One Day in a Long War

Based on cockpit recordings and interviews, this is a minute-by-minute narrative of the opening day of Operation Linebacker, a Navy/Air Force aerial onslaught against targets in North Vietnam. Participants (and some eyewitnesses on the ground) describe the attacks on bridges and stockpiles, while the leading edge of the attack--reconnaissance aircraft, flak-suppressing missions, search and rescue, airborne command and control--is also recounted. Since many of the operation's Navy pilots were graduates of the newly established ``Top Gun'' course at Miramar Naval Air Station in California, their performance on 10 May '72 confirmed the cost-effectiveness of this training beyond doubt. On the other hand, that day also saw the greatest loss of U.S. aircraft of any 24-hour period in the Vietnam War. Stories of the pilots who were shot down, either by MiG fighters or by surface-to-air missiles, include that of Air Force Captain Robert Locher, who survived 23 days on the ground before being rescued in a risky helicopter operation. Photos. (Sept.)