Operation Rolling Thunder was the title of a gradual and sustained US
2nd Air Division (later Seventh Air Force), US
Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) aerial
bombardment campaign conducted against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)
from 2 March 1965 until 2 November 1968, during the Vietnam War.
The four objectives of the operation (which evolved over time) were to boost
the sagging morale of the Saigon regime in the Republic of Vietnam, to
persuade North Vietnam to cease its support for the communist insurgency in
South Vietnam without actually taking any ground forces into communist North
Vietnam, to destroy North Vietnam's transportation system, industrial base, and
air defenses, and to cease the flow of men and materiel into South Vietnam.
Attainment of these objectives was made difficult by both the restraints imposed
upon the U.S and its allies by Cold War exigencies and by the military aid and
assistance received by North Vietnam from its communist allies, the Soviet
Union and the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The operation became the most intense air/ground battle waged during the Cold
War period; indeed, it was the most difficult such campaign fought by the U.S.
Air Force since the aerial bombardment of Germany during World
War II. Supported by communist allies, North
Vietnam fielded a potent mixture of sophisticated air-to-air and
ground-to-air weapons that created one of the most effective air defenses ever
faced by American military aviators
2nd Air Division (later Seventh Air Force), US
Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) aerial
bombardment campaign conducted against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)
from 2 March 1965 until 2 November 1968, during the Vietnam War.
The four objectives of the operation (which evolved over time) were to boost
the sagging morale of the Saigon regime in the Republic of Vietnam, to
persuade North Vietnam to cease its support for the communist insurgency in
South Vietnam without actually taking any ground forces into communist North
Vietnam, to destroy North Vietnam's transportation system, industrial base, and
air defenses, and to cease the flow of men and materiel into South Vietnam.
Attainment of these objectives was made difficult by both the restraints imposed
upon the U.S and its allies by Cold War exigencies and by the military aid and
assistance received by North Vietnam from its communist allies, the Soviet
Union and the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The operation became the most intense air/ground battle waged during the Cold
War period; indeed, it was the most difficult such campaign fought by the U.S.
Air Force since the aerial bombardment of Germany during World
War II. Supported by communist allies, North
Vietnam fielded a potent mixture of sophisticated air-to-air and
ground-to-air weapons that created one of the most effective air defenses ever
faced by American military aviators