Exercise Longstep

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Longstep
Part of
Robert B. Carney
, USN, Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCAFSOUTH)

Exercise Longstep was a ten-day

amphibious assault along the western coast of Turkey. With Exercise Grand Slam
, this exercise served as the prototype for future NATO maritime exercises in the Mediterranean Sea during the Cold War.

Background

In

Allied Forces Southern Europe
(AFSOUTH).

Command structure

The overall exercise commander for Grand Slam was Admiral

Robert B. Carney USN, NATO's Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCSOUTH).[4] AFSOUTH component commanders during Longstep were:[5][6]

  • Allied Air Force South (AIRSOUTH) - Major General David M. Schlatter, USAF
  • Maurizio Lazzaro De Castiglioni
    , Italian Army
  • Allied Naval Forces South (NAVSOUTH) - Vice Admiral John H. Cassady, USN

Operation history

The objective of the Allied ("Blue") forces was to dislodge enemy ("Green") invasion forces from their occupying positions in the Eastern Mediterranean. Green forces consisted of the Italian 56th Tactical Air Force and submarines of the United States, Great Britain, France, Greece, and Turkey lying in wait to ambush the Blue amphibious convoy departing from Italian embarkation ports. Over 170 warships and 700 aircraft were involved in Operation Longstep.[4]

Blue naval forces were centered around the

USMC.[4][7]

In the actual landing at

beach-head and setting up a defensive perimeter, the landing force was re-embarked onto the amphibious shipping off-shore, concluding Exercise Longstep.[4]

Carrier aviation units

Carrier Air Group Seventeen (CVG-17) embarked on USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42):[8]

  • Fleet Composite Squadron 62 (VC-62) Detachment: McDonnell F2H-2P Banshee
  • Fleet Composite Squadron 33 (VC-33) Detachment: Douglas AD-4N Skyraider
  • Fleet Composite Squadron 12 (VC-12) Detachment: Douglas AD-4W Skyraider
  • Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Detachment:
    Piasecki HUP-1

Carrier Air Group Eighteen (CVG-18) embarked on USS Wasp (CV-18):[9]

  • Fleet Composite Squadron 62 (VC-62) Detachment 38: McDonnell F2H-2P Banshee
  • Fleet Composite Squadron 12 (VC-12) Detachment 38: Douglas AD-4W Skyraider
  • Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Detachment: Piasecki HUP-1

Legacy

Longstep was an early attempt to integrate the various naval forces into a more combined force under NATO command. Another important aspect of Longstep was combined training in the coordination of radio and wire communications between ships, aircraft, and ground forces of the six-nation, five-language combined force.[4]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Longstep (military exercise, 1952).

Notes

  1. ^ "Chapter 3 - The Pace Quickens". NATO the first five years 1949-1954. NATO. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  2. ^ "Chapter 4 - The Pace Quickens". NATO the first five years 1949-1954. NATO. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  3. JSTOR 20030065
    .
  4. ^
    BUPERS. pp. 20–21. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2004-11-20. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
  5. ^ Dr. Gregory W. Pedlow (2009). "The Evolution of NATO's Command Structure, 1951-2009" (PDF). Allied Command Operation (ACO). NATO. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  6. ^ "Chapter 7 - The Military Structure". NATO the first five years 1949-1954. NATO. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  7. ^ "General Robert E. Hogaboom - Deceased". Official Biography. U.S. Marine Corps - Manpower & Reserves Affairs. n.d. Archived from the original on 2007-08-20. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
  8. ^ "CVG-17 (R) CVB-42 Franklin D. Roosevelt August 26, 1952 - December 19, 1952 (NorLant, Med)". CV-42 Franklin D. Roosevelt. GoNavy. June 17, 2009. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
  9. ^ "CVGCVG-1 (T) CV-18 Wasp May 24, 1952 - October 13, 1952 (NorLant, Med)". CV-18 Wasp. GoNavy. July 28, 2010. Retrieved 2011-06-18.

External links

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