On this day 25 years ago (Commentary Thread)

[chico20854]

January 30, 1997

Nothing in the canon for today...

Strategic Air Command receives authorization from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop modified JDAM GPS-guidance kits for B-61 and B-83 nuclear bombs.

Aircraft from the carriers Constellation and Abraham Lincoln launch strikes against North Korean troops and artillery sites along the DMZ from the Yellow Sea.

The first South Korean container ship, the Hanjin Keelung, arrives in Charleston, SC for conversion to an escort carrier.

The Victory ship Earlham Victory exits the shipyard after reactivation and crosses San Francisco Bay to load cargo in Oakland. The WW II built ship had sailed for 8 years post war, mostly in support of the Korean and Vietnam wars. Also leaving the shipyard that day, the freighter John Lykes, reactivated after being laid up for nearly 18 months.

In light of Soviet long-range aviation's focus on Romanian tank and trucks plants, CENTAF launches Operation Night Breeze. USAF F-15Es, F-111s and F-117s, British, Luftwaffe and Marineflieger (German naval air force) Tornadoes launch six waves of attacks on Polish tank plant in Gliwice and the Martin tank plant in Czechoslovakia. The use of PGMs by the NATO aircraft allow the raids to be more successful than the Soviet ones, and production at both plants is severely curtailed.

The Soviet frigate SKR-58 hits a NATO mine while crossing the GIUK Gap and sinks. Three sailors survive and are captured by the US cruiser Leyte Gulf, patrolling the Gap.

The surface action groups formed the prior day sortie into the North Atlantic, joining the search for the Soviet battle cruiser.

The Greek 2nd Parachute Regiment arrives at Paphos airport in southwestern Cyprus and immediately rushes to defense of Limassol. V Infantry Division in Crete loads onto amphibious shipping. The Greek Navy deploys into Aegean and eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish troops in Bulgaria capture the town of Kotel in the Balkan Mountains (which run east to west across the country) after weeks of fighting in the bitter winter conditions.

Soviet bombers encounter a rude surprise when they return to the skies over Brasov, Romania - the city's defenses have been augmented by a battery of Patriot missiles of the 1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, flown in from Germany. The American missiles down 8 bombers.

The 135th Field Artillery Brigade (Missouri National Guard) completes its deployment into Hamburg.

The Mobilization-only 113th MRD is called up in the Caucasus for service in the Balkans.

[pmulcahy11b]

Marineflieger. That's a new one on me. I put it in Bing and I'll definitely read about it later.

But that leaves a question, one that I'll probably find out about later when I do my reading. Germany has no aircraft carriers, so is the Marineflieger basically limited to helicopters? And in a Twilight 2000 timeline, why didn't they buy the AV-8 to operate off of some of the larger ships? (They do have amphibious assault ships, though these are also basically helicopter carriers.)

[micromachine]

The Marineflieger was formed at the same time as the modern Bundemarine. The wikipedia article is a simplistic read on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marineflieger

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

But that leaves a question, one that I'll probably find out about later when I do my reading. Germany has no aircraft carriers, so is the Marineflieger basically limited to helicopters?

I'm pretty sure the Marineflieger operated the Tornado IDS in the anti-shipping role.

IIRC, they also operated the Bréguet 1150 Atlantic patrol/ASW prop plane.

-

[Ursus Maior]

Originally Posted by Raellus

I'm pretty sure the Marineflieger operated the Tornado IDS in the anti-shipping role.

IIRC, they also operated the Bréguet 1150 Atlantic patrol/ASW prop plane.

-

Yes, they did: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panavi...(Marineflieger)

Until 1994, when CFE treat obligations kicked in, the Deutsche Marine (until 1990: Bundesmarine, engl. Federal Navy) operated two wings of 48 Tornado IDS each. They were employed in a naval strike, wild-weasel and reconnaissance role. In 2005 the second wing was disbanded, its Tornados transferred to the Luftwaffe for the same mission. Main strike missile was the Kormoran and later the Harpoon.

[Homer]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Marineflieger. That's a new one on me. I put it in Bing and I'll definitely read about it later.

But that leaves a question, one that I'll probably find out about later when I do my reading. Germany has no aircraft carriers, so is the Marineflieger basically limited to helicopters? And in a Twilight 2000 timeline, why didn't they buy the AV-8 to operate off of some of the larger ships? (They do have amphibious assault ships, though these are also basically helicopter carriers.)

The late 80s/early 90s (and presumably T2K) Marineflieger operated the Tornado IDS in two wings focused on anti-shipping tasks with a secondary land attack capability; a patrol wing of Atlantic’s; a wing of shipboard and land based Lynx ASW/ASuW and Sea King ASuW; and a utility/SAR/special projects wing of Dorniers, Sea Kings, and Atlantics. The Bundesmarine operated a handful of LCMs of the Barbe class, but nothing to take the weight or support the logistics of a Harrier. FWIW, the bundesmarine’s envisioned main areas of operation would under land based coverage.

[chico20854]

Originally Posted by Homer

The late 80s/early 90s (and presumably T2K) Marineflieger operated the Tornado IDS in two wings focused on anti-shipping tasks with a secondary land attack capability; a patrol wing of Atlantic’s; a wing of shipboard and land based Lynx ASW/ASuW and Sea King ASuW; and a utility/SAR/special projects wing of Dorniers, Sea Kings, and Atlantics. The Bundesmarine operated a handful of LCMs of the Barbe class, but nothing to take the weight or support the logistics of a Harrier. FWIW, the bundesmarine’s envisioned main areas of operation would under land based coverage.

Exactly, couldn't summarize them any better myself!

[chico20854]

January 31, 1997

Greece declares war on Turkey and attacks Turkish forces in Thrace.

unofficially:

Colonel General Oleg Tulaev, Soviet defense attache in New Delhi, tells Commonwealth Defense Attache, UK Lieutenant General Sir Robert Owens that the USSR is willing to engage in the proposed dialog.

The Freedom-class cargo ship Michigan Freedom is delivered in Beaumont, TX and the South Carolina Freedom is delivered in Pascagoula, MS.

Commander Patrol Wings Pacific orders the deployment of Navy Reserve squadron VP-60, operating dated P-3B Orions, to deploy from its home station at NAS Glenview, Ill to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Airport in the Indian Ocean, in response to increasing reports of Soviet raider activity in the Indian Ocean and to protect the anticipated deployment of troops and equipment to CENTCOM.

A patrol of 107th MRD's 660th Motor-Rifle Regiment clashes with Green Berets of the 10th SF Group. When the Soviet troops call in supporting T-86 tanks the Americans slip away into forested swampland.

TR-1 reconniassance aircraft loitering over the Inner-German Border detect the movement of tank transporters and trucks carrying 4th Guards Tank Army westward. CENTAF dispatches the deep strike aircraft that were mission ready (following the prior night's costly raids on the tank plants) to interdict the moving Soviet reinforcements. CINCEUR denies permission to use ATACMS deep-strike missiles against Polish territory, afraid (because there are conventional and nuclear variants of the missile in service in Europe) of provoking a Soviet nuclear response.

The hunt for the Kirov-class battlecruiser in the stormy North Atlantic is fruitless, with no sign of the ship.

A Soviet reconniassance satellite locates Convoy 112 in the Atlantic 750 miles northwest of the Azores. The Soviet Echo II-class SSGN (nuclear cruise missile submarine) K-35 fires a salvo of 8 P-1000/SS-N-12 missiles at the convoy from a range of over 200 miles. The escort's only ship equipped with area defense surface-to-air missiles, the frigate Talbot, intercepted two of the incoming missiles, and three of the remaining six missiles struck ships. The Coast Guard cutter Spencer and transports Cape Lobos and Seaboard Star were all struck, and the missiles' one-ton warheads sank the cutter and started fires on the transports, which ultimately were not able to be extinguished.

Turkish and Greek troops clash west of Limassol, Cyprus.

Soviet bombers change targets for the night's raids over the Balkans, switching to the explosives plant in Fagaras, Romania's only domestic source. The raid uses carefully route planning to avoid coming in range of the Patriot missiles and is spectacularly successful, detonating what was likely the largest non-nuclear explosion in the history of the Balkans.

The Romanian Ministry of Defense and the Israeli Defense Force sign a secret contract to purchase Israel's fleet of Tiran-5 tanks, which are T-55s captured during the Arab-Israeli wars, fitted with a NATO 105mm gun and otherwise modernized. Israel was in the process of retiring the tank from its reserve forces; the purchase was financed by US Foreign Security Assistance funds, authorized by the year-end appropriations act.

The German government requisitions the ro-ro ship Heralden upon delivery; the Finnish government protests on behalf of its owners despite the German government reimbursing the Finnish company the funds they had spent on the ship plus a 5% premium.

In the Yellow Sea, the carriers Abraham Lincoln and Constellation continue to fly close air support missions over the DMZ in Korea.

Pasdaran officials reach out to the IPA leadership, desperate for modern anti-tank weapons and air cover. They refuse to recognize the National Emergency Council's authority, however, so no such support is forthcoming.

[Homer]

Hmm… so is Advent Crown a product of Soviet recalcitrance, NATO overconfidence, or just coalition misunderstanding?

[Matt Wiser]

Could very well be all three.

[chico20854]

Originally Posted by Homer

Hmm… so is Advent Crown a product of Soviet recalcitrance, NATO overconfidence, or just coalition misunderstanding?

Both of the first two, plus a lot of pressure from Western political leaders and pandering to the Polish Government in Exile, who are clamoring for liberation (yet, as Stalin liked to ask, "how many divisions does the Pope have?"). Stay tuned!!!

[Ursus Maior]

Originally Posted by Homer

FWIW, the bundesmarine’s envisioned main areas of operation would under land based coverage.

Yes, mostly that was the case. Germany was responsible for guarding the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, both marginal seas immediately bordering Germany. Missions here were differed a bit, but were similar. Additionally, Germany participated in NATO's permanent Atlantic presence Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT), usually vexilating a frigate or destroyer to it. STANAVFORLANT was tasked with keeping the North Atlantic approaches to Europe free from hostile forces, largely meaning anti-submarine duty against Soviet subs hunting US convoys, which participated in REFORGER, the return of forces to Germany.

The Baltic Sea theater was a very special one for Germany, though. Germany was, together with Denmark, responsible for guarding the North Atlantic against a break-out of Soviet forces from the Baltic Sea. Denmark was the lead nation in this task, always commanding Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (BALTAP), but the Bundeswehr was the much larger army, committing most of the naval force to the task. All in all, Germany committed all 40 of it's missile fast-attack craft and its 24 submarines to the task, plus the aforementioned two wings of Tornado IDS.

These forces shut the Baltic Approaches, the Kattegat, close for the Soviet Navy, forcing the USSR to base most of its attack strength in Northern Russia. Also, the 30 NATO submarines (24 German and six Danish) were crewed by less than 1,000 men, but forced Warsaw Pact forces to build up a anti-submarine force of 15,000 personnel in the Baltic Sea, including 75 anti-submarine ships, mostly Soviet. BALTAP forces were also multi-purpose. In addition to blocking sea-lanes for Soviet ships to harass NATO convoys in the North Atlantic, they also safeguarded Jutland and the Danish islands against an invasion by the Warsaw Pact.

Additionally, Jutland could be used as a base for additional forces, mostly aircraft, to support the defense of Norway as well as harassing Warsaw Pact shipping and striking against targets as far as Leningrad and as close as East Germany and Poland. This would have made it more difficult for Warsaw Pact forces to mass forces in harbors for an invasion or guard important command and logistics sites against airstrikes: NATO could approach from mainland Europe into Pact airspace, as well as from the sea and, should Sweden have joined (which was very likely in case of a major war), from the North.