USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Operation Rolling Thunder was a frequently interrupted bombing campaign that began on 24 February 1965 and lasted until the end of October 1968. During this period U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft engaged in a bombing campaign designed to force Ho Chi Minh to abandon his ambition to take over South Vietnam.

Detailed explanation-2: -Operation Rolling Thunder destroyed most of North Vietnam’s oil storage facilities. But the North Vietnamese shifted most of their oil to underground tanks, and more arrived every day from China and the Soviet Union. The bombing was stepped up anyway.

Detailed explanation-3: -ROLLING THUNDER’s original purpose is to end North Vietnam’s support for the Communist insurgency by striking its small industrial base. As the campaign progresses, cutting off the flow of food, fuel, ammunition, and troops from North to South Vietnam also becomes a major objective of the bombing.

Detailed explanation-4: -From 1965 to 1968, about 643, 000 tons of bombs were dropped on North Vietnam, and a total of nearly 900 U.S. aircraft were lost during Operation Rolling Thunder. The operation continued, with occasional suspensions, until President Johnson, under increasing domestic political pressure, halted it on October 31, 1968.