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For decades, Task Force 77 was the
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
battle/strike force of the
United States Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the ...
in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
(USN), a designation lasting from the final year of the Second World War until the disestablishment of the task force in 2000.


History


World War II

Task Force 77 formed the main striking force of the Seventh Fleet, the main naval force of the Allied South West Pacific Area. Task Group 77.2, for example, was supporting landings during the Battle of Biak on the northern coast of New Guinea, and was commanded by Rear-Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf. In September 1944, USS ''Pennsylvania'' steamed to Seeadler Harbor on
Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...
in the
Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-cov ...
for repairs. On 28 September, she arrived there and entered a floating dry dock on 1 October for a week's repairs. ''Pennsylvania'' left on 12 October in company with the battleships , , , , and ''West Virginia'', remaining under the command of Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf. These ships, designated Task Group 77.2, formed the Fire Support Group for the upcoming operations in the Philippines. They arrived off
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...
on 18 October and took up bombardment positions; over the next four days, they covered
Underwater Demolition Team The Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized missions. They were predecessors of the Navy's current United States Navy SEAL, SEAL teams. Their pri ...
s, beach reconnaissance operations, and
minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...
s clearing the way for the landing force. Task Group 77.4 was at the center of the Battle off Samar in 1944, part of the larger
Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...
.


Korean War

During the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, Task Force 77 performed a number of combat deployments, where it provided air support and performed interdiction missions as part of the UN forces. Task Force 77 had carrier stations in both the
Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...
(East Coast Task Force) and the
Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. Names It is one of four ...
(West Coast Task Force, designated Task Force 95), the latter consisting of carriers of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
(RN),
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
(RAN), and USN escort carriers due to its proximity to the People's Republic of China. Seventeen USN, one RAN and five RN aircraft carriers served in
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
carrier operations at some point in time during the Korean War. During the Korean War, Rear Admiral G.R. Henderson, USN, commanded Carrier Division Five (CARDIV FIVE) and served as Commander, Task Force 70 (CTF 70) and Commander, Task Force 77 (CTF-77) aboard . Subsequent commanders of CARDIV FIVE moved back and forth between
Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...
, Japan and the Korean Theater, serving as CTF 70 or CTF 77 on multiple occasions.


Cold War (pre-Vietnam)

Between conflicts, Task Force 77 was held in readiness for supporting French operations during the siege of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, and off Formosa (now Taiwan) during the several Quemoy-Matsu Crises. It also conducted limited operations over
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
in 1961, 1962 and 1964 before the commitment of U.S. combat forces to the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Prior to the Vietnam War, the location of COMCARDIV FIVE moved between several Pacific ports and utilized rotating Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers from the West coast of the U.S. as its flagship.


Vietnam War

During the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, twelve different commanders led CARDIV FIVE and CTF 77 in numerous combat deployments to the Vietnam War zone. Beginning in 1964, COMCARDIV FIVE was permanently deployed to the Western Pacific and dual-hatted CTF 70/CTF 77, homeported at Naval Air Station Cubi Point in the Philippines. During the Vietnam War, Task Force 77 conducted carrier strike operations from the
Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin ( northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern co ...
and
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
for nine years, from 1964 to 1973. Twenty-one of the Navy's 23 operational carriers made at least one cruise with the Task Force and served over 9,100 days on the line. The nickname Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club came to be associated with US carrier operations off Vietnam. ''Rolling Thunder'' air strikes, armed reconnaissance, and photo reconnaissance missions were conducted against selected targets and lines of communication (LOC) in North Vietnam, while operational procedures were developed by the operating units,
7th Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...
and Carrier Task Force 77, that permitted the full range of coordination for all air operations in the Rolling Thunder program. As the U.S. Navy entered heavy combat in Southeast Asia between 1965 and 1968, a chain of command evolved which reflected the complex character of the war. In theory, Commander in Chief, Pacific was the commander of all American forces in Asia, including those assigned to Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (COMUSMACV). The U.S. Pacific Fleet was the naval component of the Pacific Command and as such directed the Navy's activities in that ocean. Subordinate to Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) was Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet, who conducted those naval operations in Southeast Asia primarily external to South Vietnam. The fleet's Attack Carrier Striking Force (Task Force 77) mounted from the South China Sea the aerial interdiction campaign in Laos and North Vietnam, while Seventh Fleet's cruiser and destroyer units hunted the enemy's logistic craft along the North Vietnamese coast, bombarded targets ashore, and provided naval gunfire support to allied forces in South Vietnam. From the South China Sea, the Seventh Fleet's Attack Carrier Strike Force participated in Operations ''Rolling Thunder'' and ''Blue Tree'' in North Vietnam; the ''Barrel Roll'', ''Steel Tiger'', and ''Tiger Hound'' bombing and ''Yankee Team'' reconnaissance efforts in Laos; and the ground support mission in South Vietnam. Except during the period in 1965 and 1966, when the aircraft carrier supporting operations in the South sailed at Dixie Station, the carrier task force was deployed at Yankee Station (after April 1966 at 17°30'N 108°30'E). Generally, before August 1966, two or three carriers operated in Task Force 77, and after that date the number was often three or four. During the Easter Offensive 1972 Five and Six carriers operated in Task Force 77. On each ship, a carrier air wing controlled 70 to 100 aircraft, usually grouped in two fighter and three attack squadrons, a reconnaissance attack squadron, an airborne early warning squadron, and smaller detachments. However, the number depended on the size and class of the carriers, which varied from the large-deck 65,000-ton and 70,000-ton and ''Enterprise''-class ships, to the modified 27,000-ton, World War II-vintage ships.


Cold War (post-Vietnam)

In the post-Vietnam era, Carrier Division Five became Carrier Group Five (CARGRU FIVE) on 30 June 1973 and CTF 77 returned to its Cold War deterrence functions as Commander, Carrier Strike Force 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific, multi-hatted as Commander, Carrier Group FIVE (COMCARGRU FIVE) and Commander, Task Force 70 (CTF 70), the latter task force also being known as Battle Force 7th Fleet. COMCARGRU FIVE was homeported at Cubi Point in the Philippines. In this capacity, CTF 77 alternated embarkation as the Flag Staff aboard , the aircraft carrier homeported in Japan since October 1973 as part of the Forward Deployed Naval Force (FDNF), and rotational Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers from NAS North Island and NAS Alameda, California deploying to the Western Pacific. Beginning in late 1979, CTF 77 also focused on the carrier presence on Gonzo Station in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman off of Iran following the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
and the subsequent
Iran Hostage Crisis The Iran hostage crisis () began on November 4, 1979, when 66 Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage at the Embassy of the United States in Tehran, with 52 of them being held until January 20, 1981. Th ...
involving the detention of the American Embassy staff in
Teheran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District. With a population of around 9.8 million in the city as of 2025, ...
from November 1979 to January 1981. With the release of the American hostages in 1981, carrier presence off Gonzo Station decreased and CTF 77/CCG-5/CTF 70 returned again to its deterrence posture, primarily as it pertained to
Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...
operations in the Western Pacific. CTF 77/CCG-5/CTF 70 operated two and three Carrier Battle Groups from the North Arabian Sea to the North Sea of Japan and the North Pacific Ocean.


Gulf War (Operations Desert Shield / Desert Storm)

On 2 August 1990, Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait and U.S. military forces moved into Saudi Arabia as part of
Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
to protect that country against invasion by Iraq. On 1 November 1990, CTF 77, embarked aboard USS ''Midway'', assumed the duties of the multi- aircraft carrier Battle Force Zulu on station in the North Arabian Sea. On 15 November, CTF 77 held oversight of Operation Imminent Thunder, an eight-day combined amphibious landing exercise in northeastern Saudi Arabia which involved about 1,000 U.S. Marines, sixteen warships, and more than 1,100 aircraft. Meanwhile, the United Nations set an ultimatum deadline of 15 January 1991 for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. Operation Desert Storm commenced the next day, with the U.S. Navy launching 228 combat aircraft sorties from ''Midway'' and in the Persian Gulf, from en route to the Gulf, and from , , and in the Red Sea. In addition, the Navy launched more than 100
Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Native Americans in the United States, Indian peoples and nations of North America, traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. Etymology The name comes from Powhatan langu ...
missiles from nine ships in the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf. Desert Storm officially ended 27 February, and ''Midway'' departed the Persian Gulf on 11 March 1991, disembarking CTF 77 in the Philippines as it returned to Yokosuka, Japan.


Operation Southern Watch


Disestablishment

In mid-2000, CTF 77 was disestablished as a 7th Fleet Task Force and its responsibilities merged into CTF 70, Commander, Battle Force, U.S. 7th Fleet. Commander Task Force 70 remains dual-hatted as Commander, Carrier Strike Group Five. The task force/CSG staff is homeported at United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, when not embarked aboard the aircraft carrier also homeported there, currently .


References

{{reflist, 30em


External links


Carrier group information
United States Navy task forces TF0077