A superbly illustrated examination of how the US Navy's most powerful
fleet fought the Vietnam War, covering all of its elements from
aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers to minesweepers and oilers.
The US Navy's Seventh Fleet was at the forefront of America's campaign
in Vietnam for a decade, from the Gulf of Tonkin Incident that began it
all to the final evacuation of South Vietnam. Its mission was highly
strategic, and while its primary role was to provide carrier-based air
power over North Vietnam - from Rolling Thunder through Linebacker -
the fleet's operations were complex, sensitive, and varied, and required
all the capabilities of the fleet.
This book is the first overall examination of how US Navy's most
powerful fleet fought and operated in Vietnam. Distilled from thousands
of declassified secret documents by renowned US Navy specialist Dr
Edward J. Marolda, it offers a unique new portrait of how the Seventh
Fleet fought the Vietnam War, from the offensive strike power of naval
aviation to the vital role of fleet logistics. As well as the carrier
operations, he examines the surface combatant fleet's gunfire support
role, and its raids against the North Vietnamese coast. Dr Marolda also
looks at amphibious warfare, fleet air defense, search-and-rescue, and
mining and interdiction operations.
Illustrated throughout with archive photos, 3D diagrams and spectacular
new artwork, and informed by never-before-translated official documents,
publications, and personal accounts from North Vietnamese, Soviet, and
Chinese sources, this is the real story behind the US Navy's Vietnam
War.
