Task Force 88 (TF88) was the

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...

force, commanded by Rear Admiral Thomas Hope Troubridge 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 ...

, that supported

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), known as Débarquement de Provence in French ("Provence Landing"), was the code name for the landing operation of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15Augu ...

, the Allied invasion of southern France. It was activated in August 1944, and dispersed on 29 August when the carrier force departed to operate in the Aegean. TF88 was a mixed

task force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

of Royal Navy and

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 ...

ships that was stationed off

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

. Its tasks were to achieve

air superiority An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmospher ...

over the landing beaches, provide air support for the ground forces by suppressing enemy resistance and movement, destroying military infrastructure and artillery spotting for the naval bombardment. The TF 88 designation was later used for

Operation Argus Operation Argus was a series of United States low-yield, high-altitude nuclear weapons tests and missile tests secretly conducted from 27 August to 9 September 1958 over the South Atlantic Ocean. The tests were performed by the Defense Nucle ...

, an ocean-based US nuclear test series in the late 1950s.

Task Force 88 order of battle

Task Force 88 was made up of two naval groups, 88.1 and 88.2 with VOC-01, a observation composite squadron with 12

Grumman F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...

nightfighters operating out of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

Notes

References

*{{cite book, first=Kev , last= Darling , title=Fleet Air Arm Carrier War: The History of British Naval Aviation, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=re7RAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA100, year=2009, publisher=Pen and Sword, isbn=978-1-84415-903-1, pages=100–101 United States Navy task forces Operation Dragoon