Primarily interested in Cold War lessons for 21st Century Problems.
Former Civil Servant.
4 subscribers
After the independence of Indonesia in 1949, the Netherlands retained control of Western New Guinea as a colony, and began preparing it for independence. In Dec 1961 President Sukarno called for the seizure of the colony by military force.
For almost 30 years the Polaris SSBN force was the backbone of the UK's strategic nuclear arsenal. 4 submarines, carry 16 missiles with 3 warheads were available to deliver an overwhelming nuclear attack on any aggressor if required. 
In Aug 83, Minister Armed Forces sought advice from the Royal Navy about the risk of Argentine military forces carrying out a sneak attack using Exocet in certain domestic political circumstances. 
In 1983, the MOD identified that a 2nd surrender possibly document existed, and may have been kept by Maj Gen Moore.
A new book about the Soviet spy Lyalin claims that the Soviets looked at trying to poison Holy Loch in the 1970s to cause peace activists to force a ban on the presence of US Navy Polaris submarines - a key risk to Russia in the event of war. 
Following the massacre in Tiananmen Square, there was real concern that the Colony, due to be handover over to China in 1997 would see a potential mass exodus of people fleeing Chinese tyranny and repression. This would have huge repercussions for the UK and beyond. 
In August 1972 President, Idi Amin of Uganda directed the South Asian population to leave the country in 90 days. There were approximately 50,000 UK passport holders caught up in this situation, the FCO realised an evacuation was necessary, and asked the MOD for help. 
In 1979, just after arriving in Office, PM Thatcher was informed in writing that Anthony Blunt, a key Establishment figure, was the '4th man' linked to well known British spies, as part of wider investigations into Soviet penetration of the UK
In spring 1968 the Suez canal was shut following the 1967 war. There was a global shortage of shipping, and the British car industry needed ships to ferry its vessels to the USA in time for peak sales season. Commercial shipping was in short supply. 
In 1988 the Royal Navy was deeply concerned about the new VISHNAYA class AGI operating off Malin Head, and the Soviet Type 75 Sonobuoy, shown by the RAF to be capable of tracking a NATO submarine deep in the GIUK gap. This posed a real threat to UK naval security. 
The Type 43 emerged in the late 1970s as the successor platform to T42, intended to carry Seadart to provide air defence to task forces operating globally, but particularly in the North Atlantic. 
It starts with the reminder that in wartime, contact with HQ won't be possible and immigration officers will need to act independently - if in doubt though, follow the peacetime procedure! /2 
British nuclear deterrence is built around core idea that the UK can inflict unacceptable harm to Russian regimes core interests (e.g. Moscow). If this can be achieved, then it follows other areas can also be destroyed - 'the bomb must always get through'. 
The plan was to spend about a month operating in the Arctic, off the east coast of Greenland and sailing over 500 miles under the icepack - a bold move for a conventional submarine which needed to 'snort' for air. 
In 1972 NATO nations were seeking arms control talks with the Warsaw Pact known as the MBFR process - Mutual Balanced Force Reductions process (or 'Most Bizzare Form of Ritual'). There was concern this would lead to defence spending cuts across NATO. 
The study came about due to a reportedly still classified JIC assessment which concluded that in a conventional war phase, the Soviets would potentially target tactical nuclear 'dual use' sites. 
Royal Navy Fleet in Dec 2024:
In the 1980s the UK had around 70,000 Army and RAF personnel based in Europe, built around a Corps and multiple air units. These groups required constant resupply and restoring from the UK, usually by sea. This was not an effective, or efficient outcome. 
The UK has two carriers. The aim is to have one ready for ops at all times, and the other at varying readiness levels. There are no plans to operate both continuously - no navy in history has ever been able to do this. 
The context is that the MOD is financially strained due to inflation, cost growth, rise in operating costs and shortfalls of people. Elderly equipment is being run on far longer than planned and there is not enough money to do everything that MOD wants to do. /2 