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. "Chips" Carpender. It served in the
South West Pacific Area (SWPA) under General
Douglas MacArthur. The Seventh Fleet commander also served as commander of
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. in October 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
Japanese 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.
Korean War Seventh Fleet units participated in all major operations of the
Korean and
Vietnamese Wars. The first Navy jet aircraft used in combat was launched from a
Task Force 77 (TF 77) aircraft carrier on 3 July 1950. The landings at
Inchon, Korea were conducted by Seventh Fleet amphibious ships. The battleships , , and all served as
flagships 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. Although the
Pathet Lao and
North Vietnamese 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 and carrier battle groups, antisubmarine support carrier , one helicopter carrier, three groups of amphibious ships, two submarines, and three
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. : 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. On 12 February 1965, became the first U.S. Navy ship to conduct operations inside Vietnam coastal waters.
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 off the north coast of Vietnam and the aptly-named
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. •
Task Force 75, Surface Combatant Force, contained the fleet's surface combatants and
naval gunfire support. These units formed the
gun line to bombard enemy forces during
Operation Sea Dragon,
Operation Custom Tailor, and
Operation Lion's Den. The
Royal Australian Navy contributed a series of guided missile destroyers to the gun line, including , , , and . The naval gun line concept was made possible with deep waters for larger vessels well away from both the shoals and enemy coastal artillery. 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 opened fire with her 16-inch guns. •
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. •
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
mining Haiphong Harbor. • 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. • Task Forces 116 and 117 were
brown-water riverine forces involved in the interdiction efforts
Operation Market Time,
Operation Game Warden, and
Operation Sealords. 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. 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. The task force comprised the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ; the amphibious assault carrier ; the destroyers , , and ; the guided-missile escorts , , and ; the nuclear-powered attack submarine ; and supply ship . On 15 December, a day before the
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 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 under Admiral Vladimir Kruglyakov from Vladivostok to the area.
Gulf War and 1990s 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. 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 on 1 September 1990. During
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.
Following months of tension as well as the death of North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung, in July 1994, the
Kitty Hawk battle group was diverted from a
Southern Watch deployment to the Persian Gulf and remained in the Western Pacific (the Seventh Fleet's operation area) for the entire deployment. The
Independence also conducted operations near the Peninsula during the crisis. 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
Nimitz battle group (
CCDG 7) made a high-speed transit from the Persian Gulf, while
Carrier Group Five, led by
Independence, sortied from its Japanese homeports.
USS John S. McCain and Alnic MC collision On 21 August 2017, while on a routine visit to Singapore, destroyer was involved in a collision with merchant vessel
Alnic MC off the coast of
Singapore, east of the
Strait of Malacca. 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. ==Operations==