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The U.S. Air Force launched hundreds of B-52s toward Hanoi during Christmas in 1972. Two of them made history. (U.S. Air Force)
Inside the gunner’s station on a B-52D. (U.S. Air Force)
The tail gunner position and four .50 caliber guns on the B-52D Diamond Lil. (U.S. Air Force)
Episode 3189 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the B-52 tail gunners who scored two kills in the Vietnam War. The featured story is titled: B-52 tail gunners scored two kills in the last bombing campaign of the Vietnam War. It appeared on the We Are The Mighty website and was submitted by Friedrich Seiltgen.
Seiltgen reported that the passage highlights one of the most unlikely and courageous chapters of aerial combat in the Vietnam War: the last air-to-air victories scored by bomber gunners, achieved by two B-52 tail gunners during Operation Linebacker II in December 1972. At a time when jet fighters and guided missiles dominated the skies, the idea that a massive strategic bomber armed with machine guns could shoot down enemy fighters seemed obsolete. Yet the B-52 Stratofortress—America’s aging but formidable “BUFF”—proved otherwise.
During the Christmas Bombings over North Vietnam, B-52 crews faced intense danger from surface-to-air missiles and intercepting MiG-21 fighters. In this environment, tail gunners occupied one of the most exposed and isolated positions on the aircraft, relying on radar, skill, and nerve to defend their crews. Their bravery was tested when MiG-21s closed in to attack.
On December 18, 1972, Staff Sgt. Samuel Turner, manning the tail guns of a B-52D returning from a strike near Hanoi, detected an incoming MiG preparing to fire. With calm precision, Turner locked on and opened fire, destroying the jet in a fiery explosion. It was the first bomber air-to-air kill since the Korean War and the first ever by a B-52 tail gunner.
Six days later, on Christmas Eve, 18-year-old Airman First Class Albert Moore demonstrated similar courage aboard the B-52D Diamond Lil. Under attack during a bombing run, Moore tracked a MiG-21 on radar, coordinated evasive maneuvers, and fired until the enemy aircraft disintegrated. His actions saved his crew and earned him the Silver Star.
These two men exemplified extraordinary bravery—standing their ground in outdated gun turrets against supersonic fighters—and wrote the final chapter in the history of machine-gun air combat from strategic bombers.
Listen to Episode 3189 and discover more about the B-52 tail gunners who scored two kills in the Vietnam War.
