Military Subjects & War Stories (Incldg the Cold War)

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How A British Submarine Spent Hours Under A Russian Aircraft Carrier​

BY MATUS SMUTNY | PUBLISHED JAN 11, 2023 4:30 PM

In 1977, with the Cold War in full swing, the U.K. Royal Navy’s nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS Swiftsure (S-126) slipped right into the heart of a large-scale Soviet Northern Fleet exercise in the Barents Sea. The British submarine penetrated undetected through the layered escort screens of destroyers and frigates and meticulously approached the Russian aircraft carrier Kiev. The submarine recorded extremely valuable acoustic signatures and took incredible underwater periscope pictures of the Soviet carrier’s hull and propellers. As an example of a perfect covert operation, the Soviet Navy had absolutely no idea about the presence of the NATO attack submarine and the amount of valuable data it was able to collect.

Lots more:

www.thedrive.com

How A British Submarine Spent Hours Under A Russian Aircraft Carrier

A Cold War British nuclear sub sneaked into a Soviet naval exercise and took closeup underwater pictures of Russia’s new aircraft carrier.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com
 

The Strange WW2 Escape that No One Believed for 50 Years​


10:00

It was the chilly winter night of December 6, 1941, and Navy stoker John Capes was dozing off on his makeshift bunk bed made from an old torpedo tube. His vessel, the Parthian-class British submarine HMS Perseus, surfaced calmly while recharging her batteries under cover of the night near the shore of the Greek island of Kefalonia.

Suddenly, a massive explosion struck Perseus; the ship jerked violently, throwing Capes off his bed and sending him flying through the air. The lights went out, and he could feel the submarine dropping like an anvil amid the screaming sounds of the crew.

Water began pouring into the engine room as the air grew dense with smoke and fumes. As Capes scrambled across the engine room, he discovered the door was locked due to the water pressure. He then grabbed a flashlight and dragged as many injured men as he could toward an escape hatch. At 270 feet below the surface, Capes knew they would continue to sink.

The brave man then seized his only tool for survival, a bunch of Davis Submarine Escape Apparatuses that had only been tested at a depth of 100 feet, and fitted three injured men and himself with them. After what seemed like eons, he managed to release the hatch locking mechanism and leave the sinking submarine.

Even so, for the 31-year-old sailor, his survival story was just beginning…

More vids here:
 

CIA paid this Soviet traitor millions - but got billions in return​

Adolf Tolkachev remains the source of the most catastrophic military aviation leaks in all of Russian history. Working for the CIA in 1979-1985, he’d managed to pass on so much he’d even given Israel the upper hand over Palestine, whose planes were 99 percent comprised of Soviet tech. And he did it all for a monthly salary greater than that of the U.S. President.

Codename ‘Sphere’. That was the designation given to Tolkachev by his American handlers after months of repeated attempts to come into their employ finally bore fruit.

Read the rest here:

www.rbth.com

CIA paid this Soviet traitor millions - but got billions in return

On a typical freezing Moscow January evening in 1977, an inconspicuous man in his fifties bumped into another at a gas station close to the U.S....
www.rbth.com www.rbth.com
 
Descriptions of involvement in Covid, Jan 6, and others. Interesting if you enjoy this subject matter. Nothing to see, it's an interview. Can listen in one tab, play around in bug land or surf the web in a different tab. 43 minutes 30 seconds long.

Domestic Operations with Brig Gen Birckhead​

Mar 7, 2023


Join us on the Leader's Recon Podcast as we discuss domestic operations with a subject matter expert; Brig Gen Janeen Birckhead!
 
The beginning of the Nazi-Soviet War on June 22, 1941, was a cataclysm of an unimaginable scale. The ensuing conflict would unfold across an enormous theater and would be fought by armies of unprecedented size. Major operations were conducted from Berlin to the Volga, and from the Baltic to the Caucasus - millions of men killing each other in an arena well over a thousand miles across. It was also here, in the east, that the brutality of the Nazi regime was finally unleashed in its totality. As the Wehrmacht blasted its way into the Soviet interior, it was trailed by special SS units tasked with summarily executing identified categories of enemies, like Communist Party officials and Jews. Hundreds of thousands would be shot over open air death pits.

bigserge.substack.com

Apocalypse: Operation Barbarossa

The History of Battle: Maneuver, Part 11
bigserge.substack.com bigserge.substack.com
 
www.theatlantic.com

World War I in Photos: Global Conflict

Centuries of colonialism had spread Europeans around the world, and 20th century developments in transportation were shrinking the globe. World War I pitted diverse nations and cultures against each other in a way no other conflict ever had.
www.theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com
 

Why Berlin is still the Spy Capital | Spy Documentary​

Jan 4, 2023


26:07

Berlin is the scene of countless agent stories. Just before Christmas 2022, a scandal rocked the German Federal Intelligence Service @Bundesnachrichtendienst. An employee allegedly spied for Russian secret services and reported directly to Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin's network of agents is considered the strongest weapon against the West. Berlin has been already the scene of countless spy stories, real and fictional, from the Cold War to today.

Its history as a spy-craft hotspot began after World War 2. The Allies ended Nazi rule and divided the capital into four sectors. Nowhere else did the superpowers of West and East meet as closely as in the divided city, making it a perfect place for spies. Whether they were working for the Russian KGB, the American NSA and CIA, the British MI6 or the East German "Stasi", the respective agents lived secret lives with fake identities, spying on the other side. The island of West Berlin, surrounded by the socialist East Germany, also inspired countless thrillers, be it Steven Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies", the James Bond film “Octopussy" or "The Bourne Conspiracy". Berlin is simply a must for top-class spooks!

On this episode of Arts Unveiled, we explore the covert side of Berlin in search of espionage locations: Checkpoint Charlie, the Friedrichstraße train station, the Teufelsberg and the Glienicker Bridge. Along the way, we meet ex-agents with unbelievable stories, such as Mr. and Mrs. Schevitz. For years, the American couple lived in West Berlin as top spies for East Germany. Their highly explosive goal: to spy on the German chancellor. We learn how famous double agent George Blake sabotaged secret projects like the tunnel construction of "Operation Gold". And we show why Berlin remains a hotbed of espionage: in recent years, for example, NSA wiretapping scandals and a contract killing attributed to people with ties to the old KGB have made headlines. It seems Berlin is still a popular playing field for intelligence agencies.

00:00 Intro 00:57 Berlin - The Frontline of the Cold War 03:44 Spy Stations: Journey into Darkness 04:42 Friedrichstrasse Border Crossing 06:35 The Stasi 07:26 Normannenstrasse: Stasi Headquarters 08:35 Glienicker Bridge: Agent Exchange 10:52 Teufelsberg Listening Station 12:26 Marienfelde Refugee Processing Center 15:17 Berlin-Gatow Airfield: Spies in the Airspace 17:50 Allied Museum Berlin 20:40 Checkpoint Charlie Border Crossing Point 22:40 What happened after the Fall of the Berlin Wall? 23:48 German Spy Museum Berlin 24:14 Berlin Spies Today
 

Fighter jet catches fire and crashes near Monchegorsk​


April 26, 2023

Several videos posted on social media by locals in Monchegorsk Wednesday afternoon show a fighter jet catching fire in the skies above the city, flying in flames a few kilometers and then crashing.

Law enforcement officials told news agency TASS that one of the engines caught fire and the plane shortly after fell to the ground.

Eyewitnesses write in several regional Telegram posts they saw two parachutes from the plane before it crashed.

Story & vids:

thebarentsobserver.com

Fighter jet catches fire and crashes near Monchegorsk

Two pilots parachuted to survive when a MiG-31 crashed Wednesday afternoon. See our Russian video story above.
thebarentsobserver.com thebarentsobserver.com
 
From the link:

When it comes to the most realistic war film ever made, Steven Spielberg fans are likely to praise Saving Private Ryan while foreign film buffs often think of Come and See, though the reality is that Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers was so revolutionarily realistic in its depiction of the Algerian War that movements as prominent as the Black Panthers and the IRA actually studied its guerrilla tactics. While Pontecorvo is an Italian filmmaker (and the film no doubt benefits from its neorealist style), the film is actually a depiction of conflict stemming from France’s occupation of Algeria, acting as a fundamental text on decolonization without glorifying the participants or perpetrators of the violence portrayed. It’s no surprise then that the film was not only banned in France, but even screened by multiple official military groups, including even the Pentagon.

 

Expeditionary Warfare​

Highlighting 150 years of expeditionary warfare in U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings.
By A. Denis Clift
April 2023

Proceedings

Vol. 149/4/1,442

For Proceedings’ first examination of expeditionary warfare, one goes back to the legendary Captain Stephen B. Luce and the introductory words to his 1877 article “Fleets of the World”: “Beginning with the earliest authentic history we find that among the Greeks and Phoenicians the higher officers, and often the entire personnel of navies, fought on shore as well as at sea. It was natural, therefore, that the tactics of the land army, which was of an earlier growth, should be applied to the sea army as far as the nature of the two elements would admit.”

There were many famous Marine Corps expeditions: the Marines storming Tripoli in 1805; the 1847 Mexican-American War’s Battle of Chapultepec, with the red stripe on Marines’ blue trousers now honoring the ferocity of that fighting; to Peking at the turn of the century to protect embassies and U.S. commerce; to France in World War I; and to several expeditionary brigade campaigns in the Caribbean and Central America between the world wars.

Read the rest here:

www.usni.org

Expeditionary Warfare

A look back 150 years at examinations of expeditionary warfare in Proceedings.
www.usni.org www.usni.org
 

Sub Hunt: NATO on Patrol for Russian Subs​

Apr 21, 2023


27:25

NBC News on patrol in the North Atlantic hunting for Russian nuclear submarines lurking close to Europe’s vital energy lifelines - the oil and gas fields off the coast of Norway. SUB HUNT - a compelling 30-minute documentary examines mounting tension gripping the world after the unexplained sabotage of the Russian Nord Stream pipelines. Correspondent Tom Costello and an NBC team embark with the female captain of a Norwegian patrol ship making its rounds amid the towering Oil and Gas Platforms that dot the North Sea sixty miles from the coast - vital pipelines on the ocean floor provide the energy that makes Western Europe work and heats its homes.
 

Weird Waffen-SS Weapons - Western Front 1940​

May 16, 2023


8:32

In 1940, the tiny forerunner to the Waffen-SS, the SS-VT, took part in the invasion of France and Belgium. Starved of modern German weapons by the regular army, the SS-VT had supplemented its armoury with a wide variety of strange machine guns, anti-tank rifles and pistols.
 
From the link:

Ashadowy cat-and-mouse game between Chinese submariners and U.S. military forces tasked with tracking them is, by all accounts, increasing in scope and frequency in the Pacific. One stark example of this was recently highlighted by a Chinese newspaper's report about a previously undisclosed incident in a highly strategic coordinator in the South China Sea that occurred on January 5, 2021, some details of which the U.S. military's top command in the Pacific has disputed.

The South China Morning Post, or SCMP, which has its main offices in Hong Kong, published its initial story on the incident on May 15. The newspaper said the episode, details of which had emerged in a Chinese-language research paper written by a team that included members of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), had involved three unspecified U.S. "spy planes" engaged in a "hunt for Chinese submarines." The researchers reportedly said that one of those aircraft had come within 150 kilometers (around 93 miles) of Hong Kong, prompting a significant PLA reaction.

www.thedrive.com

Submarine Hunt Incident A Peak Into Cat-And-Mouse Games In South China Sea

A stretch of the northern South China Sea is increasingly of great strategic interest, especially when it comes to submarine activity.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com
 

The Craziest Sea Operation of WWII​


10:16

The fall of France had been a disaster to the Allies in more ways than one, and by 1942, they were still struggling to contain the advantages the Wehrmacht had gained.

Germany could now employ French harbors to launch U-boat attacks on the Allied convoys traversing the Atlantic Ocean, and containing these naval assaults proved too complicated now that the enemy’s navy was not boxed in the North Sea.

The French port of Bordeaux was especially precious to German naval operations and soon became a prime target for the Allies. But attacking it directly was practically impossible, as the maritime base was inland, only connected to the sea by the Garonne river. If the Allies launched a naval attack, they would most likely be obliterated by land artillery guns and Luftwaffe warplanes before reaching the port.

On the other hand, a covert commando operation was more conceivable, and soon a group of ten recently-formed British commandos was tasked with the excruciating task of infiltrating the most fortified port in Nazi-occupied France aboard canoes…
 

Ramage's Rampage: When a sub killed 5 ships in 40 minutes​

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Lawson "Red" Ramage was a bold submariner, originally known for attacking a light carrier in his first sub command. But he would really become famous in 1943 when he led an assault on a Japanese fleet and sank or heavily damaged five ships during a submarine battle that lasted only 40 minutes. The event is remembered as "Ramage's Rampage" and resulted in him receiving the Medal of Honor.

More here:

www.yahoo.com

Ramage's Rampage: When a sub killed 5 ships in 40 minutes

During "Ramage's Rampage," a U.S. submarine found itself in the middle of a Japanese convoy and went to town in epic World War II battle.
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com
 

River Rats - Operation Game Warden​

Feb 11, 2023


12:53

Following the initial success of Operation Market Time, a joint mission between the US Navy and Coast Guard to patrol the coasts and waterways of South Vietnam from Communist smuggling, the Navy launched the ambitious Operation Game Warden.

Contrary to Market Time, the vessels in this operation were tasked with going deeper into the Mekong Delta and the Rung Sat zone to obliterate the Viet Cong and its supply networks.

Swiftboats armed with mortars, M2 Browning machine guns, and even flamethrowers comprised Task Force 116, which was sent not just to police the rivers of South Vietnam but also to engage the enemy with support from helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

To pull all of this off, the American patrol boats cooperated closely with special operators such as Navy SEALs, MACV-SOG, and CIA agents on infiltration, extraction, and search and rescue operations.

From intense river firefights to shore ambushes, desperate supply operations and scattered Army and Marines outposts, Task Force 116 would tirelessly fight to keep the rivers of South Vietnam safe until the very last days of the war…
 

The 'Good German' - Marlene Dietrich vs. The Nazis​

Jul 1, 2023


13:52

German-born screen icon Marlene Dietrich fought her own battle against the Nazis before and during WWII, by helping fleeing Jewish refugees and then serving overseas with the USO, entertaining the troops often very dangerously close to enemy lines. She received high honours for this work and she always said it was her proudest achievement. Find out the full story here.
 

Ungentlemanly Weapons! WW2 Secret Agent Special Guns​

Jul 3, 2023


9:03

Special Operations Executive produced a series of ingenious firearms for use in Occupied Europe, including the Welrod and little known Welwand. Described by SOE as 'murder weapons', they were often used to assassinate enemy personnel and collaborators.
 

The Nuclear Submarine with the Most Insane Mission​

Jul 14, 2023


10:53

In the advent of the nuclear era, the US military harnessed the atom's unfathomable power to propel its leading-edge fleet of submarines. But among the first batch of nuclear models, one stood out: USS Triton.

The only one in her class, Triton was the epitome of naval power. As such, she would be tasked with a mission no other vessel could achieve - one the legendary sailor Ferdinand Magellan could have never even dreamed of.

Captain Edward L. Beach was at the helm when the submarine was commissioned. As he put it: (QUOTE) "As I was reporting to the Triton, I remember saying, 'This ship is an unusual one. We've got to do something special with it. What could it be?' [...] Suddenly ... a phone call came, asking me if I could be in Washington tomorrow."
 

'Operation Valkyrie': The failed plot to kill Adolf Hitler​

On July 20, 1944, at 12:42, a bomb went off in the conference room of the Wolf's Lair military headquarters in East Prussia, the easternmost province of the German Reich until the end of World War II. It was supposed to kill Adolf Hitler, and had been planted by German army officer Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. The former ardent National Socialist now no longer saw any other option apart from murdering the dictator. "There is nothing left but to kill him," he had told his closest confidants a few days earlier.

Stauffenberg was not only the assassin, but also the most important organizer of a large-scale coup attempt by people from conservative circles, which included high-ranking military, diplomatic and administrative officials.

Shortly before the time bomb exploded on June 20, 1944, the officer had left the barracks. He flew in a military aircraft toward Berlin, believing the "Führer" was dead. In the German capital, "Operation Valkyrie" was underway.

Read the rest:

www.dw.com

'Operation Valkyrie': The failed plot to kill Adolf Hitler – DW – 07/19/2023

No other act of resistance against Adolf Hitler had such a long-term impact as the assassination attempt by Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. Nevertheless, his plans remain controversial to this day.
www.dw.com www.dw.com
 

The Most Feared Submarine in the Pacific during WW2​

Jul 24, 2023


12:17

In the bleak final months of 1942, even the most optimistic US commanders quivered at the thought of the Japanese Navy’s potential for destruction. Their nightmares soon turned into a harrowing catastrophe on the night of September 15.
Dashing deftly under the waves, a lone Japanese submarine, under the command of the intrepid Takakazu Kinashi, infiltrated the perimeter where USS Wasp and her accompanying vessels were escorting transport ships destined for Guadalcanal.
Encountering no resistance, the stealthy Submarine I-19 maneuvered herself into a perfect position, poised to strike the massive USS Wasp aircraft carrier.
Kinashi unleashed a torrent of six oxygen-fueled Type 95 torpedoes in a heartbeat, carving a path of devastation. Three struck true, ripping enormous gashes in the carrier’s hull and igniting violent fires within the beleaguered warship.
Despite the valiant efforts of US sailors, who fought tooth and nail to quench the flames, the fate of USS Wasp was sealed. Yet, the infamous path of devastation of Japan’s most notorious submarine had just begun...
 

Find the Führer: The Secret Soviet Investigation (Episode 1)​

Aug 16, 2023


22:52

The fate of Hitler is one of the most infamous subjects in history - but the investigation of the nation that was best placed to find out, the USSR, is often ignored or dismissed in the West. This series examines what the Soviets found, both at the bunker and Reich Chancellery, and also the medical examination of the purported bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun. Kept secret until 1968, the Soviet files reveal many strange anomalies that challenge the established story of the ultimate fates of Hitler and his wife.
In this episode, the storming of the Reich Chancellery and the search for Hitler's corpse.
 

Find the Führer: The Secret Soviet Investigation - Episode 2: The 'Eva Braun' Corpse​

Aug 19, 2023

23:50

The fate of Hitler is one of the most infamous subjects in history - but the investigation of the nation that was best placed to find out, the USSR, is often ignored or dismissed in the West. This series examines what the Soviets found, both at the bunker and Reich Chancellery, and also the medical examination of the purported bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun. Kept secret until 1968, the Soviet files reveal many strange anomalies that challenge the established story of the ultimate fates of Hitler and his wife.In this episode, the strange medical anomalies on the body identified as Eva Braun.
 

Find the Führer: The Secret Soviet Investigation - Episode 3: The 'Hitler' Corpse​

Aug 24, 2023


Aug 24, 2023

The fate of Hitler is one of the most infamous subjects in history - but the investigation of the nation that was best placed to find out, the USSR, is often ignored or dismissed in the West. This series examines what the Soviets found, both at the bunker and Reich Chancellery, and also the medical examination of the purported bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun. Kept secret until 1968, the Soviet files reveal many strange anomalies that challenge the established story of the ultimate fates of Hitler and his wife.In this episode, the strange medical anomalies on the body identified as Adolf Hitler.
 

Rommel's White Horse: A Shocking Fate!​

Sep 9, 2023


7:07

The sad story of how Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's white horse ended up captured by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, and its ultimate tragic fate.
 
This one is a podcast. Nothing to see, you can listen in one window, play around on the forum in a different window.



​

 
^^^^

Midrats Podcast
www.spreaker.com

Midrats

Sal from "CDR Salamander" and EagleOne from "EagleSpeak" discuss leading issues and developments for the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard & related national security areas.
www.spreaker.com www.spreaker.com
 
Cont'd from post #28.

Find the Führer - The Secret Soviet Investigation Episode 4: Back in the Bunker​

Aug 30, 2023


13:52

The fate of Hitler is one of the most infamous subjects in history - but the investigation of the nation that was best placed to find out, the USSR, is often ignored or dismissed in the West. This series examines what the Soviets found, both at the bunker and Reich Chancellery, and also the medical examination of the purported bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun. Kept secret until 1968, the Soviet files reveal many strange anomalies that challenge the established story of the ultimate fates of Hitler and his wife.

In this episode, the Soviets return to Hitler's bunker and attempt to conduct a forensic investigation of the 'crime scene' to find the truth.
 

Find the Führer - The Secret Soviet Investigation - Episode 5: Bone of Contention​

Sep 3, 2023

12:34

In this episode, the Soviets return to Hitler's bunker and attempt to conduct a forensic investigation of the 'crime scene' to find the truth.
 

Find the Führer - The Secret Soviet Investigation Episode 6: The Forgotten Theory​

Sep 12, 2023


23:45

In this episode, I reveal a long overlooked theory that may explain why the bodies recovered by the Soviets don't match Hitler and Eva Braun.
 
Navy Matters

Navy Matters

Naval analysis provided by ComNavOps, Commander - Naval Opinions
navy-matters.blogspot.com navy-matters.blogspot.com
 

Endgame on Hitler's Mountain - Obersalzberg, May 1945​

Sep 22, 2023


15:33

On 20 April 1945, with Soviet forces closing on Berlin, about half of Hitler's closest staff were evacuated by plane to Obersalzberg, his special Bavarian mountain village. In the period between their arrival and the region's capture by US troops, the Nazi regime collapsed. But what happened at the luxurious mountain hideaway? What happened to Hitler's huge house and his staff still living in it?
 

Spies in America who stole and sold U.S. secrets | 60 Minutes Full Episodes​

Sep 23, 2023


54:51

From 2015, Steve Kroft’s report on Jack Barsky, a KGB spy from the Soviet Union who lived for decades in the United States without being detected. From 2001, Lesley Stahl’s report on Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent who was convicted of spying for Russia. And from 2010, Scott Pelley’s report on a Defense Department employee caught on tape selling secrets to a Chinese spy.
 

The life of Colonel 'Mad Mike' Hoare, as told by his son and biographer, Chris Hoare​


54:40

Colonel 'Mad Mike' Hoare leapt to international fame in 1960s Congo, leading 5 Commando mercenaries in the conflict-ravaged nation. His feats formed the basis of the film 'The Wild Geese', starring Richard Burton, but they didn't end there. In this interview, Mike's eldest son and biographer lifts the curtain into his father's unusual life, one underpinned by the philosophy of 'living dangerously'.
 

The Silent Service​


Since the American Revolution, submarines have had an important role in U.S. naval warfare. In the February 1942 Proceedings, David Whittet Thomson published “David Bushnell and the First American Submarine.” Bushnell built the small, oval, oak-timbered submarine Turtle in Connecticut and undertook submerged missions during the Revolutionary War. A single occupant/operator turned and peddled vertical and horizontal propellors, aiming to attach explosive charges to British warships at anchor in East Coast harbors. While the attacks failed, the opening chapter of the silent service had been written.

 

Stay Behind Organizations: Training and Exercises​


16:06

Our historical documentary series on the history of the Cold War continues with another video on the Gladio - the stay-behind organizations in Europe, and how they were trained and exercised to fight off a possible Soviet invasion.
 
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