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On this day: 50 years ago, six US Navy A-7s and three A-6s from the USS Coral Sea flew into Haiphong to drop 36 1,000lb naval mines into its waters (May 9, 1972). In the next three days other carrier aircraft sowed 11,000 mines across North Vietnam's harbour network, effectively blockading the country's maritime commerce. Code named Operation Pocket Money, the mining of North Vietnamese harbours is considered by many experts to be the single most important aerial action of the war.