The Southern Flank D+19 (28 July, 1987)

Rescue operations in Madrid were well underway on D+19. AFSOUTH continued to direct rescue and relief assets into the area. Torrejon, the US airbase situated just east of the Spanish capital received considerable damage. Air operations were impossible for the time being. Madrid–Barajas Airport, the international airport that serviced the city, was in no better …

The Southern Flank D+7 (16 July, 1987)

For the moment, the Soviets and their allies had reluctantly ceded naval control of much of the Mediterranean to NATO. Their naval presence in the Eastern Med was now limited to a few submarines, and a handful of damaged surface warships docked in Syria. The remainder of the 5th Eskadra sat at the bottom of …

The Southern Flank D+6 (15 July, 1987) Part I

For NATO, total control of the sea lanes of communication in the Eastern Mediterranean became a necessity by the seventh day of the war. The first NATO convoy bound for Greece entered the Aegean Sea at 0800 hours local time on D+6 and made port later in the day. Behind it was an even larger …

The Southern Flank D+3 (12 July, 1987) Part I

  NATO naval capabilities in the Black Sea were severely degraded by the morning of D+3. Turkish and Greek naval losses north of the Turkish Straits had been heavy. Surviving warships and submarines had been mostly redeployed to the Aegean, except for a single Turkish submarine, and a handful of fast attack craft. These units …

The Southern Flank D+1 (10 July, 1987) Part I

The destruction of the Soviet surface action groups in the Eastern Mediterranean marked the end of the 5th Eskadra. Every major surface combatant belonging to the Soviet Navy’s Mediterranean squadron was at the bottom of the sea, along with their escorts, and a number of submarines. The squadron’s commander, Rear Admiral Vladimir Yegorov had perished …

The Southern Flank: D+0 (9 July, 1987) 0400-0600**

Hostilities in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean began at 0400 CEST. The first clash between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces came in the southwest corner of the Black Sea off the Bulgarian coast. A combined force of Hellenic and Turkish navy fast attack craft was covering minelaying operations off Limankoy when they were attacked by …