United States Seventh Fleet

The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet (a military formation) of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Japan, with some units based in Japan and Guam. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with 60 to 70 ships, 300 aircraft and 40,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel.

The Fleet has three major assignments:

History

The Seventh Fleet was formed on 15 March 1943 in Brisbane, Australia, during the Second World War, under the command of Admiral Arthur S. "Chips" Carpender. It served in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) under General Douglas MacArthur. The Seventh Fleet commander also served as commander of Allied naval forces in the SWPA.

7th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)

The 7th Fleet (第七艦隊, Dai-nana Kantai) was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, primarily responsible for control of the Tsushima Strait.

History

The IJN 7th Fleet was formed on 15 April 1945, during the closing stages of World War II. It was essentially an administrative fleet tasked with coordinating local defenses and control of the sea lanes between northern Kyūshū and far western Honshū, and the Korean peninsula. It was headquartered at Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū. The “fleet” was assigned an old minelayer, converted merchant vessels and a small number of anti-submarine patrol boats, so that its actual combat potential was almost nonexistent. It was disbanded at the end of World War II.

The commander of the IJN 7th Fleet concurrently held the post of commander in chief of the 1st Escort Fleet.

Commanders of the IJN 7th Fleet

Notes

References