Editing United States Seventh Fleet (section)

==History==
===World War II===
The Seventh Fleet was formed on 15 March 1943 in [[Brisbane]], Australia, during [[World War II]], under the command of Admiral [[Arthur S. Carpender|Arthur S. "Chips" Carpender]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Naval History and Heritage Command website|title=Commander Seventh Fleet |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/research-guides/lists-of-senior-officers-and-civilian-officials-of-the-us-navy/commander-seventh-fleet.html |website=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=23 January 2024}}</ref> It served in the [[South West Pacific Area (command)|South West Pacific Area]] (SWPA) under General [[Douglas MacArthur]]. The Seventh Fleet commander also served as commander of [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] naval forces in the SWPA.

Most of the ships of the [[Royal Australian Navy]] were also part of the fleet from 1943 to 1945 as part of Task Force 74 (formerly the [[Anzac Squadron]]). The Seventh Fleet—under [[Admiral]] [[Thomas C. Kinkaid]]—formed a large part of the Allied forces at the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]], the [[largest naval battle in history]], in October 1944. The Seventh Fleet fought in two of the Battle of Leyte Gulf's main actions, the [[Battle of Surigao Strait]] and the [[Battle off Samar]].
[[File:USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) and escorts making smoke off Samar 1944.jpeg|thumb|250px|{{USS|Gambier Bay|CVE-73}} and escorts at the [[Battle off Samar]] in October&nbsp;1944.]]

===1945–1950===
After the end of the war, the 7th Fleet moved its headquarters to [[Qingdao]], China. As laid out in Operation Plan 13–45 of 26 August 1945, Kinkaid established five major task forces to manage operations in the Western Pacific: Task Force 71, the North China Force with 75 ships; Task Force 72, the Fast Carrier Force, directed to provide air cover to the Marines going ashore and discourage with dramatic aerial flyovers any Communist forces that might oppose the operation; Task Force 73, the [[Yangtze Patrol]] Force with another 75 combatants; Task Force 74, the South China Force, ordered to protect the transportation of [[Japan]]ese and [[Chinese Nationalist]] troops from that region; and [[Task Force 78]], the Amphibious Force, charged with the movement of the [[III Marine Amphibious Corps]] to China.

After the war, on 1 January 1947, the Fleet's name was changed to '''Naval Forces Western Pacific'''. In late 1948, the Fleet moved its principal base of operations from Qingdao to the Philippines, where the Navy, following the war, had developed new facilities at [[Subic Bay]] and an airfield at [[Sangley Point]]. Peacetime operations of the Seventh Fleet were under the control of Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet, Admiral [[Arthur W. Radford]], but standing orders provided that, when operating in Japanese waters or in the event of an emergency, control would pass to Commander, [[Naval Forces Far East]], a component of General [[Douglas MacArthur]]'s occupation force.

On 19 August 1949 the force was designated as '''United States Seventh Task Fleet'''. On 11 February 1950, just prior to the outbreak of the Korean War, the force assumed the name '''United States Seventh Fleet''', which it holds today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/ar/sierra/seventhflt.htm|title=Records of U.S. Seventh Fleet Public Affairs|work=[[Naval History & Heritage Command]]|date=29 April 2005|access-date=24 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002094318/http://www.history.navy.mil/ar/sierra/seventhflt.htm|archive-date=2 October 2013|df=dmy-all }}</ref>

=== Korean War ===
{{see also|U.S. Seventh Fleet Korean War order of battle}}
Seventh Fleet units participated in all major operations of the [[Korean War|Korean]] and [[Vietnam War|Vietnamese]] Wars. The first Navy jet aircraft used in combat was launched from a [[Task Force 77 (U.S. Navy)|Task Force 77]] (TF&nbsp;77) aircraft carrier on 3 July 1950. The landings at [[Inchon, Korea]] were conducted by Seventh Fleet amphibious ships. The battleships {{USS|Iowa|BB-61|2}}, {{USS|New Jersey|BB-62|2}}, {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|2}} and {{USS|Wisconsin|BB-64|2}} all served as [[flagship]]s for Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet during the Korean War. During the Korean War, the Seventh Fleet consisted of Task Force 70, a maritime patrol force provided by Fleet Air Wing One and Fleet Air Wing Six, Task Force 72, the Formosa Patrol, Task Force 77, and Task Force 79, a service support squadron.

Over the next decade the Seventh Fleet responded to numerous crisis situations including contingency operations conducted in Laos in 1959 and Thailand in 1962. During September 1959, in the autumn of 1960, and again in January 1961, the Seventh Fleet deployed multiship carrier task forces into the South China Sea.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/by-sea-air-land-marolda/chapter-2-the-era-of-growing-conflict-1959-1965.html|title=By Sea, Air, and Land|first=Edward J.|last=Marolda|work=Naval History & Heritage Command|date=8 November 1997|access-date=22 April 2017}}</ref> Although the [[Pathet Lao]] and [[North Vietnam]]ese supporting forces withdrew in each crisis, in the spring of 1961 their offensive appeared on the verge of overwhelming the pro-American [[Royal Lao Army]].

Once again the fleet moved into Southeast Asian waters. By the end of April 1961, most of the Seventh Fleet was deployed off the Indochinese Peninsula preparing to initiate operations into Laos. The force consisted of the {{USS|Coral Sea|CVA-43|2}} and {{USS|Midway|CVA-41|2}} carrier battle groups, antisubmarine support carrier {{USS|Kearsarge|CVS-33|2}}, one helicopter carrier, three groups of amphibious ships, two submarines, and three [[Battalion#United States Marine Corps|Marine battalion]] landing teams. At the same time, shorebased air patrol squadrons and another three Marine battalion landing teams stood ready in Okinawa and the Philippines to support the afloat force. Although the administration of President [[John F. Kennedy]] already had decided against American intervention to rescue the Laotian government, Communist forces halted their advance and agreed to negotiations. The contending Laotian factions concluded a cease-fire on 8 May 1961, but it lasted only a year.

In June 1963 the Seventh Fleet held 'Flagpole '63,' a joint [[naval exercise]] with the Republic of Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://oldbluejacket.com/bexar.htm|title=USS Bexar APA-237|first=Warren|last=Willis|work=oldbluejacket.com|year=2009|access-date=24 September 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club emblem (United States Navy), in the 1960s (NH 85751-KN).png|thumb|250px|[[Military humor]]: Unofficial insignia of the "Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club" – aka U.S. 7th Fleet.]]
Seventh Fleet represented the first official entrance of the United States into the [[Vietnam War]], with the [[Gulf of Tonkin incident]]. Between 1950 and 1970, the U.S. Seventh Fleet was known by the [[tongue-in-cheek]] nickname "[[Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club]]" since most of the fleet's operations were conducted from the [[Tonkin Gulf]] at the time.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/TheWarThatWouldNotEnd#page/n201/mode/2up/search/yacht|page=188|series=U.S. Marines in Vietnam|title=The War That Would Not End, 1971–1973|author1-first=Charles D.|author1-last=Melson|author2-first=Curtis G.|author2-last=Arnold|publisher=United States Marine Corps History and Museums Division|lccn=77604776|year=1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/shiphist/e/cvn-65/1966.pdf|title=Narrative History of the USS Enterprise (CVA(N)65) 1 Jan – 31 Dec 66|publisher=[[United States Navy]]|date=10 July 1967|page=1|quote=The presence of USS ''Enterprise'' in the Gulf of Tonkin was well-known around the world by January 1966. Her own prestige as the largest and most powerful warship of the fleet had followed her to Yankee and Dixie Station, and there was more to the emerging legend than this; she and USS ''Bainbridge'', her frigate "smallboy", had put a watershed date in naval history merely by being the first nuclear-powered ships to engage in combat. Their unmatched speed, detection systems, and operational capacity potential were proving their worth far beyond the original estimates during the first weeks "on the line at the Tonki Gulf Yacht Club."|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113182933/http://www.history.navy.mil/shiphist/e/cvn-65/1966.pdf|archive-date=13 January 2012|df=dmy-all }}</ref>

On 12 February 1965, {{USS|Salisbury Sound|AV-13}} became the first U.S. Navy ship to conduct operations inside Vietnam coastal waters.<ref name=SSA>{{cite web|title=History of the USS Salisbury Sound (AV-13)|url=http://salisburysound.org/index.php/history/|website=USS Salisbury Sound (AV-13)|publisher=USS Salisbury Sound Association|access-date=19 January 2015}}</ref> ''Salisbury Sound'' set up a seadrome in [[Da Nang Bay]] and conducted seaplane patrols in support of [[Operation Flaming Dart]], the bombing of North Vietnamese army camps.

Operating primarily from [[Yankee Station]]{{sfn|Cavendish|1989|p=11}} off the north coast of Vietnam and the aptly-named [[Dixie Station (Vietnam War)|Dixie Station]] off the south coast of Vietnam in the [[South China Sea]], Seventh Fleet was organized into a series of task forces, often known by the acronym CTF (Commander Task Force):
* [[Task Force 73]] included the fleet's logistics support vessels operating as an underway replenishment group (URG) containing an oiler, an ammunition ship, and other supply tenders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/colloquia/cch4b.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040530122456/http://history.navy.mil/colloquia/cch4b.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2004-05-30|author-link=James Holloway III|last=Holloway|first=James L.|title=Tactical Command and Control of Carrier Operations|work=[[Naval Historical Foundation]]}}</ref>
* [[Task Force 75]], Surface Combatant Force, contained the fleet's surface combatants and [[naval gunfire support]]. These units formed the [[wikt:gun line|gun line]] to bombard enemy forces during [[Operation Sea Dragon (Vietnam War)|Operation Sea Dragon]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usnavymuseum.org/Ex9_SeaDragon.asp|work=[[Naval Historical Foundation]]|title=Vietnam War: Afloat and Ashore: Operation Sea Dragon }}</ref> [[Operation Custom Tailor]], and [[Battle of Haiphong Harbor|Operation Lion's Den]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Holloway|first=James|author-link=James Holloway III|title=Aircraft Carriers at War: A Personal Retrospective of Korea, Vietnam, and the Soviet Confrontation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WPyX66rP_0AC&pg=PA296|date=15 January 2011|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-61251-008-8|page=296}}</ref> The [[History of the Royal Australian Navy#Vietnam War|Royal Australian Navy]] contributed a series of guided missile destroyers to the gun line, including {{HMAS|Hobart|D 39|2}}, {{HMAS|Perth|D 38|2}}, {{HMAS|Brisbane|D 41|2}}, and {{HMAS|Vendetta|D08|2}}.{{sfn|Cavendish|1989|pp=29,46–49}}<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.defence.gov.au/news/navynews/editions/4915/feature/feature02.htm|title=Towing the line|journal=Navy|volume=49|issue=14|date=10 August 2006|first=John|last=Perryman}}</ref> The naval gun line concept was made possible with deep waters for larger vessels well away from both the shoals and enemy coastal artillery.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/weaps/docs/NSFSJFFC.HTM|title=The Impact of Advanced Naval Surface Fire Support on Joint Force Fire Coordination|first=George|last=Bonsall|work=Federation of American Scientists|year=1997|access-date=24 September 2014}}</ref> Task Group 70.8, a cruiser-destroyer subset of the task force, began shelling Vietnam on 27 May 1965. The cruisers and destroyers mostly used 5-inch and 8-inch guns while {{USS|New Jersey|BB-62|6}} opened fire with her 16-inch guns.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-warships-begin-bombardment-of-viet-cong-targets|title=U.S. warships begin bombardment of Viet Cong targets – 27 May 1965|work=This Day in History|year=2014|access-date=24 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705100918/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-warships-begin-bombardment-of-viet-cong-targets|archive-date=5 July 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* [[Task Force 76]] was the Amphibious Force, Seventh Fleet. Marines went ashore at [[Da Nang]] in March 1965 and patrolled throughout the I Corps area of responsibility during operations Starlite, Dagger Thrust, Double Eagle, and Jackstay.{{sfn|Cavendish|1989|pp=42–45}}
* [[Task Force 77 (United States Navy)|Task Force 77]] was the Carrier Battle Force, Seventh Fleet. It would participate in striking North Vietnamese targets, providing air support to US forces in South Vietnam, and [[Operation Pocket Money|mining Haiphong Harbor]].{{sfn|Cavendish|1989|pp=24–40}}
* Task Force 78 was the fleet's minesweeper support. After the 1973 [[cease-fire]], it was responsible for [[Operation End Sweep]], removing naval mines dropped in [[Haiphong]] harbor only months earlier.{{sfn|Cavendish|1989|pp=61}}
* Task Forces 116 and 117 were [[Brown-water navy#Vietnam|brown-water riverine forces]] involved in the interdiction efforts [[Operation Market Time]], [[Operation Game Warden]], and [[Operation Sealords]].{{sfn|Cavendish|1989|pp=50–59}}

In 1975, ships and aircraft of the Fleet evacuated thousands of U.S. citizens and refugees from [[South Vietnam]] and Cambodia as those countries fell to opposing forces.

Since the end of the Vietnam War, the Seventh Fleet has participated in a joint/combined exercise called [[Team Spirit]], conducted with the Republic of Korea armed forces. With capability to respond to any contingency, Fleet operations are credited with maintaining security during the [[Asian Games]] of 1986 and the [[Seoul Olympics]] of 1988. During 1989, Seventh Fleet units participated in a variety of exercises called PACEX, the largest peacetime exercises since World War II.

=== 1971 War ===

A carrier task force of the Seventh Fleet, [[Task Force 74]] (TF 74), entered the [[Bay of Bengal]] at the height of the war in December 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ciaonet.org/olj/sa/sa_98ror01.html|title=CIAO|website=www.ciaonet.org}}{{dead link|date=April 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>&nbsp;

The U.S. government stated at the time that the goal of the task force was to help evacuate Pakistani forces from East Pakistan following a ceasefire.<ref name=Blechman188>{{Harvnb|Blechman|Kaplan|1978|p=188}}</ref>

The task force comprised the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier {{USS|Enterprise|CVN-65|2}}; the amphibious assault carrier {{USS|Tripoli|LPH-10|2}}; the destroyers {{USS|Decatur|DD-936|2}}, {{USS|McKean|DD-784|2}}, and {{USS|Orleck|DD-886|2}}; the guided-missile escorts {{USS|Waddell|DDG-24|2}}, {{USS|King|DDG-41|2}}, and {{USS|Parsons|DD-949|2}}; the nuclear-powered attack submarine {{USS|Gurnard|SSN-662|2}}; and supply ship {{USS|Wichita|AOR-1|2}}. On 15 December, a day before the [[Pakistani Instrument of Surrender|surrender of Pakistan]] to the joint force of India and Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), the task force entered the Bay of Bengal, at a distance of some {{convert|1760|km|nmi mi|lk=on|abbr=on}} from [[Dhaka]].
At the same time, the Royal Navy also had forces in the Arabian Sea.

The Soviet Union also dispatched the 10th Operative Battle Group of its [[Pacific Fleet (Russia)|Pacific Fleet]] under Admiral Vladimir Kruglyakov from Vladivostok to the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rbth.com/blogs/2013/08/31/sweeping_mines_salvaging_looted_gold_after_the_1971_war_28955|title=Sweeping mines, salvaging looted gold after the 1971 War|first=Rakesh Krishnan|last=Simha|work=Russia & India Report|date=31 August 2013|access-date=24 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713192309/https://www.rbth.com/blogs/2013/08/31/sweeping_mines_salvaging_looted_gold_after_the_1971_war_28955|archive-date=13 July 2020|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Times |first=Tad Szulc Special to The New York |date=1971-12-16 |title=Enterprise Is Flagship |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/16/archives/enterprise-is-flagship-us-force-heads-up-bay-of-bengal.html |access-date=2022-12-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mahfuz |first=Asif |date=2013-12-16 |title=US Fleet in Bay of Bengal: A game of deception |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/us-fleet-in-bay-of-bengal-a-game-of-deception |access-date=2022-12-02 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref>

=== Gulf War and 1990s ===
[[File:SH-3G of COM US 7th Fleet in flight 1990.JPEG|thumb|250px|{{USS|George Washington|CVN-73|2}}, Squadron HC-1 during operation "Desert Shield" in 1990, U.S. Seventh Fleet.]]
In response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, General [[Norman Schwarzkopf]] (CINCCENT) discussed naval command arrangements in his area of responsibility with [[Commander-in-Chief, Pacific]], Admiral [[Huntington Hardisty]].<ref>Pokrant, Marvin (1999). Desert Storm at Sea: What the Navy Really Did. Greenwood Publishing Group.</ref> The result was that Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet was ordered to assume additional responsibilities as Commander, [[U.S. Naval Forces Central Command]]. The Fleet Commander departed [[Yokosuka, Japan]] immediately, heading for the [[Persian Gulf]], and joined the remainder of his staff aboard the flagship {{USS|Blue Ridge|LCC-19|2}} on 1 September 1990. During [[Operation Desert Shield (Gulf War)|Operation Desert Shield]] and [[Operation Desert Storm]], Naval Forces Central Command exercised command and control of the largest U.S. Navy armada since the [[Second World War]]. At the peak of combat operations, over 130 U.S. ships joined more than 50 allied ships to conduct maritime intercept operations, minesweeping and combat strike operations against enemy forces in Iraq and Kuwait.

Naval Forces Central Command included six aircraft carrier battle groups, two battleships (''Missouri'' and ''Wisconsin''), two hospital ships, 31 amphibious assault ships, four minesweeping vessels and numerous combatants in support of allied air and ground forces. After a decisive allied victory in the [[Gulf War]], Commander U.S. Seventh Fleet relinquished control of Naval Forces Central Command to Commander, [[Middle East Force]] on 24 April 1991 and returned to Yokosuka, Japan to resume his Asia-Pacific duties.

[[1994 North Korean nuclear crisis|Following months of tension as well as the death of North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung]], in July 1994, the ''[[USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)|Kitty Hawk]]'' battle group was diverted from a [[Operation Southern Watch|Southern Watch deployment]] to the Persian Gulf and remained in the Western Pacific (the Seventh Fleet's operation area) for the entire deployment.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/archives/command-operation-reports/ship-command-operation-reports/k/kitty-hawk-cv-63-ii/1994.pdf |title=USS Kitty Hawk CV-63 - 1994 Command Operations Report |date=14 January 1995 |publisher=[[United States Navy]] }}</ref> The ''[[USS Independence (CV-62)|Independence]]'' also conducted operations near the Peninsula during the crisis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reading the North Korean Tea Leaves: The Perpetual Struggle to Fathom Pyongyang's Motives and Goals |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB421/ |access-date=2022-08-21 |website=nsarchive2.gwu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=CVW-5 No19 |url=https://www.webmodelers.com/201302CV5no19.html |access-date=2022-08-21 |website=www.webmodelers.com}}</ref>

In 1996, two aircraft carrier battle groups were sent to the [[Taiwan Straits]] under Seventh Fleet control to demonstrate U.S. support for Taiwan during the [[Third Taiwan Strait Crisis]]. The ''[[USS Nimitz|Nimitz]]'' battle group ([[Carrier Strike Group Eleven|CCDG 7]]) made a high-speed transit from the Persian Gulf, while [[Carrier Strike Group 5|Carrier Group Five]], led by ''Independence'', sortied from its Japanese homeports.

===USS ''John S. McCain'' and ''Alnic MC'' collision ===
{{Main|USS John S. McCain and Alnic MC collision}}
On 21 August 2017, while on a routine visit to Singapore, {{sclass|Arleigh Burke|destroyer|0}} destroyer {{USS|John S. McCain|DDG-56}} was involved in a collision with merchant vessel ''[[Alnic MC]]'' off the coast of [[Singapore]], east of the [[Strait of Malacca]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-21/uss-john-mccain-collides-with-merchant-ship/8826298|title=USS John McCain collides with merchant ship east of Singapore, 10 sailors missing, US Navy says|date=21 August 2017|work=[[ABC News (Australia)]]|access-date=24 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/navy-destroyer-uss-john-s-mccain-collides-merchant-ship-east-n794386|title=U.S. Destroyer Collides With Tanker Off Singapore; 10 Missing|last1=Smith|first1=Alexander|last2=Flanagan|first2=Ed|date=21 August 2017|work=[[NBC News]]|access-date=24 August 2017}}</ref> The incident left 10 Navy sailors missing and five injured. The US Navy announced that Commander of the Seventh Fleet Vice Adm. [[Joseph Aucoin]] had been dismissed and replaced by Vice Adm. [[Phillip G. Sawyer]], who had already been nominated and confirmed to replace the retiring Aucoin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/politics/uss-mccain-7th-fleet-commander-dismissal/index.html|title=US Navy 7th Fleet commander dismissed, Navy says|last1=McKirdy|first1=Euan|last2=Lendon|first2=Brad|date=23 August 2017|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=24 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Erik|last=Slavin|title=Sawyer nominated to head Yokosuka-based 7th Fleet|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/sawyer-nominated-to-head-yokosuka-based-7th-fleet-1.468943#.WZ788heQyV4|work=[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]]|date=17 May 2017|access-date=24 August 2017}}</ref>
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