What happened at the Gulf of Tolkin Aug. 4 1964, (The actual report at the time)?

Question

Also What Impact did the Gulf of Tolkin have on the U.S involvement in Vietnam

Answer 1

About 2/3 down the page . . .

A brief answer . . . you can retrieve a complete report from the British Broadcasting Company website.

"On 2 August, 1964, the destroyer USS Maddox was on a reconnaissance patrol, when three North Vietnamese torpedo boats came out from Hon Me2 and attacked the Maddox. The attack was unsuccessful, though one bullet from a heavy machine gun on one of the torpedo boats did hit the destroyer. This is often referred to as the 'first attack'.

On 4 August, 1964, in what is referred to as the 'second attack', the USS Maddox and the USS C Turner Joy, another destroyer, were in the Gulf of Tonkin. At 9.40pm, the Maddox locked on to a radar contact and immediately asked for air support from the nearby aircraft carrier Ticonderoga. Both the Turner Joy and the Maddox opened fire on the target. Within minutes, sonar operators reported torpedoes in the water. Both ships made sharp turns to evade the torpedoes. Suddenly sonar operators reported six torpedoes in the water. No torpedoes hit either ship."

Ultimately this led to President Johnson ordering a "Limited bombing campaign" against North Viet-Nam.

Answer 2

The first answerers depicted the official view of what happened.However, I'd like to add that there are serious suspicions whether there ever really was a North Vietnames attack.The only report from the attack came from the Maddox, a nearby carrier didn't see anything on it's radar.
William Fulbright, at that time chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Commitee, wrote in a book about the war that the incident seemed to have been made up.

Answer 3

The U.S. was being fired upon by North Vietnam. The crew of the U.S. ship(s) claimed that they were staying only in South Vietnamese waters. This incident led to further escalations in the Vietnam War. The government hid the fact that the ships were there on a spying mission.

Answer 4

"What Impact did the Gulf of Tolkin have ..."
Almost none - it is Gulf of Tonkin not Tolkin.