December 18

What happened on December 18 in aviation and space history.

• December 18, 1972

  Operation Linebacker II: the final US bombing campaign over North Vietnam

  Milestone — Between 18 and 29 December 1972, B-52s deployed at Andersen Air Force Base (Guam, 153 aircraft) and U-Tapao Royal Thai Naval Airfield (Thailand, 54 B-52Ds) attacked Hanoi and Haiphong at night in three-bomber cells. 741 sorties were dispatched, of which 729 completed their mission, dropping roughly 15,237 tons of bombs in the largest heavy bomber strikes since World War II.