Allied Forces Northern Europe

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Allied Forces Northern Europe
Allied Forces Northern Europe Emblem
Active1952–1994
AllegianceNATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Part ofAllied Command Europe, Casteau, Belgium
LocationKolsås, Norway

Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) was the northern Major Subordinate Command of NATO's Allied Command Europe (ACE), located at Kolsås outside Oslo. In the case of war with the Soviet Union, AFNORTH would assume supreme command of all Allied forces in northern Europe (Norway and Denmark) and Germany north of Elbe/Hamburg and adjacent sea territory.[1]

History

For much of its existence its commander-in-chief (CINCNORTH) was a British Admiral or General. The chief-of-staff was always a German

Rear Admirals
.

Headquarters Allied Air Forces Northern Europe was created by SHAPE on 29 March 1951. Major General R.K. Taylor, U.S. Air Force, was assigned as its commander on 2 April 1951. The Headquarters was established in London on 1 June 1951 and later transferred to Oslo, Norway on 22 June 1951. By June 1952 no units had been earmarked or allocated for it.[2] Major General Homer L. Sanders held command September 1954-September 1957.[3] Major General Carl D. Peterson became Air Deputy in June 1977.

Until the formation of BALTAP around 1962, AFNORTH comprised Allied Land Forces Norway, Allied Land Forces Denmark, and Allied Air Forces and Allied Naval Forces, Northern Europe (four commands).[4]

In 1989 at the end of the

US Army's 9th Infantry Division.[6] In case of war with the Warsaw Pact AFNORTH would have moved its headquarter to the subterranean command center at Kolsås
.

HQ AFNORTH Kolsås closed on the morning of 30 June 1994.[7] The HQ that replaced it, HQ Allied Forces Northwestern Europe (AFNORTHWEST), located at RAF High Wycombe in the United Kingdom, was activated in the afternoon of 30 June 1994.[8] AFNORTHWEST directed three Principal Subordinate Commanders: Commander Allied Air Forces Northwestern Europe (COMAIRNORTHWEST), Commander Allied Naval Forces Northwestern Europe (COMNAVNORTHWEST) (the former EASTLANT/CINCHAN), and Commander Allied Forces Northern Europe (COMNORTH), an amalgamation of Allied Forces North and South Norway. In addition, in various circumstances Baltic Approaches naval forces would report to either CINCNORTHWEST or COMNAVNORTHWEST.

AFCENT, located in Brunssum in the Netherlands, was renamed AFNORTH. AFNORTHWEST was disestablished on 3 March 2000, CINCNORTHWEST transferring his authority to RHQ AFNORTH the same day. In the year 2004, it was again renamed, to

Joint Force Command Brunssum
.

The headquarters facility at Kolsås is now used by the Norwegian defence logistics organization.

Structure until 1993

Command structure of AFNORTH in 1989 (click to enlarge)

* The sub-commands of NON and SONOR were national Norwegian commands.

Structure 2000–2004

The command alternated between British and German generals.

Commanders-in-Chief

Commanders-in-Chief have been:[7][11]

References

  1. .
  2. ^ "Report on Allied Air Forces" (PDF). Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  3. ^ "MAJOR GENERAL HOMER L. SANDERS". Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  4. , S. 489.
  5. ^ "NATO Handbook, uploaded 1993". Archived from the original on 2016-06-11. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  6. ^ David Newton. "DEFE 5/194/28". Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Senior officials in the NATO military structure, from 1949 to 2001 (PDF)
  8. ^ For more on AFNORTHWEST, see Office of Public Information accessed February 2009
  9. ^ Commodore Jacob BØRRESEN RNN, 'Alliance Navak Strategies and Norway in the Final Years of the Cold War, Naval War College Review, Spring 2011, 114.
  10. ^ Borresen, 110.
  11. ^ Army Commands Archived July 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine