The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club will tell the full story of the US Navy’s commitment to the airwar over Vietnam. It will cover events from the very first use of naval airpower when four F-8E Crusaders supported the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin incident on 2 August 1964 that led to more direct US involvement in the war in Vietnam. It will then cover the full range of operations undertaken by the carriers of the US Seventh Fleet’s Task Force 77, which had as many as six carriers on station at any one time with 70–100 aircraft on each.
The story will be based on a series of dramatic first-hand accounts that will bring the historic events to life, a similar style to that used by Tom on his previous books on the airwar in the Pacific and over Korea. Tom also has a personal involvement in this story, having served with the US Seventh Fleet during the Vietnam War – and this book will feature his first-hand recollection and interpretation of events.
