Operation Linebacker II
 
 
In December, 1972, the U.S. began to realize North Vietnam was
stalling peace negotiations as a cover for their takeover of
South Vietnam.  The American government then decided to begin a
bombing offensive to drive North Vietnam back to the negotiating
table.  Air Force planners named this campaign Operation
Linebacker II. 
 
For the first time, B-52s were used as Air Force commanders had
always wanted -- in an overwhelming force against the heart of
enemy territory.  The original plan called for a radar-assisted
bombing of purely military targets with maximum effort over Hanoi
and Haiphong.
 
The campaign began on December 18 and the B-52s suffered
immediate losses;  the North Vietnamese shot down nine planes in
the first two days.  Ultimately, the B-52s proved an overwhelming
force.  In eleven days, B-52s flew 729 sorties, dropped 15,000
tons of bombs, and sustained 15 losses (about 2% of the sorties)
to the 1,240 surface-to-air-missiles (SAM) fired at them.  By the
end of the campaign, the U.S. established complete air supremacy
and knocked out many of the SAM sites.  The 1972 December bombing
campaign also drove North Vietnam into serious peace negotiations.