And in 1972, we hit Hanoi with about 120 B-52s a night from Dec 18-29.
In WWII the record of the 8th Air Force on Dec 25th
“MONDAY, 25 DECEMBER 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 761: 422 bombers and 460
fighters are dispatched to hit communications centers and rail bridges W of
the Rhine River; they claim 49-7-12 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 bombers and 9
fighters are lost:
1. 248 B-24s are sent to hit communications centers at Hallschlag (41),
Prum (40), Pelm (37), Murlenbach (33), Pronsfeld (16) and Wahlen (12);
targets of opportunity are communications centers at Budesheim (21),
Hillesheim (12), Marmegen (11), Nettersheim (10) and Mechernich (9); they
claim 3-1-3 aircraft; 4 B-24s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 92
damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 4 WIA and 40 MIA. Escorting are 144 of 156 P-51s;
they claim 6-0-1 aircraft; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 2 damaged beyond
repair.
2. 174 B-17s are sent to hit railroad bridges at Ahrweiler (44) and Bad
Munster (9), the Kaiserslautern railroad (38) and the Hermeskeil Simmern
communications center and Marscheid railroad bridge (36); targets of
opportunity are railroad bridges at Bad Kreuznach (17) and Eller (11) and
other (1); they claim 0-0-1 aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair
and 36 damaged; 9 airmen are MIA. Escorting are 278 of 294 P-51s; they claim
40-6-7 aircraft; 6 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair.
3. 10 of 10 P-51s fly a scouting missions without loss.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Nearly 650 B-26, A-20s and A-26s hit
rail and road bridges, communications centers and targets of opportunity in W
Germany and the breakthrough area; fighters, including an Eighth AF group
loaned to the Ninth AF, escort the 9th Bombardment Division, fly patrols and
armed reconnaissance, and support the US III, VIII, and XII Corps along the S
battleline of the enemy salient from Echternach, Luxembourg to NW of
Neufchateau, Belgium.”
General Wickham’s memoirs relate how as a LTC attending the Paris Peace Talks tells how the Chicom and NVN officials came in with tough resolve, they put on a good face, and snickered at the American delegation. Of course, the first few days they had plenty of SAMS and the losses the Americans were suffering made them think it would end rather quickly. By day 8 of the Christmas Bombings, the Chicoms and NVN were ready to talk, but the Americans had been subjected to the ZELINSKI-BIDEN TREATMENT RUSSIA IS NOW ENDURING, and the Americans sat their without speaking, answering the pleading as the SAMS ran.
The final few days the the delegation from Ho Che Man City were weeping and wailing in teals and had lost all composure; many of the Chicoms too were moved to tears and sadness as the American Bombings continue unabated and nary a SAM to be fired as the planes flew unopposed everywhere with only spradic small arms fire at them.
The last day of the Bombing Campaign, LTC Wickham’s description was that the American’s made demands and they were accepted without hesitation. Later on they were to go back on their word, but an understanding had been reached in Paris between the American’s and NVN-Chicom’s that the US was serious.
The DNC war lasted about as long as it took for Nixon to make nice with Peking and the DNC to destroy him for not continuing a war. The DNC with Biden voted to refuse the American Commitments to SVN in the Spring of 75, and Siagon was overrun and defeated.
General Wickham was a pretty cool old fart to me as E6 25 years old in Korea working for him. He survived the assination attempt on him during the Chun Do Han take over, and his driver Mr. Kim was given US Citizenship for his driving and evasive actions in saving the Gereral from a Lite Anti-Tank weapon fired at point blank range from the South Koreans. That was a real Sh*t Show; I meet President Chun do Hawn twice and it was super tense both times; very formal in the office, and his body guards were the biggest Korean’s I have seen in my life, so big their Uzzies were well concealed in the massive suits.