Operation Linebacker

For the December 1972 military operation, see Operation Linebacker II.

Operation Linebacker was a United States war campaign during the Vietnam War to relieve the pressure of the Viet Cong's offensive in the 1972 Summer Campaign. It was done by bombing North Vietnam and dropping mines to blockade Hai Phong port, aiming to exhaust the North and preventing the support for the Viet Cong. North Vietnam called this campaign the "Second Destruction War against the North".

Operation Linebacker
Part of the Vietnam War
A 388th TFW SAM hunter-killer team refueling on its way to North Vietnam, October 1972
Date 9 May – 23 October 1972 Location North Vietnam Result Both sides claim victory[1][2][3]
Belligerents
United States  South Vietnam	North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
John W. Vogt Jr.[4] Damon W. Cooper[4]	Nguyen Van Tien
Casualties and losses
134 aircraft lost in combat or operational accidents[5] (excluding the number of aircraft that were badly damaged beyond repair[6]) 10 aircraft lost North Vietnamese claim: 651 aircraft shot down, 80 warships sunk or damaged[7]	U.S. claim: 63 aircraft shot down North Vietnamese claim: 47 aircraft shot down (26 MiG-21s, 5 MiG-19s and 16 MiG-17s)[8]

Operation Linebacker, which began on the 16th of April 1972, was a real surprise to the North, as most of the air defense forces had been mobilized to protect the rear of the 1972 Summer Campaign. On the other hand, the US, this time, launched more powerful and fierce aircraft and attacks than in the first destructive war (1964–1968). On the first day of the war, Hanoi was fiercely attacked. The Duc Giang oil depot burned for more than a week. For the first time, Hai Phong was carpet-bombed by B-52s. The bombing of Hanoi and Hai Phong, along with the torpedo operations to block ports in North Vietnam, ordered by President Nixon in May in retaliation for the 1972 Spring-Summer Campaign, dealt a heavy blow to the economy of North Vietnam. The transportation of goods from outside to the North, as well as the supply activities of the North to the battlefields of South Vietnam, were significantly reduced, leading to major changes in the 1972 war situation in Vietnam.

Until the Hanoi–Hai Phong air defense campaign, the war was fierce throughout the North. The infrastructure of the North from roads, railways, bridges, ports, factories, production facilities to dikes were all severely destroyed. In return, on the US side, 674 aircraft of all types were shot down (data of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam). Among the aircraft shot down were 34 B-52s and 4 F111s.