D+18 0401-0800 Zulu, 27 July, 1987 Part I

North Atlantic Norfolk, Virginia, 0430 Zulu, 27 July, 1987 (0030 local time) As was the case with the majority of flag officers around the world in July of 1987, SACLANT was keeping strange hours. The ships and submarines he commanded were spread from the east coast of the US to the fringes of the Arctic …

The Northern Flank D+17 (26 July, 1987) Part I

AFNORTH’s preparations to commence offensive operations in the north were well underway on the morning of D+17. Additional US Marines, as well as their British counterparts were being airlifted to Banak, reinforcing the troops already on the ground there. The Norwegian air station, which had been under Soviet control until recently, would be established as …

The Northern Flank D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part II

Moscow’s warning about continued NATO air operations over the Kola was being taken seriously by the United States and its NATO allies. On the previous day, Strike Fleet Atlantic’s aircraft had, in large part, left the Kola alone. AFNORTH, at the direction of Brussels, followed suit on D+16. The early morning air missions against targets …

The Northern Flank D+16 (25 July, 1987) Part I

The military paradigm on the Northern Flank had shifted almost completely by the pre-dawn hours of D+16. It was the Soviet Union that was now on the defensive in the air, at sea and on land. NATO was now conducting offensive operations in preparation for the time when a coordinated offensive would be launched to …

The Northern Flank D+15 (24 July, 1987) Part IV

Following the series of probes and feints on the previous day, the littoral waters of the North Cape region took on an increasing amount of prominence for the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet and AFNORTH’s Naval Forces Northern Norway (NAVNON). The renewed attention was brought on by separate realizations by naval commanders of both sides …

The Northern Flank D+15 (24 July, 1987) Part II

Despite the 11th Independent Air Army commander’s initial alarm, the true intent behind the NATO airstrikes, and supporting sorties in the early morning hour was not to pave the way for B-52s and other American strategic bombers to transform the Kola Peninsula into a sheet of glass. The attacks and jamming were intended to keep …

The Northern Flank D+15 (24 July, 1987) Part I

The next round of NATO air missions against targets on the Kola peninsula started at 0230. It soon became clear the focus of the early morning sorties would be different from what it had been just twenty-four hours before. Fighter bases and long-range radar sites were the primary targets. The NATO fighter-bombers were accompanied in …

The Northern Flank D+14 (23 July, 1987) Part III

The Soviet air strikes against Brigade North positions, Banak, and Andoya earlier in the afternoon underscored the need for more ground-based air defenses. They also served to impress upon NATO commanders the fact that Soviet air power could still operate effectively when allowed to concentrate their assets against a handful of targets. The HAWK batteries, …

The Northern Flank D+14 (23 July, 1987) Part II

Author’s Note: Time got away from me for the past few days. Too much work, too many appointments, not enough writing time. As a result, this post will be written up in Timeline layout. It will cover the air war in the north from 0200-1500. The rest of the day will be handled in the …

The Northern Flank D+14 (23 July, 1987) Part I

The first major decision that Colonel General Vladimir Arkhipov, Northwestern TVD’s newly installed commander had to contend with on D+14 was the future of ground operations in Finland. The harsh reality was that the fighting in the Finnish wedge had become a sideshow over the past few days as the main focus in theater shifted …