Vietnam War United States Seventh Fleet

military humor: unofficial insignia of tonkin gulf yacht club – aka u.s. 7th fleet.

seventh fleet represented first official entrance of united states vietnam war, gulf of tonkin incident. between 1950 , 1970, u.s. seventh fleet known tongue-in-cheek nickname tonkin gulf yacht club since of fleet s operations conducted tonkin gulf @ time.

on 12 february 1965, uss salisbury sound (av-13) became first u.s. navy ship conduct operations inside vietnam coastal waters. salisbury sound set seadrome in da nang bay , conducted seaplane patrols in support of operation flaming dart, bombing of north vietnamese army camps.

operating yankee station off north coast of vietnam , aptly-named dixie station off south coast of vietnam in gulf of siam, seventh fleet organized series of task forces, known acronym ctf (commander task force):

task force 73 included fleet s logistics support vessels operating underway replenishment group (urg) containing oiler, ammunition ship, , other supply tenders.
task force 75, surface combatant force, contained fleet s surface combatants , naval gunfire support. these units formed gun line bombard enemy forces during operation sea dragon, operation custom tailor, , operation lion s den. royal australian navy contributed series of guided missile destroyers gun line, including hobart, perth, brisbane, , vendetta. naval gun line concept made possible deep waters larger vessels away both shoals , enemy coastal artillery. task group 70.8, cruiser-destroyer subset of task force, began shelling vietnam on 27 may 1965. cruisers , destroyers used 5-inch , 8-inch guns while uss new jersey opened fire 16-inch guns.
task force 76 amphibious force, seventh fleet. marines went ashore @ da nang in march 1965 , patrolled throughout corps area of responsibility during operations starlite, dagger thrust, double eagle, , jackstay.
task force 77 carrier battle force, seventh fleet. participate in striking north vietnamese targets, providing air support forces in south vietnam, , mining hiaphong harbor.
task force 78 fleet s minesweeper support. after 1973 cease-fire, responsible operation end sweep, removing naval mines dropped in haiphong harbor months earlier.
task forces 116 , 117 brown-water riverine forces involved in interdiction efforts operation market time, operation game warden, , operation sealords.

in 1975, ships , aircraft of fleet evacuated thousands of u.s. citizens , refugees south vietnam , cambodia countries fell opposing forces.

since end of vietnam war, seventh fleet has participated in joint/combined exercise called team spirit, conducted republic of korea armed forces. capability respond contingency, fleet operations credited maintaining security during asian games of 1986 , seoul olympics of 1988. during 1989, seventh fleet units participated in variety of exercises called pacex, largest peacetime exercises since world war ii.