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Exercise Strikeback

{{short description|Naval exercise}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}

{{operational plan

| name = Exercise Strikeback

| partof = the Cold War (1953–1962)

| image = GIUK gap.png

| caption = The "GIUK Gap"

| scope =

| type = NATO multi-lateral naval training exercise

| location = North Atlantic Ocean, GIUK Gap, Norwegian Sea

| coordinates =

| map_type =

| latitude =

| longitude =

| map_size =

| map_caption =

| map_label =

| planned =

| planned_by = Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic

| objective = Deployment of NATO anti-submarine warfare and aircraft carrier strike forces

| target =

| date = 3–12 September 1957

| time =

| time-begin =

| time-end =

| timezone =

| executed_by = Vice Admiral Robert B. Pirie, USN, Commander Striking Fleet Atlantic (STRIKFLTLANT)

| outcome = Exercise successfully executed.

| casualties =

| fatalities =

| injuries =

}}

Exercise Strikeback aka Operation Strikeback was a major naval exercise of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that took place over a ten-day period in September 1957.

As part of a series of exercises to simulate an all-out Soviet attack on NATO, Exercise Strikeback was tasked with two objectives. Its initial objective was the deployment of NATO's naval forces (designated the "Blue Fleet") against other NATO forces attempting to simulate an "enemy" navy that featured a large number of submarines (designated the "Orange Fleet"). Its other objective was to have the Blue Fleet execute carrier-based air strikes against "enemy" formations and emplacements along NATO's northern flank in Norway.

Exercise Strikeback involved over 200 warships, 650 aircraft, and 75,000 personnel from the United States Navy, the Royal Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, the French Navy, the Royal Netherlands Navy, and the Royal Norwegian Navy. As the largest peacetime naval operation up to that time, military reporter Hanson W. Baldwin of The New York Times said Exercise Strikeback gathered "the strongest striking fleet assembled since World War II."{{cite news |last=Baldwin |first=Hanson W. |author-link=Hanson W. Baldwin |date=22 September 1957 |title=100 Fighting Ships in Vast Exercise |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/09/22/archives/100-fighting-ships-in-vast-exercise-strongest-part-of-nato-force-in.html |access-date=28 September 2009}}

Strikeback and the other concurrent NATO exercises held during the fall of 1957 would be the most ambitious military undertaking for the alliance to date, involving more than 250,000 men, 300 ships, and 1,500 aircraft operating from Norway to Turkey.{{cite book |last=Key Jr. |first=David M. |year=2001 |title=Admiral Jerauld Wright: Warrior among Diplomats |publisher=Sunflower University Press |location=Manhattan, Kansas |isbn=978-0-89745-251-9 |pages=333}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,891351,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628231338/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,891351,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 June 2011 |title=Emergency Call |access-date=3 October 2008 |magazine=Time |date=30 September 1957}}

Background

=Strategic overview=

Faced with the overwhelming numerical superiority of Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact military forces, NATO embraced the concept of the nuclear umbrella to protect Western Europe from a Soviet ground invasion.{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/archives/1st5years/chapters/9.htm |title=Chapter 9 |access-date=3 November 2008 |work=NATO the first five years 1949-1954 |publisher=NATO}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/archives/1st5years/chapters/3.htm |title=Chapter 3 |access-date=3 November 2008 |work=NATO the first five years 1949-1954 |publisher=NATO}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/archives/1st5years/chapters/7.htm |title=Chapter 7 |access-date=3 November 2008 |work=NATO the first five years 1949-1954 |publisher=NATO}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/archives/1st5years/annexes/b5.htm |title=Chapter IX-B |access-date=3 November 2008 |work=NATO the first five years 1949-1954 |publisher=NATO}} This strategy was initially articulated in January 1954 by U.S. Army General and then-Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alfred Gruenther:

{{Quote|We have ... an air-ground shield which, although still not strong enough, would force an enemy to concentrate prior to attack. In doing so, the concentrating force would be extremely vulnerable to losses from atomic weapon attacks ... We can now use atomic weapons against an aggressor, delivered not only by long-range aircraft, but also by the use of shorter range planes, and by 280 mm. artillery ... This air-ground team constitutes a very effective shield, and it would fight very well in case of attack.}}

This strategic concept reflected the American strategy of massive retaliation of the Eisenhower administration as set forth by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles:

{{Quote|We need allies and collective security. Our purpose is to make these relations more effective, less costly. This can be done by placing more reliance on deterrent power and less dependence on local defensive power ... Local defense will always be important. But there is no local defense which alone will contain the mighty landpower of the Communist world. Local defenses must be reinforced by the further deterrent of massive retaliatory power. A potential aggressor must know that he cannot always prescribe battle conditions that suit him.{{cite web |url=http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/history/cold-war/strategy/article-dulles-retaliation_1962-01-25.htm |title=The Evolution of Foreign Policy |access-date=9 April 2008 |author=John Foster Dulles |author-link=John Foster Dulles |date=12 January 1954 |publisher=Department of State, Press Release No. 81 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514020511/http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/history/cold-war/strategy/article-dulles-retaliation_1962-01-25.htm |archive-date=2008-05-14 |url-status=dead }}}}

=NATO military command structure=

File:NATO Commands 1954.jpg

With the establishment of NATO's Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT) on 30 January 1952, the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) joined the previously-created Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) as one of the alliance's two principal parts of the NATO Military Command Structure.{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/archives/1st5years/chapters/7.htm |title=Chapter 7 - The Military Structure - Atlantic Command |access-date=3 January 2008 |work=NATO the first five years 1949-1954 |publisher=NATO}} In addition, Allied Command Channel was established on 21 February 1952 to control the English Channel and North Sea area and deny it to the enemy, protect the sea lanes of communication, and Support operations conducted by SACEUR and SACLANT.{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/archives/1st5years/chapters/7.htm |title=Chapter 7 - The Military Structure - Channel Command and Channel Committee |access-date=3 September 2008 |work=NATO the first five years 1949-1954 |publisher=NATO}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/archives/1st5years/appendices/1.htm |title=Appendix 1 — Chronicle |access-date=3 September 2008 |work=NATO the first five years 1949-1954 |publisher=NATO}} The following key NATO military commands were involved in a series of alliance-wide exercises, including Operation Strikeback, during the Fall of 1957.{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/cv/ace-k-p.pdf |format=PDF |title=Who is who at NATO |access-date=3 October 2008 |publisher=NATO}}{{cite book |last=Key, Jr. |first=David M. |year=2001 |title=Admiral Jerauld Wright: Warrior among Diplomats |publisher=Sunflower University Press |location=Manhattan, Kansas |isbn=0-89745-251-8 |pages=329–331, 334–335, 338–342, 357}}, hereafter referred to as Warrior among Diplomats.

Operational history

As part of the response to a theoretical Soviet attack against NATO on all fronts, Operation Strikeback would test the capabilities of Allied naval forces (Blue Fleet) by tasking them to destroy the enemy navy (Orange Fleet) and its huge submarine fleet, protect transatlantic shipping, and undertake sustained carrier-based air strikes against the enemy positions.Warrior among Diplomats. p. 333 - 334

Beginning on 3 September 1957, American and Canadian naval forces got underway to join British, French, Dutch, and Norwegian naval forces in eastern Atlantic and northern European waters under the overall command of Vice Admiral Robert B. Pirie, United States Navy, Commander, United States Second Fleet, acting as NATO's Commander Striking Fleet Atlantic.{{cite DANFS |title=Saratoga |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s6/saratoga-vi.htm |access-date=3 October 2008}} While en route, the U.S.-Canadian naval forces executed Operation Seaspray, a bilateral naval exercise to protect Blue Fleet's vitally-important underway replenishment group (URG) from enemy submarine attacks.{{cite book |last=USS Wasp Veterans Association |year=1999 |title=U. S. S. Wasp CV 18 |publisher=Turner Publishing Company |location=Nashville |isbn=978-1-56311-404-5 |pages=119}}, hereafter referred to as USS Wasp The nuclear submarine {{USS|Nautilus|SSN-571|2}} and the conventional submarine {{USS|Trigger|SS-564|2}} completed operations in the Arctic and joined 34 other U.S. and allied submarines temporarily assigned to the Orange Fleet.{{cite web |url=http://archive.thisisdorset.net/2007/10/5/129888.html |title=The day Nautilus came to Portland |access-date=3 October 2008 |work=Archive |publisher=Dorset Echo |date=5 October 2007 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} USS Mount McKinley was based in Portsmouth Naval Base as the command communications base for the Orange forces controlling Comsuborangelant/Comphiborangelant for the duration of the Exercise.

Operation Strikeback itself began on 19 September 1957, involving over 200 warships, 650 aircraft, and 65,000 personnel. To provide a more realistic simulation of protecting transatlantic shipping, over 200 merchant marine vessels, including the ocean liners {{RMS|Queen Mary|3=2}} and {{SS|Ile de France|3=2}}, also participated as duly-flagged target ships for the exercise. Blue Fleet hunter-killer (HUK) groups centered around the carriers {{USS|Essex|CV-9|2}}, {{USS|Wasp|CV-18|2}}, and {{USS|Tarawa|CV-40|2}}, as well as submarines and land-based anti-submarine patrol aircraft, executed Operation Fend Off/Operation Fishplay to identify, track, and contain the breakout of the enemy Orange Fleet's submarine force along the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap (GIUK gap").USS Wasp, p. 118{{cite web |url=http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/topic/5748 |title=Norwegian subs during the Cold War |access-date=3 October 2008 |publisher=Warships1 and NavWeaps Discussion Boards}}

Operating above the Arctic Circle in the Norwegian Sea, the Blue Fleet, which included the new aircraft carriers {{USS|Saratoga|CV-60|2}} and {{USS|Forrestal|CV-59|2}}, launched carried-based air strikes against enemy positions in Norway. Time magazine provided the following contemporary coverage of Operation Strikeback:

{{Quote|From somewhere southeast of Greenland came the crackle of an urgent radio message: "Being fired on by Orange surface raider. Inchcliffe Castle."Inchcliffe Castle is a fictional ship from the Satevepost Glencannon stories by Guy Gilpatric. With that alert from a famed but fictitious merchant vessel, simulated hell broke loose in the North Atlantic. Out to punish the "aggressors," a six-nation Blue fleet totaling nearly 160 fighting ships began steaming toward Norway. In the Iceland-Faeroes gap, 36 Orange submarines, including the atom-powered {{USS|Nautilus|SSN-571|2}}, lay in wait. The U.S. destroyer Charles R. Ware was "sunk"; a "torpedo" slowed down the carrier U.S.S. Intrepid,{{clarify|reson= Why is Wasp linked but Intrepid named?|date=September 2017}} and H.M.S. Ark Royal had a hot time beating off the assaults of Britain-based Valiant jet bombers. But by early afternoon, Blue carrier planes got through to make dummy atom attacks on Norway's ports, bridges and airfields. Into the midst of this earnest make-believe strayed a Russian trawler - a real one. The Russian, being overtaken, had the right of way and held it, passing diagonally through the entire NATO fleet as the big ships refueled and moved beyond her.}}

File:USS Nautilus SSN-571 -underway.jpg

File:USS Valley Forge (CVS-45) underway with Task Group Alfa, in 1959 (USN 1043094).jpg

Following the conclusion of Operation Strikeback, U.S. naval forces conducted Operation Pipedown, involving the protection of its underway replenishment group while en route back the United States.USS Wasp, p. 119

SACLANT Admiral Jerauld Wright, United States Navy, described Operation Strikeback as being "remarkably successful" while also noting "[that] there is considerable scarcity of both naval and air forces in the eastern Atlantic."Warrior among Diplomats, p. 334 Wright's Eastern Atlantic allied commander, Vice Admiral Sir John Eccles, RN, also noted:

{{quote|I am not in a position to criticize political decisions, but I say this as a professional man with over 40 years' experience — I cannot carry out my task as given to me at the moment without more forces. In recent years the submarine has, without any doubt at all, gone a very long way ahead of the devices with which we are presently equipped to sound and destroy it. }}

Particularly significant was the performance of nuclear-powered submarines with the U.S. Navy's first two such vessels, the {{USS|Nautilus|SSN-571}} and {{USS|Seawolf|SSN-575}}, participating in Operation Strikeback. According to naval analyst-historian Norman Friedman, Nautilus "presented a greater threat than all 21 snorkel submarines combined" during Operation Strikeback, making 16 successful attacks against various naval formations while maintaining effective on-station tactical and high-speed pursuit capabilities. Nautilus cruised 3,384 nautical miles (6,267 km) with an average speed of 14.4 knots (26.7 km/h).{{cite book |last=Friedman |first=Norman |year=1994 |title=U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis Maryland |isbn=1-55750-260-9 |pages=109}} In addition to the Nautilus, the Seawolf departed New London on 3 September for Operation Strikeback. Before she surfaced off Newport, Rhode Island, on 25 September, Seawolf had remained submerged for 16 days, cruising a total of 6,331 miles (10,189 km). Recognizing the need to meet this Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) challenge, the following actions were taken:

  • Task Force Alfa was created by the U.S. Navy to develop improved ASW tactics and technology by integrating carrier-based ASW aircraft, land-based patrol aircraft, refitted destroyers, and hunter-killer submarines.{{cite journal |last=Benedict |first=John R. |date=Spring 2005 |title=The Unraveling and Revitalization of U.S. Navy Antisubmarine Warfare |journal=Naval War College Review |pages=98 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,863701,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906183515/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,863701,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 September 2008 |title=The Goblin Killers |access-date=3 November 2008 |work=Time |date=1 September 1958}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,863224,00.html?iid=chix-sphere |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024204907/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,863224,00.html?iid=chix-sphere |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 October 2012 |title=Antisubmarine Boss |access-date=3 November 2008 |magazine=Time |date=7 April 1958}}
  • NATO Undersea Research Centre was established by SACLANT on 2 May 1959 in La Spezia, Italy, to serve as a clearinghouse for NATO's anti-submarine efforts.Warrior among Diplomats, p. 357{{cite web |url=http://www.nurc.nato.int/about/history.htm |title=History |access-date=3 November 2008 |publisher=NATO Undersea Research Centre |archive-date=18 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618163418/http://www.nurc.nato.int/about/history.htm |url-status=dead }}

Operation Strikeback was the final deployment for the battleships {{USS|Iowa|BB-61|2}} and {{USS|Wisconsin|BB-64|2}} until their re-activation in the 1980s by the Reagan Administration. Finally, on the technical level, Operation Strikeback saw the first use of single sideband (SSB) voice communications for tactical operations by the United States Navy,Chronological History – U.S. Naval Communications, p. 16 and {{HMS|Bulwark|R08|6}} was the first Royal Navy carrier to use a magnetic loop communication system.{{cite web |url=http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/Bulwark.html |title=HMS Bulwark |access-date=3 September 2008 |publisher=Fleet Air Arm Archives |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322175446/http://fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/Bulwark.html |archive-date=22 March 2015 |url-status=usurped}}

In addition to Operation Strikeback, which concentrated on its eastern Atlantic/northern European flank, NATO also conducted two other major military exercises in September 1957, Operation Counter Punch involving Allied Forces Central Europe on the European mainland and Operation Deep Water involving NATO's southern flank in the Mediterranean Sea.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809962,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628231520/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809962,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 June 2011 |title=All Ashore |access-date=7 November 2008 |magazine=Time |date=7 October 1957}}

Naval forces

The following is a partial listing of naval forces known to have participated in Operation Strikeback.

=Aircraft carriers and embarked air groups=

=Naval aircraft=

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United States Navy:

| width="33%" valign="top"|

;Royal Navy:

==Aircraft losses==

File:A3D crash on USS Forrestal (CVA-59) 1957.jpg

  • 24 September 1957 – An F4D Skyray jet fighter crashed into the sea while attempting to land back on board the {{USS|Saratoga|CV-60|6}}. During the subsequent search and rescue, two S2F-2 ASW aircraft of VS-36 off the {{USS|Essex|CV-9|6}} collided in mid-air and crashed into the sea. Two additional F4D Skyray aircraft crashed following a mid-air collision off Andøya, Norway. The total loss of life was 11.{{cite web |url=http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/Skyray/douglas_skyray.htm |title=Loss and Ejections: F4D-1 Skyray |access-date=3 October 2008 |publisher=ejection-history.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528064512/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/Skyray/douglas_skyray.htm |archive-date=28 May 2015 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.ussessexcv9.org/Sea |title=Sea Stories |access-date=3 October 2008 |publisher=USS Essex Association}}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite web |url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/aircrew2.htm |title=United States Navy Crew Crashes While On NATO Maneuvers In The Atlantic 24 September 1957 |access-date=3 September 2008 |publisher=Arlington National Cemetery}}
  • 26 September 1957 – An A3D-1 Skywarrior attack bomber crashed into the stern flight deck ramp while attempting to land on board the {{USS|Forrestal|CV-59|6}} (pictured). The aircraft was lost at sea, but the three-man crew was recovered.{{cite web |url=http://www.a3skywarrior.com/Memorial/AccRep_Crews/A-3%20AccidentsPage2.html |title=A-3 Skywarrior aircraft lost with crew lists, p. 2 |access-date=3 October 2008 |publisher=A-3 Skywarrior Association |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517173549/http://www.a3skywarrior.com/Memorial/AccRep_Crews/A-3%20AccidentsPage2.html |archive-date=17 May 2006}}{{cite web |url=http://www.a3skywarrior.com/Memorial/AccRepwithBuNo_full/HTML%20List%20of%20Accidents%20by%20BuNoPage2.html |access-date=3 September 2008 |title=HTML List of Accidents by BuNo Report |publisher=A-3 Skywarrior Association |date=10 November 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619052132/http://a3skywarrior.com/Memorial/AccRepwithBuNo_full/HTML%20List%20of%20Accidents%20by%20BuNoPage2.html |archive-date=19 June 2006}}

=Surface warships=

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Battleships:

  • {{USS|Wisconsin|BB-64}}
  • {{USS|Iowa|BB-61}}

Cruisers:

  • {{USS|Canberra|CAG-2}}
  • {{USS|Boston|CAG-1}}
  • {{USS|Macon|CA-132}}
  • {{USS|Albany|CA-123}}
  • {{USS|Northampton|CLC-1}}
  • {{HMS|Gambia|48}}
  • {{HMS|Sheffield|24}}
  • {{Ship|French cruiser|De Grasse|C610|3}}

Destroyers:

  • {{USS|Mitscher|DL-2}}
  • {{USS|Willis A. Lee|DL-4}}
  • {{USS|Decatur|DD-936}}
  • {{USS|John Paul Jones|DD-932}}
  • {{USS|Forrest Sherman|DD-931}}
  • {{USS|O'Hare|DDR-889}}
  • {{USS|Forrest Royal|DD-872}}
  • {{USS|Charles R. Ware|DD-865}}
  • {{USS|Harwood|DD-861}}
  • {{USS|McCaffery|DDE-860}}
  • {{USS|Charles H. Roan|DD-853}}
  • {{USS|Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.|DD-850}}
  • {{USS|Fiske|DDR-842}}
  • {{USS|Robert A. Owens|DDE-827}}
  • {{USS|Samuel B. Roberts|DD-823}}

| width="33%" valign="top"|

  • {{USS|Johnston|DD-821}}
  • {{USS|Corry|DD-817}}
  • {{USS|Robert K. Huntington|DD-781}}
  • {{USS|Stormes|DD-780}}
  • {{USS|Douglas H. Fox|DD-779}}
  • {{USS|Massey|DD-778}}
  • {{USS|Zellars|DD-777}}
  • {{USS|James C. Owens|DD-776}}
  • {{USS|Lowry|DD-770}}
  • {{USS|Putnam|DD-757}}
  • {{USS|Laffey|DD-724}}
  • {{USS|William R. Rush|DDR-714}}
  • {{USS|Hugh Purvis|DD-709}}
  • {{USS|Harlan R. Dickson|DD-708}}
  • {{USS|Gainard|DD-706}}
  • {{USS|Compton|DD-705}}
  • {{USS|Ault|DD-698}}
  • {{USS|Charles S. Sperry|DD-697}}
  • {{USS|Ingraham|DD-694}}
  • {{USS|Moale|DD-693}}
  • {{USS|Allen M. Sumner|DD-692}}
  • {{USS|Hunt|DD-674}}
  • {{USS|Caperton|DD-650}}
  • {{USS|Abbot|DD-629}}
  • {{USS|The Sullivans|DD-537}}
  • {{USS|Daly|DD-519}}
  • {{USS|Eaton|DDE-510}}
  • {{USS|Cony|DDE-508}}
  • USS Beale (DDE-471)

| width="33%" valign="top"|

Destroyer escorts:

  • {{USS|Joseph K. Taussig|DE-1030}}
  • {{USS|Courtney|DE-1021}}
  • {{USS|Hammerberg|DE-1015}}
  • {{USS|Cromwell|DE-1014}}
  • {{USS|Dealey|DE-1006}}
  • {{USS|Snowden|DE-246}}
  • {{USS|Peterson|DE-152}}
  • {{USS|Huse|DE-145}}

Amphibious vessels:

  • {{USS|Mount McKinley|AGC-7}}
  • {{USS|Washtenaw County|LST-1166}}

Royal Canadian Navy destroyers

  • {{HMCS|Iroquois|DDE 217}}
  • {{HMCS|St. Laurent|DDE 205}}
  • {{HMCS|Ottawa|DDE 229}}
  • {{HMCS|Saguenay|DDE 206}}
  • {{HMCS|Assiniboine|DDE 234}}
  • {{HMCS|Haida|DDE 215}}
  • {{HMCS|Micmac|DDE 214}}
  • {{HMCS|Nootka|DDE 213}}

=Submarine forces=

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Nuclear submarines:

  • {{USS|Seawolf|SSN-575}}
  • {{USS|Nautilus|SSN-571}}

Support vessels:

  • {{USS|Fulton|AS-11}}
  • {{USS|Papago|ATF-160}}
  • {{USS|Luiseno|ATF-156}}

| width="33%" valign="top"|

Diesel-electric submarines:

  • {{USS|Darter|SS-576}}
  • {{USS|Trigger|SS-564}}
  • {{USS|Odax|SS-484}}
  • {{USS|Runner|SS-476}}
  • {{USS|Trumpetfish|SS-425}}
  • {{USS|Quillback|SS-424}}
  • {{USS|Torsk|SS-423}}
  • {{USS|Piper|SS-409}}
  • {{USS|Sea Poacher|SS-406}}
  • {{USS|Sea Owl|SS-405}}
  • {{USS|Jallao|SS-368}}
  • {{USS|Halfbeak|SS-352}}

| width="33%" valign="top"|

  • {{USS|Chopper|SS-342}}
  • {{USS|Bergall|SS-320}}
  • {{USS|Becuna|SS-319}}
  • {{USS|Barbero|SSG-317}}
  • {{USS|Redfin|SSR-272}}
  • {{USS|Ray|SSR-271}}
  • {{USS|Pompon|SSR-267}}
  • {{USS|Croaker|SSK-246}}
  • {{USS|Cavalla|SSK-244}}
  • {{USS|Angler|SSK-240}}
  • {{USS|Grouper|SSK-214}}

=Naval auxiliaries=

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Underway Replenishment Group (URG):

  • {{USS|Suribachi|AE-21}} (flagship)
  • {{USS|Shasta|AE-6}}
  • {{USS|Denebola|AF-56}}

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  • {{USS|Caloosahatchee|AO-98}}
  • {{USS|Allagash|AO-97}}
  • {{USS|Nantahala|AO-60}}
  • {{USS|Kankakee|AO-39}}
  • {{USS|Kennebec|AO-36}}

| width="33%" valign="top"|

Fleet Support:

  • {{USS|Grand Canyon|AD-28}}
  • {{USS|Cadmus|AR-14}}

=Land-based ASW patrol aircraft=

==U.S. Navy Fleet Air Wing 3==

The United States Navy deployed two patrol squadron from Fleet Air Wing Three (FAW-3) to participate in Operation Strikeback:

  • Patrol Squadron 8 (VP-8) operated out of Argentia, Newfoundland.{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol2/chap3-2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030318132108/http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol2/chap3-2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 March 2003 |format=PDF |title=Second VP-8 |access-date=3 September 2008 |work=Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons Volume 2, Chapter 3 |publisher=Naval Historical Center}}
  • Patrol Squadron 10 (VP-10) operated out of Keflavik, Iceland.{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol2/chap3-3.pdf |format=PDF |title=Third VP-10 |access-date=3 September 2008 |work=Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons Volume 2, Chapter 3 |publisher=Naval Historical Center |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070327075802/http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol2/chap3-3.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2007 }}

Both squadrons flew Lockheed P2V-5F Neptune ASW patrol aircraft.

==RAF Coastal Command==

The Royal Air Force assigned two squadrons from RAF Coastal Command to participate in Operation Strikeback. Both squadrons flew Avro Shackleton patrol bombers:

  • No. 204 Squadron deployed to RAF Kinloss{{cite web|url=http://users.bigpond.net.au/Shackleton/balkela.html |title=Ballykelly's Shackleton Era 1952-1971 |access-date=3 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705064701/http://users.bigpond.net.au/Shackleton/balkela.html |archive-date=5 July 2008 }}
  • No. 269 Squadron deployed to RAF Wick{{cite web |url=http://www.oca.269squadron.btinternet.co.uk/history/squadron_history/chronology/1952-1963.htm |title=History - No. 269 Squadron RAF |access-date=3 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421215817/http://www.oca.269squadron.btinternet.co.uk/history/squadron_history/chronology/1952-1963.htm |archive-date=21 April 2008}}

=U.S. Marine Corps units=

The following units of the United States Marine Corps participated in Operation Strikeback in September 1957 are listed below.{{cite book |last=Donnelly |first=Ralph W. |author2=Gabrielle M. Nuefield |author3=Carolyn A. Tyson |year=1971 |title=A Chronology of the United States Marine Corps, 1947–1964 Volume III |publisher=United States Marine Corps |location=Washington, DC |id=PCN 19000318200 |lccn=77-604776 |pages=35}}

See also

{{Commons category|Operation Strikeback}}

Notes

{{Reflist|30em}}

References

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  • {{cite web|url=http://www.destroyersonline.com/usndd/dd697/dd697ltr.htm|title=USS Charles S. Sperry DD 697|access-date=26 August 2008|publisher=Destroyers OnLine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816141252/http://www.destroyersonline.com/usndd/dd697/dd697ltr.htm|archive-date=16 August 2007|url-status=dead}}
  • {{cite web |url=http://www.dd-692.com/mediterrc.htm |title=Northern Europe - September to October 1957 |access-date=26 August 2008 |publisher=U.S.S. Allen M. Sumner (DD-692) Official Home of the First in its Class }}
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  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20080915133000/http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/dictvol2.htm Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons Volume 2 The History of VP, VPB, VP(H) and VP(AM) Squadrons]
  • [http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/11.htm#strike_back USS Intrepid — Operation Strikeback] — Navsource.org
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  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20070814061819/http://www.oca.269squadron.btinternet.co.uk/history/squadron_history/chronology/1952-1963.htm History, 1952 - 1963] - No. 269 Squadron RAF
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20080926135400/http://www.ussessexcv9.org/Sea_Stories.htm Sea Story] - USS Essex Association

External links

  • [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy GlobalSecurity.org]
  • [http://gonavy.jp/ Go Navy]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20041104180511/http://history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/1950s/1957/dec57.pdf "Trained to 'Strike Back'"] - Naval Aviation News - December 1957

{{NATO}}

{{Cold War}}

Strikeback

Category:1957 in military history

Category:1957 in Europe