Operations
Over a 25-year period, the U.S. Navy was involved in a broad spectrum of operations in the military and political struggle for Vietnam and other countries of Southeast Asia. The Navy was active in the region from 1950, when the U.S.-supported French Union forces were battling Communist Vietminh guerillas, until 1975, when Seventh Fleet helicopters and ships evacuated the last Americans—and many South Vietnamese refugees—from Saigon.
In its combat missions, the U.S. Navy was a major partner with the U.S. Air Force during the air campaigns in North Vietnam and Laos, and with the U.S. Army during riverine operations in South Vietnam's Mekong Delta region. U.S. naval forces comprised not only fleet units, but also U.S. Marine Corps and Coast Guard formations and assets. The Navy also fought side by side with forces from other nations of the anti-Communist coalition. U.S. Navy advisors, who were the first personnel to be assigned to Vietnam and among the last to leave, had a major role in the birth and operational viability of South Vietnam's navy.
The following NHHC publications and resources cover not only the blue and brown water, air, and ground combat operations of the U.S. Navy, but also provide insights into the command framework, logistics, and massive infrastructure and support services effort required to sustain operational momentum.
U.S. Naval Forces in Vietnam and Southeast Asia
- By Sea, Air, and Land: An Illustrated History of the U.S. Navy and the War in Southeast Asia
- The Approaching Storm: Conflict in Asia, 1945–1965
- The U.S. Navy in the Cold War Era, 1945–1991
- The Navy of the Republic of Vietnam
- Knowing the Enemy: Naval Intelligence in Southeast Asia
- Nixon's Trident: Naval Power in Southeast Asia, 1968–1972
- Seabee History: Southeast Asia
- Fourth Arm of Defense: Sealift and Maritime Logistics in the Vietnam War
- End of the Saga: The Maritime Evacuation of South Vietnam and Cambodia
Reactions to the Tet Offensive, January 1968
Naval Air Operations
- Operation Homecoming, by NHHC Historian Heather M. Haley, Ph.D.
- Carrier Deployments During the Vietnam Conflict
- Command and Control of Air Operations in the Vietnam War (Minutes, Colloquium on Contemporary History Number 4, 23 January 1991)
- Naval Air War: The Rolling Thunder Campaign
- Listing for Navy Aircraft Losses by Reporting Custodian, 1964–1973 (10.8 MB pdf download)
- Listing for Naval Aircraft Losses by Aircraft Model, 1964–1973 (10.6 MB pdf download)
- USS Forrestal (CVA-59)
Coastal, Riverine, and Special Warfare
- Combat at Close Quarters: Warfare on the Rivers and Canals of Vietnam
- War in the Shallows: U.S. Navy Coastal and Riverine Warfare in Vietnam, 1965–1968
- Riverine Warfare: The U.S. Navy's Operations on Inland Waters (includes extensive coverage of Vietnam operations)
Mine Warfare
- Water Mine Warfare in South Vietnam
- U.S. Mining and Mine Clearance in North Vietnam (Operation End Sweep)
Navy Medicine
