THE TONKIN GULF YACHT CLUB: Naval Aviation in the Vietnam War

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The 'Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club' was the tongue-in-cheek nickname of the US Seventh Fleet that was stationed off the coast of Vietnam. Examines the US Naval air campaign in the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1975. Covers operations from the USS Maddox in the infamous Gulf of Tonkin incidentof 1964 onwards through to the eventual withdrawal of the fleet following the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975.

The Seventh Fleet's Task Force 77, which at points during the war had as many as six carriers on station at any one time with 70-100 aircraft on each, provided vital air support for combat troops on the ground, while at the same time taking part in the major operations against North Vietnam itself such as Rolling Thunder, Linebacker I and II. All of these operations took place in a hostile environment of flak, missiles, and MiGs.