How Seven Sorties Eclipsed Operation Overlord?

 A sortie is defined as a single operational flight by one military aircraft. It begins when the aircraft takes off on a mission and ends when it lands, regardless of the mission’s duration or complexity.

Here is some information about the Vietnam War:

U.S. Air Force Sorties

• Total sorties flown: 5.25 million

• Aircraft lost: 2,251 (1,737 to hostile action, 514 to accidents)

• Loss rate: About 0.4 aircraft per 1,000 sorties—lower than in Korea or WWII

Some Information about the recent Iran bomb run.

Operation Midnight Hammer: Key Facts

• Date: Night of June 21–22, 2025

• Aircraft involved: 7 B-2 Spirit stealth bombers

• B-2 sorties: 7 (one per bomber)

Tonnage of bombs were carried in Operation Midnight Hammer.

In the June 2025 strike on Iran, seven B-2 bombers dropped a total of fourteen GBU-57s, confirming that each aircraft carried two.

Each B-2 Spirit bomber on the Iran mission carried approximately 60,000 pounds of bombs, specifically in the form of two GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs).

Typical B-52D Bomb Load in Vietnam

• Internal bomb bay: 84 × 500-pound bombs

• Underwing pylons: 24 × 750-pound bombs

• Total: Up to 108 bombs per aircraft

• Maximum payload: ~60,000 pounds (30 tons)

This made the B-52 one of the most devastating conventional bombers of the war. These aircraft flew in three-plane formations called “cells,” releasing their payloads from high altitudes, often without warning to those on the ground.

During the Vietnam War, B-52 Stratofortresses flew approximately 126,615 combat sorties between June 1965 and August 1973.

Midnight Hammer: Tactical Brilliance, Strategic Modesty

• Most complex B-2 operation in history

• Involved stealth, deception, and precision coordination across continents

• Dropped 14 GBU-57 bunker busters on Fordow and Natanz

• Described by Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth as a “resounding success” and “historic”

• But: limited in scope, and strategic outcomes remain uncertain

 Operation Overlord: The Benchmark

• Largest amphibious invasion in history

• Involved millions of troops, multinational coordination, and months of sustained combat

• Directly led to the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control

 Vietnam B-52 Campaign: Sustained Firepower

• Over 126,000 B-52 sorties

• Dropped millions of tons of bombs

• Demonstrated the scale of Cold War-era strategic bombing

• Ultimately failed to achieve decisive victory, but reshaped airpower doctrine