During the day, F-111s and other Air Force aircraft flew preemptive strikes against air defenses including SAM sites and airfields, while at night the B-52s would fly to drop their payloads on targets in Hanoi and Haiphong. Under the command of the Strategic Air Command and executed by the 7th Air Force, Linebacker II was a concerted team effort. This was the first time in conflict that the Air Force was allowed to bomb strategic targets in a concentrated effort. In December of 1972, the president gave the order to commence a three-day “maximum effort” campaign against the North Vietnamese forces. Operation Linebacker I, which ran from May to October of 1972, had been successful in pushing the North Vietnamese out of South Vietnam, and restarting peace talks, but when bombings were suspended in October, it was taken as a sign of weakness and provided opportunity for the Viet Cong to recover and strengthen their defense. Attempts at diplomacy were failing and it was becoming increasingly clear that the North Vietnamese were stalling at the negotiation table. The US ground presence had been reduced to roughly 26,000 troops. Supplied by the Soviet Union and China, the North Vietnamese had built up one of the strongest and most extensive air defense systems in the world. In 1972, the enemy had grown stronger and the outlook for American forces was extremely bleak. The B-52 was prominently featured in Linebacker II, which was the operational nickname for the resumption of full-scale bombing and mining of North Vietnam. The right-side pant leg has the tail flash of the plane and the number on each player’s pant leg matches their uniform number for the first time in the history of the series. The left pant leg features 11 B-52 plane silhouettes representing the 11 days of bombing during the conflict.
#Football jersey outline Patch#
The Strategic Air Command adorns the front right chest of the uniform while the name plate uses the orange outline with the airport codes for Andersen AFB, U Tapao and the 7th Bomber Wing patch to represent all former B-52 units. The helmet is designed after the B-52s that flew in Operation Linebacker II and are painted in the Air Force SEA (Southeast Asia) camo, with USAF on one wing and the roundel on the other. The Falcons will debut the uniform for the Navy game on Sept.
#Football jersey outline series#
The Air Force football team is honoring the B-52 Stratofortress with the 2021 edition of the Air Power Legacy Series uniform.
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