In May of 1972, as the temperate spring shifted to a sticky miserable summer, Navy A-6s laid 1,000-pound MK-52 magnetic mines while A-7s dropped 500-pound MK-36 acoustic mines along the shoreline of Haiphong Harbor as part of Operation Pocket Money. Any aggression exhibited toward these vessels, even if unintentional, could have escalated the war. avoided attacking the harbor directly because of the frequent presence of those Chinese and Soviet ships. said going to bring the North Vietnamese to their knees-‘we would like to see a gunfire strike against Haiphong Harbor installations.’” Haiphong Harbor was arguably the most important port in North Vietnam because it received almost 85 percent of all North Vietnamese imports and it was the primary location for war supplies delivered by Soviet and Chinese cargo ships. Discussing the context surrounding the shore bombardment mission that took place on the night of 27 August 1972, he recalled his disbelief when he “got a message from the Commander in Chief of the Pacific saying, ‘In a week or so, as part of Operation Linebacker II,’-which Henry Kissinger and the President.
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