As NATO Commander of STANAVFOR my mission was to move North to deter and detect a possible Soviet attack on NATO. Weapons were tight, and unless the Russians would come within 5 nm I was not to fire.
My first decision was to order the squdron of Norwegian Penguin armed missile boats South to hook up with my frigates. The Norwegians flatly refused, claiming King Hakon had ordered every yard of Norwegian coast line be defended. So much for the NATO alliance.
A cruise liner of the Hurtigruten tourist Ferry on their way South from the North Cape next came on the radio and excitedly reported the distinctive silouettes of Russians cruisers and destroyers on the horizon, heading South. A Lynx helicopter was ordered to keep radar contact with the Russians, now about 150 nm North of STANARFOR, and the cruise liners were ordered flank speed away from the Russian KUG. Madly the Norwegian skippers refused, claiming risk of seasickness and delays in their schedule prevented such detours.
I reported the lack of cooperation to NATO HQ in Brussels and was told to continue with the mission, but not to risk the integrtiy of my fleet for King Haakon.
One of the German Lynx helicopters reported a MAD contact, and using sonobuoys soon localised an unknown submerged contact doing 4 knots. The German pilot immediately dropped a homing torpedo on the contact, while the copilot still tried to call in the contact and get clarification of the ROE. An explosion and the screeching sound of bulkheads being torn marked the death of a sub. " JA !!" shouted the pilot, " Den war sicher innerhalb funf Meilen !! ".
STANAFOR closed up for a coordinated missile attack, but some time later, the Russian KUG just out of harpoon range, two cruise liners reported being hit by multiple hi speed sea skimmers. The Norwegian missile boats fired their Penguins, and were themselves lost almost immediately to SSM fire. STANAFOR closed to within harpoon range, and as the cruise liners were in severe need of help i decided to fire all my harpoons. I targetted on harpoon each on two Nanuschka missile boats, and quads on a Kresta, Sovremenny and an old Sverdlov gun cruiser.
The Kresta and the Nanushkas sank, and the Sverdlov was damaged but still steaming at 16 knots. The missile fire on the two cruise ships had been stopped!
My force closed to Excocet/Penguin range, when my executive officer came white-faced with a hurriedly created gun battle plan. He proposed pitting our one Belgium 100 mm gun with 7 nm range against the enemies 14nm 152 mm gun of Sverdlov and the 130 mm guns of the two surviving Sovremennies.
Clearly a gun battle was out unless there three ships could be killed.
I started firing the first of ultimately 70 SM-2 missiles in SSM- mode at Sverdlov
Russsian SAMs took their toll but many hits were recorded, though no fires started and speed was not reduced. Near the end of the salvo, i fired my 12 Penguin and Exocets at the undamaged Sovremennies. The SAMs still took their toll but some hits were recorded. Out of SSMs and SM-2 and With the range of my Sparrow missiles shorter thanbthe 152mm gums of Sverdlov, I decided to turn around and fi ght another day.
The Russians had sunk two Norwegian patrol boats and shot down two of my helos, and had bombarded the ground targets I had been supposed to protect. They lost Kresta and two Nanushkas, with two more destroyers and a cruiser damaged, a Kilo sunk and a helo shot down.
Both sides claimed victory - and the Geneve conferences were well and truely doomed.
My first decision was to order the squdron of Norwegian Penguin armed missile boats South to hook up with my frigates. The Norwegians flatly refused, claiming King Hakon had ordered every yard of Norwegian coast line be defended. So much for the NATO alliance.
A cruise liner of the Hurtigruten tourist Ferry on their way South from the North Cape next came on the radio and excitedly reported the distinctive silouettes of Russians cruisers and destroyers on the horizon, heading South. A Lynx helicopter was ordered to keep radar contact with the Russians, now about 150 nm North of STANARFOR, and the cruise liners were ordered flank speed away from the Russian KUG. Madly the Norwegian skippers refused, claiming risk of seasickness and delays in their schedule prevented such detours.
I reported the lack of cooperation to NATO HQ in Brussels and was told to continue with the mission, but not to risk the integrtiy of my fleet for King Haakon.
One of the German Lynx helicopters reported a MAD contact, and using sonobuoys soon localised an unknown submerged contact doing 4 knots. The German pilot immediately dropped a homing torpedo on the contact, while the copilot still tried to call in the contact and get clarification of the ROE. An explosion and the screeching sound of bulkheads being torn marked the death of a sub. " JA !!" shouted the pilot, " Den war sicher innerhalb funf Meilen !! ".
STANAFOR closed up for a coordinated missile attack, but some time later, the Russian KUG just out of harpoon range, two cruise liners reported being hit by multiple hi speed sea skimmers. The Norwegian missile boats fired their Penguins, and were themselves lost almost immediately to SSM fire. STANAFOR closed to within harpoon range, and as the cruise liners were in severe need of help i decided to fire all my harpoons. I targetted on harpoon each on two Nanuschka missile boats, and quads on a Kresta, Sovremenny and an old Sverdlov gun cruiser.
The Kresta and the Nanushkas sank, and the Sverdlov was damaged but still steaming at 16 knots. The missile fire on the two cruise ships had been stopped!
My force closed to Excocet/Penguin range, when my executive officer came white-faced with a hurriedly created gun battle plan. He proposed pitting our one Belgium 100 mm gun with 7 nm range against the enemies 14nm 152 mm gun of Sverdlov and the 130 mm guns of the two surviving Sovremennies.
Clearly a gun battle was out unless there three ships could be killed.
I started firing the first of ultimately 70 SM-2 missiles in SSM- mode at Sverdlov
Russsian SAMs took their toll but many hits were recorded, though no fires started and speed was not reduced. Near the end of the salvo, i fired my 12 Penguin and Exocets at the undamaged Sovremennies. The SAMs still took their toll but some hits were recorded. Out of SSMs and SM-2 and With the range of my Sparrow missiles shorter thanbthe 152mm gums of Sverdlov, I decided to turn around and fi ght another day.
The Russians had sunk two Norwegian patrol boats and shot down two of my helos, and had bombarded the ground targets I had been supposed to protect. They lost Kresta and two Nanushkas, with two more destroyers and a cruiser damaged, a Kilo sunk and a helo shot down.
Both sides claimed victory - and the Geneve conferences were well and truely doomed.
