Editing Operation Linebacker II (section)

===Re-evaluation===
[[File:B-52G landing at Andersen AFB Dec 1972.JPEG|thumb|left|A B-52G lands at [[Andersen Air Force Base|Andersen AFB]] after a mission on 15 December 1972.]]
It was at this point that President Nixon ordered that the effort be extended past its original three-day deadline. The first change that could be made by local Air Force commanders was divulged by a comparison of the differences between the radar jamming equipment of the B-52 models. The equipment aboard the G models was designed for use in the more sophisticated air defense environment of the Soviet Union, not against the more antiquated [[S-75 Dvina|SA-2]] and [[Fan Song]] radar systems used by the North Vietnamese.<ref>Tilford, p. 256.</ref> SAC headquarters stipulated that only the aircraft stationed at U-Tapao (equipped with more powerful and sophisticated ECM gear) be allowed over the North.<ref>Tilford, p. 257.</ref> On the fourth night (21 December) of the operation, 30 of the U-Tapao bombers struck the Hanoi storage area, the [[Văn Điển Railway Station|Văn Điển]] storage depot, and Quang Te Airfield. Two more of the D models were lost to [[Surface-to-air missile|Surface to Air Missiles]] (SAMs). On the following night, the target area shifted away from Hanoi to the port city of Haiphong and its petroleum storage areas. Once again, 30 aircraft participated in the strikes, but this time there were no losses among the bombers. An F-111 was shot down over the Kinh No Railroad complex.<ref name="Boyne, Linebacker II">Boyne, ''Linebacker II''.</ref>

[[File:Bach Mai 21 December 1972.jpg|thumb|[[Bach Mai Airfield]] bomb damage assessment 21 December 1972]]

On the 22nd, over 100 bombs from a B-52 hit the [[Bach Mai Hospital]] in the southern suburbs of Hanoi, obliterating the building and killing 28 doctors, nurses and pharmacists and wounding 22, despite most taking refuge in the hospital's basement.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |title=Bệnh viện Bạch Mai trong trận bom B52 năm 1972 |url=https://vnexpress.net/benh-vien-bach-mai-trong-tran-bom-b52-nam-1972-2931240.html |access-date=2022-03-11 |website=[[vnexpress.net]] |language=vi}}</ref> Almost the entire hospital was destroyed, including the operating rooms and pharmacy stock.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1972-12-24 |title=HOSPITAL DEATHS |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/24/archives/hospital-deaths-hanoi-aide-says-25-staff-members-are-killed-by.html |access-date=2022-03-11 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The US military claimed that the hospital "frequently housed  anti-aircraft positions."<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Gordon |first1=Neve |last2=Perugini |first2=Nicola |date=2019 |title='Hospital Shields' and the Limits of International Law |url=http://www.ejil.org/pdfs/30/2/2974.pdf |publisher=[[The European Journal of International Law]]}}</ref> According to the director of the hospital, Đỗ Doãn Đại, the US bombing served to break the morale of hospital staff and Hanoians.<ref name=":1" />

The civilian deaths were criticized by the North Vietnamese and U.S. peace activists. The hospital sat 1 kilometer from the runway of [[Bach Mai Airfield]] and a major fuel storage facility was only {{convert|200|yd|order=flip}} away.<ref>Morocco, p. 157.</ref> Two days before Christmas, SAC added SAM sites and airfields to the target list. Air Force F-111s were sent in before the bombers to strike the airfields and reduce the threat of enemy fighters. The F-111s proved so successful in these operations that their mission for the rest of the campaign was shifted to SAM site suppression.<ref name="Morocco, p. 154">Morocco, p. 154.</ref>

The bomber missions of the sixth night (23 December) again avoided Hanoi and hit SAM sites northeast of the city and the Lang Dang Railroad yards.<ref>McCarthy and Allison, p. 107.</ref> There were no losses. On the following night, the run of American good luck (and avoidance of Hanoi) continued. Thirty bombers, supported by 69 tactical aircraft, struck the railyards at [[Thái Nguyên]] and [[Kép]] and no American aircraft were lost during the mission.<ref>McCarthy and Allison, p. 115.</ref> Although the B-52s got most of the publicity during the campaign, the tactical aircraft were also hard at work. While the B-52s and F-111s attacked by night, an average of 69 tactical aircraft of the Air Force, Navy and Marines attacked by day (averaging nearly 100 sorties per day).<ref name="Morocco, p. 154"/> Losses for these aircraft were extremely light, with fewer than a dozen lost during the entire campaign.<ref name="Boyne, Linebacker II"/> It was not difficult for their crews to deduce why. The North Vietnamese air defense forces "simply waited for nightfall and the arrival of more lucrative targets."<ref name="Morocco, p. 154"/>