Exercise Strikeback was a major naval exercise of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(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 The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

attack on

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, 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 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. Exercise Strikeback involved over 200 warships, 650 aircraft, and 75,000 personnel from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...

, the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

, the Royal Netherlands Navy, and the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

. As the largest peacetime naval operation up to that time, military analyst Hanson W. Baldwin of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' said Exercise Strikeback gathered "the strongest striking fleet assembled since World War II." Operation 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.

Background

Strategic overview

Faced with the overwhelming numerical superiority of

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...

military forces, NATO embraced the concept of the

nuclear umbrella The "nuclear umbrella" is a guarantee by a nuclear weapons state to defend a non-nuclear allied state. The context is usually the security alliances of the United States with Japan, South Korea, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (much ...

to protect

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

from a Soviet ground invasion. This strategy was initially articulated in January 1954 by

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

and then-

Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

Alfred Gruenther General Alfred Maximilian Gruenther (March 3, 1899 – May 30, 1983) was a senior United States Army officer, Red Cross president, and bridge player. After being commissioned towards the end of World War I, he served in the army throughout t ...

: This strategic concept reflected the American strategy of

massive retaliation Massive retaliation, also known as a massive response or massive deterrence, is a military doctrine and nuclear strategy in which a state commits itself to retaliate in much greater force in the event of an attack. Strategy In the event of a ...

of the

Eisenhower administration Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following a landslide victory ...

as set forth by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles:

NATO military command structure

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 The Structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is complex and multi-faceted. The decision-making body is the North Atlantic Council (NAC), and the member state representatives also sit on the Defence Policy and Planning Committee (DPPC ...

. In addition,

Allied Command Channel Allied Command Channel (ACCHAN) was one of three major North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commands from 1952 to 1994. Commander-in-Chief Channel was a Major NATO Commander (MNC). The Command was established in 1952 to defend the sea areas a ...

was established on 21 February 1952 to control the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

area and deny it to the enemy, protect the sea lanes of communication, and Support operations conducted by SACEUR and SACLANT. The following key NATO military commands were involved in a series of alliance-wide exercises, including Operation Strikeback, during the Fall of 1957. * Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT) * Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) – Admiral

Jerauld Wright Admiral (United States), Admiral Jerauld Wright (June 4, 1898 – April 27, 1995) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Joint Forces Command, United States Atlantic Command (CINCLAN ...

** Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (DSACLANT) – Vice-Admiral Sir

John Eaton John Eaton may refer to: * John Eaton (divine) (born 1575), English divine * John Eaton (pirate) (fl. 1683–1686), English buccaneer *Sir John Craig Eaton (1876–1922), Canadian businessman * John Craig Eaton II (born 1937), Canadian businessman ...

, RN *** Chief of Staff (COFS) – Vice Admiral

Harold Page Smith Admiral Harold Page Smith (February 17, 1904 – January 4, 1993) was a United States Navy four-star admiral who served as Commander in Chief, United States Naval Forces Europe/Commander in Chief, United States Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and M ...

** Eastern Atlantic Area (EASTLANT) – Vice Admiral Sir John Eccles, RN ** Western Atlantic Area (WESTLANT) – Admiral

** Striking Fleet Atlantic (STRIKFLTLANT) – Vice Admiral Robert B. Pirie,

*Allied Command Europe * Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) –

Lauris Norstad Lauris Norstad (March 24, 1907 – September 12, 1988) was an American General officer, general officer in the United States Army and United States Air Force. Early life and military career Lauris Norstad was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minn ...

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

** Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR) – Field Marshal The Viscount Montgomery of Alamein,

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

*** Chief of Staff (COFS) –

Courtlandt Van R. Schuyler,

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

** Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) – Lieutenant-General Sir C.S. Sugden,

** Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) – Général d'Armée Jean-Étienne Valluy,

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

***

Allied Air Forces Central Europe Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) was the NATO command tasked with air and air defense operations in NATOs Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) area of command. History Allied Air Forces Central Europe was activated on 2 April 1951 at Fon ...

(AAFCE) – Air Chief Marshal Sir George Holroyd Mills,

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

***

Northern Army Group The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Army Group headquarters was established on ...

(NORTHAG) –

Sir Richard Nelson Gale,

*** Central Army Group (CENTAG) –

Henry I. Hodes,

** Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) – Admiral R.P.M. Bristol,

*** Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe (STRIKFORSOUTH) – Vice Admiral Charles R. Brown,

Allied Forces Mediterranean Allied Forces Mediterranean was a NATO command covering all military operations in the Mediterranean Sea from 1952 to 1967. The command was based at Malta. History The British post of Commander in Chief Mediterranean Fleet was given a dual-hatte ...

(AFMED) – Admiral Sir

Ralph Edwards Ralph Livingstone Edwards (June 13, 1913DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 86-87. – November 16, 2005) was an American radio ...

, RN *

(CHANCOM) * Commander-in-Chief Channel (CINCHAN) – Admiral Sir

Guy Grantham Admiral Sir Guy Grantham, (9 January 1900 – 8 September 1992) was a senior Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth from 1957 to 1959. Naval career Educated at Rugby School,RN

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. 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,

, Commander,

United States Second Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view o ...

, acting as NATO's Commander Striking Fleet Atlantic. 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. The nuclear submarine and the conventional submarine completed operations in the Arctic and joined 34 other U.S. and allied submarines temporarily assigned to the Orange Fleet. USS ''Mount McKinley'' was based in

Portsmouth Naval Base His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is lo ...

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 and , also participated as duly-flagged target ships for the exercise. Blue Fleet hunter-killer (HUK) groups centered around the carriers , , and , 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 Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

-UK gap (

GIUK gap The GIUK gap (sometimes written G-I-UK) is an area in the northern Atlantic Ocean that forms a naval choke point. Its name is an acronym for ''Greenland, Iceland'', and the ''United Kingdom'', the gap being the two stretches of open ocean betwe ...

"). Operating above the Arctic Circle in the

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea ( no, Norskehavet; is, Noregshaf; fo, Norskahavið) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to ...

, the Blue Fleet, which included the new aircraft carriers and , launched carried-based air strikes against enemy positions in

. ''Time'' magazine provided the following contemporary coverage of Operation Strikeback: USS Nautilus SSN-571 -underway

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. SACLANT Admiral

, described Operation Strikeback as being "remarkably successful" while also noting "

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

there is considerable scarcity of both naval and air forces in the eastern Atlantic." Wright's Eastern Atlantic allied commander, Vice Admiral Sir John Eccles, RN, also noted: Particularly significant was the performance of nuclear-powered submarines with the U.S. Navy's first two such vessels, the and , participating in Operation Strikeback. According to naval analyst-historian

Norman Friedman Norman Friedman (born 1946) is an American internationally known author and analyst, strategist, and historian. He has written over 30 books and numerous articles on naval and other military matters, has worked for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps ...

, ''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). In addition to the ''Nautilus'', the ''Seawolf'' departed

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

on 3 September for Operation Strikeback. Before she surfaced off

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, 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 Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

(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. *

NATO Undersea Research Centre Directed by Dr Catherine Warner, the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) is an established, world-class scientific research and experimentation facility that organizes and conducts scientific research and technology developme ...

was established by SACLANT on 2 May 1959 in

La Spezia, Italy La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest cit ...

, to serve as a clearinghouse for NATO's anti-submarine efforts. Operation Strikeback was the final deployment for the battleships and until their re-activation in the 1980s by the

Reagan Administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

. Finally, on the technical level, Operation Strikeback saw the first use of

single sideband In radio communications, single-sideband modulation (SSB) or single-sideband suppressed-carrier modulation (SSB-SC) is a type of modulation used to transmit information, such as an audio signal, by radio waves. A refinement of amplitude m ...

(SSB) voice communications for tactical operations by the

, and was the first

carrier to use a magnetic loop communication system. 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 Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) is a NATO command with its headquarters at Brunssum, the Netherlands. It was established in 2004 from previous commands as part of NATO's continuing command structure reductions in the face of a then-dim ...

on the European mainland and

Operation Deep Water Operation Deep Water was a 1957 NATO naval exercise held in the Mediterranean Sea that simulated protecting the Dardanelles from a Soviet invasion. By controlling this bottleneck in a war situation, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet would be prevented fr ...

involving NATO's southern flank in the Mediterranean Sea.

Naval forces for Operation Strikeback

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

Aircraft carriers and embarked air groups

* – Blue Fleet flagship ** Carrier Air Group Seven *** Fighter Squadron 61 (VF-61) *** Attack Squadron 72 (VA-72) *** Attack Squadron 75 (VA-75) *** All-Weather Attack Squadron 33 (VA(AW)-33) Det. *** Light Photographic Squadron 62 (VFP-62) Det. *** Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Det. * ** Carrier Air Group One *** Fighter Squadron 14 (VF-14) *** Fighter Squadron 84 (VF-84) *** Attack Squadron 15 (VA-15) *** Attack Squadron 76 (VA-76) *** Heavy Attack Squadron 1 (VAH-1) *** Airborne Early Warning Squadron 12 (VAW-12) Det. *** All-Weather Attack Squadron 33 (AV(AW)-33) Det. *** Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Det. * ** Carrier Air Group Six: *** Fighter Squadron 33 (VF-33) *** Fighter Squadron 71 (VF-71) *** Attack Squadron 25 (VA-25) *** Attack Squadron 66 (VA-66) *** Heavy Attack Squadron 11 (VAH-11) *** All-Weather Attack Squadron 33 (VA(AW)-33) Det. *** Light Photographic Squadron 62 (VFP-62) Det. *** Airborne Early Warning Squadron 12 (VAW-12) Det. *** Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (UH-2) Det. * ** Squadrons embarked: *** Air Anti-submarine Squadron 36 (VS-36) *** Anti-submarine Helicopter Squadron 3 (HS-7) *** Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Det. * ** Squadrons embarked: *** Air Anti-submarine Squadron 32 (VS-32) *** Anti-submarine Helicopter Squadron 1 (HS-1) *** Attack Squadron 172 (VA-172) *** All-Weather Fighter Squadron 4 (VF(AW)-4) Det. *** Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Det. * ** Squadrons embarked: *** Attack Squadron 44 (VA-44) *** Air Anti-submarine Squadron 27 (VS-27) *** Air Anti-submarine Squadron 30 (VS-30) *** Anti-submarine Helicopter Squadron 5 (HS-5) *** Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Det. * – Orange Fleet flagship ** Squadrons embarked:

802 Year 802 ( DCCCII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * October 31 – Empress Irene is deposed after a 5-year reign, and banishe ...

804 __NOTOC__ Year 804 ( DCCCIV) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Caliphate * Battle of Krasos: Emperor Nikephoros I refuses to pay the tribute impo ...

, 815, 831, 849B,

898 __NOTOC__ Year 898 ( DCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 1 – King Odo I (or Eudes) dies at La Fère (Northern France) af ...

* ** Squadrons embarked:

820 __NOTOC__ Year 820 ( DCCCXX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Caliphate *Abbasid caliph Al-Ma'mun appointed Isa ibn Yazid al-Juludi as Abbasid gove ...

, 845, 849D, 891 * ** Squadrons embarked: 803, 806,

813 Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 22 – Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars, led by Krum, ruler ('' khan'') of the Bulgarian Empire, defeat Emperor Michael I near Edirne (modern Turkey). The Byzantine army (26,000 men) ...

814 __NOTOC__ Year 814 ( DCCCXIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * April 13 – Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars: Over the winter Krum, rul ...

, 848A

Naval aircraft

;Royal Navy: *Fighter ** 891 Naval Air Squadron de Havilland Sea Venom ** 894 Naval Air Squadron, Sea Venom ** 802 Naval Air Squadron,

Hawker Sea Hawk The Hawker Sea Hawk is a British single-seat jet day fighter formerly of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its design origina ...

803 Naval Air Squadron 803 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron. History Interwar 803 NAS was formed on 3 April 1933 by promoting No 409 (Fleet Fighter) Flight to the status of a squadron, with nine Ospreys. In the same month it embarked on fo ...

, Sea Hawk **

804 Naval Air Squadron 804 Naval Air Squadron (804 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy, formed in November 1939 from part of 769 NAS Sea Gladiators which had been detached to RNAS Hatston. The squadron was merged into 800 NAS in June 1944 and subsequently ...

, Sea Hawk **

806 Naval Air Squadron 806 Naval Air Squadron (806 NAS) was a fighter squadron in the Fleet Air Arm that existed from February 1940 to December 1960 and saw active service in the Norwegian campaign, the Dunkirk evacuation and the Malta Convoys. History Formation A ...

, Sea Hawk **

898 Naval Air Squadron 898 Naval Air Squadron (898 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...

, Sea Hawk *torpedo/strike fighter ** 813 Naval Air Squadron,

Westland Wyvern The Westland Wyvern was a British single-seat carrier-based multi-role strike aircraft built by Westland Aircraft that served in the 1950s, seeing active service in the 1956 Suez Crisis. Production Wyverns were powered by a turboprop engine dri ...

*A/S Warfare ** 814 Naval Air Squadron,

Fairey Gannet The Fairey Gannet is a carrier-borne aircraft that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed for the Royal Navy, being the first fixed-wing aircraft to combine both the search an ...

** 815 Naval Air Squadron,

** 820 Naval Air Squadron,

*Airborne Early Warning **'A' Flight

849 Naval Air Squadron 849 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the Fleet Air Arm, the Air Arm of the British Royal Navy. It was formed during the Second World War as a carrier based torpedo-bomber, unit, flying missions against Japanese targets in the Far East. Its ...

, Skyraider AEW.1 **'B' Flight 849 Naval Air Squadron, Skyraider AEW.1 **'D' Flight 849 Naval Air Squadron, Skyraider AEW.1 *Helicopters: ** 845 Naval Air Squadron, Westland Whirlwind:

Aircraft losses

A3D crash on USS Forrestal (CVA-59) 1957

* 24 September 1957 – An

F4D Skyray The Douglas F4D Skyray (later redesignated F-6 Skyray) is an American carrier-based fighter/ interceptor built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Although it was in service for a relatively short time (1956–1964) and never entered combat, it w ...

jet fighter crashed into the sea while attempting to land back on board the . During the subsequent search and rescue, two S2F-2 ASW aircraft of VS-36 off the collided in mid-air and crashed into the sea. Two additional F4D Skyray aircraft crashed following a mid-air collision off

Andøy Andøy is the northernmost municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Vesterålen archipelago. The main island in the municipality is Andøya. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Andenes. Other villages ...

. The total loss of life was 11. *26 September 1957 – An A3D-1 Skywarrior attack bomber crashed into the stern

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopte ...

ramp while attempting to land on board the (''pictured''). The aircraft was lost at sea, but the three-man crew was recovered.

Surface warships

Submarine forces

Naval auxiliaries

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. * Patrol Squadron 10 (VP-10) operated out of Keflavik,

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

RAF Coastal Command

The

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

assigned two squadrons from

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

to participate in Operation Strikeback. Both squadrons flew

Avro Shackleton The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a develo ...

patrol bombers: * No. 204 Squadron deployed to

RAF Kinloss Royal Air Force Kinloss or RAF Kinloss is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north east of Scotland. The RAF station opened on 1 April 1939 and served as a training establishme ...

* No. 269 Squadron deployed to

RAF Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

U.S. Marine Corps units

The following units of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

participated in Operation Strikeback in September 1957 are listed below. * Regimental Landing Team 8 (RLT-8) * Battalion Landing Team 1/2

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bibliography

* * * * * * *Lord Ismay
''NATO the first five years 1949-1954''
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, 1954 * * * * * * * * *

''Time'' — 30 September 1957

''Time'' — 7 October 1957

''Time'' — 7 April 1958

''Time'' — 1 September 1958

A-3 Skywarrior Association

A-3 Skywarrior Association

''Chronological History — U.S. Naval Communications''

The National Association of Destroyer Veterans

Project Get Out and Walk

HMCS ''Iroquois''

GlobalSecurity.org

Go Navy

-

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

''Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons Volume 1 The History of VA, VAH, VAK, VAL, VAP and VFA Squadrons''

* ttp://www.navsource.org/archives/02/11.htm#strike_back USS ''Intrepid'' — Operation Strikeback— Navsource.org
Senior officials in the NATO military structure, from 1949 to 2001

- No. 269 Squadron RAF

- USS ''Essex'' Association

External links

GlobalSecurity.org

Go Navy

"Trained to 'Strike Back'"
- ''Naval Aviation News'' - December 1957 {{Cold War Strikeback 1957 in military history 1957 in Europe

Background

Strategic overview

NATO military command structure

Operational history

Naval forces for Operation Strikeback

Aircraft carriers and embarked air groups

Naval aircraft

Aircraft losses

Surface warships

Submarine forces

Naval auxiliaries

Land-based ASW patrol aircraft

U.S. Navy Fleet Air Wing 3

RAF Coastal Command

U.S. Marine Corps units

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links