5th & 3rd fleets WW2

[mlschiff]

hello,

I am trying to find out if the 3rd and 5th fleets were separate entities,
or [as I have read] the same physical fleet renamed back and forth for
operational reasons.

ThankS

[Admiral]

The same ships were generally the meat of both, and designated 3rd Fleet when Halsey was in operational command & 5th Fleet when Spruance took operational command. The Staffs of Halsey & Spuance remained either 3rd or 5th Fleet, though. Not a bad general overview:

Originally Posted by Wiki

The ships of the Third Fleet also formed the basis of the Fifth Fleet, which was the designation of the "Big Blue Fleet" when under the command of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Spruance and Halsey would alternate command of the fleet for major operations, allowing the other admiral and his staff time to prepare for the subsequent one. A secondary benefit was confusing the Japanese into thinking that they were actually two separate fleets as the fleet designation flipped back and forth.

Welcome Aboard, Mate!

[mlschiff]

thank you,

i saw this once, but was unable to confirm

[Bass_Man86]

Originally Posted by mlschiff

hello,

I am trying to find out if the 3rd and 5th fleets were separate entities,
or [as I have read] the same physical fleet renamed back and forth for
operational reasons.

ThankS

I am not sure about Third Fleet, but the only difference between Seventh Fleet and Fifth Fleet was whoever happened to be in chard at the time; see Admiral's post. Other than that it was simply an exercise to keep the Japanese off balance during WWII.

[grognard]

Originally Posted by Bass_Man86

I am not sure about Third Fleet, but the only difference between Seventh Fleet and Fifth Fleet was whoever happened to be in chard at the time; see Admiral's post. Other than that it was simply an exercise to keep the Japanese off balance during WWII.

As admiral said, it's third and fifth, not fifth and seventh.

[T. A. Gardner]

Originally Posted by mlschiff

hello,

I am trying to find out if the 3rd and 5th fleets were separate entities,
or [as I have read] the same physical fleet renamed back and forth for
operational reasons.

ThankS

The third fleet and fifth fleet are one in the same essentially. What happens is the number changes when you move from the SWPA (Halsey) to the Pacific Theater (Spruance) or back.....