Operation Linebacker was the codename of a U.S. Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 air interdiction campaign conducted against North Vietnam from 9 May to 23 October 1972, during the Vietnam War.
A 388th TFW SAM hunter-killer team refueling on its way to North Vietnam, October 1972
North Vietnamese anti-aircraft defense weapons
VA-195 A-7E bombing the Hải Dương bridge, 10 May 1972
Air interdiction (AI), also known as deep air support (DAS), is the use of preventive tactical bombing and strafing by combat aircraft against enemy targets that are not an immediate threat, to delay, disrupt or hinder later enemy engagement of friendly forces. It is a core capability of virtually all military air forces, and has been conducted in conflicts since World War I. Aircraft that are used for this purpose are known as interdictors.
A U.S. Navy A-7E Corsair II bombs the Hai Duong bridge in North Vietnam in 1972.
A 4-ship Vic formation of Pakistani F-86F Sabres returning from an interdiction mission during the 1965 war
Aerial bombing of German railroad yards at Siena during Operation Strangle by Martin B-26 Marauder medium bombers on April 11 1944, On the alternate line from Pisa and Florence south to Rome, the Siena yards were bombed by Mediterranean Allied Air Force Bombers.
A 388th TFW SAM hunter-killer team refueling on its way to North Vietnam, October 1972
