The only B-52 Victory Museum in the world
Bui Bao Yen, a five-grade student of Dai Yen Primary School, was excited visiting the museum for the first time. She said she felt proud to be a Hanoi capital citizen, who can live in peace thanks to the sacrifice of the forefathers. She also felt the fierceness of the war seeing historical objects at the B-52 Victory Museum.
Indeed, each object is connected to a past story. Visitors to the museum agree that there are no other museums in the world like Vietnam’s B-52 Victory Museum.
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Mrs. Do Thi Luyen, a teacher of Dai Yen Primary School, together with her students, visited the B-52 Victory Museum in December, 2022. |
Edward and Luna were visitors from the United Kingdom. They were visiting Hanoi for the first time. They knew about the “Hanoi – Dien Bien Phu in the air” victory through the internet. They thought that visiting the B-52 Victory Museum would help them understand more about the “Hanoi – Dien Bien Phu in the air” victory.
A place to store and promote stature of B-52 Victory
According to Non-commissioned Colonel Trinh Thi Khuyen Luong, Deputy Director of the B-52 Victory Museum, during the twelve days and nights in 1972, the Vietnamese armed forces and people shot down 34 B-52 bombers. 25 among them were destroyed in the Hanoi sky. The wrecks of 16 B-52 bombers were collected and became first objects at the B-52 Victory Museum later on.
Experts have arranged the bomber’s wrecks with a 1:1 scale like a real B-52 in the museum's yard. The objects mark the glorious victory of the capital's armed forces and people in fighting against the air raids by strategic B-52 bombers of the U.S. Air Force in the sky of Hanoi, Hai Phong and some other Northern provinces in late 1972.
In addition, there are samples of many weapons that the city’s armed forces and people used for the “12 days and nights” campaign such as P-35 radar, command posts, SAM-2 missile launchers, MiG- 21 fighter, and anti-aircraft artillery batteries, to name but a few.
Building a more spacious and modern museum
The B-52 Victory Museum has just been rebuilt by the Hanoi Capital Military Command in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the “Hanoi – Dien Bien Phu in the air” Victory (1972-2022).
Lieutenant General Nguyen Quoc Duyet, Commander of the Hanoi Capital Command, affirmed that the renovation and upgrading of the B-52 Victory Museum aims to systematically store invaluable historical objects, contributing to educating the current and future generations of the "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air" victory, reinforcing the trust of the people in the leadership of the Party, promoting the spirit of national pride and tradition, and successfully completing the assigned tasks.
Currently, the museum’s management board is coordinating with the Thang Long Imperial Citadel Heritage Preservation Center to organize activities to introduce visitors to the T1 tunnel in the imperial citadel, where the command of the “12 days and nights” air defense campaign was located in December 1972. In addition, staff of the B-52 Victory Museum also actively visit local schools to talk about the national historical traditions, and travel to suburban districts to help children understand more about the meaningful victory.
Translated by Trung Thanh