The Multilateral Force (MLF) was an American proposal to produce a fleet of

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capabi ...

s and warships, each crewed by international

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

personnel, and armed with multiple nuclear-armed Polaris ballistic missiles. Its mission would be a nuclear defence of Western Europe against Soviet threats in the Cold War while allowing NATO members besides the U.S. to play a role in nuclear warfare. The proposal was floated by the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

administrations. It was opposed by Britain and faded out in the mid 1960s. It was never adopted.

History

The proposal was inspired by complaints of NATO countries that the nuclear defense of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

was beholden to the Americans, who held the bulk of nuclear capability. The proposed fleet of

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

s would be crewed and operated by NATO command, instead of an assortment of independent forces ultimately under their own national banners. In this way, other NATO powers were theoretically ensured an active role in European defense. The idea of using surface ships as part of the force received criticism in Europe, who felt that surface ships would be vulnerable to attack, while a wholly

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

force would be more difficult to eliminate. President Kennedy argued that using only submarines would defeat the purpose of minimizing American control of the force, as the United States was the primary power capable of building the requisite number of submarines and training their crews. Including surface vessels would allow for greater European involvement in both construction and training, argued Kennedy, who also dismissed the notion that an entire pan-Europe nuclear-armed fleet could be eliminated before any of them could commit retaliatory strikes. The proposal eventually fell flat when American and European differences over basing strategies and financing could not be reconciled. The Italian cruiser ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' was actually refitted with four launchers for Polaris missiles. Despite the successful launching tests, the U.S. never went ahead with the MLF. Instead the Italian government set out to develop an indigenous nuclear weapons program, with a successful missile called Alfa, officially halted by Italian

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperatio ...

ratification. The prospect of having

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in the Multilateral Force was mocked by

Tom Lehrer Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater. He recorded pithy and humorous, often Music and politics, political songs that ...

in the satirical song "MLF Lullaby".

MLF experiment on USS ''Claude V. Ricketts''

From June 1964 to the end of 1965 was part of a mixed-manning experiment for the proposed MLF. Its crew consisted of 10 officers and 164 crew from the US Navy with the remainder (normally 24 officers and 330 enlisted) filled by sailors from West Germany,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Though the MLF never was created,

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

Paul Nitze stated that the project on ''Claude V. Ricketts'' was successful.Lundquist, Edward. Sea Classics
Mixed Manning Demonstration was a Success: Guided-Missile Destroyer Sailed with Multinational Crew
September 2006.

References

{{reflist

External links

Tom Lehrer performing ''MLF Lullaby'' in the 1960s
* ttp://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Press+Conferences/003POFO5Pressconference51_03061963.htm Kennedy, John F. News Conference 51.br>JFK Library Releases 1963 White House Recordings

Article and primary sources on the Multilateral Force at the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project
Cold War NATO relations

History

MLF experiment on USS ''Claude V. Ricketts''

See also

References

Further reading

External links