Word: fleetness
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...forces in southern Europe: "What was traditionally NATO's southern flank has developed into its southern front. The Mediterranean, which was for NATO part of the zone of the interior, a rear area, is now within the battle zone." Concern filters down to officers at sea with the fleet. "There is no feeling now of being on a second team," says Captain John E. Hansen, skipper of the 62,000-ton carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt. Says Commander Richard Hopper, who heads the Roosevelt's 75-plane air group: "This used to be a sunshine cruise. Pilots volunteered from...
...Mediterranean because they have learned to keep their ships on station and, as the U.S. does, resupply them at sea with the four essential b's-bombs, bullets, beans and black oil. At the same time. Soviet diplomacy has carved out several important auxiliary ports for the fleet along the Mediterranean coasts. Among them are Latakia in Syria and Alexandria and Port Said in Egypt. The Russians, who now sail the western Mediterranean more frequently, have also shown an interest in using the Algerian seaport of Mers-el-Kebir. Last week they got another potential port of call when...
...visit last week, Izvestia emphasized Russia's ancient historic role in the Mediterranean, tracing its beginnings to a navigation treaty signed by the Principality of Kiev in the 10th century. The Russian presence in the Mediterranean was forcefully reaffirmed in 1770 when Admiral Orlov defeated the Turkish fleet at Tchesme. Later the Russians made a series of amphibious landings on the Ionian islands and even captured Corfu in 1799. "No, we are not guests in this sea," crowed Izvestia. "Many glorious victories of our people are connected with it." (Izvestia conveniently forgets, of course, that soon afterward the Russians...
Triple Trailers. The same shadow game is played aloft, but there are very special rules. Soviet TU-16 Badger bombers with Egyptian markings fly out of Cairo West airbase to follow the Sixth Fleet and look for Polaris submarines. Whenever they get near the U.S. carriers, a "fastback alert" is sounded, and Phantom jets are catapulted off the carriers to keep the Badgers from getting too close. The Phantoms always approach gradually and at an angle, sometimes drawing abreast of the Soviet planes. On one such occasion, a Phantom pilot was surprised to see his Soviet counterpart hold...
...fleets have one mission in common. Kidd estimates that much of his time, like that of the Soviets, is spent in showing the flag around the Mediterranean. Beyond that, however, the two forces have vastly different roles. The U.S. carriers and their Phantoms still have an offensive nuclear capacity against East bloc targets. Half the fleet's planes are kept in the air at all times in order to make certain that a surprise Soviet missile attack would not sink the entire Sixth Fleet strike force. The Russians, on the other hand, appear to be primarily intent on neutralizing...