From December 18 to 30, 1972, the United States Air Force conducted the most intensive bombing campaign against Hanoi and Hai Phong, deploying hundreds of B-52 bombers — the strategic flying fortresses dubbed 'invincible'. The US called the campaign Linebacker II, aiming to force Vietnam to accept favorable negotiating terms at the Paris Conference. Vietnam called it 'Dien Bien Phu in the Air'.
It was the largest aerial bombardment since World War II: a total of 729 B-52 sorties and over 1,000 tactical aircraft sorties in 12 days and nights. Targets in Hanoi were bombed continuously, including densely populated residential areas such as Kham Thien Street (December 26, 1972) — where 287 civilians died in a single night and the entire street was leveled. Bach Mai Hospital was also struck, suffering heavy damage.
However, Hanoi's air defense forces fought heroically with SAM-2 missile systems and anti-aircraft artillery batteries. Over 12 days and nights, the air defenses shot down 81 US aircraft of various types, including 34 B-52s — proving that no weapon is invincible when faced with the indomitable will of the Hanoians. Captured American pilots were marched through Hanoi's streets in symbolic processions.
The victory of Dien Bien Phu in the Air forced the US to negotiate seriously. On January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed, with the US committing to withdraw all forces from Vietnam. This was the decisive turning point that led to US withdrawal and created the conditions for the 1975 Ho Chi Minh Campaign that reunified the country.
Today, Hanoi has several memorial sites for the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in the Air: the Vietnam Air Defense — Air Force Museum (173 Truong Chinh Street) displays B-52 wreckage and war artifacts; B-52 wreckage still lies at the bottom of Huu Tiep Lake (Ngoc Ha Ward, Ba Dinh District) as a living historical witness; and Kham Thien Street has a memorial to the 287 victims of the night of December 26, 1972.