WI/PC: RN sends carriers to "Yankee" station, Vietnam War.

WILDGEESE

Gone Fishin'
For sake of argument, either MacMillan, Wilson or Heath after being asked to send British forces to help the US in Vietnam decline any RAF or British Army involvement but send RN carriers to conduct air operations at "Yankee" station.

How do you think the British carriers would perform?

Would they be effective, even with there limited air wings and aircraft in use?

Regards filers
 
I don't think they'd be on Yankee Station unless the North Vietnamese did something stupid like sending frogmen into Singapore. It's a lot easier to sell defend South Vietnam from Communist aggression to the British people than it is to sell attack North Vietnam within it's own borders. Also British Carriers aren't really suitable for that environment not being able to launch large numbers of aircraft to swamp the defences. Most likely if involved in Vietnam at all the Royal Navy would operate on Dixie Station in support of Australian and New Zealand ground troops.
If striking against North Vietnam it would be with single raids rather than as part of a sustained offensive. The RN just doesn't have the ability to do more. I rate the Buccaneer as the best naval strike aircraft in the world at the time but with only a single squadron on board a British Carrier their impact would be limited and any casualties would soon force the carriers withdrawal. I also don't see the Sea Vixen as being viable against the North Vietnamese defences or their Migs.
 
You would need a pod in the later years of WW2 to get carriers of a size that could fly of single strikes. The Maltas were designed with that in mind but never got off the drawing board.
 
Firstly, Dixie Station only existed for 16 months from May 65 to August 66 and only for a single carrier, so that's probably not an option. Secondly the RAN proposed the use of the HMAS Melbourne in March 66 to cover an ASW shortage at Yankee Station and the USN requested her in April 67 for the same reason, so there was scope for the employment of a non USN carrier on Yankee Stadium. Thirdly once Rolling Thunder ceased in October 68, after being limited in March 68, there was no bombing of the North until March 72, so that's not an issue for 3 1/2 years.

So I'd say the RN could easily find employment for one of their carrier on Yankee Station if it was offered to the USN. I think maybe after March 68 the squadrons would be changed somewhat, the Sea Vixen sqn made smaller and the Buccaneer sqn reinforced in light of the limited air threat.

I think the biggest issue would be the time the RN ships could spend on the line, like it was for the Melbourne. USN ships did ~31 day patrols on the line and their operational tempo was based around this, but of an RN carrier couldn't do the same (the Melbourne could only do about 10 days on the line) then it throws out the whole Port-transit-Line-transit-Port rotation schedule for the other 3 or carriers in TF77.
 
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