A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strategic
reconnaissance aircraft, first employed during
the Vietnam War. A marvel of technology, it out-
performed all of the other military aircraft of its
time, attaining altitudes above 85,000 feet and
speeds of nearly Mach 3.5.
gunner shot down a MiG on the first night, but 200 surface-to-air missile
launches claimed three B-52s-the first 3 of 15 lost.
By December 27 North Vietnam had depleted its supply of SA-2
missiles and much of its antiaircraft ammunition. Interdiction strikes
against rail lines and bridges coupled with mines in Haiphong Harbor
prevented resupply from China or the Soviet Union. By December 30,
LINEBACKER I1 had destroyed many industrial and military targets in
the Hanoi and Haiphong area, although its major impact was on North
Vietnam’s morale. To Captain Ray Bean, an F-4 crewman imprisoned in
the “Hanoi Hilton,” the B-52s “got the attention of the North
Vietnamese” because the United States seemed to have forsaken preci-
sion attacks on purely military and industrial targets in favor of “whole-
sale destruction.” North Vietnam witnessed the path of devastation a sin-
gle B-52 could create, especially in an urban environment. Its negotiators
returned to the peace talks, agreeing to a cease-fire in January 1973 and
signing a treaty in April. Before the year was out Congress cut funds for
Southeast Asian operations and passed the War Powers Act, which limit-
ed the President’s options.
Two years later North Vietnam launched a final offensive against
a South Vietnam operating without American air support. After 55 days,
on April 29, 1975, Saigon fell. In Vietnam, the United States lost 58,000
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