Thunderchief Pilots Bomb a Military Target
7/14/1966
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President Lyndon B. Johnson was faced with a deteriorating situation in Vietnam after winning the 1964 Presidential election. His advisers predicted “disastrous defeat.” Johnson planned a course of gradual escalation.
In early 1965, after southern Communist forces attacked a U.S. Army airfield in South Vietnam, the administration had a pretext to launch Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against the north. During Rolling Thunder, U.S. bombers dropped 643,000 tons of bombs between 1965 and 1968, killing approximately 52,000 Vietnamese civilians.
The original caption for this photograph reads: Flying under radar control with a B-66 Destroyer, Air Force F-105 Thunderchief pilots bomb a military target through low clouds over the southern panhandle of North Viet Nam.
In early 1965, after southern Communist forces attacked a U.S. Army airfield in South Vietnam, the administration had a pretext to launch Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against the north. During Rolling Thunder, U.S. bombers dropped 643,000 tons of bombs between 1965 and 1968, killing approximately 52,000 Vietnamese civilians.
The original caption for this photograph reads: Flying under radar control with a B-66 Destroyer, Air Force F-105 Thunderchief pilots bomb a military target through low clouds over the southern panhandle of North Viet Nam.
An air campaign necessitated an air base, and an air base needed protection, so the first American boots hit the ground soon after the bombing began. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. combat troops would follow. America was at war.
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Information Agency.
National Archives Identifier: 541862
Full Citation: Photograph 306-MVP-15(14); Flying under radar control with a B-66 Destroyer, Air Force F-105 Thunderchief pilots bomb a military target through low clouds over the southern panhandle of North Viet Nam.; 7/14/1966; Miscellaneous Vietnam Photographs, 1958 - 1974; Records of the U.S. Information Agency, Record Group 306; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/thunderchiefs-bomb-target, April 26, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.