Operation+Rolling+Thunder+(TBD)

Tayloe Dameron Operation Rolling Thunder Operation Rolling Thunder was the first air strike in the Vietnam War. This was started on March 2, 1965. Because of restrictions this operation got off to a bad start. For example: Vietnam was aided by China and Russia so there was a risk of escalation. Also Hanoi and Haiphong were great targets but they were off limits because they were a buffer zone with the Chinese border. Then the U.S. used F-100 and F-105’s that were approaching obsolescence. So suitable aircraft weren’t really available. President Johnson launched this operation with three ideas in mind: stop infiltration of the south, to destroy roads, rail links, and supply dumps north of the DMZ close to entry points on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. President Johnson reduced restrictions gradually that allowed bombing of industrial targets near Hanoi. But there were still limitations to bombing targets near the DMZ. Americans could be persuaded to believe that the bombing campaign was working but there were still many problems to deal with… Vietnamese fuel which was a big target for the U.S. could be easily replaced by Russian tankers. Also the cost of an air warhead tripled in a CIA study. North Vietnamese peasant militia made it difficult as well because of Antiaircraft Artillery (AAA) and Soviet supplied surface to air missiles (SAMS). Process of ejection usually ended in injury and these occurrences happened all the time because of these weapons. The pilots didn’t blend in so evasion was difficult. “POWS” were brave and that’s what got them through the ordeal. North Vietnamese main airfields were in Hanoi and Haiphong(off limits to U.S.) Johnson withdraws from presidential office and U.S costs were 922 aircraft, 120 tons of bombs, this bombing campaign never slowed the NVA infiltration or never forced a negotion. Ho Chi Minh maintained his many followers in South Vietnam called Vietcong so this operation ended up as more of a failure all though it boosted moral for the Americans. After the operation General Westmooreland requests soldiers into the conflict to Johnson. SOURCES: John Pimlott, Vietnam: The Decisive Battles ; NY: Macmillan, 1990, Encyclopedia Brititanica Tayloe Dameron Operation Rolling Thunder Operation Rolling Thunder was the first air strike in the Vietnam War. This was started on March 2, 1965. Because of restrictions this operation got off to a bad start. For example: Vietnam was aided by China and Russia so there was a risk of escalation. Also Hanoi and Haiphong were great targets but they were off limits because they were a buffer zone with the Chinese border. Then the U.S. used F-100 and F-105’s that were approaching obsolescence. So suitable aircraft weren’t really available. President Johnson launched this operation with three ideas in mind: stop infiltration of the south, to destroy roads, rail links, and supply dumps north of the DMZ close to entry points on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. President Johnson reduced restrictions gradually that allowed bombing of industrial targets near Hanoi. But there were still limitations to bombing targets near the DMZ. Americans could be persuaded to believe that the bombing campaign was working but there were still many problems to deal with… Vietnamese fuel which was a big target for the U.S. could be easily replaced by Russian tankers. Also the cost of an air warhead tripled in a CIA study. North Vietnamese peasant militia made it difficult as well because of Antiaircraft Artillery (AAA) and Soviet supplied surface to air missiles (SAMS). Process of ejection usually ended in injury and these occurrences happened all the time because of these weapons. The pilots didn’t blend in so evasion was difficult. “POWS” were brave and that’s what got them through the ordeal. North Vietnamese main airfields were in Hanoi and Haiphong(off limits to U.S.) Johnson withdraws from presidential office and U.S costs were 922 aircraft, 120 tons of bombs, this bombing campaign never slowed the NVA infiltration or never forced a negotion. Ho Chi Minh maintained his many followers in South Vietnam called Vietcong so this operation ended up as more of a failure all though it boosted moral for the Americans. After the operation General Westmooreland requests soldiers into the conflict to Johnson. SOURCES: John Pimlott, Vietnam: The Decisive Battles ; NY: Macmillan, 1990, Encyclopedia Brititanica