Attack Sorties

Tons of Ordnance Delivered

Tons per Attack Sortie

Losses of US Aircraft to Hostile Action

Losses per 1,000 Attack Sorties

1965 25,880 34,300 1.3 173 6.7
 1966 82,170 128,590 1.6 284 3.5
 Jan-Aug1967 75,510 147,030 1.9 225 3.0
 Total 183,560 309,920 1.7 _a/ 682_b/ 3.7_a/

a. Average.

b. An additional 81 aircraft were operational losses. The total of
 US losses from all causes, therefore, is 763.

During the 1967 the Rolling Thunder program has
 remained primarily an interdiction campaign against
 the LOC's in the Panhandle. About 78 percent of all
 attack sorties flown from January through August 1967
 were against targets in Route Packages I-IV (see Figure 1).
 Since March 1967, however, an increasing share of
 attack sorties has been directed against targets in
 Route Packages V and VI. Thus, although only about
 13 percent of total attack sorties were flown over
 Route Packages V and VI in 1966 and the early months of
 1967, this share rose to 37 percent in July 1967. The
 following tabulation gives shares of attack sorties by
 geographic area in North Vietnam during 1966 and 1967:

Percent

Route Packages I-IV

Route Packages V-VI

Total

1966 87 13 100
 1967 78 22 100
 January 86 14 100
 February 91 9 100
 March 89 11 100
 April 81 19 100
 May 82 18 100
 June 77 23 100
 July 63 37 100
 August 73 27 100

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