Скачать или смотреть They Flew Straight Into Missiles—Because the White House Said So

It was December 19, 1972. The night before, President Nixon had ordered the largest bombing campaign since World War Two. He intended to bomb North Vietnam back to the negotiating table.

As he climbed into his B-52 cockpit, Major John Dalton could still hear the previous night's orders echoing through the briefing room: "Maximum effort. Repeat—maximum effort. Objective: maximum destruction."

Dalton piloted Ivory One toward Radio Hanoi. Following orders but against his better judgment, he flew the same route, same altitude, same post-strike turn as the night before. A fatal mistake. The North Vietnamese were waiting. They had learned the American flight plan and would fire every last missile if that's what it took.

A near hit sent shrapnel tearing through his fuselage. Two engines were gone. Fuel bled from the wings. The electrical system failed.

With his controls barely responding and the enemy below tracking his every move, Dalton had to glide his crippled bomber across the border before it fell from the sky. He was about to discover what maximum effort truly meant.


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