Cold War naval tactics

An oldie you might find of interest in this context is:

General Sir John Hacket et.al. (1978)
The Third World War. A history of the Future.
Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd., London.

(A fictionalized scenario of World War III based on a Soviet invasion of West Germany in 1985. The novel was highly successful, though criticized for being dry and impersonal. Chapters 15 and 16 and parts of other chapters concern naval forces and tactics)

Thanks

Thanks everybody for the replies!

I haven’t heard of those books (other than RSR), but they seem interesting, thanks for the references.

The ideas on CVBG deployment match the ones that I’ve found. I haven’t been able to find much info on convoying. How large would convoys be? I’ve heard figures ranging from 30 to over a 100. Can anyone clarify? And how many escorts would be needed (ASW frigates mostly, but with some AAW ships).

Best,

Ference.

Indeed hiding the CVN’s inside Fjiords is a central part of Battle of the Fjiords, whicle its discussed in The War That Never Was.

Clancy’s Red Storm Rising covers hiding the Russian SSBNs in the White Sea behind minefields

Unicorn

didnt the USN practise hiding CVNs inside the fjords as difficult-to-target bases?

and couldnt the Soviet SSBNs just hide out inside the White Sea, with its narrow mouth protected by a SSN+ASW screening force. their SLBMs had enough range from there to target all of europe, china, japan and north america…why risk a battle under the ice with packs of roving ssns ?

Might I suggest a book called Battle For The Fiords, Nato’s Forward Maritime Strategy In Action by Eric Grove and Graham Thomson.

First published in 1991, it answers a number of your questions.

Another somewhat simplistic book that will help is The War That Never Was, by Michael Palmer, which postulates that a wargame was held 10 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and that the key decision makers at that time reconvened to play the war. Interesting look at grand strategy.

Of course there is also Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising, which has some interesting thoughts and concepts hdden amongst the mass market drivel.

Unicorn

U.S.Navy CBGs with CVNs offensively concentrated on Murmansk and Vladivostok trying to force a battle on the Soviet surface fleet. At least three CVNs in one group, never go into a real bluewater war with less than three CVNs in a bunch.
The older conventional carriers in the Med/Red/Ind or off other Soviet crony-states. But the Med is a bit of a sack you can get caught in.
When the U.S.Navy still had CVS, they would go way up north in the Atlantic and Pacific as far as the ice would permit to catch Soviet SSBNs.
And the small European carrier’s task would have been to keep the North Atlantic free of Soviet SSNs.
And then there was something called “litoral warfare”, sure you can find it on the net.

Regarding the Soviets:
They would have tried to get their bluewater navy out of all three ports into free waters *before* the conflict, trying to take out the U.S.Navy CVNs.
Their attack submarines concentrated on the U.S.Navy CBGs, the rest on the North Atlantic and Pacific SLOCs.
Their ballistic boats under the ice of the arctic.

Really depends on how much warning/preparation time there would have been.

Ference: I suppose in the 3.WW the CAG’s of USN would be located close to Japan in order to protect this important ally and to stop Soviet Navy from leavig port in Vladivostok and Kamchatka.

And these enemy troops would have been floating on and under the sea would they, mixtec? 😉

Huh?? :confused:

And these enemy troops would have been floating on and under the sea would they, mixtec? 😉

Hi Ference ! It’s been a while indeed. Welcome back. 🙂

I think its very difficult to discuss “tactics” of the cold war, when really it was a war of ideology. For Example I dont think Hitler or anyone in Germany really pre-planned the idea of taking over all of Europe, the opportunity just sort of opened up to them as they experienced success with their eastern european expansion. If the USSR/Warsaw Pact somehow decided they could invade western europe, it probably would have have been a major invasion across a broad front, tac-nukes would have been used to some extent, but that would be limited by the fact that enemy troops would be dispursed amidst civilian population.