(VOVworld) - The last days of December 1972 are unforgettable as it marked the US’s carpet B-52 bombing of Hanoi. A visit to the Air Defence museum in Hanoi reminds us of the 12 days and nights of glorious victory and great losses that Hanoians experienced. VOV reporter Bui Hang tells you more about the museum.

The highlight of the Air Defence museum are displays of the 12 day and night fighting of the capital city’s soldiers, which led to the Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu in the air victory. Colonel Nguyen Huu Dac, Director of the museum, told VOV: “We are exhibiting items, documents and photos about 12 days of nights of December 1972, the climax of our struggle for national liberation, which forced the US to sign the Paris Accords. There are objects that the Air Defence Force used when they encountered the US B-52 bombers in Vinh Linh battlefield from 1966 to January 14^th 1973. Our army shot down the first B-52 bombers in the north on September 17^th 1967. In late December 1972, the army and people of the north won the battle called Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu in the air”.

The photos show the cruelty of the air raids: the national railway station was damaged, security guards of Bach Mai hospital provided first aid to physicians and patients after the air strike. Hanoiians’ unity was reflected in the image of an assembly line of rockets working overnight to supply to air defence soldiers. The most remarkable photo captured a B-52 bomber being shot down. Pham Viet Tung, a reporter at Vietnam Television who took this photo, recalls: “At that time, I didn’t know I could survive or not. Shell fragments dropped heavily on the roofs. Reporters like us worked in a very dangerous environment although we did go to the battlefield. We were neither scared nor complacent but cautious to gain victory.”

The Hanoi Air Defence museum also showcases the courage of the Vietnamese people’s courage and tactics of the Communist Party and the army, especially the Air Defence Force, who defeated the US B-52 air strike. Colonel Nguyen Huu Dac again: “There are many precious items from remnants of Mig21 and B-52 bombers to 100 mm anti-aircraft guns, rocket lunch pads, rockets that shot down B-52 bombers and radar that detected airplane targets 35 minutes in advance so that we could be ready for fighting and evacuate the people. With these weapons, we defeated the US 12 day and night campaign of bombardment.”

Tran Duy Anh, a student of the National University for Social Sciences and Humanity, said: “Today at the Hanoi Air Defence museum, I see the legacy of our air battle in 1972. I learn about the growth of the Vietnamese Army, the unity between combat troops and the people. The displays of photos are diverse. Most of them depict our soldiers with dashing smiles.”