B-52 Bombing Accuracy

[KJ_Lesnick]

I was reading a book called "The Eleven Days of Christmas" by Colonel Marshall L. Michel III (ret.) which talked about the December 18-29 Hanoi and Haiphong Campaign

The book discussed many things including

• The flaws which the USAF's Strategic Air Command possessed and the fatal consequences these caused
  
• The USAF bombing plan and it's human costs
  
• The officers who decided to change the plane and lost their careers over it
  
• The Vietnamese defenses told from their standpoint
  

along with other details.

I remember during the course of the book

• The Circular Error Probable (CEP) estimates for Linebacker II were 800 feet (i.e. 50% of the bombs dropped were expected to fall in a radius of 800 feet)
  
• They were actually more like 2700 feet
  

I'm curious why their projections were off by so much and am curious about several things
.

• What was the CEP produced during the Arc Light Missions?
  
• What speed and altitudes were typically flown for missions that entailed using the B-52 for Close Air Support (CAS) and attacks on North Vietnamese strongholds?
  
• The B-52's bombsight appeared to have been updated in the early/mid 1960's: Does anybody have any idea what modifications were made provided they aren't classified?
  

[ChernayaAkula]

[KJ_Lesnick]

I was told to be more specific in terminology -- so I did.  No responses came so I deleted; then reposted.

[PR19_Kit]

No responses came so I deleted; then reposted.

Perhaps no-one knew the answers, or weren't that interested, thus the zero replies................

[rickshaw]

Why repost it if you've already received no answers?   

[dogsbody]

https://youtu.be/V0FPqdsC8_Y

[KJ_Lesnick]

PR19 Kit

Perhaps no-one knew the answers, or weren't that interested, thus the zero replies................

I didn't actually consider that: I just figured they didn't find the thread interesting at the time.

[Leading Observer]

Does this provide your answer?

http://worldwarwings.com/just-a-beautiful-b-52-direct-hit-to-an-uninhabited-island?a=mk&var=pinups-b52-island

[dogsbody]

Does this provide your answer?

http://worldwarwings.com/just-a-beautiful-b-52-direct-hit-to-an-uninhabited-island?a=mk&var=pinups-b52-island

That's the same video I posted.


Chris

[Leading Observer]

Obviously great minds think alike

[Librarian]

...and another species of seabird blown to **it.

Wonder if that's near Diego Garcia?

[sandiego89]

Wonder if that's near Diego Garcia?

My educated guess is that the island in the clip is Farallon de Medinilla.  An oft used range North of Guam.  

Wiki pages show an image of a B-52 bombing it and the shape looks like a dead match.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farallon_de_Medinilla

[Tophe]

I have seen photographs* of in flight B-52 dropping like a river of bombs. This is not matching the accuracy bombing principle but the carpet bombing, no?

EDIT: * = see http://theaviationist.com/2015/01/05/linebacker-ii-b52-story/

[Librarian]

I'd say that's spot on. The image on Wiki looks like the island from the start of the bomb run (pilot's view).

[Martin H]

I once heard some one say that carpet bombing from B-52's is extremely accurate......................They all hit the ground!