Kipper Fleet targets
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Kipper Fleet targets
Excellent series on BBC Four about the Kipper Fleet targets during the cold war. Available on catchup TV and the program is called "Silent War". I found it fascinating to see the operations from the opponents perspective.
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Nah, any submarine was legit until it proved friendly and even then only after it admitted a 'kill'.
Lots of incidents were not covered but I found the Swiftsure/Kiev story fascinating as was David Owen's input.
As an aside, there is a US author that I am in contact with, his first novel involved a submarine transiting the Bosporus under cover of a mership. Sandy Woodward was one of his advisors and the technical detail was identical to the programme.
Lots of incidents were not covered but I found the Swiftsure/Kiev story fascinating as was David Owen's input.
As an aside, there is a US author that I am in contact with, his first novel involved a submarine transiting the Bosporus under cover of a mership. Sandy Woodward was one of his advisors and the technical detail was identical to the programme.
Last edited by Pontius Navigator; 19th Sep 2018 at 08:14.
You might be interested in this, the guy who I believe wrote it is Russian and has been posting it in instalments of the flypast web site, see
Carpathian Military District
Eastern Order of Battle
https://forum.keypublishing.com/foru...g-the-cold-war
Carpathian Military District
Eastern Order of Battle
https://forum.keypublishing.com/foru...g-the-cold-war
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PS
Oh dear, thank you ea200, I was wrong it was Patrick Robinson
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Many thanks. Search and research begins now.
Be lucky
David
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Truly. We bounced and pinged the T-boat in the trail twice in one trip as the Akula we were both tracking made its escape. I think the friendly waterspace management was very poor that day.
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As in waterspace management, there is airspace management for MPA. Of course if neither submarine or MPA are in assigned spaces, normal rules apply.
One day an SSN was transiting on the surface East of Scotland. Every oil rig helicopter called it in on common and every Nimrod in the area homed in. As one helo called in, you look like bees round a honey pot as 3 Nimrods took turns. I think our dark blue friend was not happy.
One day an SSN was transiting on the surface East of Scotland. Every oil rig helicopter called it in on common and every Nimrod in the area homed in. As one helo called in, you look like bees round a honey pot as 3 Nimrods took turns. I think our dark blue friend was not happy.
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The comment that really intrigued me was that the RN submarine fleet was the only British Force element that was in regular contact with the enemy as if it wwre war. I think a little bit of well deserved, if not totally accurate, pride on the Commodore's behalf. The satisfaction gained from a hot handover was knowing that a weapon could have been dropped and been effective.
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Cynical, hard to prove or disprove, but only true of the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea. Certainly true where low numbers meant operations were more frequent. It certainly fell to Norway and UK to play catch as submarines entered the Atlantic from North Fleet. The USN would obviously take over in Westlant. The Nimrod force was in regular contact. As for USN P3, the one sqn on rotation at Keflavik was in the front line but there were so many home based P3 that opportunities would be very thin.
For those interested, Shelley Sontags “Blind Man’s Buff” is an excellent book on the topic. Covers mainly USN due to her husbands career but includes some great RN exploits as well.
I’m not sure about the programme, it seems a little too disjointed to enable the viewer to gain an accurate picture of the timeline of the development and progress in Cold War ASW. I’m not sure what the Wg Cdr in No 1s using a brass letter opener as pointer added to the story either! I bet the RN selected that bit.
To gain a better appreciation does require some effort and those without an ASW background they may wish to start with Padfield’s War Beneath The Sea which provides a pretty good overview of the development of submarine and ASW tactics to the end of the Second World War. Jinks and Hennessy’s The Silent Deep takes over where Padfield ends with an account of RN submarine operations post 1945. Jinks and Hennessy make it clear that for considerable periods, RN submarines lacked a reliable and effective ASW torpedo and I shall be interested if any mention is made of that on the tv programme. Mind you, I was never quite certain how effective the Mk 46 would have been, particularly towards the end of its service life.
YS
To gain a better appreciation does require some effort and those without an ASW background they may wish to start with Padfield’s War Beneath The Sea which provides a pretty good overview of the development of submarine and ASW tactics to the end of the Second World War. Jinks and Hennessy’s The Silent Deep takes over where Padfield ends with an account of RN submarine operations post 1945. Jinks and Hennessy make it clear that for considerable periods, RN submarines lacked a reliable and effective ASW torpedo and I shall be interested if any mention is made of that on the tv programme. Mind you, I was never quite certain how effective the Mk 46 would have been, particularly towards the end of its service life.
YS
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YS, on your last, much more effective than the 44 which only got a functioning fuse just before it was out of service. And even the 44 was more effective than the 30.
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Second installment tonight, with a passing nod to Nimrods and P3s. Anyone on the fleet in the mid eighties would recognise sone of the events portrayed in the programme. Available on catch-up BBC4...
