Word: 52s
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...made devastation of North Viet Nam occurred at the same time as the natural cataclysm of the Nicaraguan earthquake. It was a haunting coincidence-American relief planes rushing doctors and medical supplies to the Nicaraguans while B-52s rained 500-lb. bombs on the Vietnamese...
...five by five" (loud and clear) to clobber the enemy's homeland as never before. The military was invited to hit targets previously off limits around Hanoi and Haiphong. From Guam and Thailand they came, wave after wave of green-and-brown aerial dreadnoughts. About 100 B-52s, flying in "cells" of three, were being used round the clock, supplemented by F-4 Phantoms, F-111s, and naval fighter-bombers from aircraft carriers. The missions reminded aviators of the last months of World War II in Europe, when bombers prowled the sky striking at "targets of opportunity," which meant...
Americans were paying a heavy price as well. Two sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer Goldsborough died when shore fire hit the ship. The B-52s, with their six-man crews, suffered the worst losses. During the previous seven years, only one of the giant planes had gone down in combat. Last week at least eight were shot from the sky. After the first five days of strikes, the Pentagon acknowledged losing twelve aircraft. One airman was reported killed and 43 missing, 38 from the Air Force and five from the Navy...
Damage Scars. The B-52s employ sophisticated "electronic countermeasures" (ECM) to confuse enemy radar, but the North Vietnamese have been using increasingly effective equipment and techniques of their own to break the electronic "bubbles" surrounding the B-52s. The Communists also have modern Soviet surface-to-air missiles, which they are firing in heavy barrages. With so many targets, they were bound to hit something. Besides the downed B-52s, others were seen returning to Guam bearing damage scars...
More Muscle. To protect the capital, U.S. B-52s have been concentrating on a portion of Binh Duong province, which lies 25 to 50 miles north of Saigon. In addition, every night at least five C-130 gunships circle the city from 8:30 p.m. until dawn, dropping illumination flares and firing on anything that moves in certain areas along the capital's perimeter. On the ground the city is further protected by 33 watchtowers, heavy artillery and a national police force of 21,000 men. Says one U.S. analyst: "As in any big city, it is possible for small...