Seventh Fleet Super Carriers: US Naval Air Power in the Pacific

With an area of responsibility covering 52-million square miles, including the entire Indian Ocean and a fair portion of the Pacific, the Seventh Fleet patrols more blue water than any other in the US Navy. The Seventh has also seen more combat since it was established in March, 1943, than any other fleet in any navy in the world. One factor has always been constant in any engagement undertaken by the Fleet the vital role played by the aircraft carrier. Be it Hellcats or Avengers flying off the USS Yorktown or the USS Enterprise during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944; Panthers or Banshees from the USS Lake Champlain or the USS Essex providing vital aerial support for the UN troops in Korea in 1953; or Phantoms and Skyhawks from the USS Kitty Hawk or USS Coral Sea in 1965 flying strike missions over the jungles of Vietnam, aviators of the Seventh Fleet have completed their duty with skill and bravery.

The Battle Groups of today rely more than ever on the immense power of the ‘Super Carrier’. The modern aircraft operated from these vessels provide the vanguard around which American military power at sea is formulated. They are both the offensive and defensive elements of the Seventh Fleet at sea. The cover provided by an air group, which can number up to 90 aircraft depending on the size of the carrier, enables the US Navy to patrol large areas of ocean many miles from friendly ports and air bases.

This point is particularly pertinent to the Seventh Fleet as they patrol the politically unstable waters in and around the Persian Gulf. This area, known as ‘Gonzo Station’ to the US Navy crews, has figured prominently in the Fleets operational schedule since the 1979 revolution in Iran. The Tehran hostage crisis, and latterly the escalated attacks on merchant shipping due to the Iran–Iraq war, has led the Seventh Fleet to deploy one Carrier Battle Group, augmented by a similar detachment from the Mediterranean based Sixth Fleet, in the region at all times.

With approximately 80 ships and 440 aircraft, crewed by 60,000 sailors and marines, the Seventh Fleet provides the backbone for the defence of the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. Adding to the fine naval aviation tradition of the Fleet, new aircraft like the F/A-18 Hornet, F-14D ‘Super’ Tomcat and the A-6F Intruder, along with new Nimitz class aircraft carriers and other naval vessels, ensure that the Fleet motto, ‘Ready Power for Peace’, will continue to apply through to the 21st century.