Forward Maritime Strategy and the End of the Cold War 1986–1989
FORWARD MARITIME STRATEGY AND ASW – GLOBAL 86 AND OUTBACK 88 DEPLOYMENTS – OPERATION BALSAC (ADEN EVACUATION) – GULF OPERATIONS AND END OF IRAN–IRAQ WAR – FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL AND END OF THE COLD WAR
FIRST SEA LORD Admiral Staveley
SECOND SEA LORDS Admirals Fitch and Brown
MANPOWER 68,200
MERCANTILE MARINE 2,378 merchant ships
By 1986 the naval forces of the Warsaw Pact were approaching their zenith with immensely powerful fleets and real global reach. But with the election of Gorbachev the world was already changing, and the late 1980s were to see a fundamental shift in world politics, with the decline and eventual break-up of the Soviet Union, resulting in the end of the Cold War and ultimate victory in the West. The end of the Cold War was symbolised by the breaching of the Berlin Wall on the night of 9 November 1989, with dramatic pictures of that defining moment being flashed around the world.
The increasing power of the Soviet Navy had been underpinning the increased involvement of Soviet forces and influence in the affairs of the Third World, apart from Afghanistan, where Soviet forces were to withdraw in 1987 after a long and costly campaign. The spread of Soviet domination greatly concerned NATO leaders and was behind the shift in focus towards the evolving NATO defence strategy of ‘out of area’ and ‘rapid deployment’. In its application to naval strategy this was to evolve into the full policy of ‘Forward Maritime Strategy’ for the navies of the NATO countries.
In 1986 the USA advocated the doctrine of early and forward deployment of naval forces, set out in a policy document entitled ‘The Maritime Strategy’.1 This represented a quantum change from its previous defensive maritime posture to a much more aggressive forward deployment. The new offensive strategy was pushed hard by the Reagan administration, and John Lehman, the Secretary of the US Navy, was one of its chief proponents.2
Defence Policy In 1986 the UK government was desperate to trim money from the defence budget but, at the same instant, anxious to avoid all mention of a defence review at a time when the West was facing an extremely powerful Warsaw Pact. All three services had expensive major equipment programmes. The Defence White Paper stated: ‘We shall need to balance the preservation of the front line against the requirement to invest in expensive new equipment to strengthen the fighting power of our armed forces in the 1990s. Some difficult decisions will have to be taken.’3
Michael Heseltine, who was to be succeeded by George Younger as the Defence Secretary after a high-profile row over the future of Westlands, was a supporter of European collaboration for defence projects. He was keen on the NATO frigate replacement and the EH 101 naval ASW (antisubmarine warfare) helicopter projects. ASW remained an important cornerstone of NATO naval strategy.
Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) In 1986 the menace of the Soviet submarine threat had never been greater. The huge 25,000-ton Typhoon class SSBNs (ballistic missile-carrying nuclear submarines) were already at sea, and the ultramodern Delta IVclass SSBNs were just entering service. The 7,550-ton Sierra class and 10,000-ton Akula class SSKNs (hunter-killer nuclear submarines) were already on patrol, and the 16,000-ton Oscar II class and 8,500-ton Mike class submarines started joining the fleet in 1986. NATO defence planners were most concerned about the threat posed by the huge Soviet submarine fleet.4 ASW had moved centre stage in the Cold War.
THE FLEET
In 1986 the Fleet was still recovering from the setbacks of the Nott defence cuts and the Falklands Campaign, though the government had agreed to replace all the ships lost in Operation Corporate and to reverse the most drastic of the Nott Fleet reductions. With the new carrier Ark Royal having been completed in 1985, all three of the new CVSs (18,000-ton small anti-submarine, VSTOL (vertical short take off and landing) aircraft carriers) were in service. Though the carrier Hermes was still sold to India in 1986, both of the elderly assault ships Fearless and Intrepid were retained, and new destroyers and frigates were entering service. Invincible had just completed a two-year modernisation programme and had been fitted with a 12° ski jump ramp to extend the range of the Harriers.
Major Surface Ships The Fleet, then, consisted of the three light fleet carriers, Invincible, Illustrious and Ark Royal, two assault ships and forty-two escorts (twelve Type 42 and one Type 82 destroyers, six Type 21, seven Type 22, and sixteen Leander class frigates). Four more Type 22 frigates would join the Fleet by 1988, with a further three building.
Type 23 Frigates In addition the first of the brand new 3,500-ton Type 23 Duke class frigates with the 2031Z towed-array sonar were being laid down. Following a considerable debate over the optimum hull shape for the new frigate, between those who favoured a short fat hull and the traditionalists who preferred a long slim ship, sixteen of the new frigates were planned, with a long and relatively narrow hull.
The Submarine Fleet The submarine fleet consisted of the four Resolution class Polaris strategic deterrent nuclear submarines, with their replacement, Vanguard class Trident missile SSBNs building. The fourteen nuclear fleet submarines (SSNs) of the Valiant, Churchill, Swiftsure and Trafalgar classes would be joined by the last four of the Trafalgar class. In addition the Navy still had eleven diesel-electric patrol submarines (SSKs) of the Oberon class, half of which had been completely modernised. Four SSKs of the new Type 2400 Upholder class diesel-electric submarines had been ordered in 1983 and were under construction.
The Type 22 frigate London trailing a Soviet submarine
(NN)
Smaller Vessels The MCM (mine counter-measures) and offshore patrol squadrons consisted of fourteen of the old Ton class, ten of the advanced glass-reinforced-plastic-built Hunt class MCMVs (mine counter-measures vessels) with three more building, and twelve modern River class MCMVs, and also twenty-one patrol vessels. Two patrol vessels, Swallow and Swift, were sold to Ireland in 1988. In addition there were ten survey ships and vessels.
Support Ships Fourteen tankers, with six replenishment ships, six LSLs (landing ships, logistic) and three support ships manned by the RFA (Royal Fleet Auxiliary), supported the Fleet.
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm consisted of the Sea Harrier STOVL (short take off and vertical landing) jets (three squadrons: 800,801 and 899), the Sea King ASW, AEW, SAR and Commando helicopters (nine squadrons: 810,814,819, 820, 824, 826, 845, 846 and 849) and the advanced highspeed multi-purpose Lynx helicopters (two squadrons: 815 and 829), as well as various support and training aircraft. A new helicopter, the EH 101, Merlin, was planned to enter service from the early to mid-1990s.
Royal Marines The Royal Marine Corps consisted of 3 Commando Brigade with 40, 42 and 45 Commandos, together with artillery, logistics, engineering and communications support. The Corps also included the Special Boat Service (SBS).
Command Admiral Sir Julian Oswald commanded the Fleet from his shore headquarters at Northwood, Middlesex (HMS Warrior). The fleet wasdivided into three flotillas. Rear Admiral John Kerr commanded the 1st Flotilla, with a shore-side office in Portsmouth naval base, whilst Rear Admiral Guy Liardet commanded the 2nd Flotilla, with an office in Devonport. Rear Admiral Hugo White commanded the 3rd Flotilla, which consisted of the aircraft carriers, and he also carried the appointment of Commander Anti-Submarine Striking Force.
FIRST SEA LORD
Admiral Sir William Staveley William Staveley was the son of Admiral Staveley and a grandson of Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee, victor of the Battle of the Falkland Islands (1914). He was born in November 1928 and joined the Royal Navy in 1942. He served as Flag Lieutenant to the Commander in Chief Home Fleet in the battleship Vanguard and then in the Royal Yacht before commanding the minesweeper Houghton during the Borneo Campaign and Indonesian Confrontation in 1962–4.
After commanding the Tribal class frigate Zulu he was promoted Captain and became Assistant Director of Naval Plans. In 1972 he took command of the commando carrier Albion, and after appointment as Director Naval Plans he became Flag Officer 2nd Flotilla and then FOCAS (Flag Officer Carriers and Amphibious Ships).
He was appointed Vice Chief of the Naval Staff in 1980 and was thus in the MoD for the Falklands Campaign. He then served as Commander in Chief Fleet from 1982 and spoke out against reductions in defence expenditure at a time when the forces of the Warsaw Pact were greater than ever. He became First Sea Lord in 1985, enabling Admiral Fieldhouse to take up the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff. He retired in 1989 and died of a heart attack eight years later in October 1997, aged sixty-eight.
OPERATIONS AND DEPLOYMENTS, 1986–1989
In 1986 the Royal Navy continued to be fully involved with a range of important commitments around the world, among which the protection of British interests in the Falkland Islands and Antarctica remained a high priority.
The Falkland Islands and Antarctica The protection of British interests in the aftermath of the Falklands War, and the maintenance of a deterrent posture against any possibility of revenge operations, remained high-priority tasks for the Royal Navy. Two destroyers or frigates and three patrol vessels, under the command of the Senior Naval Officer Falkland Islands (SNOFI), had been maintained on station in the waters around the islands.
The ice patrol ship Endurance and the survey ship Herald as well as RFA replenishment ships and tankers and other smaller vessels supported them. The security position was kept under close surveillance, and contingency plans had been prepared for rapid reinforcement by other ships and submarines if the situation ever warranted it.
Admiral Staveley (left) with HRH the Duke of Edinburgh at a White Ensign Association reception
(WEA)
In 1986 the new military airfield at Mount Pleasant on the Falkland Islands had just been opened, making possible a reduction in naval forces by one destroyer or frigate and the Sea King helicopters of 826 Naval Air Squadron, which returned to the UK. Other ships, including the support ships RFAS Reliant and Diligence, also returned to the UK.
Hong Kong In the Far East the Hong Kong Squadron, based at HMS Tamar, consisted of the five new purpose-built 700-ton Peacock class offshore patrol craft, Peacock, Plover, Starling, Swallow and Swift but was reduced to three ships in July 1988 when Swallow and Swift returned to the UK. It carried out guardship duties, including the prevention of smuggling and mass illegal immigration, in conjunction with the Hong Kong Police as part of the Hong Kong garrison.
The 3rd Raiding Squadron Royal Marines (3 RSRM), operating FPCs (fast pursuit craft), reinforced the squadron. It was eventually disbanded on 1 July 1988. Whilst it had been in Hong Kong 3 RSRM had carried out 1,800 patrols, conducted 4,200 boardings, captured sixty-five speedboats, and arrested 954 illegal immigrants and thirty-six criminals.
Gibraltar: Start of Operations Clover and Kingpin Gibraltar Guardship duties were carried out by a small squadron consisting of two patrol craft, Cormorant and Hart, reinforced by a frigate or destroyer as necessary. Frequent incursions into Gibraltar territorial waters by Spanish vessels led to the activation of Operation Clover on 17 April 1986. This was a reinforcement operation carried out by the Type 42 destroyer Exeter, which was deployed in the area until the situation eased, and the operation was terminated on 2 May. On 9 June an MCMV was placed on seven days’ notice to proceed to the area and RAF Phantoms were forward-based in Gibraltar. Operation Clover was re-titled Operation Kingpin on 28 January 1987.
Cyprus Elements of all three services were maintained in Cyprus, as the Sovereign Base Area was essential for the support of peace-keeping operations in the eastern Mediterranean and for support of UN forces in Cyprus and the Lebanon. Support facilities were maintained for warships transiting to and from the Suez Canal.
West Indies and Belize A frigate or destroyer, supported by an RFA tanker, was maintained on station in the Caribbean as the West Indies Guardship (WIGS). The WIGS carried out guardship duties and continued to work closely with the US Coast Guard on anti-drug trafficking operations. She also supported the Belize garrison.
Operation Eschew Civil unrest broke out in the Turks and Caicos Islands in January 1986, and the WIGS frigate, Ariadne, was sent there. She conducted Operation Eschew to provide stability with security patrols in the area from 22 January through to 30 July.
Fishery Protection The Fishery Protection Squadron of thirteen vessels was fully engaged in coastal and offshore policing duties around the United Kingdom.
Armilla Patrol Since the beginning of the Iran–Iraq War the Royal Navy had deployed ships to the region to protect British tankers and international shipping in the Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz. The operation was codenamed Armilla, and the operational patrol was maintained with two ships, destroyers or frigates, constantly on station, supported by an RFA tanker. It was a dangerous task as tankers were frequently attacked by both Iraq and Iran.
Armilla Accomplice In support of Armilla operations a squadron of MCMVs was retained in UK waters at forty-two days’ notice to deploy to the Gulf. They were on standby for mine clearance operations, codenamed Armilla Accomplice, in the vital shipping routes in the Gulf, the Straits of Hormuz and the northern area of the Arabian Sea. It was essential to keep those important international shipping lanes, carrying 42 per cent of the West’s oil supplies, open, and the Royal Navy was still the foremost navy in terms of skill and experience in mine clearance.
Strategic Nuclear Deterrent Throughout the period the Royal Navy maintained the strategic nuclear deterrent, with at least one of the four Polaris SSBNs always on patrol, hidden in the depths of the oceans. In 1987 the submarines Revenge and Repulse completed their refits and, after conducting successful test missile firings, rejoined the deterrent patrol cycle.
Forward ASW Operations With the new emphasis on forward maritime strategy, the Navy’s role was to operate her ASW task groups north of the GRIUK (Greenland-Iceland-Faeroes-UK) Gap, well up into the northern Norwegian Sea, in advance of the main US CBGs (carrier battle groups). Type 42 destroyers and SSNs were deployed even further north, ahead of the ASW task groups. Britain was continuing to provide 70 per cent of the NATO maritime forces in the eastern Atlantic area.5
The Falklands War had demonstrated the importance of distant operational logistics, from tactical support from tankers, and provision of stores and ammunition, to defect rectification and major forward repair, to enable ships to be retained forward-deployed in the area of operations, rather than having to return, possibly through hundreds of miles, to home bases. Previously NATO exercises had concentrated on tactics and joint operational matters rather than logistics.
Forward logistic sites (FLSs) were planned, where helicopters would support deployed ships, and anchorages and alongside berths were available for repair, from Shetland in the UK to the far north at Evenes and Tromso in Norway (a NATO FLS was to be used at Grottaglie in Italy during operations in the Adriatic in 1993).
Anti-submarine warfare hunting group
(RNM)
Air crew prepare fora NATO NBCD exercise
(DD)
The Navy’s four annual advanced operational training exercises, Joint Maritime Courses (JMCs), became more and more complex, with raids of up to a hundred aircraft a day and eight or nine ‘enemy’ submarines, surface attacks and onboard damage control exercises. Nuclear, biological, chemical and defence incidents thoroughly tested the Royal Navy and increasing numbers of NATO ships and aircraft.6
STANAVFORLANT The Royal Navy continued to assign ships to the Standing Naval Force Atlantic of NATO, STANAVFORLANT (or SNFL). With up to eight nations represented, this acted as a tripwire group in times of increasing tension, as all nations participating would be involved if it was attacked. SNFL was regularly deployed far forward during increasing tension, frequently off northern Norway.
Operation Balsac: Aden Evacuation, 15–28 January 1986 On 13 January 1986, in a bid for tribal dominance, most of the members of the Cabinet of South Yemen were massacred on the orders of the President, Nasser el Hassam. A few managed to escape and immediately a civil war erupted between the different tribal factions. The fighting in the city of Aden was ferocious, with over 13,000 casualties and 60,000 refugees fleeing to North Yemen. Foreign nationals were also forced to flee the fighting. Soviet diplomats and military advisers took refuge in a Soviet freighter in the harbour whilst Western nationals fled to the beaches.
The Royal Navy then mounted a dramatic rescue, codenamed Operation Balsac. The Royal Yacht, Britannia, which had been sailing down the Red Sea en route to New Zealand to join HM the Queen, was diverted on 14 January to head at best speed for Aden. In Mombasa the Leander class frigate Jupiter, the Type 42 destroyer Newcastle and the tanker RFA Brambleleaf were ordered to sail for Aden at full speed. The survey vessel Hydra, surveying off the coast of east Africa, and the chartered merchant ship mv Diamond Princess were also ordered to join the group heading for the Gulf of Aden.
On arrival off Aden on 16 January it was clear that serious fighting was taking place in the port, which was under fire from heavy artillery. The airport was also under attack, so evacuation would have to be from the beach at Khormaksar. Communication with the Ambassador in Aden was made through a French destroyer, the fns De Grasse. As the ships arrived off Aden they immediately started rescuing the large numbers of refugees gathering on the beaches. Dramatic pictures were taken of the evacuation from the beaches, with large columns of smoke rising from the burning city in the background7.
Operation Balsac: Aden under attack
(NN)
Operation Balsac: Evacuation from Aden beaches
(NN)
At several stages the evacuation had to be suspended as tanks and artillery fought close by with shells landing on the beach and sea close to rescue boats. 1,082 refugees were eventually rescued by Britannia, and as they were brought to safety the Royal Marine band on board played music to calm them. The refugees were then transported to the port of Djibouti. In total 1,379 civilians of fifty-five nations were rescued by Operation Balsac.8
The Gulf of Sidra and Operation Cert, 21–25 April 1986
In the spring of 1986 the eastern Mediterranean had become more dangerous as a result of increasing terrorist activity, which Western intelligence firmly indicated was supported by the Libyan regime of Colonel Gaddafi. Libyan terrorists were also found to be assisting the IRA (Irish Republican Army). Against international law, Gaddafi had earlier laid claim to the entire Gulf of Sidra (formerly the Gulf of Sirte), which for many years had been the area used by the American 6th Fleet for training and live firings, as it was well clear of the main shipping and air routes across the Mediterranean. Under orders from President Carter the US Navy had withdrawn from the Gulf of Sidra at the time, but later, following the election of Ronald Reagan as President on 20 January 1981, US defence policy changed and it was decided to stand up to Gaddafi.
The ‘Gulf of Sirte Incident’ The American 6th Fleet then returned to the Gulf of Sidra in 1981, and several clashes took place between US naval aircraft and the Libyan Air Force.9 An early incident occurred on 19 August 1981 when two Libyan Air Force Su-22 fighters attacked two F-14 Tomcat fighters from the American carrier USS Nimitz. The Libyan aircraft launched Soviet AA-2 heat-seeking air-to-air missiles and were then shot down by the F-14s using AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles. The brief ‘dogfight’, a dangerous ‘hot moment’ in the Cold War, became known as the ‘Gulf of Sirte Incident’ and formed the background to a popular American film about naval fighter pilots entitled Top Gun.10
US Operation Attain Document III, 22 March 1986 Following a series of terrorist attacks on US citizens in Germany, Egypt, Rome and Vienna the 6th Fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Frank Keslo on board his flagship the USS Coranado, entered the Gulf of Sidra on 22 March 1986 for Operation Attain Document III.11 The operation involved the US carriers Coral Sea, America and Saratoga, escorted by the Aegis cruisers Ticonderoga and Yorktown, for fleet manoeuvres and exercises. The Libyan Air Force of over 500 Soviet-and French-built aircraft was brought to alert, but following experience with previous naval exercises when all attempted air strikes were repulsed, Gaddafi ordered his aircraft to remain out of range of the US Navy. Instead, as soon as US aircraft came within range of his land-based surface-to-air missile sites he ordered them to engage. The Aegis-equipped cruisers tracked the SA-5 missiles and all were evaded by counter-measures. US A-7 Corsair aircraft struck back and knocked out the Libyan SAM (surface-to-air missile) sites.
The final attack that day came from three missile-armed fast-attack craft of the Libyan Navy. These were quickly destroyed by A-6 Intruder attack aircraft from the US carriers. On 27 March the Pentagon called off the operation and ordered the fleet out of the Gulf of Sidra, thus allowing Gaddafi to declare victory and recommence terrorist attacks.
HMS Archer
P2000 Archer Class Fast Patrol Boat
The versatile Archer class fast patrol boats were built primarily for training with Royal Naval and Royal Marine Reserve and university units, but they are also used as search and rescue craft and for other fleet tasks. Some have been armed and deployed as patrol craft and guard boats to Gibraltar and Cyprus.
Launched: |
25 June 1985 |
Commissioned: |
1985 |
Displacement: |
40 tonnes |
Length: |
20m |
Propulsion: |
2 Perkins CVM 800T diesels, 2 shafts |
Armament: |
Can be fitted with 1 20mm AA gun and a number of 7.62mm GPMGs |
Complement: |
13 |
No. in class: |
18 |
US Operation El Dorado Canyon, 15 April 1986 After the retreat of the US 6th Fleet, terrorist attacks against Western targets intensified. Thanks to intelligence intercepts many attacks were defeated, but on 5 April a nightclub in West Berlin was bombed, killing US servicemen, and three days later a US TWA flight from Rome was blown up, killing more Americans.
The United States retaliated on 15 April with Operation El Dorado Canyon,12 in which it launched bombing strikes on five military targets (terrorist training centres, military airfields and intelligence centres) in Tripoli and Benghazi. The raids were carried out by fifteen A-6 Intruder all-weather attack aircraft from the US carriers America and Coral Sea bombing the Benghazi targets, and by eighteen US Air Force F-111 attack aircraft bombing the Tripoli targets. The F-111s from the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing flew from their Lakenheath RAF base in Suffolk in the UK, but as most European countries did not wish to become involved and denied authority for them to enter their air space the bombers had to fly out over the Atlantic and then via Gibraltar into the Mediterranean.
The USA had requested assistance from Europe, but all countries except for the UK refused. After Britain was approached the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, declared, ‘It was inconceivable to me that we should refuse United States aircraft and pilots the opportunity to defend their people … it would be ridiculous to refuse it.’ The assistance rendered by the Americans during the Falklands crisis and the fact that Libyan terrorists were aiding the IRA may have helped influence the decision taken by the British government.
The F-111s had to fly 2,800 miles with four in-flight refuelling stages during their seven-hour flights, which were modelled on the RAF Black Buck operations during the Falklands Campaign. The Libyan targets were heavily defended, with over 3,000 Soviet air defence technicians manning the air defence radars and missile sites, but the 6th Fleet, with its advanced and highly sophisticated electronic warfare suppression equipment, managed to neutralise them and only one F-111 was lost.
The Lockerbie Bomb Although the raid was a total success from a military point of view in the fight against terrorism, politically it was highly controversial, and Britain, because of her direct involvement, came under a certain amount of international criticism. It was probably a contributory factor in the Lockerbie bombing on 21 December 1988, when a Pan American World Airways airliner en route from Britain to the United States was blown up over Scotland by a terrorist bomb. All 258 passengers on board Pan Am Flight 103 were killed, and a further eleven people on the ground also died. It was Britain’s worst air disaster. A Libyan, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, was eventually convicted for perpetrating the atrocity.
Operation Cert, 21–25 April 1986 Shortly after the attack on Libya the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was on passage back to the UK after the royal tour of New Zealand, was approaching the Mediterranean and there were fears for her safety. She transited through the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean on 19 April, sailing north-west for Crete with RAF Phantoms flying CAPs (combat air patrols) overhead. It was a very sensitive time for a high-profile and vulnerable target to be passing within striking range of the Libyan coast, particularly after the involvement of the UK in providing bases for the US bombing raid. Some thirteen years earlier Gaddafi had ordered a submarine in the Libyan Navy to attack the liner Queen Elizabeth II when it was in the Mediterranean on a chartered cruise to Israel to commemorate Israel’s twenty-fifth anniversary. Fortunately the submarine, which was commanded by Egyptian officers, refused to carry out the attack and promptly sailed to Alexandria to report to President Sadat.
On 21 April the Royal Navy, taking no chances, implemented Operation Cert to protect the Royal Yacht. Close escort was provided by the destroyer Southampton and the frigates Brazen and Aurora. RAF aircraft from Cyprus provided air cover and, for part of the westbound transit, US naval aircraft operating from the carrier USS America provided additional fighter cover.
The ships sailed steadily west with air-defence watches closed up in the operations rooms, reminiscent of the Malta convoy escorts in World War II. By 25 April the group was well clear of any threat from Libya and air-defence watches were stood down. Operation Cert was successfully completed.13
The Global 86 Deployment (Task Group 318.4), 3 April – 18 December 1986
In 1986 Rear Admiral Robin Hogg, FOF2 (Flag Officer 2nd Flotilla), led a task group on a deployment to the Far East on an eight-month ‘westabout circumnavigation’ named Global 86. His flagship was the carrier Illustrious, and the rest of Task Group 318.4 consisted of the Type 42 destroyer Manchester, the Type 22 frigate Beaver and the Type 21 frigate Amazon. The fleet tanker RFA Olmeda, the support tanker RFA Bayleaf and the fleet replenishment ship RFA Fort Grange supported the Task Group. Attached to the group for the initial stages of the deployment and ASW exercises in the Pacific was the nuclear-powered fleet submarine Swiftsure.
Fire in Illustrious The Task Group sailed from Portsmouth on 3 April but sadly, on the first night out, Illustrious suffered a serious fire in her forward gearing room and the group was forced to return to Portsmouth. Inspection of the damage revealed that it would take quite some time to repair, and the decision was taken for the rest of the Task Group to sail on without her.
Flag Transfer to Beaver Admiral Hogg decided to transfer his flag to Beaver and the frigate was manoeuvred alongside Illustrious. It was not an easy operation, but when Beaver was firmly secured alongside the carrier the staff of FOF1 and all the staff baggage were transferred across to the new flagship. Beaver was a 4,200-ton ‘stretched’ Batch 2 Type 22 frigate with a more advanced weapon fit and a sophisticated towed-array sonar system. She was well equipped to act as flagship for the deployment. The group was then divided into Task Unit 318.4.1 (Illustrious and RFA Olmeda) and Task Unit 318.4.2, which consisted of the remainder of the group.
The Task Group Sails The Global 86 Task Group then finally sailed from Portsmouth, together with the outgoing Gulf patrol ships, the destroyer Southampton and the frigate Brazen, supported by the tanker RFA Brambleleaf. The ships sailed in company on 14 April and, having rounded the Isle of Wight, headed west down the Channel, with the rest of the group joining from Devonport en route. When the ships arrived off the Portuguese coast they parted company, with the Gulf Squadron heading for Gibraltar and the Mediterranean whilst the Global 86 Task Group altered course to the south-west, sailing across the Atlantic.
The West Indies After a brief visit to St Lucia the ships sailed on to La Guaira, the port of Caracas, arriving on 28 April. On sailing from La Guaira it made for the Panama Canal, transiting through the canal on 6 May.
In the Pacific Once in the Pacific the group rendezvoused with RFA Olmeda and the submarine Swiftsure, which had rounded Cape Horn the previous month. The opportunity was taken to conduct important ASW exercises with the fleet submarine, the ASW Sea King helicopters of 814 NAS (Naval Air Squadron) in RFA Fort Grange and the excellent towed-array sonar system in Beaver.
Defence Sales On completion of the ASW exercises the group split into two units, with Captain Richard Hastilow in Manchester leading Amazon and RFA Bayleaf first to San Francisco and then on to Vancouver, where he conducted receptions and defence sales open days. Meanwhile the other ships headed for Acapulco on the Mexican coast and then went on to San Diego in southern California for similar receptions and defence sales exhibitions. After successful and enjoyable visits the ships prepared for the important RIMPAC exercise.
Exercise RIMPAC The major Pacific naval exercise codenamed RIMPAC was an important multi-national exercise involving five nations, the UK, USA, Canada, Japan and Australia. Starting at the end of May, it lasted three weeks and involved 50,000 men, fifty ships and over 250 aircraft. One of the strong points of the exercise was the fact that it was unscripted, allowing free play so that ships had to be fully alert, testing equipment under real-time conditions.
Dominance in ASW An important element of the exercise was ASW, and it was in that area that the Royal Navy was able to demonstrate that in its procedures and experience it was way ahead of the other navies. It was also an opportunity for the Royal Navy to show that its sophisticated towed-array sonar system in Beaver was a world-beater and certainly well in advance of any of the US Navy sonar systems.
Pearl Harbor After three weeks of constant exercises the ships sailed into Pearl Harbor for exercise debriefing and staff analysis, which allowed the ships’ companies to take some well-earned rest and recreation. Having completed the ASW phase of the deployment, Swiftsure detached from the group and sailed for the return passage to the UK. The group then sailed on 17 June for live missile firings on the weapon ranges of the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
Global 86 in the Pacific
(NN)
The Type 21 frigate Amazon, uncharacteristically making smoke
(NP)
Illustrious Meanwhile back in the UK Illustrious had, at long last, completed her repairs and after satisfactory trials and testing was preparing to sail. Finally on 21 July she sailed from Portsmouth and headed out to join the Global 86 Task Group. After completing weapons trials on her run south, the carrier called into Gibraltar for a brief two-day visit. She sailed on 28 July and transited east across the Mediterranean before passing down the Suez Canal on 4 August. Turning out into the Gulf of Aden, Illustrious headed due east for a swift passage across the Indian Ocean to Singapore to meet up with the Task Group.
Across the Pacific into Typhoon ‘Peggy’ After completing all exercises with the US Navy, the group set off on the long voyage west across the vast Pacific Ocean. As the ships headed west they ran straight into Typhoon ‘Peggy’ and for several days could make very little headway into the huge seas and winds created by it. Eventually the ships arrived on the other side of the Pacific and split up for port visits, with Beaver and RFAS Fort Grange and Olmeda sailing north-west to Pusan in South Korea and Manchester and Amazon sailing due west to Shanghai.
Defence Sales Delegates from sixteen leading UK export industries joined the ships in Shanghai for a major sales exhibition promoting British goods. It was a popular event well attended by regional buyers and clearly showed the interest in British export goods.
Hong Kong The ships then sailed to rendezvous together in Hong Kong, with the first ships, the Manchester group, arriving on 13 July. En route RFA Bayleaf diverted to rescue the crew of a cargo ship, the ss Hwai Lie, which was sinking in heavy seas. The rest of the group, with Beaver, conducted a night exercise with the Hong Kong Squadron before entering harbour on 18 July.
Singapore On sailing from Hong Kong the group steamed south, with Beaver making for Brunei for another defence exports day. The group then arrived in Singapore for a middeployment maintenance period. FMGs (fleet maintenance groups) from Portsmouth and Devonport flew out to Singapore to carry out the necessary defect rectification and maintenance schedules. On 18 August Illustrious sailed up Johore Strait and into Singapore naval base after her twenty-five-day‘dash’ from Portsmouth. The next day the ‘flag’ was transferred from Beaver back to the flagship, Illustrious.
Exercise Starfish On 21 August the Task Group sailed from Singapore to take part in the FPDA (Five-Power Defence Arrangement) exercise Starfish off the coast of Malaysia. The exercise involved the navies of Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Singapore and was carried out in the sea area above the war graves of the World War II capital ships Prince of Wales and Repulse. The Sea Harriers of 800 NAS made a valuable contribution to the success of the exercise.
Australian Fleet Review, 4 October 1986 After exercise Starfish the group sailed for visits to Port Kelang in Malaysia, Jakarta, Fiji and Tonga before heading south for Australian waters. The ships then split up to carry out a series of twelve individual Australian port visits as part of the Australian seventy-fifth anniversary celebrations. The culmination of the celebrations was to be a Fleet Review, and on 29 September Illustrious, leading the entire Task Group, entered Sydney harbour. In Sydney the group joined up with twenty-two other warships from six navies, and all sailed for the Australian Fleet Review on 4 October. HRH the Duke of Edinburgh was embarked on board Illustrious for the review.
The Return West After the review and the many celebrations, which formed the highlight of the Global 86 deployment, the ships prepared for the final exercises and port visits before the long voyage back to the UK. They left Sydney on 13 October to take part in exercise Croweater, which lasted a week. Then after a final visit to Fremantle at the end of October the group steamed west across the Indian Ocean before passing the Maldives and sailing up into the Arabian Sea for Mumbai (Bombay).
Exercise Saif Sareea, 16 November – 8 December 1986 After a brief two-day visit to Mumbai the Task Group sailed on 16 November to join up with the Omani Navy and take part in exercise ‘Saif Sareea’ (‘Shining Sword’) off the coast of Oman. This was a large-scale rapid amphibious deployment exercise outside the NATO area, for which the Task Group was joined by an amphibious task group (ATG) including the assault ship Intrepid with 40 Commando Royal Marines embarked, escorted by the destroyer Nottingham and the frigate Andromeda and supported by RFAS Orangeleaf and Olmeda. The exercise ended at the beginning of December and the group sailed for the Red Sea.
Back to the UK, 18 December 1986 The ships transited through the Suez Canal on 7 December and after a short stop in Gibraltar sailed for the last leg of the deployment. Finally the group arrived back in the Channel, with the Devonport ships sailing into Plymouth on 18 December and the rest of the group sailing back into Portsmouth the next day. It had been a very successful deployment during which the Task Force had covered over 42,000 miles and visited twenty-five countries, building many contacts and sales opportunities as well as promoting British standing and interests in the Far East.
Exercise Autumn Train, October–November 1986 On 13 October 1986 FOF2, Rear Admiral Liardet, in his flagship, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, led a powerful task group out into the South-West Approaches. The group consisted of the destroyer Bristol, the frigates Broadsword, Ambuscade, Arethusa and Andromeda, the nuclear submarine Superb and the patrol submarine Onyx, and was supported by RFAS Green Rover and Black Rover. The Task Group deployed for the major maritime exercise Autumn Train, conducting a series of live weapon firings as the ships headed south in the Atlantic. On completion of the exercise the ships steamed into Gibraltar for a break before sailing for a visit to Lisbon and then returning to the UK.
Cold War Submarine Incidents
Towards the end of 1986 several dangerous and dramatic incidents at sea, involving nuclear submarines, served as reminders of the extreme dangers faced by submarines during the Cold War.
Global 86 Task Group at sea
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Nuclear Missile Accident: SSBN K-219, October 1986 On 3 October the Soviet Yankee class SSBN K-219 was on patrol in the north-west Atlantic off Bermuda when she suffered an explosion in her missile compartment caused by igniting missile fuel and a serious fire broke out. The situation was extremely dangerous, as nuclear missiles could have ‘cooked off’ and been launched against targets on the US mainland. Many major towns and cities were well within the missile range of K-219. An SSN of the US Navy, the USS Augusta, which was tailing the Soviet submarine at the time, witnessed events. Eventually the fires were brought under control, though not before three of the Soviet crew had perished. The K-219 finally sank off Bermuda on 6 October. (The incident was later portrayed in an American film, Hostile Waters.14)
Submarine Operations at the Pole, June 1987 A happier submarine event occurred during June 1987 when the nuclear fleet submarine Superb, commanded by Commander Jeff Collins, was conducting special operations with US submarines beneath the Arctic ice cap. The submarines were testing new underwater tactics and equipment.
Submarine operations and tactics beneath the polar ice cap were important, as submarines were safe there from being detected by aircraft, surface ships or seabed surveillance systems. They also had protection against detection from other submarines thanks to the considerable underwater noise generated by the movement of the pack ice as well as the mixing layers of salt and fresh water, which impeded sonar sensors. This made the Pole an ideal area for Soviet ballistic missile submarines to deploy and hide in, hence the importance of developing Polar anti-submarine tactics.
At one stage during the joint US-UK operations Superb surfaced through the ice together with two US submarines, the Billfish and the Sea Devil. It was the first time that British and US submarines had surfaced together through the ice cap and provided an excellent photo opportunity.
1987 Caribtrain Deployment, 12 January – 9 April 1987 On 12 January Rear Admiral Liardet (FOF2) in his flagship, the carrier Ark Royal, led a powerful task group across the Atlantic for a three-month Caribtrain deployment to the West Indies. The Task Group included the Type 82 destroyer Bristol and the Type 42 destroyers Southampton and Liverpool. It joined the US Navy for fleet exercises on the US fleet’s weapon ranges. The Sea Harriers from Ark Royal carried out live bombing missions on the Puerto Rico ranges and the ships carried out live missile firings. The Task Group used the new Petrel target missile, which performed well under live firing conditions and impressed the US Navy. The Task Group then participated in exercise Punish before returning east across the Atlantic, arriving back in the UK on 9 April.
The Ongoing Iran–Iraq War in the Gulf
Changes to the Armilla Patrol in 1987 The protection of shipping in the Gulf during the Iran–Iraq war was a constant and at times dangerous task for the ships of the Armilla Patrol. In view of the increasing dangers to international shipping it was decided at the beginning of 1987 that the two ships on Armilla Patrol duties would spend more time in the Gulf, west of the Straits of Hormuz, to reassure British merchant shipping in the area. Every week many British merchant ships were escorted through the Straits of Hormuz. Both the Iranians and the Iraqis frequently launched antiship missiles as well as carrying out air strikes. According to US assessments the Iraqis had carried out over 130 attacks on shipping by the beginning of the year, whilst the Iranians had launched some seventy attacks.
To release the Armilla ships to spend more time on task in the Gulf it was decided to send a third ship to the Indian Ocean. This commitment took up a total of six destroyers or frigates either in the Gulf region or en route to, or from, the Gulf. Both British ship owners and unions expressed their gratitude to the Royal Navy for the tremendous reassurance and assistance they provided in the region.
Attack on the USS Stark, 17 May 1987 The Royal Navy worked closely with the US 5th Fleet, never knowing when they might be on the receiving end of indiscriminate attacks mounted on shipping by both sides. The attack on the US frigate USS Stark was a ‘stark’ reminder of the dangers which the ships faced.
On 17 May 1987 the USS Stark was underway some eighty miles north-east of Bahrain when she picked up an incoming aircraft on her radar and interrogated it. The aircraft was an Iranian Exocet-armed Mirage F-1 searching for a tanker to attack. Having identified a surface contact, the F-1 launched two Exocet missiles at a range of twenty miles. Both missiles, similar to those which sank Sheffield in the Falklands Campaign, hit the USS Stark, one exploding. The frigate was severely damaged and thirty-seven of her crew were killed instantly. The Stark was given a lot of assistance from allied ships in the area, including the frigates Broadsword and Active. Eventually the raging fires were brought under control and the badly damaged frigate was able to sail back to the USA. Following the air attack it was decided to reinforce the air-defence equipment of the Armilla Patrol ships with additional close-range surface-to-air missiles.
The situation in the Gulf now became more dangerous, and on 20 July 1987 the United Nations Security Council demanded that Iraq and Iran agree to a cease-fire. This was not acceptable to Iran, which as well as making more progress in the war than Iraq demanded recognition as the aggrieved party.
Operation Cimnel, 12 August 1987 The mines laid haphazardly at sea by Iran and Iraq posed a serious hazard to international shipping, and in late July a 400,000-ton tanker, the Bridgeton, struck a mine in the northern Gulf. The US authorities requested assistance from the Royal Navy in mine-clearing operations in the Gulf. The 4th MCMV Squadron had been held on standby in the UK for deployment to the Gulf for just such an eventuality under Operation Armilla Accomplice.
Initially Britain refused the request, being anxious to avoid becoming too closely involved with either side in the Gulf War, but eventually it was decided that the increased threat posed by mines to British shipping justified a response. Accordingly the decision was taken to activate Operation Armilla Accomplice, now renamed Operation Cimnel, and deploy the 4th MCMV Squadron to the Gulf as quickly as possible.
The squadron of four Hunt class MCMVs, Brecon, Brocklesby, Bicester and Hurworth, supported by Abdiel and the fleet replenishment ship RFA Regent, sailed from Rosyth on 12 August. The next day the forward repair ship RFA Diligence, off the Falkland Islands, was ordered to sail for the Gulf to support the operation.
The Operation Cimnel Squadron arrived in Oman on 14 September and began its mine-hunting tasks in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. It did not take the MCMVs long to find and start clearing mines; in one operation in October Brecon discovered a mine 300 feet down on the sea bed, and after destroying it found four more, which she also destroyed. By the end of November the Royal Navy had cleared five mines off Fujayrah and a further five off Qatar.
In September 1987 both the Royal Navy and the US Navy deployed more warships to the Gulf. The two navies continued to work very closely together over the important and highly dangerous task of escorting ships through the Straits of Hormuz and in the Gulf. Particularly vulnerable were tankers carrying oil, and the Iranians were using every means possible to interdict any tankers thought to be carrying oil from Iraq or Kuwait. The Iraqis responded and in one incident destroyed a 75,000-ton tanker anchored in Bandar Abbas.
On 21 September an Iranian gunboat in the Gulf of Kuwait attacked the British tanker Gentle Breeze. A few hours later the Americans caught an Iranian landing craft, the ins Iran Ajr, laying mines further south and attacked her. The US frigate USS Jarret then closed in and sank her with gunfire.
On 8 October the US Navy sank three Iranian patrol boats which had fired on US aircraft. The Iranians retaliated eight days later by attacking the tanker Sea Isle City with a shore-launched Silk Worm missile. The Americans responded in turn on 19 October, attacking two sea platforms that were being used to co-ordinate Iranian attacks. The US Navy destroyers John Young, Leftwich, Hoel and Kidd destroyed the platforms with gunfire. Three days later the Iranians launched an attack on Kuwait’s Sea Island oil terminal.
Royal Navy warships accompanied merchant shipping transiting through the Straits of Hormuz whenever possible, with up to three transits a day being accompanied by a frigate or destroyer. Transits by US shipping were normally confined to a weekly US national convoy, which was usually escorted by two or three warships. Iranian aircraft were especially dangerous: armed Iranian aircraft were taking off from Bandar Abbas and flying attack profiles directly against allied warships, breaking off only when acquired by Sea Dart search radar and air-defence systems. All ships passing through the Straits of Hormuz were at most four minutes away from several Iranian anti-ship missile sites. This situation necessitated ships remaining closed up at action stations albeit slightly relaxed, for sixteen to eighteen hours a day, reverting to defence watches only when well clear of the straits. It was also necessary for ships to be prepared for chemical attack, as both Iran and Iraq had chemical weapons, and Iraq had already used hers. British-built Iranian corvettes also took part in attacks on shipping.
Attacks on shipping continued throughout the rest of the year, and official UN statistics showed eighty-seven Iranian strikes on ships in the Gulf and seventy-six Iraqi ship attacks. Meanwhile on land the war was turning in favour of the Iranians as their troops pushed further into Iraqi territory north of Basra.15
Soviet submarines, particularly SSBNs, could exploit the Arctic ice cap as a sanctuary and thus for the first time the Royal Navy conducted a series of test torpedo firings under the ice of the Beaufort Sea to the north of Alaska. Turbulent (Commander Ian Richards) and Superb (Commander John Tuckett) participated. The firings took place about 120 miles north-east of Prudhoe Bay at an ice station and tracking range set up by the University of Washington State – the Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS). The firings were part of a series of joint US-UK tests involving the participation of two other SSNs, USS Lapon and USS Silversides.
APLIS had been set up on first year ice on a frozen polyna (stretch of open water), which offered both a flat area as a landing strip and uniform ice thickness to recover the torpedoes through. Its tracking range, fixed onto the ice, had the complexity of drift of up to four miles a day and a slow anticlockwise rotation. During the tests there was a bit of excitement with the formation of a large polyna, which took a chunk out of the end of the landing strip.
After being fired the torpedoes were recovered from under the ice by a combination of divers and helicopter. They were then shipped by light aircraft to Prudhoe airfield where a team of Coulport Depot civilians undertook post-firing routines before the weapons were airlifted back to Anchorage by RAF Hercules.
Never before had RN SSNs penetrated so far under the Arctic pack. To reach APLIS they had undertaken a passage of over 1,500 miles under the ice but it was somewhat daunting that their only exit route to reach open water was the same passage back. With their limited under ice sonar capability there was no prospect of our SSNs making transit to the closest open water down through the narrow and shallow Bering Straits, with the likely presence of ice canyons, which reached to the seabed.
Under-Ice Torpedo Firings HMS Turbulent (March 1988)
Any serious propulsion or engineering problem deep under the ice pack would, of course be compounded by the inability to surface without the delay incurred in locating thin ice or open water. In event of an SSN losing propulsion under the ice, the contingency plan to dig it out presumed that it was able to successfully send a distress signal and that it could be located.
On its arrival at APLIS Turbulent reported a serious problem with its oxygen making electrolysers and having had to fall back to burning oxygen candles, needed a replenishment of these urgently. Indeed having penetrated the pack ice, Turbulent’s CO had made the courageous decision to press on to APLIS past the point of no return in terms of having enough oxygen candles to return south out of the ice. The oxygen candle replenishment was organised with some degree of ingenuity and arguably the most unconventional replenishment at sea (RAS) ever, took place with Turbulent undertaking an unprogrammed surfacing in a polyna. However, this was the only serious problem on the part of our SSNs in what was to be an almost flawless series of firings and evaluations.
On reaching APLIS from the Pacific through the Bering Strait, the San Diego based USS Lapon conducted a number of under ice surfacing tests. A few minutes after the SSN made its first surfacing it was overflown by two Soviet ‘Bear’ reconnaissance aircraft at very low altitude pursued by two USAF F-15s, very much emphasising the Cold War environment the operation was taking place in.
Turbulent and Superb fired a total of 16 Tigerfish weapons, all of which were successfully recovered. Most of the firings were conducted with each submarine alternating as targets although some weapon runs were against static targets. The weapons performed extremely well in the Arctic conditions and American observers were impressed by both their solid performance and their precision guidance, which enabled them to be parked under suitable flat, thin ice at the end of their run.
At about 1,000 feet or more the underwater visibility was exceptional, thus aiding weapon recovery. The recovery routine consisted of creating two plugs in the ice, one for a diver the other for the torpedo. Once the diver had attached a harness to the weapon it was pulled out of the ice by helicopter. Perhaps surprisingly no weapon was seriously damaged although at least one had to be recovered from underneath ice rubble about 20 feet thick.
The 1988 under ice Tigerfish firings were in many ways a very remarkable achievement and firmly demonstrated the RN SSN’s capability to successfully engage submarines under the Arctic ice pack. In particular the crews of Turbulent and Superb performed exceptionally well in the very challenging environment of the deep ice pack, demonstrating great professionalism in very competently conducting an especially unique series of torpedo firings which firmly put the Royal Navy on a par with the USN in terms of under-ice warfare.
Captain Dan Couley OBE RN
Interception of the Eksund, 30 October 1987 In 1987 Libya had resumed supplying arms to the IRA, and various surveillance operations had been undertaken to stop the arms smugglers. Assistance was received from the French Navy in late October when it carried out an operation tracking a Panamanian-flagged ship, the Eksund, from the Mediterranean and across the Bay of Biscay. On 30 October, when the ship was off the coast of Brittany, the French Navy intercepted it and discovered that the cargo contained 150 tons of arms destined for the IRA. These included twenty surface-to-air missiles, machine guns, anti-tank grenade launchers, over 1,000 Kalashnikov AK-47s and large quantities of explosives; all of which were impounded. The successful operation was a tribute to the co-operation and good relations between the Royal Navy and the French Navy. The loss was a blow to the IRA but did not stop its campaign of violence: on 8 November an IRA bomb in Enniskillen slaughtered eleven people at a Remembrance Day parade. Four months later an IRA active service unit planned to attack a military band in Gibraltar by detonating a car bomb. The band was due to play at the weekly changing of the guard ceremony at the residence of the Governor, Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Terry, on 6 March 1988. An SAS (Special Air Service) team carried out Operation Flavius, shooting the IRA unit, which it believed to be on the point of detonating the bomb, and preventing the attack.
Operation Purple Warrior, November 1987 In November the Royal Navy mounted Operation Purple Warrior, the biggest single maritime operation conducted by British forces since the Falklands Campaign. The exercise involved thirty-nine ships, including the aircraft carriers Illustrious and Ark Royal, and the assault ship Intrepid. The basic scenario involved the evacuation of refugees from Scottish islands, including the Mulls of Kintyre and Galloway and the Isle of Arran, and embodied many of the ideas derived from Operation Corporate. The evacuation was followed by a phase of amphibious operations as well as other elements designed to test various aspects of maritime warfare.
Under-Ice Torpedo Firings
HMS Turbulent, March 1988 Early in 1988 the nuclear-powered fleet submarines Turbulent and Superb sailed across the North Atlantic on a secret mission to the Beaufort Sea to test the capability of the Royal Navy’s Tigerfish ASW torpedo in an under-ice environment(see opposite).16
End of the Iran–Iraq War, August 1988
At the beginning of 1988 the Iranians still had the upper hand in the Iran–Iraq War. The Iranian Army was besieging and shelling Basra in the south, pushing through the mountains towards Kirkuk and mounting an offensive further north, which advanced as far as Dukan, capturing 4,000 Iraqi troops. At sea the war against shipping by both sides, continued to necessitate constant protection by British and US warships. In the second half of 1987 the Royal Navy had deployed the Type 42 destroyer Edinburgh, the Type 22 frigate Brazen and the Leander class frigate Andromeda in the region, maintaining the Armilla Patrol in the Gulf, Straits of Hormuz and Arabian Sea. Almost all British-flagged tankers had to be accompanied by a frigate or destroyer in the more dangerous stretches of the main shipping routes.
RFA Diligence In 1988 the forward repair ship RFA Diligence was based in Djebel Ali, one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. A guarded section of the jetty was used as a depot. RFA Diligence acted as a logistics and forward operating base for three Hunt class minehunters, Middleton, Atherstone and Dulverton, a Belgian and a Netherlands minehunter and Herald. A naval party (NP 1600) of up to ninety technical rates and others lived in basic accommodation on board Diligence and provided the necessary maintenance and support for coalition forces.17
The Iraqi Offensive and Chemical Warfare In February Iraq commenced missile attacks on Iranian cities in the north, and when the Iranians responded with attacks on Baghdad the Iraqis launched long-range Soviet-made Scud missiles at Tehran (Iraq fired over 200 missiles at Iranian cities). The following month the Iraqis launched chemical weapons against Halabla, killing over 4,000 people, and on 16 April the Iraqis used chemical weapons again to drive the Iranians back across the Shatt al Arab waterway and recapture the strategically important Al Faw Peninsula. They also engaged Iranian naval units, sinking several warships.
Mines in the Gulf On 14 April the US frigate USS Samuel B Roberts, escorting a tanker in the northern Gulf, suffered severe damage when she ran into a minefield on the Shal Allum Shoal. The crew just managed to keep the crippled frigate afloat, and after emergency repairs she was transported back to America on a heavy-lift ship. The MCMVs of Operation Cimnel were quickly deployed to the Shal Allum Shoal and cleared the area of mines, rendering it safe for continued use by shipping.
Operation Praying Mantis Two days later the Joint Task Force Middle East launched an offensive against the Iranian Navy in the northern Gulf, codenamed Operation Praying Mantis. Three naval task units were formed, of which two carried out attacks on two Iranian command platforms whilst the third Task Unit sought to engage the Iranian missile-armed frigate the Sabalan. The naval task units managed to destroy the command platforms, with the loss of one Cobra attack helicopter. An Iranian fast attack craft, the Joshan, armed with Harpoon anti-shipping missiles, attacked one of the task units and was then sunk with forty-four casualties. The Iranians next launched air attacks on the task units with Phantom strike aircraft and made further attacks with fast attack craft, all of which were fought off. The Iranians followed up the attacks with surface-to-surface missiles launched from the frigates Sahand and Sabalan. US ships and aircraft from the strike carrier USS Enterprise promptly engaged both frigates and knocked them out.18 The Iranian losses did not appear to deter the Iranian Navy, which continued its attacks on shipping. The day after the Iranian frigates were knocked out another Iranian warship opened fire on a British tanker, the 113,000-ton York Marine, though fortunately it inflicted little damage. In May the frigate Boxer went to the aid of a Danish supertanker, the Karame Maersk, which had been attacked by an Iranian gunboat in the Straits of Hormuz and set on fire.19
Operation Calendar II, 1 July 1988 The MCMVs of Operation Cimnel had continued their important work of clearing mines in the Gulf throughout the hostilities. The ocean survey ship Herald had relieved Abdiel as the support ship, with Abdiel returning to the UK to pay off after twenty-one years of service. Following the success of combined clearance operations with Dutch and Belgian MCMVs, the Cimnel operation was revised to incorporate the valuable experience and a joint MCM task unit was formed under British command on 1 July 1988. The codename of the operation was changed to Operation Calendar II (Operation Calendar having been the name of the allied minesweeping force in the Scheldt during World War II).
Chemical Warfare On land the Iraqis intensified their chemical weapon attacks, launching fresh offensives across all fronts at the end of May. Using chemical munitions, bombs and shells, the Iraqis captured town after town, regaining all the areas they had previously lost and advancing well into Iranian territory.
The USS Vincennes Incident, 3 July 1988 A tragic event occurred on 3 July when a US AEGIS cruiser (AEGIS being a modern sophisticated air-defence system), the USS Vincennes, was attacked by Iranian fast attack craft. As she was manoeuvring to evade the Iranian gunboats the Vincennes picked up an incoming fast jet on her radar, which had taken off from Bandar Abbas. When challenged the aircraft did not respond, and immediately the Vincennes launched two surface-to-air missiles, destroying the aircraft, which turned out to be an Iranian airliner on Iranair Flight 655. All 290 people on board were killed. The Commanding Officer of the USS Vincennes must have remembered the incident a year earlier when the Commanding Officer of the USS Stark held back from shooting down an incoming unidentified jet aircraft which subsequently launched its Exocet missiles, killing thirty-seven members of her crew.
Cease-Fire Having previously rejected UN Resolution 598, calling for a cease-fire in the Iran–Iraq War, the Iranians at last announced on 18 July that they would accept the resolution, and on 20 August the cease-fire finally came into effect. Both sides were war-weary after eight years of fighting in which nearly a million Iranians were killed and over 100,000 Iraqis perished.
HMS Southampton Despite the cease-fire, British and US warships continued to protect tankers in the dangerous waters of the Gulf region. There was a threat that either side might try and take advantage of the cease-fire to launch a surprise attack. On 4 September the destroyer Southampton was providing close escort to a British tanker when the two ships collided. Southampton was extensively damaged and eventually had to be transported back to the UK on a heavy-lift ship.20
Operation Team Sweep Although the war was over there were still many mines to be found and rendered safe in the hazardous waters of the Gulf. In October a major multinational mine-clearance operation, Operation Team Sweep, was established, involving US, French and Italian MCMVs as well as the MCMVs of Operation Calendar II. This important operation carried on for the rest of the year, and it was not until the end of the year that it was deemed safe to withdraw the Royal Navy MCMVs from the Gulf. The last two British MCMVs finally left the area on 27 February 1989 for passage back to the UK.
Outback 88 Deployment: Task Group 318.1, 13 June – 15 December 1988
In June 1988 FOF2, Rear Admiral Peter Woodhead, led the Outback 88 Group Deployment (Task Group 318.1) to the Far East. The aircraft carrier Ark Royal was the flagship, and the Task Group also included the escorts, the Type 42 destroyer Edinburgh and the Leander class frigate Sirius. The fleet tanker RFA Olwen, the support tanker RFA Orangeleaf and the fleet replenishment ship RFA Fort Grange supported the Task Group. The powerful air group embarked in Ark Royal included nine Sea King ASW helicopters, three Sea King AEW helicopters, eight Sea Harriers and two Sea King commando helicopters.
The Task Group Sails, 13 June 1988 The Task Group sailed out of Portsmouth on 13 June and headed west down the Channel. Once clear of the Channel it altered course southwest across the Bay of Biscay to take part in exercise Jolly Roger, a combined three-day exercise with the French Navy and also with the RAF. On completion of the exercise the group headed for the Mediterranean. Having transited through the Straits of Gibraltar the group rendezvoused with an Italian task group led by the aircraft carrier is Giuseppe Garibaldi. A short while later the group met a Soviet naval unit with the aircraft carrier Baku operating the Soviet VTOL aircraft, which were codenamed ‘Forger’.
Malta Ark Royal, escorted by Edinburgh, sailed on to Malta for a port visit, whilst Sirius headed straight for the Suez Canal. Unfortunately, when Ark Royal arrived on the 25 June she found Grand Harbour blocked by anti-nuclear demonstrators. The protesters had blocked the harbour entrance with a tanker, the mv Olympic Rainbow, and so the ships proceeded up the coast to St Paul’s Bay and then, after anchoring in the bay, managed to enjoy four days in Malta. The ships sailed from Malta on 29 June, as Sirius transited through the Canal, and headed east for Port Said. En route they exercised with a US submarine, the USS Cincinnati, and carried out air defence exercises with RAF aircraft from Cyprus.
The three sisters Ark Royal, Illustrious and Invincible together in the Channel (Ark Royal in the foreground)
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Exercise Starfish Ark Royal passed through the Canal on 2 July and headed down the Red Sea to conduct live firings en route to the Far East for exercise Starfish. Having crossed the Indian Ocean and arrived in the Far East, the group prepared for exercise Starfish. This important multi-national maritime exercise involved the navies from the FPDA, Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore. There was also a major air component, to which the Sea Harriers made an important contribution.
Singapore, 23 July – 8 August On completion of the exercise the group sailed for Singapore, where it arrived on 23 July to be met by an FMU (fleet maintenance unit) flown out from Portsmouth. At the end of the month the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, flew out to Singapore and held meetings with the Singapore Defence Minister on board Ark Royal. The group hosted a successful defence equipment sales day on 5 August, and three days later, after sailing from Singapore, it hosted a defence export sea day on the first day out at sea. The group then set course north-east for Subic Bay, the US naval base in the Philippines, where it arrived on 13 August.
Exercises with the US Navy After a brief four-day visit to Subic Bay the Task Group proceeded to sea for joint exercises with the US Navy, including the mighty veteran battleship USS New Jersey. Whilst at sea the USS New Jersey gave an awesome firepower display from her main armament of nine sixteen-inch guns. The Task Group also conducted a high seas firing before sailing on to Hong Kong, where it arrived on 23 August. Sirius, having already detached from the group, proceeded on her way for a visit to Bangkok.
Exercises Setia Kewan and Lima Bersatu On sailing from Hong Kong on 28 August the group took part in the short exercise Setia Kewan with the Brunei armed forces. Exercise Setia Kewan was followed by a bigger joint exercise, entitled exercise Lima Bersatu, with armed forces from Malaysia and Singapore. The Secretary for Defence flew out to Singapore and hosted a defence sales day, which was followed on by a defence equipment sea day on 11 September for Indonesian naval staff.
Australia The Task Group then sailed south for Australia, arriving in Brisbane on 21 September. The city was hosting Expo 88, and the ships’ companies of the group enjoyed four days of celebrations. On 25 September the group sailed for Sydney, where it arrived two days later to be received by welcoming crowds. Ark Royal was given pride of place, being berthed at the ‘Overseas Passenger Terminal’.
Fleet Review On 1 August the group, with HRH the Duke of York embarked in Ark Royal, sailed for the International Fleet Review, which formed the centrepiece of Australia’s bicentennial celebrations. The review was completed with a fly-past with Sea Harriers and Sea Kings from Ark Royal taking part.
After an enjoyable eleven-day visit the ships sailed for exercises with the Australian Navy before splitting up for a range of port visits. Ark Royal headed for Melbourne while other ships carried out visits to Hobart and Adelaide. Sadly anti-nuclear protesters prevented Ark Royal from entering Melbourne, and after lying off for several days she sailed for the west coast to visit Fremantle.
Return to the UK Finally the Task Group sailed from Australia at the beginning of November and shaped course across the Indian Ocean for the passage back to the UK. It arrived in Mumbai on 15 September and hosted some defence export sales days before sailing on to rendezvous with the US Navy for exercises in the Arabian Sea. Amongst the US ships taking part in the exercises was the nuclear strike carrier USS Nimitz. The group then headed on west, transiting through the Suez Canal on 2 December and conducting operations with the aircraft carriers USS John F Kennedy and fns Clemenceau as they crossed the Mediterranean. After a very brief call at Gibraltar the ships set off on the final leg across the Bay of Biscay for a brief rendezvous with Illustrious before turning into the Channel and going their separate ways.
‘Three Sisters’ Whilst Edinburgh headed for Rosyth and Sirius for Devonport, Ark Royal continued east towards Portsmouth. On her way up the Channel Ark Royal rendezvoused with the other two CVSs off Portland to provide a unique photo-opportunity of the three sister ships Ark Royal, Illustrious and Invincible at sea together. Ark Royal then finally entered Portsmouth on 15 December having spent the traditional last night of a deployment anchored off Spithead.
It had been a most successful global deployment to the Far East, enhancing relationships, promoting sales and advancing British standing and interests in that important region of the world.
The End of the Cold War: ‘Triumph in the West’, 9 November 1989
The Fall of the ‘Wall’ By 1989 the economy of the Soviet Union was collapsing and tremendous internal political pressures were driving Gorbachev to seek rapprochement with the West. He visited Bonn in June and signed an agreement with Chancellor Kohl of West Germany, in which the two leaders pledged to work together to seek means of ending the division between East and West Germany and to build economic co-operation. Encouraged by the new mood, East Germans were moving to the West in increasing numbers. The Hungarian government had already dismantled the security fence between Hungary and Austria, allowing Hungarians to escape to the West. On 11 October Poland opened her borders to the West. Seven days later Egon Krenz ousted Erich Honecker, the hard-line leader of East Germany, and then on 9 November Krenz ordered the Berlin Wall to be opened.
Westland Lynx HAS3
The Lynx was the advanced multi-purpose twin-engined helicopter built to replace the Wasp. It was most effective in the ASW role, particularly when deployed in ships’ flights. It was to prove itself in various roles including ship strike in many operations and conflicts.
First flight: |
21 March 1971 |
Entered service: |
31 March 1980 |
Length: |
11.92m |
Power plant: |
2 Rolls-Royce GEM 41–1 turbo shaft engines |
Max speed: |
144 mph |
Armament: |
2 Mk 46 or two Sting Ray torpedoes, |
Crew: |
2 on flight deck and up to 2 mission crew |
The fall of the Berlin Wall was the symbolic end of the Cold War, and was undoubtedly one of the major turning points in the history of the modern world. It heralded the end of the forty-year ‘Third World War’, which mercifully had remained a ‘Cold War’. Fundamentally it had been a precarious period of stand-off between the superpowers with their rival socio-economic ideologies and systems, which divided and polarised the world between them.
It had been a very dangerous period and several times had very nearly ‘cooked off’ into hot war, terrifying moments when the world had teetered on the brink of the abyss. Many have cited the existence of nuclear weapons as providing the ultimate brake which prevented the slide from localised proxy wars into all-out, catastrophic, total war. The shadow of a strategic nuclear exchange between the superpowers had pervaded and influenced the foreign and defence policies of the developed nations in most of their dealings with the Third World.
The end of the Cold War, which was almost unexpected when it happened, appears to have been brought about primarily by the exhaustive effect of excessive military expenditure, which had ultimately bankrupted the Soviet Union, coupled with huge social and political change in the countries of the Warsaw Pact. Towards the end too many of the USSR’s vital resources were being diverted into the Warsaw Pact war machine, with devastating consequences for the Soviet economy. Ultimately it was a victory for the liberal democracies of the West and all the greater for being achieved without the dreadful cost of all-out total war. ‘To win one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.’21
Contribution of the Royal Navy It is not easy to apportion credit for the final triumph on a totally fair and accurate basis, but whatever method is used the Royal Navy, as well as the other armed forces, contributed significantly to the collapse of the Soviet Union. There were three principal areas where the Royal Navy contributed to the final victory.
The Nuclear Deterrent First and foremost, the Royal Navy was responsible for maintaining the UK’s strategic nuclear deterrent for twenty years from 1969 with the Polaris Submarine Squadron. The deterrent patrol was kept up undetected without a single break in the ceaseless patrol cycle. As John Craven summed up the importance of the submarine deterrent, ‘The Cold War was the first major conflict between superpowers in which victory and defeat were unambiguously determined without the firing of a shot. Without the shield of a strong silent deterrent beneath the sea, that war could not have been won.’22
The Cold War ‘Battle of the Atlantic’ Secondly, and largely unknown, the submarine service played a vital role in helping to counter the massive Warsaw Pact submarine threat by waging persistent, highly dangerous, ‘in contact’ shadowing operations against Soviet submarines. Operations were mounted both to counter Soviet strategic nuclear deterrent submarines and to protect the West’s deterrent submarines and high-value assets from any operations by Soviet intruders.
At the end of the Cold War, Admiral Fountain usn stated: ‘Whilst our civilian population worried about Armageddon, submarine crews at sea did all they could to stave it off, living on the edge constantly. On the strategic level of this epic struggle, no one did more than our submarine force, the submarines and their crews, to win the Cold War.’23 The same is of course equally true of the submariners of the Royal Navy who served so courageously, but for reasons of national security very little official information has been released concerning the deadly, silent, ‘cat and mouse’ battles fought out deep below the surface.
Thirdly, the Royal Navy, with its great expertise in antisubmarine warfare in the north-east Atlantic, led in the protection of the vital Atlantic supply line for the reinforcement and resupply of Western Europe in the event of any Warsaw Pact invasion. The ability of Europe to resist an invasion on the Continent was an essential element of the credibility of the overall NATO strategy.
The Cost of Military Technology Ultimately the soaring cost of military technology must have been one of the decisive factors in the ending of the Cold War. Dr Gary Weir has summed up the effect of the naval and submarine technology race, stating, ‘As vital as the human element is in submarine warfare, success, particularly in submarine versus submarine action, ultimately depends upon technological superiority. Fortunately for the West, the United States and the United Kingdom were able to maintain a decisive technological superiority over the Soviet Union. This superiority added immeasurably to the burden of the Soviets. There is no little irony in the fact that the great efforts made by the Soviet Union to catch up in the naval race, as it had done in the aeronautic, missile, and space arenas may well have been the final defence burden straw that broke the economic back of the Soviet Union, plunging it into financial chaos and eventual dissolution.’24
OTHER FLEET ACTIVITIES
Operation Care, 27 September–8 October 1987 Naval parties from the shore establishment HMS Malabar provided valuable assistance in Bermuda following Hurricane ‘Emily’. Under Operation Care from 27 September to 8 October, the Royal Navy repaired generators and restored power and essential services as well as clearing up.
‘Piper Alpha’ Disaster In July 1988 there was a disastrous explosion on the ‘Piper Alpha’ oil rig in the North Sea. The frigate Phoebe was one of the first on the spot and led the rescue effort.
Hurricane ‘Gilbert’, September 1988 In September 1988 Hurricane ‘Gilbert’ struck Grand Cayman and Jamaica. The frigate Active and RFA Oakleaf hastened to the area on 13 September to provide emergency relief work. Support tasks continued for seven days before the ships sailed on 20 September.
Hurricane ‘Dean’, August 1989 The next year Hurricane ‘Dean’ struck Bermuda, and RFA Fort Austin was quickly on the scene on 8 August to provide emergency relief work. Fortunately the damage was not as extensive as it could have been and essential services were quickly restored.
THE WHITE ENSIGN ASSOCIATION
In 1986 the Association was delighted to provide 146 corporate members to participate in the ‘Global 86’ defence export sales days in twenty foreign ports. The Association also hosted a highly successful personnel officers’ conference in Portsmouth. In June 1987 the Association held a banquet and a reception for 800 guests on board Ark Royal while she was moored in the Thames at Greenwich. Sir Derrick Holden-Brown (Chairman of Allied Lyons) relieved Admiral the Lord Lewin as Chairman, and Admiral Sir Peter Herbert and Mr Michael Bett were elected to the Council in the same year. In 1987 the Association arranged sea days for forty senior and influential people to visit Apollo, Ariadne, Ark Royal, Birmingham, Coventry, Courageous, Illustrious, Jersey, London and Sheffield. The shock of the investment crisis in October 1987 caused a great deal of concern amongst those serving, and many of them sought advice from the Association.
In 1988 the Association recruited additional companies, bringing the total number of corporate members to over 100. Visits to sea were arranged in Arethusa, Coventry, Jersey, Scylla, Ark Royal, Dumbarton Castle, Invincible and London.