NATO SEAPOWER FOR PEACE

Oh this is the Atlantic sometimes trampled more often restless and stormy willingly submitting to the peaceful uses of Commerce but also passively concealing the treacherous instruments of war as a highway of Commerce the North Atlantic brings enormous economic benefits to a closely knit community of nations yet it also serves as an avenue of attack for any aggressors seeking to weaken and destroy the free nations of the Atlantic community shielding the Atlantic from the threat of attack is the Navy of the North Atlantic Alliance composed of ships like the Dutch cruiser dis event provincia British attack carrier HMS warrior American nuclear powered submarine Nautilus a sleek Norwegian destroyer a new US guided missile cruiser the Canadian anti-submarine frigate hmcs Assiniboine a French aircraft carrier these ships and many more along with hundreds of aircraft thousands of sailors and airmen guard the ocean frontiers of the Atlantic each of these warships serves in a dual capacity under its own flag and under the flag of NATO this is the story of the Atlantic Navy naval forces of NATO nations committed to a single Supreme Commander the story of its strengths its problems and the challenge it is met to preserve the freedom of the North Atlantic community this Atlantic community related historically geographically and culturally contains one-sixth of the world's population and possesses sixty-five percent of the world's industrial productivity it grows thirty-six percent of the world's agricultural products it burns 75 percent of the total world production of fuel oil gas coal and it owns 46 million tons of shipping three-fourths of the world's total to carry the products it manufactures to some 435 million consumers on both sides of the ocean while the ocean itself is the binding force in linking this energetic and productive community of nations the Ocean the Atlantic is also highly vulnerable in the bloody battle waged on the sea during World War two the vital lifeline was nearly severed almost separating North America from the British Isles in Europe victory came in 1945 it was at a heavy price with homes demolished factories bombed-out population scattered in Europe and millions of tons of shipping son the remarkable energies and skills of the Atlantic community however remained intact cooperation and mutual aid help rebuild homes and factories launch ships and open minds by 1947 old peacetime ties in trade and commerce were resumed but a shadow looming larger all the time partly obscured the bright picture of post-war recovery and prosperity the rising threat of Soviet Communism while the North Atlantic nation's word immobilizing mothballing and even strapping equipment the Soviets were maintaining and even enlarging their armed forces the world witnessed the fate of the Eastern European countries liberated from Nazi tyranny only to become subjugated satellites of the Soviets the hope of peaceful cooperation with the Soviet Union was shattered by the Berlin Blockade and the intransigence of its representatives in the United Nations alarmed by these actions in the attitude of the Kremlin the Western nations sought collective security in a series of economic and mutual defence agreements reminiscent of World War two cooperation and alliances these agreements led logically to the broader alliance of April fourth 1949 forming the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on that day twelve nations of Europe and North America gathered to sign the treaty and thus NATO became a reality embraced by Portugal Italy France luxembourg belgium the netherlands the united kingdom denmark norway iceland canada and the united states three others were to join Greece and Turkey in 1952 and the Federal Republic of Germany in 1955 in late nineteen fifty the North Atlantic Council NATO's top civilian policymaking body created two integrated forces under two Supreme commands one for Europe and a second for the Atlantic today these two commands form a bulwark against aggression secure with headquarters near Paris is responsible for the defense of continental Europe and the Mediterranean midway down the US Atlantic coast at Norfolk Virginia are the headquarters of the supreme Allied commander Atlantic saqlain established April 10th 1952 naval and military officers of eight of the NATO nations compose his staff here at Sac land headquarters center the communications reaching out to naval ships and bases in all corners of the North Atlantic dear intelligence on all aspects of the threat to the Atlantic area is gathered for evaluation and here are generated plans and instructions by which the naval forces of NATO would operate 12 million square miles of ocean from the Tropic of Cancer to the North Pole must be defended by the forces allocated to the Allied command atlantic certain areas of the atlantic are more critical than others for in times of war focal points of shipping would attract concentrations of enemy submarines in the eastern Atlantic to the seaward of the British Isles in the western Atlantic off the North American coast and the approaches to the Mediterranean there for three commands under saqlain have been established for these areas the western Atlantic under a US commander the Iberian Atlantic area and the eastern Atlantic under joint Royal Air Force Royal Navy commanders each of these commanders is responsible for the defense of his sea area particularly the control and protection of shipping fully aware of the strategic significance of the Atlantic the Soviets in slightly over 10 years and built a modern fleet second in size to only the United States Navy today they have the largest submarine fleet in the world some 450 sub 10 times the number Hitler had in 1939 in addition they have 27 up-to-date cruisers 200 destroyers and escort lending aerial support to this Navy are some 3,500 fighters and bombers most of which are modern jets witness to the near stranglehold that the Nazi u-boat fleet had on Allied shipping the Soviets have adopted Hitler strategy with some improvements of their own their undersea craft or faster have longer underwater endurance and are equipped with more powerful weapons the submarine threat is no longer confined to ships on the high seas it must also be assumed that the USSR as the capability of launching guided missiles from submarines with this capability the Soviets could threaten ports on both sides of the Atlantic and cities far inland with nuclear attack poised against this dangerous concentration of Soviet naval power is the NATO Navy under saqlain sac let must build a force strong enough not only to defend the Atlantic in wartime but also be ready to use that ocean for a springboard launched a massive counter-attack against the enemy's key bases his forces must strike and simultaneously defend strike an immense assignment when measured against Soviet naval potential tomato maybe has its own trump cards first the revolutionary weapons that are part of this Navy and second the concept of a single Navy under a unified command both defensive and offensive power of naval forces has increased enormously since World War two the offensive power of sac lands fleet is embodied in a force aptly named striking fleet Atlantic built around us and British attack carriers it is a mobile flexible elusive airfield complex at sea with its own offense defense and support built-in in the Atlantic the striking fleet would be employed in the closest possible cooperation and coordination with other naval forces to assure that there is no duplication of effort and that there are no gaps every plane and every weapon would be used to further nakos combined effort in defense of Europe North America and the Atlantic the striking fleet with its amphibious assault force and embarked Marines would also operate in close coordination with the forces of the supreme Allied commander europe because of its mobility and flexibility this fleet can be assigned for operational control to any area of the Atlantic or it can be sent into the Mediterranean it is geared for atomic war because this striking fleet is always on the move it could not be subjected to pre d-day pinpointing for missile attack like the stationary military installations ashore it ships can readily wash down atomic fallout and there will be little residual radiation to endanger operations carriers in this fleet use steam catapult to launch the most modern heavy naval aircraft angled deck safely permits simultaneous launching and recovery of aircraft carrier based aircraft to rapid to be coming exclusively jet-powered capable of supersonic speed arms with air-to-air missiles of uncanny accuracy jet naval attack bombers like the a 3d sky warrior of the United States can range deep into enemy territory to deliver nuclear weapons one plane can now deliver the destructive power of thousands of World War two air sorties a new weapon of great striking power is the transonic heavy jet seaplane like the US Navy's seamaster the sea plane has an advantage in that it does not have to operate from vulnerable land bases but can use any obscure harbor and in the offering a stretch of water for takeoff or even the open sea base facilities can be provided by a seaplane tender or a submarine seaplanes thus could strike at a variety of enemy targets from bases that cannot easily be discovered and destroyed another component to the striking fleet is the guided-missile shift this may be a surface vessel a guided missile cruiser or a submarine operating with the clean both are ushering in far-reaching doctrines that make naval power even more significant as a deterrent and retaliatory weapon defensive operations in the Atlantic take 24 first fast-moving hunter killer groups which would search out and destroy submarines in northern waters before they could reach shipping lanes several nations including Canada France Britain and the United States have these hunter-killer teams and second closed in support of allied convoys aunty submarine warfare employs a variety of ships and aircraft specialized detection equipment and weapons as well as specially trained personnel success in this operation demands the close coordination of all units of the hunter killer team asw aircraft carriers like the new Canadian bonaventure Gary aircraft designed to prote the depths with the sauna boy other members of the asw team include claims like this long-range Royal Air Force land-based patrol bomber ships including destroyers and asw escorts and frigates like the new French sir coup and the Canadians and Lauren paradoxically the submarine itself has assumed a new role in fighting the underwater Marauder the study maneuverable k-type sup is specifically designed and equipped to strike at the enemy submarine what's the stealthy and evasive enemy sub is located by an envelop extreme of electronic detection equipment a variety of weapons can be used to destroy rockets and depth bombs from aircraft a new weapons mounted on surface vessels modern weapons and relentless techniques whether used aggressively to independently seek out undersea craft or employed in the close in defense of convoys offer formidable hazards to enemy submarine warfare but up-to-date weapons do not ensure victory in time of war nor promise security and time of peace also necessary to a strong defense of the North Atlantic is the single Navy concept with naval forces pooled under the unified command of saqlain plans are jointly agreed on and carried out with weapons supplies and tactical procedures standardized to a high degree one of the most difficult problems which confronted the Allied command Atlantic was procurement of logistic support materials that could be used by the armed forces of all member nations so that one nation could effectively support and supply the ships and aircraft of another Mako has endeavored to attain the maximum possible degree of standardization in fuels guns ammunition electronic systems and communication equipment standardization has also been carried into the operating field now tactics signals and military orders are the same a tremendous job in naval units today all NATO forces understand and respond to the same signals the staff of saqlain is constantly developing realistic strategic plans detailed studies must weigh all possibilities and probabilities that may be encountered in war plans are constantly being revised with the changing world situation as intelligence reveals new strengths and weaknesses behind the Iron Curtain and as our own relative strength grows but plans must be put to the test and this is the role of NATO Navy maneuvers and exercises frequent exercises on specialized warfare lead ultimately to major international maneuvers which are planned gears in advance forces assemble at key naval bases in the Atlantic waters British and American attack carriers French cruisers and destroyers Dutch cruisers Portuguese destroyer escort Belgium minesweepers Canadian destroyer escorts Norwegian destroyers us guided-missile cruisers and destroyers and at other ports Danish torpedo boats are alerted for their role in the exercise for in time of war it would be their job to prevent the Soviet baltic fleet from passing into the north atlantic the nato air squadrons also assembled our region jet fighters moved to assign bases on the continent Canadian long-range patrol planes prepare for takeoff Dutch Neptune's French venomous British Seahawks are alerted in the United States Marines are embarked as part of an amphibious force each unit ship aircraft all fitting into a predetermined slot make the Atlantic command under saqlain operate as a single coordinated force all operating under the same NATO plans and the same strategic concept and therefore far more powerful than the sum of its components in the training exercise the NATO forces respond to hypothetical enemy attack from North Atlantic waters certain NATO units are assigned to the role of enemy forces submarines and aircraft launch simulated accounts meanwhile various Atlantic command headquarters plot friendly and enemy ship positions operational aspects of the exercise are handled here and orders are being to the fleet units from the communication center on the North Atlantic the concept of many nations joining into a single fleet is put to a stiff test problems that found solutions on paper re-examined under conditions that approached the real track problems of logistics refueling underway rearming Andrey provisioning from distant sources of supply with vessels of one nation supporting those of another all get experience and know-how to personnel at all levels of responsibility problems of protecting the naval forces and convoys from the ever present submarine menace offer no easy solution either on paper or afloat practice and more practice day and night by the crews of destroyers and aircraft squadrons bring the anti-submarine units closer to the ideal of a smooth functioning team after days of grueling operations the allied maneuvers draw to a close maneuvers however are never over for the staff of saqlain even before the fleet disperses for home ports and new duties conferences are held aboard the flagship the results of the exercise are studied and analyzed not so much in terms of who won and who lost but with reference to the strengths and weaknesses of the NATO ally command Atlantic maneuvers teach new lessons that are valuable aid in planning future doctrines and showing where deficiencies in training or equipment can be corrected exercises also bring together personnel from the NATO nations sailors airmen Marines all of whom have been training and undergoing instructions separately have an opportunity to get acquainted with their comrades and displace the Mainbrace unlike in days past training today in NATO follows a standardized but progressive pattern in Norway sailors learn the maintenance of radio equipment equipment that is becoming standard through the navies of the North Atlantic in Denmark pilots increase their proficiency in British hawker hunters a standard NATO jet interceptor and in Holland Airmen gain more experience with the American Neptune a long-range patrol bomber off the Virginia capes American pilots become acquainted with the mirror landing system and everywhere sailors learn the standardized NATO communication procedures for although many languages are common to the NATO forces each unit operates and reacts to a unified pre-agreed communication system training isn't confined to the fighter either as the planners the men who must outline and conduct the operations also train and learn together at the NATO defense college in Paris officers from all the NATO Armed Services study tactics maneuvers logistics and other doctrines that are becoming uniform through the NATO forces and so the endless task of learning teaching and preparing goes on ashore at sea at schools and at headquarters in the words of NATO's supreme Allied commander Atlantic United States Admiral Gerald right NATO provides not only the strength of pooled forces and combined resources of many nations but the added strength that comes from organization and coordination in the Atlantic the benefits of a unified organization are tremendous instead of a half a dozen separate navies each operating independently all operate under a single Navy command towards one strategic concept and directed from a single maybe headquarters with an allies dad we have agreed plans which will be executed uniformly in these plans we have a slot for every man plane and ship which the combined strength of NATO can make available we have standardized armament ammunition equipment communication procedures and tactical doctrine we are ready to go throughout the broad expanse of the Atlantic the Allied command Atlantic guards the sea lines of communication upon which each NATO nation at the North Atlantic Alliance itself depends for survival at bases and at sea the ships and aircraft of the NATO countries stand ready as in major deterrent to aggression you