The strategic importance of control of Norway and the adjacent Norwegian and Barents seas was recognized by Anglo-American naval planners as early as the First World War. The invasion and the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during World War II confirmed the importance of the region, as Germany established bases for submarine and air operations against Allied convoys bound for the Soviet seaport of Murmansk.[1]
After the Second World War, several former allied navies executed a number of individual and multinational exercises, including:
Exercise Verity, a 1949 combined naval exercise involving the British, French, and Dutch navies which carried out naval bombardment, convoy escort, minesweeping, and Motor Torpedo Boat attack evolutions;[3]
Exercise Activity, a 1950 Dutch-led naval exercise to refine combined communications and tactical procedures;[3] and
Exercise Progress, a 1951 French-led combined naval operation with Belgian, French, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, and British naval units that participating in antisubmarine warfare operations, air defense maneuvers, minesweeping operations, and convoy exercises.[3]
Seas break over the bow of HMS Vanguard making a high speed run
Eighty thousand men, over 200 ships, and 1,000 aircraft participated in Mainbrace. The New York Times' military reporter Hanson W. Baldwin described this NATO naval force as being the "largest and most powerful fleet that has cruised in the North Sea since World War I."[12][13]
Exercise Mainbrace was part of a series of NATO exercise jointly commanded by Admiral McCormick and General Ridgeway during the Fall of 1952 involving 300,000 military personnel engaged in maneuvers from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean Sea.[6][8]
Two exercises were conducted by NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe during the Fall of 1952.[19]Ancient Wall was a series of military maneuvers involving ground small unit tactical training, land-based tactical air support, and carrier-based air support.[20]Longstep was a ten-day naval exercise held in the Mediterranean Sea during November 1952 involving over 170 warships and 700 aircraft under the overall command of Admiral Carney. The objective of the Allied ("Blue") forces was to dislodge enemy ("Green") invasion forces from their occupying positions in the Eastern Mediterranean. Blue naval forces were centered around the U.S. Sixth Fleet, under the command of Vice Admiral John H. Cassady, USN, and its two aircraft carriers, the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Wasp. Green forces included submarines and land-based aircraft. The exercise concluded with an amphibious landing at Lebidos Bay south of İzmir, involving 3000 French, Italian, and Greek troops, including the Battalion Landing Team 3/2, under the overall command of GeneralRobert E. Hogaboom, USMC.[19][21]
Aftermath
The Soviet Union characterized Mainbrace, Holdfast, and other NATO military exercises as "war-like acts" by NATO, with particular reference to the participation of Norway and Denmark, while the USSR was preparing for its own military maneuvers in the Soviet Zone.[6][8]
The exercise would also be referenced in Project Blue Book after two RAF Shackleton crews flying out of RAF Topcliffe (UK) saw a fast-moving silver disc near the air base, travelling at 15,000-feet, with ground personnel at nearby RAF Dishforth also spotting a similarly-described disc seemingly following an RAF Meteor jet fighter, as it manouvered during aerobatics, on September 19th. The sightings were reported at the time in many UK newspapers, often as front-page lead articles. A fortnight later NATO stated Danish aircrew had seen a silver disc over the North Sea on the same day as the RAF encounters.
Gary, USN (Ret.), GMC Richard M. (Summer 2009). "USS QUINCY CA-71". U.S. Navy Cruiser Sailors Association: 34. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
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