Rolling Thunder

E163742

Rolling Thunder was the sustained U.S. aerial bombing campaign against North Vietnam during the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1968.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Rolling Thunder canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf aerial bombing campaign
military operation
aircraftLost hundreds of U.S. aircraft lost
airDefenseOpposition MiG fighter aircraft
Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missiles
anti-aircraft artillery
alsoKnownAs Operation Rolling Thunder
authorizedBy Lyndon B. Johnson
surface form: President Lyndon B. Johnson
casualties thousands of North Vietnamese civilians killed
characteristic sustained bombing campaign
commandStructure under U.S. Pacific Command
conductedBy United States Air Force
United States Marine Corps aviation units
surface form: United States Marine Corps aviation

United States Navy
conflict Vietnam War
country United States of America
surface form: United States
endDate 1968-11-02
followedBy Operation Linebacker
Operation Linebacker
surface form: Operation Linebacker II
historicalAssessment often cited as an example of the limits of strategic bombing in limited wars
impact expansion of North Vietnamese air defense network
increased anti-war sentiment in the United States
initiatedBy Lyndon B. Johnson
location Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Democratic Republic of Vietnam
surface form: North Vietnam
notableAircraft A-4 Skyhawk
A-6 Intruder
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
surface form: B-52 Stratofortress

F-105 Thunderchief
McDonnell F-4 Phantom II
surface form: F-4 Phantom II
objective to bolster the morale of South Vietnam
to pressure North Vietnam to cease support for the insurgency in South Vietnam
to reduce North Vietnam’s ability to wage war
opponent Democratic Republic of Vietnam
surface form: North Vietnam
partOf Vietnam War
politicalContext U.S. policy of containment of communism
precededBy early limited U.S. air strikes in North Vietnam
result failed to achieve its strategic objectives
high civilian casualties
significant damage to North Vietnamese infrastructure
strengthening of North Vietnamese resolve
rulesOfEngagement heavily restricted target selection by the White House
startDate 1965-03-02
strategy gradual escalation
target North Vietnamese air defenses
North Vietnamese industrial sites
North Vietnamese transportation infrastructure
military bases in North Vietnam
timePeriod Cold War

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Operation Rolling Thunder codeName Rolling Thunder