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Vietnam War/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (68)/ Yankee Station, North Vietnam
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Description Yankee Station was a point in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam used by the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers of Task Force 77 to launch strikes in the Vietnam War. While its official designation was "Point Yankee," it was universally referred to as Yankee Station. Carriers conducting air operations at Yankee Station were said to be "on the line" and statistical summaries were based on days on the line.
The name derived from it being the geographic reference point "Y", pronounced "Yankee" in the NATO phonetic alphabet. In turn the term Point Yankee derived from the launch point for "Yankee Team" aerial reconnaissance missions over Laos conducted in 1964. It was located about 190 km due east of Dong Hoi, at 17° 30' N and 108° 30' E.
During the two periods of sustained air operations against North Vietnam (March 2, 1965-October 31, 1968 and March 30, 1972-December 29, 1972) there were normally three carriers on the line, each conducting air operations for twelve hours, then off for twelve hours. One of the carriers would operate from noon to midnight, another from midnight to noon, and one during daylight hours, which gave 24-hour coverage plus additional effort during daylight hours, when sorties were most effective. However at the end of May, 1972, six carriers were for a short period of time on the line at Yankee Station conducting Linebacker strikes.
The first aircraft carrier at Yankee Station was USS Kitty Hawk, which was ordered there in April 1964 for the Yankee Team missions. Kitty Hawk was joined by Ticonderoga in May and Constellation in June, two months prior to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Ticonderoga and Constellation launched the first bombing missions from Yankee Station on August 5, 1964. Constellation was also the last carrier conducting operations at Yankee Station on August 15, 1973. USS Forrestal suffered a major accident while at Yankee Station when a series of fires and explosions on her deck killed 134 men and injured another 161.
A corresponding Dixie Station in the South China Sea off the Mekong Delta was a single carrier point for conducting strikes within South Vietnam from May 15, 1965 to August 3, 1966.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Last Updated: Dec 22, 2023
Personal Memories
People You Remember Hank Bibeau
Memories * My first tour of duty to Vietnam on the Kitty Hawk. Loosing three shipmates off Hawaii and doing a fight deck watch looking for them. We never did.
* My first trip to Hawaii, Japan, Subic Bay in the Philipines, and Hong Kong
* Going to Tokyo on the train to visit the imperial palace grounds and coming back to yokuska.
* The riots in Yokuska over a nuclear submarine being in port and being told to stay in a bar until things quited down.
* Drinking beer and steak on Grande Island in Subic bay, Philippines.
* Watching our planes go in the water from a cold cat shot and seeing a peron fall over baord running to the rescue helicopter.
* seeing our planes come back to the ship from a combat operation with holes in the side of the plane from enemy ground troups.
* Working 7 PM to 7 AM fixing the radar and missile firing system on the F4 Phantom jets in my Squadron.
* The Galley running out of the main course for dinner and having to eat hot dogs for dinner nad mid-rats.. I got awful tired of hotdogs.