Very well composed and illustrated. I feel I have a much better understanding of Linebacker now. Thank you.

As a young 21 year old USAF E-4, I played a very very very (not enough "very's") small role in Linebacker II while stationed at Nakhon Phanom AB, Thailand, which I noticed was not on the map of Thailand. Because of our proximity to Vietnam, we launched quite a few search & rescue plus special operations. I remember it was a very busy two week or so period with 12-16 hour shifts and no days off. I probably complained at the time because I had no clue what those aircrews were going thru. Thank you, gentlemen, for all you did and sacrificed.

Also, for those who worked on the ECM gear, it was designed to work better in the 3 plane cell format. Those cells that were only 2 birds had a 40% reduction in jamming coverage. The D's had some pretty heavy jamming gear. And also changed from using the Bomb Nav sighting to the SkySpot radar targeting. I worked on this system. It gave the Bomb Nav a tone and a light to drop bombs. I can't tell you how well it worked, I never debriefed the Nav's to ask. But I kept fixing them. SST-181 was the unit. Look it up.

I find these videos very interesting. I appreciate the effort you put in to producing them.

I would like to think that the military planners were charged with negligence for proposing the same attack plan on three consecutive nights, but I'm sure they were not. I'm pretty sure I know what the crews would have liked to do to them though.

Thanks much for your time and efforts, Sir! This is excellent!👍

Quality content. Well researched and presented. Well done, sir. I'm glad I found your channel. Subscribed

YES. There's a new video!! I've watched all of your current ones at least 3 times.

I entered the Air Force in 1983 and flew B-52’s from 1985 to 1993. The Linebacker raids were always presented as a failure of leadership in lectures in schools geared towards officers in general and aircrews in particular. They are always cited as the best example of the need for central direction from leadership with planning and execution authority at the lowest level of command as possible.

An absolutely brilliant, well explained video!

I was there. 1971 - 1974, U-Tapao RTNAF, Rayong Province, Thailand, 635th CSGp, 635th Supply Sqdrn. part-time riding fence, too.

Nearly 50k subs, great content as usual.

Great job ! You rock for making kick @$$ documentaries. Thank you!

These explanations with animations and pictures are really awesome!!...very interesting and informative 👍

Thanks for putting this together!

I love seeing when planners learn and improve their methods. Another excellent video!

Brilliantly done video. Very well presented and extremely interesting.

Happy Veterans Day everyone! ANd to all Vietnam veterans, I thank you for your service.

Excellent videos! Well-researched and well-executed.

It’s like a fast ball pitcher going into the majors with one pitch. Sooner rather than later....everyone knows your pitch and timing.

So well done! after reading Harder's book 'Flying from the Black Hole' and getting all the detail about the G vs the big tail black and brown D's... and then watching Tim Vasquez's Forecast lab day after Christmas combat livemap, your story was a perfect capper.. much like your new piece on the battle of the black sea (battle of Mogadishu). Keep of the great work.

Thoroughly interesting animation. Many Thanks. I grew up in the UK during the Vietnam war and can remember it being on the news almost every evening. I've been fascinated by this conflict ever since.

Your videos never cease to impress!

We have one of the Linebacker B-52s at the air museum in my home town. Shes a memorial to Nam now, sitting in a nice little park across from the airstrip the museums built next to and right next to a tiny high school. Fitting resting place for the old girl, I like to think.

I find many people still misunderstand Linebacker Operations. Linebacker I (4/1972 - 8/1972) was executed to force North Vietnam signing a peace treaty with American. However, after South Vietnam reviewed that treaty, they saw the treaty biased too much North Vietnam, so they revised some articles. North Vietnam declined the revision, so American had to execute Linebacker II to force North Vietnam again. After 12 days, North Vietnam agreed to come back peace table, but North Vietnam still refused the revision. Therefore, American had to threaten that the US would cut off supports if South Vietnam didn't agree on the first treaty. Finally, American claimed that they won the war and retreated. Later, the US also declined supports to the South, that's why the South collapsed in 1975.

The animation helps a great deal in each video and answers alot of questions.

Yours channel is amazing, watched all the WW2 channels and this is by far the best

This was a lot less lopsided than I would have thought. we haven't seen this level of competence or near parity in my lifetime. Thanks for the video. it added some color to a sad time in our history.

Absolutely fantastic content!

Had the "thrilling" opportunity to be on the ground under a B-52 strike (maybe rolling thunder, don't know!) you see the arc lites, feel underfoot the shock waves, and then hear the thunder. The whole thing was shocking in it's size of destruction. I remember crying for those with the misfortune to be a little closer, no matter which side they were on.

This is my new favorite channel. Wonderful work!

Fantastic video as usual, keep up the good work!

During Linebacker 1 I was a member of an Infantry Brigade 196th and we were in blocking positions north and west of Phu Bai when the NVA attacked the South Vietnamese units stationed along the DMZ and the Hue/ Phu Bai area in the northern I Corps area. The South Vietnamese were getting pounded by NVA Artillery units and then Armor units of the north started getting across the DMZ . We were issued LAW Anti-tank weapons to use in the event Armor units broke through and tried to out flank from the west. We stayed up at this area until Jun ,when we were pulled back to secure the Airfield and areas around Danang . We were operating in the mountains west of Danang until mid AUG-72 . We were pulled out and sent home on AUG 12 1972 , as the last Combat Ground force" Task Force Gimlet" 3/21 Infantry to leave the battlefield of South Vietnam. Had it not been for the massive AIR POWER of the B-52's and the damage they inflicted on the NVA , it could have been serious for us to hold off the advance from the NVA. Linebacker 1 and 2 pretty much destroyed much of the NVA equipment and units that were trying overrun the south and it took another three years before the NVA could advance and overrun the south. After Watergate , the Congress voted to stop supporting the south , something that President Nixon had promised the South Vietnamese President before he ended his Presidency and that allowed the NVA to stroll down and into Saigon to end the Vietnam war and our participation.

Interesting. Thanks. I'd read a bit about this operation before but it puts it more into perspective. My uncle flew six missions in Linebacker II out of U-Tapao.

I really watch a lot of War Channels, lectures ect, but The Operations Room is unique among all, I really appreciate that ! I like the way the information is presented. Thank You for Your effort ! Greetings !

This is the campaign my dad was involved in as a crew chief. He flew missions with his plane - the pilots didn't always have faith in the planes unless the chief was willing to fly in it. I asked him one time what flak looked like and he replied "I don't know, I was too busy looking for SAMs". Thank's for the video.

My dad was on the USS midway during 71 to 72 he still talks about this operation that he was involved in. He was a aviation technician on the A-7 attack aircraft

I was the Base Photographer on U-tapao 1967/68. One day a new recruit was Uploading 500 lb. bombs in the belly of a B52, and he mangaed to drop the whole rack on the ground. I was called to take some pictures ...and then Col. Alex Talmont (the B52 Squadron Commander) asked me to come to his office in a half hour... He had this new recruit buy a case of beer for his Bomb Loading team....and had the new kid apologize and buy his crew Beers in his Commander's Office ... First time I sat down with the B52 Commander and had a beer ! Very Cool guy !

I love your videos, litterly everythin, but that and few others are even better! The way you reprisent bombing sortis, are amazing. Thank you, keep the good work 👍 "BRING THE RAIN!"

Just wanted to let you know that you have one of the most binge worthy channels out there. Cant wait for more content, good luck dude!

Great video and detail. Thank you for communicating what really happened. New Patreon contributor here.

excellent content as always. Thanks!

Great video. It’s really a shame how America and France behaved in Indochina post WWII. We spent so long talking up self determination and decolonization around the world. Ho Chi Minh met Woodrow Wilson in 1919 in Paris to petition the US to end French colonialism. He believed there would be a 1776 style revolution against a far off tyrannical government for the people of Vietnam, and was far more nationalist than communist. That is - he was, until it became clear that the US would rather protect French colonial hegemony then work with a free Vietnam. What else could he do but turn to Russia and China for help when the US wouldn’t help them? It was such a needless war, and it cost millions of Vietnamese lives and nearly 60,000 American lives, all for the same inevitable result.

That operation kept me from going to Viet Nam. Our unit was on levy to rotate into VN between February and April 1973. After the operation, we stood down and were no longer on levy to VN.

My Dad had flown EB-66 radar jamming airplanes out of Takhli, Thailand from 1968-69. 100+ missions. At the time of these bombing attacks, he was at SAC HQ continuing to develop the Strategic Nuclear War plans of the Bomber Wings for the Cold War Strategy against the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communists. As noted in the videos. No more B-52s were being produced. I vaguely remembering him describing how he watched the bomber attacks in real time. He felt devastated at the loss of aircraft and crews for the first days. Until the Tactical Command didn’t continue the stupidity of flying the same routes 3 days in a row. Every B-52 lost required a change in his Strategic Nuclear Bomber War Plan. He had many thousands of hours flying B-52s and really couldn’t bear to see them being destroyed. He told me several times that his worst assignment in the AF was as the primary aircraft accident officer in Roswell NM in the 1960s. Usually investigating aircraft accidents of aircraft he had flown personally and people he had flown with and knew well. Thank you much for this detailed explanation of what happened during these bombing missions. I matches perfectly with what little my Dad ever told me about them. I have some detailed but mostly cryptic notebooks about his year flying from Takhli over North Vietnam.

love the detail you broke this apart.

I was stationed in the 43rd Supply Squadron at Anderson AFB, Guam from Nov 71 to Feb 73. I was there through Linebacker II and it was something I will remember my entire life.

Thank you for this excellent video, the inclusion of the political aspect of it puts it all in three proper context. Another job well done for you.

I absolutely love your WW2 videos mate. As a person with an interest and reading about WW2 for most of my life, these videos are so pleasing and exciting to watch. Earned my sub!

The amount of strategic bombers employed in this operation is absolutely massive. I I think this the last time any nation unleashed such a force.

Great job!! Looking forward to more videos

my grandmom is team of 37mm aaa in high building of Ha noi ... thanks for her dedication . my father said as his memories as Hanoi night look like a firework performance ... many die every night both sides.... and I am proud to be vietnamese

This war was a gold mine for military industrial complex

This is a great video since watching it a few weeks ago I have been watching everything I can on Linebacker 2. I just purchased 11 days of Christmas looking forward to reading it

The Huu Tiep Lake aircraft in Hanoi is B-52D (56 -0605) flown by Captain Lewis call sign Cobalt 1. Identified as a possible second B-52 claimed as a MiG-21 air-to-air victory, and may correspond to Vu Xuan Thieu firing 1 K-13 (AA-2 Atoll) AAM from MiG-21 of the 921th Sao Sao Fighter Regiment "Red Star", based at Cam Thuy. The MiG-21 was also destroyed by the resulting explosion.

I was at the end of my B-52 pilot training at Castle AFB in Merced, California. I had just returned from Vietnam the previous July, flying a different aircraft. I sat there, over Christmas, watching the news, wondering "OMG....NOT AGAIN! What the hell did I get myself into...NOW"?

Kudos on the upload OPs Room! By the way the EB aircraft are US Navy EA-3Bs. Good info on Linebacker! Long time ago but I still remember it. Godspeed amigo!

Best Military History channel videos ever!!!!!!!!

I was stationed at U-Tapao AFB during Linebacker II. B52s where in air 24 hours/day. I worked with the U2 aircraft. We had 3 and one was always airborne. U-Tapao AFB ran 24/7. Even the chow hall was open day and night.

This is fascinating, I live in Hanoi and my apartment overlooks the military airfield you see to the right, just below the railyard.. It's not used now, but was used in operation homecoming to bring back the US POWs as you mention at the end. It has some small lakes/ponds around the area, I wonder if that's from the raids...

The voice of Operations Room. It is so awesome. He/you could explain anything: battle of Poltava in 1709 or legendary F1 races or ice hockey games in the 70s, 80s or anything.

WOW AMAZING WORK THNX A LOT.

Vietnam is a beautiful place to visit now! I heartily recommend a visit if you are ever out this way.

Your videos are not only* exceptionally produced and entertaining, but keep me focused while doing my art, thank you!

Imagine how the sky looked over the course of those 11 days, 100s of aircrafts in the air, thousands of pounds of bombs dropping everywhere, nothing short of hell I imagine.

I don't wanna imagine what being underneath a B-52 raid would be like. there's still bomb craters and unexploded bombs throughout Vietnam still to this day

Stunning. Well done.

For all of those B-52 pilots, veterans of this war, and those that worked on the ground, and in the air.... for the ones shot down and seemingly sacrificed, and those of you that returned damaged, broken, and forgotten...I honor you on today...I thank you for doing what most people even to this day don't have the courage to do, serve with honor.... I'm sorry for the losses of your fellow pilots and friends... I'm an Army veteran, but I've never had to endure what you guys have..I thank you all for what you've done

Man who doesn't love this guy? His voice is so satisfying while explaining history

*Thanks for letting us know, good work!!!*

One of your best videos yet Well done !

Programs like these are important. Understanding the Vietnamese point of view is important. Understanding the French occupation of Vietnam is important. Understanding Russia's involvement is important. We American DO NOT get an accurate accounting of what happened because we aren't comfortable admitting our mistakes, especially our really bad ones.

Nice animated video about Vietnam War. Appreciate it!

What a concise documentation of this crime against humanity.

I was talking to a couple of young KGB officers many years ago that had a tour of the rail yards in Hanoi that the B52 hit. They were impressed. Near by builds were not destroyed

From what I knew, at that time the aiport was closed, that did not operated fully after the war was ended 1975

Best explanation of Operation Linebacker ever.

My parents tell stories about having to walk for days to evacuate the city, leaving the grandparents back in the city to fight. Parents told me about when a plane was hit, the whole town & nearby people would search the whole area and capture the pilots. The military didn’t allow the villagers to harm the pilots, saying they worth more alive. But you can feel the hatred the people fell toward the Americans, they were often stoned and the guards have to protect them from the civilians.

One cool note shortly after this operation all B-52s recieved the Phase VI ECM fit giving them far superior jamming capabilities to most dedicated USAF and USN jamming aircraft