11°00′00″N110°00′00″E / 11.00000°N 110.00000°E /11.00000; 110.00000
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Dixie Station was a geographic position during theVietnam War in theSouth China Sea off theMekong Delta from whichUnited States Navyaircraft carriers launched strikes providingclose air support for American andArmy of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) ground troops inSouth Vietnam.[1] It was located about 130 km due southeast ofCam Ranh Bay, at 11° N and 110° E[2] in 600 m (2000 ft) of water.
Dixie Station was established on 15 May 1965 as a single-carrier counterpart to the multi-carrierYankee Station, which was located further north near the mouth of theGulf of Tonkin and was responsible for strikes onNorth Vietnamese targets. Targets for Yankee Station strikes were personally selected (sometimes months in advance) byPresidentLyndon Johnson andSecretary of Defense,Robert McNamara, resulting in notoriously restrictiverules of engagement. In contrast, Dixie Station missions were carried out in response to requests forclose air support by friendly ground forces engaging enemyguerrillas in South Vietnam. The strike forces were usually vectored on to their target in real time by a ground-basedforward air controller.
The name "Dixie" was chosen to match that of thephonetic-alphabet-designated "Yankee," resulting in a pun relating to the traditional slang terms for theNorthern United States andSouthern United States, with Yankee bombing the North, and Dixie the South.
Aircraft carriers continued rotating on station at Dixie flying in support of friendly forces until 3 August 1966, when enough land-based aircraft had become available to support operations in the area that aircraft carrier support no longer was needed.[3] Yankee Station, in contrast, remained in use until August 1973.