<text id=00he2106><title>Back to the Bridge</title>
<history>US Air Force: Events History</history>
<article><hdr>Back to the Bridge</hdr><body>
<p>The durable Doumer Bridge was targeted again. The first mission against that structure since 1967 was flown on 10 May 1972, by a force made up of 16 F-4s from the 8th TFW, loaded with 2,000-lb general-purpose bombs. Twelve of the planes had laser-guided bombs and the other four had electro-optically guided weapons. Eight more F-4s from the 8th TFW were loaded with chaff, and were to lay down a corridor for the strike force to follow. The 388th TFW sent 15 F-105G 'Wild Weasel' aircraft and four EB-66s for jamming and other electronic warfare. More Phantoms flew MiGCAP.
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<p>At 8:00 a.m. the chaff layers roared off the runway, followed 20 minutes later by the strike force. They flew into defending MiGs, heavy flak and missile fire at the bridge. Pilots reported an estimated 160 missiles fired from the SAM sites along the route, and 41 intercepting MiGs. In spite of that fierce defense, the bombers released from 14,000 ft (22,500 m), dropping 22 LGBs and seven EOGBs. The results were first-class; they got 12 direct hits on the bridge and four probables; 13 other bomb strikes were unobserved due to the heavy defenses and smoke in the target area. The bridge was out of action, with one span completely destroyed and several badly damaged. No USAF planes were lost.
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<p>In a follow-up raid the next day, four Phantoms were dispatched with a covering force to hit the bridge again. One was carrying two M-118 3,000-lb bombs with laser guidance. The chaff corridor was laid too early and the support aircraft left the scene early, but the strike force continued. The defenders fired missiles, but no MiGs came up to intercept. The F-4s rolled in, dropped, and left. They had launched two M-118 bombs and six standard Mk 84 2,000-lb iron bombs. They had dropped three spans of the bridge into the Red River. And that, finally, was the end of Paul Doumer's durable bridge.
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<p>By the end of June 1972, the punishment began to tell; the NVA drive had been stopped and control of the ground began to change hands. The RVNA went on the offensive, and Nixon once again proposed a ceasefire and negotiations for a peace agreement. Talks began again in Paris in July.
