NationMaster - Encyclopedia: United States Sixth Fleet

The Sixth Fleet is a US Navy operational unit, headquartered on the command ship Mount Whitney (LCC-20) with its homeport in Gaeta, Italy and operating in the Mediterranean Sea. The Sixth Fleet consists of approximately 40 ships, 175 aircraft and 21,000 people and is the major operational component of Naval Forces Europe. The principal striking power of the Sixth Fleet resides in its aircraft carriers and the modern jet aircraft, its submarines, and its reinforced battalion of US Marines on board amphibious ships deployed in the Mediterranean. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20), a Blue Ridge class command ship, is the flagship of the United States Navys 6th Fleet. ... Gaeta (ancient Caieta) is a seaport in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. ... Satellite image Map of the Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ...

1 Mission
2 Organization
3 Partial list of ships
4 History and recent operations
5 External links
6 See also

Mission

The Sixth Fleet has both US national and NATO responsibilities. The Commander of the Sixth Fleet, Vice Adm. Scott Fry, reports to the Commander-In-Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe in the U.S. chain of command and to CinCSouth when the Sixth Fleet operates as part of NATO as StrikForSouth.

Organization

The United States Sixth Fleet is operationally organized into task forces. Each task force is responsible to the Sixth Fleet Commander for specific functions related to assigned units.

Task Force 60 Battle Force

Task Force 60 is Sixth Fleet's Battle Force. It is composed of one or more aircraft carriers, each with an accompanying complement of approximately six cruisers and destroyers. On board the aircraft carrier is an air wing of 65 – 85 aircraft. The air wing is the primary striking arm of the Battle Force, and includes attack, fighter, anti-submarine, and reconnaissance aircraft. Ships accompanying the carrier serve as defensive and offensive platforms with duties involving anti-air, surface and submarine warfare. In addition to its major role of controlling the seas, the Battle Force can also project its power over land. An aircraft carrier is a warship whose main role is to deploy and recover aircraft. ... An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ...

Task Force 61 Amphibious Assault

Task Force 61 is the Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group (MARG). It is composed of approximately three amphibious ships and their embarked landing craft. From these ships, United States Marine ground forces can move ashore by sea and air in amphibious assault of emergency evacuation missions. Once ashore, the ships of Task Force 61 logistically support the ground forces, until the objective of the landing has been accomplished, and the Marine Forces return to the ships.

Task Force 62 Marine Expeditionary Unit

Task Force 62 is the combat-ready ground force composed of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) of approximately 1,800 Marines. Transported in Task Force 61 ships, the MEU is equipped with armor, artillery, and transport helicopters that enable it to conduct operations ashore, or evacuate civilians from troubled areas.

Task Force 63 Logistics Force

Task Force 63 is the Logistics Force. Composed of oilers, provision ships, and repair ships, its mission is the delivery of supplies at sea, and effecting repairs to other ships and equipment of the Fleet.

Task Force 64 Strategic Missile Deterrence

Task Force 64 consists of nuclear-powered submarines armed with long-range strategic missiles (SSBN). Until the end of the 1970s these ships were homeported in Rota, Spain. The mission is strategic deterrence.

Task Force 67 Land-Based Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Task Force 67 is composed of land-based maritime patrol aircraft. These aircraft operate over the waters of the Mediterranean in anti-submarine, reconnaissance, surveillance, and mining roles.

Task Force 66/69 Submarine Warfare

Task Force 66/69 is responsible for planning and coordinating area submarine and anti-submarine warfare operations in the Mediterranean. Specifically, Task Force 69 is composed of attack submarines that provide capability to destroy enemy surface ships and submarines, as well as protect other Sixth Fleet ships from attack. USS Los Angeles A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ...

Partial list of ships

USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20) Command ship

Old list (ca. 1965?): USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20), a Blue Ridge class command ship, is the flagship of the United States Navys 6th Fleet. ...

USS La Salle (AGF-3)
USS Bang (SS-385)
USS Oriskany (CV-34)
USS Tarawa (CV-40)
USS Albany (CA-123)
USS Essex (CV-9)
USS Forrestal (CVA-59)
USS Intrepid (CV-11)
USS Baltimore (CA-68)
USS Topeka (CL-67)
USS Shangri-La (CV-38)
USS Leyte (CV-32)
USS Kearsarge (CV-33)
USS New Jersey (BB-62)
USS Gyatt (DD-712)

USS La Salle (LPD-3/AGF-3), built as a Raleigh-class amphibious transport dock, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the town and county in Illinois that was in turn named after Rene Robert Chevalier de La Salle, one of the most... The USS Bang (SS-385) was a United States Navy Balao-class submarine, named after the bang, a type of sardine. ... USS Oriskany (CV-34) (also CVA-34) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier. ... The first USS Tarawa (CV-40) (also CVA-40, CVS-40) was a United States Navy Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier. ... The fourth USS Albany (CA-123) was a United States Navy Oregon City-class heavy cruiser, later converted to the guided missile cruiser CG-10. ... The seventh USS Essex (CV-9) (also CVA-9 and CVS-9) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier, the lead ship of her class. ... USS Forrestal (CVA-59) (later CV-59 and AVT-9) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier, the lead ship of a new class of supercarriers, named after Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal. ... The fourth USS Intrepid (CV-11) (also CVA-11 and CVS-11) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. ... The fifth USS Baltimore (CA-68), the lead ship of her class of cruiser, was launched 28 July 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Company, Fore River, Massachusetts, sponsored by Mrs. ... The second USS Topeka (CL-67) was a Cleveland-class light cruiser of the United States Navy. ... The USS Shangri-La (CV-38) (also CVA-38, CVS-38) was an Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier. ... The third USS Leyte (CV-32) (also CVA-32, CVS-32, AVT-10) was a United States Navy Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier. ... The third USS Kearsarge (CV-33) (also CVA-33 and CVS-33) was a United States Navy Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier. ... The second United States Navy New Jersey (BB-62), known as Big J, is an Iowa-class battleship that was in service from 1943 to 1991, one of the longest-serving battleships of the 20th century. ... USS Gyatt (DD-712/DDG-1), was a Gearing class destroyer in the U.S. Navy, named for U.S. Marine Corps Private Edward E. Gyatt. ...

History and recent operations

The United States has maintained a naval presence in the Mediterranean since the early 19th century, when U.S. Naval forces first engaged the Barbary Pirates to prevent them from interfering with commercial shipping. "Millions for defense, but not a penny for tribute!" Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Though at least a proportion of them are better described as privateers, the Barbary pirates operated out of Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers, Salè and ports in Morocco, preying on shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea from the time of the Crusades as well as on ships on their way to Asia...

In 1946, President Truman dispatched battleship Missouri to the Eastern Mediterranean to counter Soviet threats to Turkey and Iran. The U.S. Sixth Task Fleet was established in 1949, the same year the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed, in the early days of the Cold War. 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... For the victim of Mt. ... USS Missouri (BB-63) is a United States Navy battleship, notable as both the last battleship to be built by the United States, and as the site of the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II. She is presently a museum ship at Pearl Harbor. ... The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: (Ð¡Ð¡Ð¡Ð ) listen?; tr. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... NATO 2002 Summit The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on April 4, 1949. ... The Cold War was the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies. ...

The Sixth Fleet provided military, logistical and humanitarian assistance to support NATO operations in Kosovo during the Yugoslav wars. It also participated in the so-called Operation Allied Force, Joint Task Force Noble Anvil, Operation Shining Hope and Operation Joint Guardian. Kosovo and Metohia (Serbian: ÐšÐ¾ÑÐ¾Ð²Ð¾ Ð¸ ÐœÐµÑ‚Ð¾Ñ…Ð¸Ñ˜Ð° / Kosovo i Metohija, Albanian: KosovÃ« / Kosova), in English most often called just Kosovo, is a province of Serbia. ... The Yugoslav wars were a series of violent conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia that took place between 1991-2001. ... Operation Allied Force was the military response of NATO to the 1999 Kosovo crisis, and the first major combat operation in NATO history. ...

External links

Official Commander of 6th Fleet Website
Photographic Tribute to the 6th Fleet
Black Sea Port Visits
Relations with Israeli Navy

Contents