ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 48378
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| Date: | Wednesday 20 December 1972 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Boeing B-52G-85-BW Stratofortress |
| Owner/operator: | 456th BW /72nd SW(P) USAF |
| Registration: | 57-6496 |
| MSN: | 464201 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Yen Vien, Vinh Phu Province (North Vietnam) -
 Vietnam
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Andersen AFB, Guam (PGUA) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
The LINEBACKER II operations which began on the night of 18/19 December 1972 were intended as a three-day operation using B-52D and B-52G heavy bombers against targets in North Vietnam.
Three of the B-52s were brought down on the first night of operations; none on the second (19/20 Dec). On the third night, 20/21 Dec, 99 B-52s operating from bases in Guam and Thailand struck targets in the Haiphong/Hanoi areas.
One of these targets was the Yen Vien railroad yard just north of Hanoi. As a "cell" of B-52Gs began their run-in to weapons release they were taken under SA-2 missile fire. At this point the aircraft could not maneuver without disrupting their bombing solutions, so QUILT cell remained on course. Immediately after weapons release, QUILT 3 (B-52G tail number 57-6496) started a hard left bank but was struck by at least one SA-2. Captain Paul and SSgt Madden were badly injured and the bomber fatally damaged. The aircraft commander, Captain Geloneck, directed the crew to abandon their aircraft. Four of the six crewmen were captured and released in Feb/Mar 1973; the other two did not survive.
Of the six crew, two ere killed, four were taken PoW:
Pilot/Commander:Capt Terry Mercer Geloneck USAF PoW.
Co-pilot:1st/Lt William Youl Arcuri USAF PoW.
Nav: 1st/Lt Michael Robert Martini USAF PoW.
Rad/Nav: Capt Warren R Spencer USAF killed, remains returned 9/77).
EWO: Capt Craig Alan Paul USAF killed, remains returned 9/77).
AG:S/Sgt Roy Madden USAF PoW.
LINEBACKER II was extended to a total of eleven days of B-52 operations over North Vietnam, becoming known generically as the "Christmas bombings".
Sources:
http://www.virtualwall.org/dp/PaulCA01a.htm
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/military/read.main/18199/
http://web.archive.org/web/20171101061754/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/b52_stratofortress.htm
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1957.html
http://www.nampows.org/B-52.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Nov-2008 10:15 | ASN archive | Added |
| 28-Apr-2009 12:44 | jgriffin1988 | Updated |
| 06-Nov-2009 00:12 | JINX | Updated |
| 10-Jan-2012 10:36 | Uli Elch | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Feb-2012 03:25 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 18-Feb-2013 17:52 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 31-Jan-2019 20:37 | wf | Updated [Cn, Location] |
| 20-Feb-2021 15:06 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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