The B-52 Line of Maximum Destruction

As darkness settled in the North Vietnamese countryside on December 18, 1972, the first aircraft in a massive force of 129 B-52 Stratofortresses heavy bombers approached its target, with its characteristic engine humming in the background.
At 7:43pm, the Hoa Lac Airfield, located only 15 miles west of the North Vietnamese capital city, was impacted.
For the next 12 days, the theory and viability of American high-altitude strategic bombardment would be put to the test once more, aiming for some of the most heavily defended targets in the history of aerial warfare, even to this day.
In an attempt to force the North Vietnamese into returning to the negotiating table, Operation Linebacker II employed air power to its maximum capabilities, targeting radio stations, railroads, power plants, and airfields.
With the 1972 mission, the United States Strategic Air Command assembled the largest heavy bomber strikes ever launched by the service since World War 2…
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Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.

[@tenthdimension9836]

You should have mentioned what a blunder it was to continue having the b-52s fly the exact same pattern day after day even after some had been shot down. It took the loss of 15 b-52s before they changed up the pattern. That was pretty much an unconscionable mistake.

[@richardschwarz7071]

The loss of that many aircraft as well as the aircrews is what happens when politicians run a war instead of letting the trained warfighters do their jobs.....

[@jackshittle]

@@seshmaru Actually all of the evil NVA are in hell smoking a turd.

[@jackshittle]

@@seshmaru U.S. Pilots & NFO's relished dropping every single bomb dropped on the communist, evil NVA.

[@frosty3693]

@@richardschwarz7071 Kennedy would have probably pulled out early, like he did in Cuba. But he go killed and that left Johnson and his buddies to fight a war they were determined to almost win. The press back then treated the war about the same way they did Trump.

[@gryph01]

There were a lot of blunders in all branches during Vietnam. The lesson learned is to keep the politicians out of operations.

[@michaelfolse2871]

My dad was a B-52 electronics warfare officer during this mission. I'm very thankful he made it back.

[@harrylumsdon6773]

So was mine.

[@SkyyKeiron]

@@harrylumsdon6773hell yh

[@steveshoemaker6347]

l was in an F-4 Phantom on that day and i am in my 80's now....Thanks...... Shoe🇺🇸

[@steveshoemaker6347]

@@sheltr9735 Many thanks

[@2990rick]

👍👍

[@ninemilliondollars]

Wow! We have one at our aviation musuem in Illinois and it's a beast. Looking at the small seats strapped to those two huge engines had to be an unbelievable experience. Did you have air-to-air combat with Migs? And how often going supersonic? Didn't they burn 40,000 lbs of fuel per hour when above the speed of sound?

[@pimpinaintdeadho]

Didn't that have super thin wings? Were you nervous about structural integrity on high G maneuvers?

[@steveshoemaker6347]

@@pimpinaintdeadho No not at all and i think you are thinking about an F-104 Starfighter it did have super thin wings.....Thanks my friend Shoe🇺🇸

[@bgreen2266]

busy nights of the operation the B-52 Crews proved that the bomber was still as iconic as it was during the latter phase of World War II - The B-52 took its maiden flight in April 1952.

[@dennisrogers8107]

Agree ......... the BUFF is truly iconic to fly in WWII (ended September, 1945) when it's first flight was in 1952 and it wasn't introduced into the Air Force until 1955. A 10 year time traveler is impressive.

[@donodono2287]

Same year that dumb-ass Khrushchev transferred Crimea over to Ukraine for administrative purposes. After it had been a part of Russia for 350 years. The US military-industrial complex is now reaping what he sowed. Hooya.

[@flagmichael]

I presume the confusion came from the B29 being known as the Superfortress and the B52 as the Stratofortress.

[@michaelwilliams8955]

Yes I wondered if anyone else picked up on that too. Looks like they did.

[@sheltr9735]

Separately, I noted the same thing A responder clarified for me: "...proved that BOMBERS (in the generic sense) were still as iconic..."

[@newt21]

As a former Veteran War veteran who was a pilot I enjoy seeing videos about the Vietnam War especially when you show the sorties we flew. Thank you. 🇺🇸

[@МойДодыр-у7л]

Что то я забыл, а чем там все закончилось, засранец? Не было в истории США такого позора, как бегство из Вьетнама.

[@sanimgurung87]

you should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity. the death and destruction is still felt in the country now.

[@newt21]

@@sanimgurung87 yeah no worries, I sleep great at night except for not killing more ❤️👊✌️

[@rengarcia5189]

Having experienced it firsthand when I was in the Air Force, there is no sound on this planet that creates more fear and dread than the sound of an approaching B52. It's truly terror inducing.

[@rengarcia5189]

@Chris Riff-RAF 206 I've experienced the Avro Vulcan and it's damn impressive. But, I was crawled up the tailpipe of an F16 looking for FOD when a passing B52 decided to buzz the hangar. I heard a furtive rumble that escalated to a tooth-rattling howl. I could hear pictures falling off the walls taking a hard ride to the floor. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. All I could do was curl up into the fetal position and beg for it to be over.

[@gmilla49304]

I remember seeing it launch at least once a night, and those plumes of exhaust it left behind, unforgettable.

[@phillipjones3342]

I was in the Air Force from 1970 to 1974 security police squadron. Yes you’re right.

[@greggweber9967]

A Stuka in a dive towards you?

[@TheFrozenDesert]

A-10 has entered the chat. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTT!

[@WootTootZoot]

I was stationed on Guam, 43rd SPS, SAC, Andersen AFB during the 1972/73 Arc Light and Linebacker missions. Crazy times.

[@danduffy7974]

I was with the 86th SPS, USAFE at Ramstein

[@Agent_3141]

If it isn't the beautiful B-52 Stratofortress. The plane that started in the 1950s and might still fly until the 2050s. The grandson of the B-17 Flying Fortress and the son of the B-29 Superfortress. What a beautiful aircraft

[@finscreenname]

And yet just 20 years earlier we were flying around in open cockpit planes made of wood, canvas and wires.

[@imakro69]

@@finscreenname shit its insane, imagine if something like this is just around the corner, like liion batteries were, and now we all ride escooters, imagine over the next 10 years they create smart chemistry for batteries and we would be able to fly drones

[@PhilosophersLegacy83]

Not if you or your town/city was it target.

[@lancerevell5979]

A plane that could have three different generations of one family flying it. Imagine flying a combat mission in your Grampa's old plane! 😎

[@PhilosophersLegacy83]

It would be the son of the B 47 Stratojet actually.

[@conradnelson5283]

I remember linebacker ll. But I never knew how massive it was. Thank you.

[@hwoods01]

It was so massive, that the Air Force literally ran out of targets to bomb. They destroyed everything that was remotely useful in Hanoi & Haiphong.

[@mtnride4930]

I was stationed at March AFB during that operation, I was in flight medicine and worked with those air crews. 22nd bomb wing. We lost a number of buffs.

[@havu-oj4qh]

US barbarity didn't win over Vietnamese will to unity Vietnam.

[@jwhitaker4908]

@@hwoods01 AND THEN COVERED IT UP THREE OR FOUR TIMES

[@brandongreen2222]

My grandfather fought in that war twice. Captain Bill Rollins im thankful i had you as my grandfather 🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@oliverpeerman5859]

I spent 18 months at Andersen in the third mms, from Nov. 165 to May 1967 it was really something to see the 52 take off clear the runway and drop down over the beach then come rising out of the sea trailing smoke like a big bird of prey. then from May 1968 to May 1969 at Ultapo Thailand, was amazing to be at the end of the runway when they took off.

[@sirbader1]

Ever posted at Mather AFB?

[@TrollingHistory]

You Big Ol persecuting oppressor you. If you arent fighting for the safty of your land then you are Team RED, not them they had no way to attack USA. But you war crimed them anyway. Agent orange and napalm over their villages which just sounds better than over their women and children doesnt it.

[@TrollingHistory]

Hey you vietnams come out and fight fair. Or else. We'll attack your women.

[@robertmaybeth3434]

Not as important a story as yours. Just impressions, I was stationed at McConnell in Kansas in 1981. From time to time a B-52 took off from the airfield - back then this base was primarily to support the active Titan II silos, KC-135 air refueling, and Air National Guard F-4's. My office was adjacent to the airfield, I had the night shift, and when a B-52 was running up her engines for take off it was unforgettable. Every wall shook, the air seemed to consist of the roar, and you felt it in your bones.

[@jamesjoseph5707]

And in Desert Storm they started with their own version of Linebacker 2 all the way up to the Surrender. Now that's how it's done. Not for 11 days but until they Surrendered.

[@FieryWACO]

I saw the B-52s taking off from Andersen AFB during this mission as a young boy. They used MITO (Minimum Interval Take Off), which seemed like every 10 or 15 seconds. It was awesome.

[@AhmedAdly11]

Yeah... it was awesome. Like being in the roman colosseum ...

[@sheltr9735]

@@AhmedAdly11 Well, the sheer power would have been awe-inspiring, in addition to being heart-breaking...

[@gryph01]

I saw a B-52 do a fly by at the London International Air Show in the 80's. It was amazing to see it and was gobsmacked at how loud they are.

[@FieryWACO]

@@sheltr9735 No heart-break in serving overwhelming power to our communist enemies.

[@FieryWACO]

@@gryph01 We were parked right at the end of the runway. The sensation of the roar of the engines rumbling in the chest sticks in my memory.

[@eriknewman5288]

The problem with Vietnam is the same problem we had with Korea. It was fought by men directed by part-time leaders who were servants to public opinion polls. If you're unwilling to do everything possible to win a war, then don't engage in war.

[@badguy5554]

The US military with the help of the B-52..WON the Vietnam War in early 1973. The Democrat Congress, in 1975, refused to fund the bombing of the North Vietnamese invasion of the South, as B-52's had done in 1972, and thus "aided and abetted" our enemy to kill and enslave the people of the South. The Vietnam War was lost through Democrat politics NOT from any deficiency in the American military.

[@eriknewman5288]

@BADGUY that's what I said. Politicians last the wars. I'm an opponent of the military being lead by civilian politicians from Washington.

[@badguy5554]

@@eriknewman5288 I wasn't refuting what you said. I was agreeing with you and was just adding my own comment.

[@eriknewman5288]

@@badguy5554 no worries. I see that now. I was tired and not comprehending

[@bencatechi4293]

The problem was invading in the first place and brutally murdering the people.

[@southwestxnorthwest]

Whoever came up with the name Operation _Linebacker_ should have received an award or ribbon just for suggesting such a badass name

[@SuperLordHawHaw]

It was originally "Operation Punt Return"

[@jakemocci3953]

Probably the guy at 6:02

[@AttitudeAsia]

They were going to call it 'Operation Gold Standard', but the Central Bank thought it would make the real reason for the war too obvious.

[@vanthai5738]

Thanks to ALL Vietnam veterans for their service.

[@MrMWN-rw4bv]

Yeah! Thanks for going to Third World countries trying to recolonize them by murdering peasants and pillaging theirs rice supply..... 💀👍

[@StephenDelRosario777]

Bruh ☠☠☠

[@danduffy7974]

You are very welcome.

[@JoeBaldwin-jx8iy]

I would like to say thank you to all veterans. You all are my hero's!!!

[@professorflash3278]

@@StephenDelRosario777 Yep, we still have these kind of insects in our country, they praise foreign country and forfeit their origin, we call them 3 stripe just like what their flag is.

[@Michael-cf9cj]

Okay, for all of you pointing out the B-52 wasn't involved in WWII (7:35 in the video), you're right. It wasn't. However, the presentation almost certainly meant that the B-52 was proving that the heavy bomber as a general type of aircraft could still be as effective over the battlefield as it was in WWII, not that the B-52 itself was involved in WWII. Seriously, I would hope a historical channel like Dark Skies wouldn't make such an obvious mistake. My guess is that they simply didn't realize how misleading that line of dialogue could sound.

[@manofcultura]

Yeah the line should’ve been “the *strategic* bomber is still as iconic as it was during the later half of WW2” The word strategic would’ve cleared up ambiguousness.

[@bad74maverick1]

@@manofcultura I was ready to pounce on that narration!!!! I heard it and said "Wait what? What the hell did he just say??"...

[@theflow5269]

They've made bigger mistakes in other vids

[@MattH-wg7ou]

They get a lot of stuff wrong often. Still like the channel overall though. And I understand and agree with your assessment.

[@madtrucker0983]

The problem with this channel is they do this all the time. They make huge blunders. I promise you you can find something significant in every single one of their videos.

[@majorhicksusmc]

I served with Delta Co 1st Bn 3rd Marines in Vietnam from December ‘66 to the end of December ‘67. We spent time up and around the DMZ on different operations. The first time I saw B-52s conducting a bombing run was in early July ‘67 on Operation Buffalo. I was in our gun teams fighting hole when the ground began to shake like a small earthquake. I looked up and could barely make out the sun reflecting on their bare metal skin of three B-52s. When I looked north (from our position the ground sloped down and away from our position) I saw a wall of explosions from the bombs they were dropping, and eventually a rumbling sound from the explosions. It was an impressive sight to see. I almost felt sorry for the NVA, but had no sympathy for them after what I saw on Buffalo.

[@freedomisnotnegotiable]

Well, you were the one who invaded another country you had no business in… but yeah I know you just followed the orders, as a German I heard that before…

[@vodkanghost9042]

@@freedomisnotnegotiable shut up

[@TruckerIceBox]

@@freedomisnotnegotiable your a 🍆

[@revejmal]

@@freedomisnotnegotiable found the millennial

[@johngardner313]

Thank you for your service. Welcome home soldier.

[@rufusmccloonahan4083]

My brother piloted on five nites of Linebacker ll out of U-Tapao. He is 80 now, and my hero. He flew O-2's nite time with the Rustics as well. If you are a fan of our aviator's, I recommend reading "Call Sign, Rustic". They did their best, with no accolades, to prevent what eventually failed with Pol Pot's killing fields.

[@havu-oj4qh]

US govt gave Khmer Rouge money to kill

[@ralphriffle1126]

A five hundred pouder sent me flying through the air. The ground shook like jello. The power and force is unbelievable. "We Faught All The Way " " The Brave And The Bold " " The 198th Infantry " " Viet Nam "

[@SmegHedd117]

"Fought".......

[@havu-oj4qh]

failure was also pathetic when 34 B52s were shot down, hundreds of pilots were captured,, killed “In fact, the toll on the US forces had been such that it had forced Nixon to beg Hanoi to resume the peace talks, and to unilaterally and unconditionally end the bombing" wrote US historian Pierer Asselin

[@ralphriffle1126]

@@havu-oj4qh ha ha ha. You want to rewrite history your way.

[@havu-oj4qh]

@@ralphriffle1126 Long beak did not bring you glory. Your panic escape from Vietnam with your tail between your legs say it all .

[@fredeb67]

I remember during Operation Desert Storm, seeing, feeling, hearing bombers drop massive amount of bombs at night over the horizon. I was thinking how safe that made me feel but I imagined what it must have been like for those on the receiving end. By the sheer length and quantity of the drops, I assumed it was the work of the BUFF.

[@xnyxiee1784]

If they fuck up enough to have a B-52 level them, then fuck em.

[@user-vd1uz3dj8l]

I wonder just how many bombs it took to kill one person.

[@fredeb67]

@@Uomo_Universale Yes. Bombs kill during war. War is kill, or be killed.

[@nonyabeeznuss304]

I live about 300 miles from a B52 base, and one day one of them flew along our valley very low and slow. It shook our whole house, it sounded like a natural disaster.

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

That's cool... 1972 driving through the Mojave desert 3 Tomcats straffed our camper bout 50 feet over us the camper learched forward then side to side and all 3 Tomcats hit afterburners and headed to the ceiling.... I was 9 years old..Dad was a WWII COMBAT ENGINEER ISLAND HOPPER and we never had jets in WWII... Dad belted out..." WE GOT JETS NOW MOTHERFUCKERS! give me another beer Ivan! Middle of the Mojave...

[@Matt_Comer]

Lucky

[@tylernorby4939]

I lived near the Boeing plant in Everett, the dreamlifter is actually even more massive than the stratofortress. It would fly over a gas station near Paine Field, shaking the whole structure covering the pumps.

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

@@tylernorby4939 Cool! Awesome 💯

[@chuckstockford2338]

I used to go to a lake close to Oscoda Michigan Air Force base. It was either every hour or every other hour they fired up engines on all or just a few of the B 52’s. The roar was tremendous. We would go under the water and you could still hear them.

[@flyer5769]

Hi, my father got to Vietnam in 1967. He flew for Air America. I got there in January 1968. I was 10 years old. Just in time for the Tet Offensive. Shortly after that I remember being able to feel the ground very lightly vibrate. Looking up you can see the curtain start to jiggle a little. This usually happened in the evenings. At first I didn't know what it was. My father told me it was the B-52's bombing. The fact that they were so far away you couldn't hear it, but you could still feel it. It was just mind-boggling.

[@WorldTravelA320]

The G model did NOT carry fewer jammers. They and the H models were outfitted to penetrate Soviet defenses and drop their bombs. (Remember this) When the F models were starting to return stateside for retirement, SAC pulled several G models from nuclear alert and had them join the fray, with the H models and remaining G's remaining stateside on nuclear alert. As stated before, the G was outfitted to penetrate Soviet air defenses, and was equipped with jammers meant to counteract top of the line Soviet equipment. The Fansong radar used by the SA-2 batteries was considered an antique and thus G models, had no effective means to counteract it. Whereas the older D models did.

[@eddiehaskell1957]

Thanks for that information .

[@Ahmed-vw3iw]

Iraqi POWs stated that they feared B52s far more than F16s,F18s as the latter would target a single tank or bunker...whereas when B52 approaches it lays waste to anything around 300 meters in the area which made an Iraqi soldier at far more risk than any other plane. Against other planes they could hide deep into the Fox Hole and likely survive but against a B52 the chances to live were low due to sheer number of bombs

[@robertmaybeth3434]

This reminds me of a chilling entry to the book "Fulcrum" written by the Soviet Russian pilot defector Alexander Zuyev. In the mid 1980's his unit of Mig 29's did an exercise with mock nuclear bombs. Zuyev describes the procedure for arming them during this exercise, and states the Soviet Union had no good procedure for this but copied the American one. The Soviets interrogated American pilots shot down over Vietnam, and "persuaded" them to tell the Soviet monsters the procedure then merely copied it. The American pilots were then "liquidated" so they could tell no one.

[@earlsmall9808]

@@eddiehaskell1957 I think we know each other. Earl Small

[@eddiehaskell1957]

@@earlsmall9808 I'm in Tennessee. Originally Texas. Your name doesn't ring a bell or two. But that's not unusual lately.

[@LongTran-em6hc]

It's a very strange feeling recognizing my living place in a youtube thumbnail. The bends of the Red river feel so...close

[@Old_B52H_Gunner]

I served with several gunners that flew Linebacker and Linebacker 2.

[@BPD1586]

That was my dream AFSC; unfortunately, it was phased out the year before I enlisted.

[@Bigdaddyslasher]

It is estimated that over 7 1/2 million tons of bombs were dropped on Indochina, the vast majority on North Vietnam. Compared to less that 2 1/4 million tons in all of WW2, and the 1.5 million tons dropped on Germany and it’s held territories in Europe. The cost of these ordinances were of more value than the whole collective worth of North Vietnam. Operation Rolling Thunder began in 1965, with the idea of bombing North Vietnam into submission, with the work horse of these bombing missions being the B 52, capable of carrying 70,000 pounds of explosives. This compared to the B 17 with a long range bombing mission over Germany carrying 4,000 pounds of explosives.

[@ahseaton8353]

The majority of the bombs were actually dropped on South Vietnam. Although airstrikes were prohibited on North Vietnam between Linebacker I in 1965 and II in 1972, they continued against the Viet Cong and NVA in South Vietnam (and Laos and Cambodia, but they don't count 😐)

[@badguy5554]

Bottom line: The ONLY bombing that was done with any affect was the Christmas bombing of 1972. Like in ALL wars, political leaders are quick to send other people's kids off to fight and die....FAR away from THEM! They change their opinions, dramatically, when THEIR CITY and THEIR KIDS and THEIR HOUSES are being bombed. If we had leveled Hanoi in 1965 instead of waiting until 1972 there would not have been a "Vietnam War".

[@GoldsmithsStats]

What a tragic exercise in futility. What did all that money and bloodshed achieve? The impoverishment of Indochina. This is Kissinger's legacy. How does he sleep at night.

[@Bigdaddyslasher]

@Arthur Moe he is an evil man

[@opposed2logic]

the easiest way to tell usa is a state terrorist actor, just like russia, is by just looking at their behavior in laos. they never declared war against laos yet they dropped more bombs on laos than all of the bombs dropped during ww2 combined. 100% of the targets in laos bombed by usa were civilian targets. it was exclusively aimed at the civilian population, largely wiping out one entire ethnic group which is why its often considered a genocide carried out by usa. its goal was to take out laotian ability to feed people so food from laos would not enter vietnam. usa is a country of utter evil and everyone supporting them and their politics is no better than those who support putin. evil people, doomed to eternal damnation in the afterlife. god will sort them all out, no heaven is to await for those who support evil.

[@richardbittikofer988]

I was at Danang AB on my 2nd tour in 'Nam when Linebacker II took place.

[@unclecreepy8343]

God Bless you and your family.

[@richardclary6267]

What was it like

[@gustavo320]

I lived in Danang. Dated a colonel from the vietnamese army. She was great. Best definition of "make love not war"

[@Nebulax123]

I was in the Navy on the USS Saratoga CVA 60 and part of Linebacker 2, we ran Alpha strikes non stop and anything that would fly and could carry bombs went around the clock.

[@iBusinessLogic]

Good ole' Sara! (Capt. Ron)

[@sheltr9735]

Thank you for your service, soldier

[@hans-joachimmarsielle4215]

@@sheltr9735 Sailor*

[@sheltr9735]

@@hans-joachimmarsielle4215 Yes, as an SOP, I make it a point to explicitly thank those who've served But, my SOP failed to account for the various branches of armed forces Going forward, I'll be more sensitive to that Thx for the correction!

[@yardsale781]

Thank you for your service. In your opinion, why did the United States wait so long to use this strategy of Linebacker II?

[@paladin0654]

In '71my battery was involved in supporting an operation at Tay Ninh West that covered the 11th ACR pulling off the Parrot's Beak. The night before we made the combat assault the entire battery camped out near the air strip. At about 2 AM the horizon lit up, the ground shook and we were literally bounced off the ground as an Arc Light went off in support of the operation. Never experienced anything like it and don't ever want to again.

[@roybeanjr9352]

Arc Lights were often in response to ASA intel.

[@Txpo50]

Thank you for your service. Vietnam vets are some of the most underrated veterans we have, especially because most didn’t want to be there and had no real choice

[@joshs199]

That sounds fascinating. But I don't understand most of the terms that were used.

[@PaulSyp]

Thank you for your service sir.

[@zakpearce7826]

@@Txpo50 They're "underrated" because the war was stupid and nobody cares about you if you waste your life on stupid causes.

[@captainsalty9022]

My brother,a army field radio operator assigned to LRRP’s, had the unfortunate experience of calling in a sighting of a battalion size force of NVA on an adjacent ridge line, less than a half mile away across a valley, moving south. Minutes later, he and the team were told to get down and take cover as an Arc Light mission had been diverted to the reported sighting. The LRRP team were bounced around and debris fell on them. After it was over, they were ordered to go over and investigate for a casualty report. This was one of several incidents in my brothers time in Vietnam that haunted him for the rest of his life.

[@Off-The-X]

we should talk. My uncle was there with your brother. The screams of the maimed NVA, haunted him everyday. They had to do BDA afterwards, "a pool of human sludge wherever you walked, The jungle was sand and blood, No bodies."

[@bensonyazzie1168]

... 3rdRECON...snoop and poop 💩...😅

[@drm315]

Henry Kissinger was Secretary of State, not Secretary of Defense. Great video! Thanks.

[@lib556]

Actually he was the NSA until 73, then SECSTATE.

[@mochiebellina8190]

and a consummate war criminal.

[@Gene_Greenlees]

Kissinger: National Security Adviser Dec 1972->Then Sec of State (You can overdub through YT) Great 👍🏻 B-52 video. Spent 1987-1991 G Models 62/596 BMS Barksdale

[@cstgraphpads2091]

@@mochiebellina8190 How so? For starters, "war crimes" basically don't exist. Second, how can he be a "war criminal" when all targets are valid targets in war.

[@jb-vb8un]

@mochiNOFACTS - ya love him, ya need him and ya still want to be him

[@davidheilman1613]

I was alive, but too young to go to Vietnam. But, even as a kid of 14, I wondered why America failed to conduct their Armed Forces as if America wanted to win. And from Korea forward, America's leaders, both political and Military fail to go into War with the focused intention of winning, no matter how brutal. Instead, we play some kind of a Game, where American forces play with our enemies. And we even restrict our Military from using their full affectedness! Limiting what we attack, and with how much force. We have Rules we follow that make no sense what so ever, unless the intent is to make a pretence of winning. Then, like we did in Afghanistan, suddenly we pull out our forces, leaving our Military gear, and way too many American's behind. Our leaders are playing a much different Game than what the Public are told.

[@Rayden440]

The answer is always money. The longer the war, the more profit for the companies that backs the politicians. If America wanted to win, they could have wiped Vietnam and Afghanistan off the map within a month.

[@johngaither9263]

Thank Harry Truman for setting the precedent of allowing the American Military to participate in a war it was not allowed to win. Funny how democrat Presidents have a habit of doing that.

[@richardlong3745]

I was at Andersen AFB when Linebacker 2 took place and there were mistakes made but the biggest was stopping the bombing after 14 days because another 14 days we would have broken the back of the N. Vietnamese will to fight for years to come as opposed to what happened just a mere 3 years later.

[@timmotel5804]

Old 1960's saying: FAR! (Fuc*en-A-Radio!) You Are So Right!! AND, Our Government keeps fighting wars that we don't intend to win, either... I'm a Nam Vet USAF TAC. Best Regards to You

[@2A4FIN]

The casualties occuring in the post-target turn were due to ECM emitter placement in the plane plane, providing a strong jamming to sides and below. When the aircraft rolls into turn, the jamming effect was considerably lesser, and enabled the radar operators to cue in for the lock.

[@flamebroiledsquirrel]

The only flaw in "bombing them back into the Stone Age" was, and is, that it only works on static infrastructure. If your enemy is accustomed to relatively primitive methodology (one practical marker might be seeing digital communication as a novelty rather than a necessity), destroying their infrastructure will still have a big impact in terms of human and material loss, but won't demoralize them to the same degree that a more modern society would be. It appears to be a recurring error in strategic decision making; to believe your enemy will react to an injury you're considering inflicting upon him as you would react upon receiving that injury yourself. It's a very conditional truth, and applying it as though it were a universal truth leads to a morass which no superpower has yet extricated themselves from with any dignity.

[@MrTrees77]

Well that and and it was their homeland. We were the invaders. If you bombed the hell out of an invading army in the same way that we use the b-52s...I'm pretty sure most those men would start to question why they are even fighting.

[@kurtamesbury6679]

Bombing them into the Stone Age is a viable strategy even in under-developed societies. Sticks and rocks make poor weapons against a modern mechanized military. Had America interdicted the supply lines early on (by mining Haiphong harbor) made copious use of Agent Orange not to clear jungle, but to kill off rice fields and bombed the infrastructure into oblivion, the level of "Stone Age" delivered would have reduced the population to a primary focus of simply not starving to death. Starving armies make weak opponents. The Vietnam war lasted as long as it did because the traitors of the political class continued to feed military personnel into a meat-grinder while handcuffed and not permitted to do their jobs. Turned loose for a couple weeks during Operation Linebacker II, they promptly brought N. Vietnam to its knees. When they were done, the Vietnamese were not simply acceding to 'peace talk" demands - they were desperately looking for any way to end the onslaught without total capitulation. In fact, memoirs of NVA General Vo Nguyen Giap acknowledged the North's panic and desperation to stop the bombing. Another week of Linebacker II would have brought unconditional surrender of N. Vietnam - but politicians snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

[@donodono2287]

@@MrTrees77 Their mum's and dads, sons and daughters, and maybe their brothers and sisters certainly would.

[@donrodgers283]

Having been there and witnessed the Results , they where beaten, that was the turning point that could have been a win. Once again the Democrats started it, FUBARed it then start all that same stuff you seen today crying it’s a tragedy what’s going on. These Democrats always start SHT and when them get a bloody nose they away crying it’s everyone’s else’s fault. So stop it.

[@cstgraphpads2091]

@@MrTrees77 Except they were the invaders. We didn't "invade" South Vietnam, we were asked to help defend it by the legitimate government of South Vietnam.

[@patrickshaw8595]

I was a part of this. 50 years later my part in it is still classified secret. I have hear detractors say "90 percent of all bombs dropped in Vietnam missed their targets." Speaking specifically of Linebacker II I can say with perfect certainty that none of the bombs went upwards when dropped. Every single bomb went down and hit Vietnam. That was 100% accuracy.

[@badguy5554]

EXCEPT for the ones that landed on the North Vietnamese in Cambodia and Laos?

[@bernarddavis1050]

Oh boy, you just revealed a Top Secret. Now you will have to kill and eat yourself.

[@patrickshaw8595]

@@bernarddavis1050 'AT'S gonna' be rough. If you would permit me to reverse the order them I might be able to pull it off...

[@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu]

Hard to believe the B-17 was still being used just 7 short years before the BUFFs.

[@willdenoble1898]

it was an amazing airframe. although, it should be noted that the engines and electronic were massively upgraded compared to its WWII models

[@bgreen2266]

WWII models? The B-52 took its maiden flight in April 1952.

[@matthiasfeid5929]

@@bgreen2266 he's talking about upgrades to the B-17

[@sethmaki1333]

And it'll still be flying a century after the 17 was retired.

[@skunkjobb]

I understand you mean the use of B-17 in WWII but it did have some post war service too so it was actually still being used (just not in massive bombing campaigns) well after the introduction of the B-52.

[@supadupachupacabra69]

My dad was on one of those crews, I love the b-52. When we were kids my father would take my brothers and I out to the flight line to check out the planes. Gotta love a 100 yard wing span. That is a football field. Awesome.

[@shatterquartz]

I was in Hanoi last month, and there were commemorations for the 50th anniversary of Linebacker II. For that huge amount of destruction and loss of life, all the US achieved was a slight postponement of the reunification of Vietnam. Was that worth it? Today Vietnam is a unified, vibrant country and it welcomes foreigners with open arms as long as they come in peace.

[@flagmichael]

No, by any sane measure it was a huge loss for everybody involved. I blame Lee Harvey Oswald. With John Kennedy's death the Profane President LBJ came to power, and he wanted that war in the worst way. Nixon was too much of a politician to exit expeditiously, so a million or more Vietnamese had to die. What a waste!

[@ArcFixer]

Good point. The video peddles the old "we're killing them to save them from being slaves to a an evil commie regime" insanity. That's bullshit and we lost. We should have known better. The best we could do was a bloody draw in Korea.

[@ninemilliondollars]

The war didn't end until two years after the US left. That's not a slight postponement. The US trained the South Vietnamese military very well. And as for a "unified, vibrant country," try to explain why 2-3 million Vietnamese people put their lives at risk escaping by boat so they wouldn't be killed or re-educated by the North Vietnamese. They still don't like what happened in Vietnam. Plus, post-war, the ruling party in Vietnam were such hardcore communists many of the people ended up starving. It wasn't until the '90's that they had to relent and let people start businesses. Furthermore, freedom of religion is merely stated in their constitution, but in reality, there are restrictions regarding religious practice including registration requirements, control boards, and surveillance. Nope, not the utopia you describe.

[@shatterquartz]

@@ninemilliondollars Plenty of people also left the 13 Colonies after they became independent, I've never heard any American use that as an argument against independence. I will also point out that the US keeps a larger percentage of its population behind bars than Vietnam (or China for that matter), so glass houses and all that.

[@ninemilliondollars]

@@shatterquartz I hear you. And the question is do we have more crime in the US or Vietnam/China? Hard to explain why more are in prison here.

[@777cmm777]

Henry Kissinger was Secretary of State, not Secretary of Defense.

[@popefang]

many many errors of fact in this channel

[@madtrucker0983]

@@popefang Yep, it also said B-52's we're used at the tail end of WW2. 🙄

[@NickTaylorRickPowers]

War criminal Henry Kissinger

[@hemp64731]

He said @1:35 that secretary of defense then @2:13 said Kissinger

[@777cmm777]

@@hemp64731 Robert McNamara was the Secretary of Defense during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations (1:35). Henry Kissinger was the Secretary of State during the Nixon and Ford administrations

[@Safari3601]

I witnessed a B52 when on the USS Sample DE 1048 while off the the coster of Vietnam, may have been one of these runs. To this day I remember seeing the strike and the loft bombing following, I still tell people it was one of the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

[@robertsansone1680]

Barry Goldwater wanted to do all that in 1964. It would had saved the lives of thousands of Americans who ended up dying needlessly. My parents voted for Goldwater I'm proud to say.

[@badguy5554]

I flew many missions in Vietnam..in another aircraft type...in the last 2 years of the Vietnam War. Later I flew the B-52. The B-52, in my mind, was the ONLY weapon that the North Vietnamese were truly afraid of. The B-52...ALONE..crushed the North's 1972 invasion. And the December 1972 bombings of Hanoi, essentially, WON the Vietnam War for the Americans.

[@gegwen7440]

Now there was me thinking that they won as they walked into the south with all those helicopters scrambling to get people off the roof of the embassy. Wonder when that was ?

[@seshmaru]

But you lost.

[@ninemilliondollars]

@@gegwen7440 FYI, that helicoptor on the roof wasn't from the US.

[@badguy5554]

@@gegwen7440 In 1972, President Nixon PROMISED the South Vietnamese government that we would use the B-52's against any future invasion of the South after the American military left the country. In 1972, B-52's CRUSHED the North's invasion of the South. A similar result would occur if the North ever invaded again. And both THEY and WE KNEW IT! The problem: When the Democrats in Congress managed to hound Nixon out of office, they REFUSED to delegate money for another B-52 strike on the invading North Vietnamese Army in 1975. THAT was the reason the South eventually fell to the North. The Democrats in Congress, by refusing funds for B-52 strikes, "aided and abetted" the North Vietnamese in their takeover of the South. It was done with intent because the Democrats HATED Nixon and wanted to show his efforts to save South Vietnam ended in disaster. Politics won the war for the North....NOT anything lacking in the American military or its ability to WIN the War in Vietnam (which it DID in 1973!)

[@oculosprudentium8486]

Nothing says "Screw You" than a long line of B-52"s coming in to turn your place back to the store age and earlier.

[@RobertFairweatherMusic]

K Mart was a thing in the store age.

[@h3llb3nt]

And yet still lost

[@meetoo594]

Allowed America to surrender less embarrassingly I guess. Entire conflict was a huge waste of time and lives for some bullshit political gain, it achieved nothing.

[@oculosprudentium8486]

@@h3llb3nt as a certain general once said General wins Wars Politicians lose Wars. And pretty soon they call out the soldiers to come do it again

[@oculosprudentium8486]

@@h3llb3nt There is now a well-proven thing. Generals WIN wars Politicians LOSE wars. It was those DC politicians who loved to micromanage things that screwed it up

[@mred8002]

We had a hunting cabin in a 15 acre clearing in the midst of Huron National Forest. We would feel the building shake , then hear the sound as the B52s would appear over the edge of the woods and rattle the windows as they went over at what seemed like close enough to touch.. huge machines.

[@davidsaling1298]

Remember that!!! My father was stationed at WAFB Michigan.

[@mred8002]

@@davidsaling1298 That’s where they were out of. We’d also find tangles of chaff scattered around the 200 acre piece. Cabin was north of Loon lake.

[@the-trustees]

The single biggest mistake in ANY war is to be conned into not attacking certain cities and other military targets, allowing the enemy to stockpile weapons and other materiel to be then used against you.

[@mattstephen7494]

It's not that simple. The US didn't want to provoke China and Russia joining the war and a possible WW3. Also the US's allies and the UN were not keen on massive civilian casualties. You would also be bombing US prisoners.

[@the-trustees]

@@mattstephen7494 You don't lose a war to save a relatively small number of prisoners. You don't think the allies would have not bombed Germany because of POWs, do you?

[@donodono2287]

@@the-trustees I'm sure someone famous wrote a famous book about one of those infamous allied war crimes... Kurt Vonnegut or someone... About the carpet-bombing of the city of Dresden or somwhere that created a fire-storm that killed 10s of 1000s, including allied prisoners of war.

[@the-trustees]

@Dono Dono The German people, under the spell of Hitler, ALL bought in to the idea that they were better, more pure, and deserved to be treated specially ABOVE ALL OTHERS. They ALL saw the start of the Holocaust when the jews were required to wear that fruking yellow star on their chest and taken away by the trainfuls to somewhere. I'm so tired of this bullscat that the German people had no idea what was happening. They were DEFINITELY legitimate targets, and even still, the allies wanted there to be another way, but without one, they ENSURED that Germany was prevented from building any MORE machines to conquer THE WORLD. The ONLY ones to blame for ANYTHING that happened during WWII are Hitler, his inner circle, the SS, and Mussolini.

[@flagmichael]

@@donodono2287 Slaughterhouse-Five. You're right: Kurt Vonnegut. Very sad.

[@HumanScourgeYT]

Your quality, content, and narrations has vastly and greatly improved over the last year! I’m glad you slowed the narration. The pace feels just right now.

[@bruceparr1678]

That old film of a B52 in flames from wingtip to wingtip in a flat spin is really wonderfull.

[@bindig1]

?

[@theduck1972]

The B-52D also had the "Big Bay" Mod. which was wiring and shackle changes, not a change to the Bomb Bay dimensions. It could carry 108 500lbs bombs. Took two hours to get to cruise altitude and had to hit a tanker around 25,000 ft, since a B-52 could fly much heavier than takeoff and landing weight limits. I believe the G model could handle a load of 58 500 pounders.

[@lemmingsfly]

Big belly is the more common term but yea they could carry some weight. The only US aircraft that can carry more is the b-1. But it doesn’t have a nuclear mission anymore.

[@Wallyworld30]

B-52 was designed to be a Nuclear Strategic Bomber. What they did in Viet Nam doesn't even touch on what it's maximum capability is.

[@mikecummings6593]

Yes considering we lost

[@cedricliggins7528]

No way

[@nunyabizness9216]

Correct.

[@billthompson301]

If they had used the B-52s shown carrying the Hound Dog missiles there wouldn't have been much left of the cities. They carried a full load of thermonuclear weapons and were targeted at the USSR.

[@LuisGarcia-rq2qo]

Those guys where tough they never gave up they protected their land

[@chloeew4627]

True , unfortunately the US haven’t learnt yet . Keep out of people’s backyards unless they are in yours. Vietnam has gone on to be a fairly happy and peaceful land

[@steigerpower]

How true, and that war sure had made some corporations very wealthy@@chloeew4627

[@magoochito]

I think they have learned to a certain extent. The domino theory has proven to be false and ideologies are no longer casus belli for war.

[@NoJokes11B]

Today Vietnam and America are important trading partners. I work in the seafood industry. The US imports a lot of seafood from Vietnam. Millions of Vietnamese live in America too. If we can be friends today, then why did we fight each other in the first place? That’s how I always see these wars.

[@ninemilliondollars]

Many of the Vietnamese that live outside of Vietnam, like in the US, the UK, other countries, escaped so they wouldn't be subject to re-education camps in North Vietnam, or be killed (See "Vietnamese boat people" on wikipedia.) They were in support of the US. As for Vietnam, they were run by the hardcore communist party after the war until the 1990's when they had to relent and allow capitalism to seep in. The people were starving and they had to do something about that. So the Vietnam of today isn't the same as the one of post-war. And even now religious freedom is limited even though their constitution proclaims all are free.

[@danielmarcelruest3196]

My uncle was a rad op on a b-52 , got shot down , survived but was taken prisoner , he spend 4 + years at the Hanoi Hilton … Respect RIP R Swan .

[@Truthteller0001]

I hope the SOB is now in a very warm place

[@ninemilliondollars]

@@Truthteller0001 Not nice to say that.

[@ninemilliondollars]

The "Hanoi Taxi" which transported the former prisoners back to the United States was a Lockheed C-141 Starlifter stratigic airlift aircraft. It's on display at the National Musuem of the Air Force in Dayton, OH. It's an incredible sight to see and one can only feel how wonderful it must have been to see that in Vietnam and get on it and take off. I honor your Uncle for his service. US Army '70-71

[@KlipsenTube]

There's rarely any mention of the fact that it was US Navy mine sweeping helicopters that cleared the shipping lane into Haiphong harbour of the mines dropped there during Linebacker II. This was part of the negotiations.

[@badguy5554]

Believe the total losses were more like 31. The 15 mentioned were shot down over Hanoi...but another number were abandoned, because of damage, over Laos. One crashed on landing at the airfield in Thailand.

[@kne2323]

Can we all just appreciate our brave men and women? I want to shake every one of their hands. Fantastic design and utilization of our military equipment as well. I distinctly remember my uncle giving me a B52 model when I was young - I stared in admiration at that beauty many many times. Salute to all my veteran brothers and sisters….

[@seventhson27]

My Cousin flew "top cover" for the B52s on their first mission over Hanoi. "The sams were like the 4th of July and they didn't hit a single plane." Such was the jamming equipment on the Buffs.

[@seventhson27]

The direction of the jamming signal was cone-shaped downwards. If they banked too steeply the sams could come in from the side.

[@seventhson27]

The B52s were also vulnerable from above by Migs. Thus the "top cover."

[@livingexample5322]

I was a B-52 automatic flight control tech at U Tapao during Linebacker ll. Unfortunately it meant witnessing a B-52 struggle trying stay in the air and ultimately crashed past the end of the runway. Completely surreal.

[@sexygirlove20]

have you been back there since U Tapao was made into an international airport ...

[@hansmueller3029]

We didn't lose the war. We quit it. North Vietnam was bombed horribly with the Arc Light and Linebacker campaigns.

[@Sickofsociety1]

And we hammered them in every military engagement.

[@cplcabs]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but quitting is losing. The US screwed up big style in Vietnam and then went on to do the same in Iraq and more embarrassingly in Afghanistan.

[@hansmueller3029]

@cplcabs no leaving an enemy without any reasonable infrastructure, without means to feed its people, leaving North Vietnam bombed into the stone age is not losing and you're not bursting my bubble. Iraqis died 500 to 1 against America. Afghans died 1000 to 1. You're not as familiar as you think you are with words. Objectives were constantly changed and mission outlines were vague. That doesn't make the US the loser.

[@cplcabs]

@@hansmueller3029 The US ran from Vietnam handing over tons of working infrastructure. Iraqis may have died 500 to 1 against the US, but they still won, also bear in mind a lot of those 500 to 1 were civilians. Afghanistan, maybe they died 1000 to 1 but the US did not achieve its objectives and ran from Afghanistan like a scared girl in the night. The US is the loser and with Afghanistan it is the massive embarrassed loser.

[@prsearls]

While I was stationed at Danang AB in 1965/66. I witnessed/heard B-52 strikes near the base. It was an awesome sight and sound like nothing else short of nuclear.

[@jason60chev]

I was an Aircraft Hydraulic Systems Tech on B52G, at Castle AFB, Ca 1989-1993. Great aircraft. Can't imagine how hard and long the ground crews had to work, to keep them flying.

[@rowbearly6128]

Kudos to the brave Vietnamese who fought and won. They reclaimed their nation and people from foreign colonizers.

[@ninemilliondollars]

The same foreign colonizers that they trade goods with like the United States? Sounds like they caved realizing communism isn't what it's supposed to be.

[@RJasonKlein]

Excellent video that documents an interesting time in the B-52’s history. My father was in SAC as an AWO on a B-52 out of Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, TX, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, so these raids took place long after he had transitioned to pilot in command of a C-130A model in the 1370th Photo Mapping Wing out of Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, KS, where I was born in 1967. You misspoke when describing the B-52 as iconic in the latter stages of WWII, as it first went into service in 1954.

[@oriolguerrero1702]

'It proved that the aircraft was as iconic as it was in the latter phases of WW2', an aircraft that made its first flight in the mid 50's. This just show his knowledge and research, even wikipedia does it better.

[@majorpayne608]

He didn't say aircraft, he said bomber. What he was saying was that the bomber, meaning the capability that bombers bring to war, was as iconic.

[@jesseturner9865]

heard that too. I had to stop to see if I was mistaken.

[@badguy5554]

He said "the bomber"....as a type of aircraft fighting machine. He did not mean the B-52 served in WWII.

[@flagmichael]

I presume the confusion came from the B29 being known as the Superfortress and the B52 as the Stratofortress.

[@plantfeeder6677]

@@flagmichael no it's from not listening. I knew exactly what he was talking about, Strategic Bombing and THE bomber(as opposed to a Fighter) in general

[@georgewbushcenterforintell147]

God bless all the vets that fought in Vietnam or any conflict.

[@nguyenhung-uu7vx]

bles what? bless those warmonger?

[@--Skip--]

The one time, the US didn't fight the Vietcong with its hands tied behind its back. It is a real shame politicians conducted the Vietnam War. Otherwise, we could have been out of there by 1966.

[@cplcabs]

except its not. Thats a myth to perpetrate that politicians lost the war. The fact is, the US military put all its might in Vietnam and lost as it did in Afghanistan and Iraq

[@paulabes4220]

I remember growing up in during the Vietnam war. We would watch Walker Cronkite on the news every dinner giving up dates and body counts. One of the creepiest pictures I saw of a B52 attack were of a bunch of Vietcong soldiers frozen in time they had all been eating in the jungle sitting up against trees. They were dead but appeared unharmed, they had died from the shock wave from the bombs. My dad was a master sergeant in the Korean war. He met my Canadian mom in Atlanta, and they moved to Miami to live but when my mom got pregnant with my older brother, they moved to Canada so we would not have to fear the draft. So, I have been lucky and never had to go to war. However, I have the greatest respect for those that did.

[@timmotel5804]

I watched Walter every night at dinner time also. My draft number was 83. I enlisted. Vietnam USAF TAC Veteran. The U.S. should never have been in that war. Good for you and your family. Best Regards

[@paulabes4220]

@@timmotel5804 Thank you for your service, sir.

[@fooman2108]

To this day! Cruise on the International Space Station without Optics can pick up the impact zones for the linebacker to strike! That is almost 50 years later in Triple Canopy jungle on you can still pick out the bomb craters

[@Pointman-yf6or]

1967/68 is when this was needed! B52’s over hanoi 24/7! Maybe some of my comrades would be alive today instead of lieing dead and wounded on lz hardcore feb 68.

[@popefang]

fighting an unjust war that you lost

[@KomarBrolan]

Unjust? The citizens of South Vietnam have been oppressed by a communist dictatorship since end of the war.

[@othgmark1]

@@popefang really you are certain of this? War is never good but the other side did some pretty deplorable stuff too. The sizeable Vietnamese population in the United States didn't move because the other side were such good guys. You don't have to agree but show some respect for the sacrifices that were made. Without those sacrifices you might be living in a country where your post alone would get you jailed.

[@Slcm02]

As a 69/70 vet it’s sad that the politicians stopped the US from winning.

[@AhmedAdly11]

Winning what?

[@tonyduncan9852]

@@AhmedAdly11 Indeed!

[@flagmichael]

It's even sadder that Johnson got us involved in the first place. I understand that so soon after the war against fascism we were hypersensitive to another totalitarian form of government spreading, but if we had faith we would have foreseen communism collapsing under the weight of its own failures.

[@tonyduncan9852]

@@flagmichael Also if we had faith we would have foreseen capitalism collapsing under the weight of its own failures. Just a six-letter difference . . . wait, I see it . . . if we had *_reason_* etc . . .

[@ninemilliondollars]

Thanks for your service. US Army Security Agency '70-71

[@thebobloblawshow8832]

You mean as iconic as it was in the later phase of the Korean War.

[@plantfeeder6677]

B-52 wasn't used in Korea. It entered service in 1954. He was referring to Strategic Bombing still being effective as it was at the end of WWII

[@carborundable]

A gastroenterologist I knew back in the 80's was a F4 Phantom pilot during View Nam war who participated in missions against North Vietnam targets. He absolutely hated Johnson for a policy to avoid civilian targets that required them to fly their missions at exactly the same time of day flying in on the same vector. North Vietnamese gunners and missile personnel would sit and plays cards or what have you till the 4:00 target schedule. Then they would target the pathway they knew the Americans were flying in on. That being the policy of America, the F4 Phantom squadron he was in lost 50% of their planes.

[@carborundable]

Correction: civilian areas and not civilian targets

[@captainnitrousx1331]

My father flew 3 of these Missions in December of 72 out of Guam. The missions were exhausting from Guam as well as the fear of being shot down. Guys flying D models out of Thailand flew more missions cause they were closer. 14 hour missions out of Guam vs 4 hour missions from Northern Thailand.

[@MD72538]

thanh you for mentioning the fear by the US pilots of being shot down!! ❤

[@captainnitrousx1331]

@@MD72538 Well there are 6 guys to a crew not just 2 pilots. The mission planners from the wings, ACs, CPs, Navs really had a lot of responsibility and fear just flying the Mission routes, on time with the correct altitude and headings at 450 plus knots in the dark of night with the sky full of the latest Russian Surface to Air Missiles. Every man on those crews from Gunner, EW to AC were probably shaking busy beavers. Every A/C and Nav leading the bomber 3 plane cells bore a heavy burden of responsibility making sure the lead cell plane is on time for target, turns and tanker rendezvous in the dark. Getting shot down was just one of many fears on those December evenings I would imagine. A/Cs really earned the title Aircraft Commander on those missions.

[@timothymccarthy4704]

Had we continued Linebacker 2, with the continued bombing, didnt we stand a chance of actually winning the war being that the NVA could not take the continuous bombing? Charlie was actually treating our POWs decently because they were scared. We couldve won, couldnt we?

[@ninemilliondollars]

It's more that that. In Korea, we fought the war against North Korea, but took a hands-off approach to dealing with insurgency in South Korea. We left it to the South Korean government. In Vietnam, the US attempted to resolve insurgency with counter-insurgency efforts. In the process, they never gained the support/hearts and minds of the people. That's one factor why when we left that the war didn't succeed. Another was that the US Congress cut off funding for the war and the US had to leave. The South Vietnamese Army was left with out support nor replacement supplies and was finally overwhelmed after two years.

[@laurentj7998]

All my Respect to Vietnam Veterans ⭐️

[@Nitramrec]

"vietnam veterans" oder "veterans who fought in vietnam"? And do you include the vietnamese veterans too?

[@henryposadas3309]

I wonder what would have happened if the Airforce had not been held back from the very start of the war?

[@cplcabs]

The US airforce dropped 7 1/2 million bombs on Vietnam...in WW2 2 1/4 million bombs were dropped in total by the Allies. Just how were the airforce held back in your opinion?

[@majerstud]

@@cplcabs How many of those millions of toms were dropped on empty jungle?

[@GM-xk1nw]

more civilians dead, us still lose.

[@LarryDickman1]

@@cplcabs Go read some history on all the fucking "rules of engagement" that had to be followed. If we fought the war (not a fucking police action) like we did WWII, it would have been over in a couple of years.

[@cplcabs]

@Lawrence Dickman I know history. It was all out warfare don't say politicians held the military back. The us military killed about 800000 NVA and you think the US militaries hands were tied because of ROEs?

[@Ionizap]

I saw a B-52 do a low pass over CFB Chatham in Canada coming from the Tracadie Range many long years ago. It was quite a sight.

[@donaldolin7219]

Years later, 1977, I had the privilege of going up to the Andersen control tower as a buddy was an ATC. Excellent view as it was a very tall control tower. The base was pretty quiet back then.

[@andywhite40]

Great video many thanks!! However it does beg one very large question - why wasn't this done 7 or 8 years before?? I find it astonishing that the US government effectively tied the hands of the Air Force behind their backs until this operation.

[@Nebulax123]

The politicians were afraid that it would drag China or Russia into the war. As a Vietnam vet we always knew we could take them out in a few days if they just untied our hands.

[@HeadPack]

Similar to Afghanistan or Ukraine. The longer some conflicts take, the more money is made in the defense sector.

[@danielblahuta3330]

Politics and money.

[@kurtamesbury6679]

Political cowardice and greed. There is a class of Americans who willingly sell American lives for money. They are generally politicians and weapons manufacturers.

[@koozizzel]

Why was it done at all? Little chance the vietnamese were going to invade the US.

[@rich7447]

At 7:40 the narrator says that the bomber (B-52) was still as iconic as in was in the latter staged of WW2. The B-52 wasn't in service until 1955.

[@whiteknightcat]

I'm finding more and more errors with these "Dark [whatevers]" videos. He also referred to Henry Kissinger at one point at the Secretary of Defense.

[@skunkjobb]

I think he meant "the bomber" as bombers in general, not a particular model. "Bombers" would in that case have been a better word.

[@skunkjobb]

@@whiteknightcat Yeah, there's always a few factual errors in his videos and that about Kissinger was a grave one. Maybe it's intentional just to kick up the comments count but I don't really think so.

[@plantfeeder6677]

@@skunkjobb yes he did. I got it. You got it. But it seems a lot of know-it-alls have their heads up their collective you know where and don't hear a thing. He did say "The Bomber"(generic form), not This Bomber, is as useful as it was....

[@AgniWatchLugun]

You appeared to imply that the B-52 was operational during the latter phase of WWII at timestamp 7:37, but the B-52 didn't have it's first flight until 1952, almost 7 years after the end of WWII, did you get the B-52 confused with another aircraft?

[@bernardvonderheide1268]

Rewatch I believe that it was the amount of bombers they were using not the bombers themselves

[@AgniWatchLugun]

@@bernardvonderheide1268 I did rewatch, more than once, he's specifically referring to the bomber being used as "being as iconic as it was in the latter stages of WWII", hence it is a specific reference to B-52 bombers and not the number which may have been committed to the operation

[@joeqmix]

I got the same impression - the exact words are: "operation the B-52 Crews proved that *the 7:34 bomber* was still as iconic as *it* was 7:36 during the latter phase of World War II..." I see now that it probably means *The Bomber* as a platform, not That Bomber - the B-52 specifically. Bombers in general.

[@AgniWatchLugun]

@@joeqmix Your interpretation might have been his intention, but there is a fundamental flaw with that argument, tactical and strategic bombing was used throughout WWII, one could hardly call Allied day and nighttime bombing of German occupied Europe as only occuring towards the end of WWII, and let's not forget the German bombing operations during the Battle of Britain, or Japanese bombing of Chinese cities prior to Pearl Harbor, additionally UN forces conducted extensive bombing campaigns against North Korea during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, so large scale use of bombers did not end with WWII, ultimately I still think he made a mistake in this video, admittedly some WWII bombers were used in Vietnam, since B-26 bombers operated under both the French and Americans in Vietnam, but the last B-26's were take out of service before 1970

[@psychocuda]

@@joeqmix Right, I think he meant "the bomber" as a concept, not as the specific type, so strategic bombing in general.

[@robertojofre15]

The intro was soo epic!!

[@1murder99]

My first day in the field with A company 1/46 Infantry was spent doing B52 bomb damage assessement in Loas. This was in October 1968.

[@scottmccloud9029]

The US should of done that the entire time we were in that war.

[@briancooper2112]

johnson and mcnamara prevented it. Also, Gulf of Tonkin was a lie!

[@mikecummings6593]

I agree but I think we still would have lost

[@cedricliggins7528]

@@mikecummings6593 no way

[@badguy5554]

1964 instead of 1972. There would have BEEN NO Vietnam War.

[@cplcabs]

@@cedricliggins7528 without doubt the US would have lost. Their strategy does not win wars.

[@Idahoguy10157]

I knew a USAF veteran who’d been a B-52 tail gunner during those missions over Vietnam

[@donlarocque5157]

When I was in the Air Force in 83 I knew a guy that was a tail gunner on the B 52. He was getting out while I was going in.

[@estellemelodimitchell8259]

Did he shoot down any MIGs?

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@estellemelodimitchell8259 …. IDK if he’d shot at any. He never said

[@donalddodson7365]

FACT CHECK: Henry Kissinger was never Defense Secretary. He was Secretary of State.

[@samghost13]

Good to have the Americans on the good side of the Table! Think about having them on the Axis no no we do not! Thank you America!!!

[@Hey_MikeZeroEcho22P]

Thanks Airmen!!! From USN Vet 20+ years!!

[@badgerbait8351]

B-52 bombing runs, "Identical approach paths at the same altitude." What could possibly go wrong?!

[@garybobst9107]

Thier accuracy was absolutely 100%, they never once missed the ground.

[@2990rick]

🤔🤔🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Countach100]

I appreciate how you show the conflicts evenly from both sides and how you differentiate between superb military work and deplorable political decisions.

[@DJ-bh1ju]

Shouldn't have even BEEN a negotiating table. U.S. Grant said it best... "...No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works."

[@ninemilliondollars]

General Sherman marching across Georgia burning and destroying anything that lived or stood to break the back of the Confederacy. And that worked.

[@msmeyersmd8]

"With characteristic engine humming in the background. Have you ever heard a B-52 with its characteristic 8 engines on a full power water-injection take off. I have. As a young child. Humming isn't a word I would ever use to describe that sound. Even at high altitude, those engines are Not Humming.

[@johnjustice5595]

My grandfather was a b52 bomber pilot during the Vietnam war

[@tuantrinh9633]

Bạn và ông nội bạn có thấy điều gì hối tiếc khi đi giết hại người dân Việt Nam chúng tôi

[@danduffy7974]

At 7:37 you hear the narrator say that the B 52 was as Iconic as it was as it was at the latter phases of WW2. WRONG ! The BUFF was not put into service till after WW2.

[@freuchiegraham]

"The bomber was still as iconic" - not the B52 specifically, but "the bomber" as a weapon platform is what I think he meant there.

[@badguy5554]

@@freuchiegraham Agree.

[@danduffy7974]

OH MAN!!!!! You stole my thunder!!!

[@Nopaants]

“The trouble with Vietnam”, politicians, period.

[@cplcabs]

make that US politicians

[@Nopaants]

@@cplcabs yeah, sure! Only US politicians. Because Australian politicians are different. Where’s ur 2nd amendment? Yeah. Know ur history. Australia was also at war with the North Vietnamese. Corrupt, inept politicians no matter where they’re from.

[@cplcabs]

@@Nopaants wow, you really are a typical dumb AF yank. In what planet do you think I am Australian?

[@G5Hohn]

7:39, I’m pretty sure the B-52 wasn’t iconic during WW2 since it didn’t come until much later. Perhaps your script of “the bomber” was referring to all bombers in general vs the B-52?

[@wandameadows5736]

B-52 Stratofortress is still unmatched today. We still fly it over China every once in a while to prove a point.

[@luisvelez5695]

Some of our aircrews from Kincheloe AFB were on these missions in dec 1972

[@stellarpod]

At 2:15, you state "...Secretary of Defense, Henry Kissenger...". In fact, Henry Kissenger was NEVER the Secretary of Defense. Although he did maintain the office of Secretary of State from September 22, 1973 until January 20, 1977, in 1972 at the Peace Talks, he was the National Security Advisor - NOT the "Secretary of Defense".