The Navy Vol_49_Part1 1987 - Navy League of Australia

THE BEAR CAN SWIM TOOITIE worthier citizens of Adelaide in 1882 surety raised their eyebrowswhen hearing some of the tales of the visit of a small Russian fleetof three ships to their colony. Apparently, the Russian Admiral wassomewhat overcome by the hospitality at a picnic given by the Governorat Mount Lofty and, having imbibed rather too freely of the excellentlocal wines, had to be returned to his flagship in a carl!Stories such as this, in addition to meatierstuff, entertained the gathering of tome 130 distinguishedguests and members at the annualNSW Division of the Navy League symposiumheld at Tattersall's Club. Sydney, on 19November. 1986The subject of the evening was "The BearCan Swim Too. or. The Growth of SovietMaritime Power and its Implication for Australia"The presentation was opened by RearAdmiral Andrew Robertson, a Vice-President ofthe Navy League He outlined the steadydevelopment of the Soviet Navy, from apoorly-equipped coastal force in 1945. to themodem, superbly equipped, world-wide navy ttis todayHe told of the speech of Mr Kruschev. Secretaryof the Soviet Commumsty Party, at theRoyal Naval College. Greenwich, in 1956. atwhich Kruschev had stated that the SovietUnion would out-build the US and create thegreatest fleet in the world That year FleetAdmiral Gorschkov was appointed to head theSoviet Navy, a post he occupied until he retiredlast year Duting those 29 years, class after classof new submarines, destroyers, cruisers,amphibious vessels, and eventually helicopterand VSTOL carrier* slid down the slipways inthe USSRThe Soviet Fleet moved out from Sovietcoastal waters, first into the North Atlantic,then, as it gathered strength, to the NorthPacific, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, theSouth Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and. after theVietnam War. the South China Sea. based onthe ex-USN base at Camranh Bay. in VietnamWe should note the writings of AdmiralGorschkov that"Sooner or later, the West will have to understandthat it is no longer master of the seasSoviet sea power, merely a minor defensivearm in 1953, has become the optimum meansto defeat the imperialist enemy and the mostimportant element in the Soviet arsenal to preparethe way for a communised world"It was also important to note the recentspeech by Mr Gorbachev in Vladivostok,summarised by The Economist journal as "afirm statement that Russia is determined to be apower in the whole of the Pacific, right down toAustralia and New Zealand"The first speaker. Lieut-Commander BobNtcholts. RAN (Rid), author and historian, gavea fascinating address on "Russia and the AustralianColonies, a historical perspective", inwhich he outlined contacts with Russia in theearly days Having mentioned the early fears ofthe colonists of attack by the French and thenby the Americans, he showed how more scares,usually exaggerated, were caused by theRussians than by any other nationAlthough the Russian corvette. Dvina. hadvisited Sydney In 1853. it was not until the endof the Crimean War that they began thepractice of sending naval ships on long-distancetraining and exploration expeditionsSuccessive Russian "scares" led to the constructionof forts and batteries around our coasts andthe building of colonial navies ft was not untilTha form* RAN AM* Commands, f^ Admtol l*i torn (rigM), *ti the Commanding Ottic*of HMAS CANBERRA, Command* Chna OxanbouU. watch tha progress otthanow Russiannudaar-powand cruiser FRUNZE through tha South China Saa in Novamber. 1995. FRUNZEwas on its way to join ma Russian Pacmc FleetTHE NAVYthe rise in the power of Germany, towards theend of the nineteenth century, that fear ofRussia subsidedThe next speaker was Lieutenant-Commander.Ken Wray. of the Naval Reserve, whodescribed current Soviet ships and maritimecapability, including command organisation,location and compositions of fleets, weaponssystems,aircraft and bases1ISTENERS were particularly impressedwith his description of the Soviet sub-•^ marine force, now at over 360 vessels,the world's largest, and the new aircraftcarriers Particularly impressive was the newTyphoon submarine, the world's biggest at25.000 tonnes displacement This submarinecarries 20 missiles each with 6-9 warheads anda range of 8,300 kmThe Soviet Pacific Fleet has now expandedgreatly and includes two of the three aircraftcarriers and over 600 vessels including some125 submarinesWhile those present were amused at some ofthe comments when, during his speech, someof the slides of ships caught fire in the projector,all were most impressed at the awesome navalpower now possessed by the Soviet UnionHe then told of the Immense growth of theSoviet merchant marine, with its implications,both economic and militaryWith some 1.800 ocean-going vessels it wasnow the world's largest in terms of numbers,though not yet in tonnageEffort had been carefully directed to creatinga fleet that can perform a commercially competitivetask in peace-time and satisfy militarylogistic requirements in crisis or war. Sovietmerchant vessels have, in recent decades, beenincreasingly constructed to military standards,incorporating such key features as chemical-biological-radiologicalprotection, met eased enduranceand service speeds, improved capability Inhandling gear and self-servicing features, advancedcommunications, navigation and electronics.Including identification -friend-or-foesystems — systems which are restricted to navalships in the WestThe current Soviet Merchant Marine shipbuildingprogramme emphasises technologicalmodernisation in designs that have direct mil)tary applications These Include: roll-on/rotloH.roll-on float-off. lighter aboard ships andcontainer shipsThe operations of the Merchant Marine areclosely co-ordinated with naval requirementsfrom the Moscow level down to the smallestport facility. On a regular basis, in peacetime, asignificant amount of logistic support requiredby the Soviet Navy, especially In distant areas,is provided by merchantmen. This flexibilityallows Soviet merchant ships to obtain supplies(or naval use in ports where warship visits mightbe denied In a crisis, the highly organised.centrally controlled merchant fleet can providesuitable military support quickly and effectively,particularly for amphibious operations, troopmovements and arms shipments For example,to support military operations, the Soviet FarEast merchant fleet has an estimated capacity totransport up to seven motorised rifle or tankdivisions in a single lift operation if given appropriateconditions of sea and air superiorityTo ensure their readiness to perform suchAprtKhfM, 1M7ilssions. Soviet merchant ships areommanded by naval reserve officers andoutinery participate in naval exercisesAnother arm of Soviet maritime power isiieir fishing fleet, again the world's largest llnumbers some 3.800 vessels of over 100 grosstons, over half of which are of more than 1.000