An audio book version of The Brothers Bellum!
Available soon.
There are maps, illustrations, and other items in the “visual” versions of the book that might enhance your enjoyment of the audio book. All of those follow below.
Thailand, Laos, North and South Vietnam
Credit: Author’s drawing
The “as the crow flies” distance from U-Tapao to Hanoi is 580
nautical miles (nm). There are other important locations off the
map. Andersen Air Force Base, Guam is 2,279 nm from Hanoi.
Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, Nebraska, is 6,884 nm from Hanoi.
The Chain of Command
B-52 Cell Formation
Credit: Author’s drawing
The standard B-52 cell formation was flown with “number two” flying 1 nautical mile behind on a 45° angle to the right, and “number three” flying 2 nautical miles behind to the left. Position was maintained using radar but required extra maneuvering when turning, especially when the turn was opposite. Number 3, for example, was likely to fall behind in a turn to the right.
B-52D Cockpit Layout
Glossary
AAA – “Triple A” – Anti Aircraft Artillery
ALCM – “Al kum” – Air Launched Cruise Missile
AN/ALE-20 – Flares
AN/ALE-24 – Chaff
AN/ALT-6B – Multi-Band jamming system used on about half the B-52Gs used during Linebacker II, manufactured by General Electric
AN/ALT-22 – An improved continuous wave jamming transmitter used on the B-52D and some B-52Gs, manufactured by General Electric, Burroughs, and Litton
AN/ALT-28 – Advanced jamming transmitter, manufactured by Hallicrafters
AN/ALR-20 – Radar detection set (No other information available)
AN/APR-25 – Six band radar detection and homing set, manufactured by Itek
Cell – The standard B-52 formation of three aircraft
Chaff – Small pieces of tinfoil-like metal strips used to jam enemy radar
Charlie – A highly qualified B-52 pilot positioned near the runway to make launch decisions
CINC – “Sink” – Commander in Chief
CINCSAC – “Sink sack” – Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command
DMZ – Demilitarized Zone, the dividing line between North and South Vietnam
EB-66 – A USAF aircraft used specifically for jamming enemy radar
ECM – Electronic Counter Measures
EW – also EWO – Electronic Warfare Officer
Fan Song – SA-75’s radar used to control the missile and guide it to its target
IP – Initial Point – Normally the start of the bomb run
KIA – Killed in Action
Linebacker I – The tactical bombing campaign from May to October 1972
Linebacker II – The bombing campaign from December 18 to December 29, 1972
MIA – Missing in Action
Mig – Mikoyan/Gurevich series of Soviet jet fighter aircraft
PDI – Pilot Direction Indicator, an instrument used by the B-52 navigator to let the pilot know where to fly during the bomb run
POW – Prisoner of War
PTT – Post Target Turn
ROE – Rules of Engagement
SA-2 Guideline – The NATO name given the SA-75
SA-75 Dvina – A SAM provided to the North Vietnamese by the Soviet Union
SAC – “Sack” – Strategic Air Command
SAM – Surface to Air Missile
SIGINT – Signals Intelligence
Spoon Rest – The SA-75’s radar used to locate targets
Strobe – A single strip of light on a radarscope
TAC – “Tack” – Tactical Air Command
TOT – Time over Target
Uplink – Guidance signal transmitted from a ground radar site to a launched SAM
UT – U-Tapao
Weasel – also Wild Weasel – Aircraft used to attack SAM sights
Author’s Note
They say, “fact is stranger than fiction,” but in this case, it would be apt to say, “fact is even more tragic than fiction.” I’ve tried very hard to keep the chronology of what happened and when it happened as true to actual life as possible. The seemingly suicidal rules of engagement were really what constrained our bomber crews. Most sadly, the bomber losses are also factual. I agree that Linebacker II hastened the conclusion of the American involvement in the Vietnam War. I disagree that the Strategic Air Command deserves credit for the eventual success of Linebacker II.
I encourage you to dive into the further reading I have listed in the following pages. But before that, I’ve listed an actual chronology to whet your appetite to learn more.
Actual Chronology
June 18, 1965 – First B-52 combat mission sent from Andersen to Vietnam resulted in a midair collision between two B-52Fs, killing eight of the twelve crewmembers.
April 10, 1972 – First B-52 strikes deep into North Vietnam.
November 22, 1972 – A B-52 is shot down over southern North Vietnam, the first B-52 combat loss of the Vietnam War.
December 16, 1972 – The Paris Peace Talks formally break down with no new date for resumption.
December 18, 1972 – Night One of Linebacker II – 129 B-52s strike targets around Hanoi, in three waves, four hours apart. Three B-52s are shot down, two are heavily damaged.
December 19, 1972 – Night Two of Linebacker II – 93 B-52s attack the Hanoi area with same targets, times, and routes as the previous night. Several B-52s are damaged but none are lost.
December 20, 1972 – Night Three of Linebacker II – 99 B-52s are sent to Hanoi with the same targets, times, and routes as the previous two nights. Six B-52s are shot down during the first and third waves.
December 21, 1972 – Night Four of Linebacker II – 30 B-52s are sent, only D-models from U-Tapao, and those are sent with the same timing of the third wave of the previous nights. Three B-52s are shot down.
December 22, 1972 – Night Five of Linebacker II – B-52s strike Haiphong, away from Hanoi. No B-52 losses.
December 23, 1972 – Night Six of Linebacker II – B-52s strike far away from Hanoi. No B-52 losses.
December 24 – 25, 1972 – 36-hour standdown, SAC turns over mission planning to the 8th Air Force Headquarters, tactics revised.
December 26, 1972 – Night Eight of Linebacker II – 120 B-52s strike Hanoi and Haiphong from seven separate streams with multiple entry and exits routes and altitudes, in a single wave. One B-52 is shot down, another is damaged and crashes at UTapao.
December 27, 1972 – Night Nine of Linebacker II – 60 B-52s repeat the pattern from December 26. One B-52 is lost, another heavily damaged. Hanoi notifies Washington it will return to Peace Talks without preconditions.
December 28, 1972 – Night Ten of Linebacker II – 60 B-52s strike five targets in six waves. No B-52 losses.
December 29, 1972 – Night Eleven of Linebacker II – 60 B-52s strike. No B-52 losses.
December 30, 1972 – Bombing suspended north of the 20th parallel.
January 27, 1973 – The Paris Peace Accords are signed. The U.S. Selective Service announced there would be no further draft calls.
February 12 – April 4, 1973 – A total of 591 American prisoners of war are released and flown back to the United States.
April 4, 1975 – A Lockheed C-5 Galaxy crashes while attempting an emergency landing after an explosive decompression. It had departed Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam destined for Clark Air Base, Philippines. On board were American caregivers paired with South Vietnamese orphans. Of 314 on board, only 176 survived. Among the casualties were 78 children.
May 1975 – Specific groups of Vietnamese are ordered to register with the new government and in June were ordered to report for “re-education.” There were between 300,000 and 500,000 interred at these “re-education camps,” some were tortured, some were kept in solitary confinement, most were required to do hard labor. Incarceration periods ranged from weeks to 18 years.
April 29 – 30, 1975 – Saigon Evacuated.
June 2, 1992 – SAC disestablished
Further Reading
Boyne, Walter J., “Boeing B-52: A Documentary History,” Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Atglen, Pennsylvania, 1994.
Davies, Steve, “Boeing B-52 Stratofortress Owners Workshop Manual,” Haynes Publishing, Newbury Park, California, 2013.
Drendel, Lou, “B-52 Stratofortress Illustrated,” Aviation Art, Inc., Venice, Florida, 2018.
Eschmann, Karl J., “Linebacker: The Untold Stories of the Air Raids Over North Vietnam,” Ivy Books, New York, 1989
Michel, Marshall L. III, “Operation Linebacker II 1972: The B-52s are sent to Hanoi,” Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2018.
Michel, Marshall L. III, “The 11 Days of Christmas: America’s Last Vietnam Battle,” Encounter Books, New York, 2002.
Nalty, Bernard C., “Tactics and Techniques of Electronic Warfare: Electronic Countermeasures in the Air War against North Vietnam, 1965 – 1973,” Defense Lion Publications, Newtown, Connecticut, 2013.
Rochester, Stuart L. and Kiley, Frederick, “Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961 – 1973,” Historical Office, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C., 1998.
Toai, Doan van, “Vietnamese Gulag: A Revolution Betrayed – The Shocking First Person Chronicle of a Former Supporter of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Who Survived His Country’s Descent into Totalitarianism,” Simon & Shuster, 1986.
Website Sources
“AN/ALQ to AN/ALT Equipment Listing” http://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/jetds/analq2aly.html
“Linebacker II 12/72” http://www.linebacker2.com/Page_2_59BI.html
Vietnamese Reeducation Camps – The Vietnam War ”https://thevietnamwar.info/vietnamese-re-education-camps/
About the Author
James Albright is an average pilot with average stick and rudder skills, but has an above average desire to learn and instruct. He spent twenty years in the United States Air Force as an aircraft commander, instructor pilot, evaluator pilot, and squadron commander. After retiring as a lieutenant colonel, he went on to fly for several private and commercial operators as an international captain, check airman, and chief pilot. His logbook includes the T-37B, T-38A, KC-135A, Boeing 707, Boeing 747, Challenger 604, and the Gulfstream III, IV, V, 450, and VII.
His website, www.code7700.com attracts nearly five million hits each month and his articles have appeared in several magazines, most notably Aviation Week.