The invincible and legendary US Navy Sixth Fleet hastily left the Mediterranean Sea as a Russian naval group approached the shores of Syria. Actually, the Sixth Fleet itself and its commander, Vice Admiral Craig Pandolph, have not gone anywhere - they are still in the area of responsibility entrusted to them, being listed in all operational reports and financial reports. At the numerous Mediterranean bases of the Sixth Fleet, life also flows as usual - attire, leave, perimeter security, painting fences, theft of property, unpaid bills for electricity, gas and fresh water.
Another thing is that the ships of the Sixth Fleet strangely disappeared from the Mediterranean Sea!
There is a fleet, but there are no ships, - you will probably be surprised, - Is this possible?
Yes, perhaps when it comes to the American naval forces. Unlike the structure of the Russian Navy, where each fleet has an invariable list of ships assigned to it, including its own flagship (Northern Fleet - TARKR "Peter the Great", Baltic Fleet - destroyer "Nasty", Black Sea Fleet - GRKR "Moscow", Pacific - RRC "Varyag"), the concept of "fleet" for the US Navy is nothing more than a sphere of responsibility. It is impossible to give a concrete answer to the request: "Show the ships of the Sixth Fleet" - the composition of the fleet changes almost daily. Such is quantum mechanics!
For example, any carrier strike force that passed the Strait of Gibraltar is automatically assigned the designation Task Force 60 and the AUG becomes the main strike force of the Sixth Fleet. And the commander of the aircraft carrier group, accordingly, receives the post of commander of Task Force 60, and is now directly responsible for the situation in the Mediterranean.
Following this logic, each amphibious assault carrier and her escort that enters the Mediterranean waters are designated Task Force 61. They are now the main amphibious force of the Sixth Fleet.
Any destroyer squadron in the Mediterranean turns into DESRON SIX ZERO (or simply “destroyer squadron 60”), the destroyers will leave - “destroyer squadron 60” is disbanded.
How do the Americans manage not to get entangled in this cycle and not accidentally lose their six dozen destroyers in the vastness of the oceans? Imagine this conversation on the sidelines of the Pentagon:
- Where is the destroyer John Paul Jones?
- Last year he was seen off the coast of Jamaica …
- Damn, he should have arrived in Norfolk in September. Where did he go?
And "John Paul Jones" is quietly rusting in Pearl Harbor, awaiting a new order, which, perhaps, will send it to the coast of Greenland.
Three things help to avoid such a mess: a specific home port for each ship (standard and mandatory world practice), a rather vague division into the Atlantic and Pacific Commands, and, most importantly, regardless of the fleet number, American ships are consolidated into permanent divisions, battle groups and aircraft carrier strike groups.
Any aircraft carrier usually for many years has an unchanged list of ships of its escort and a clear composition of the air wing with permanent squadrons, which are sometimes attributed to this aircraft carrier for decades. And nothing else.
For example, the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, together with the Cape St. George missile cruiser, four Aegis destroyers (Sterrett, Hasley, Momsen and Shoup), and a number of auxiliary ships and frigates, form a "combat aircraft carrier group number 9 ".
Based on this concept, each of the six American fleets constantly has in its composition (i.e., in its area of responsibility) one or more aircraft carrier strike groups, amphibious groups or destroyer battalions, from which the naval composition of the fleet is formed. Ships come and go, but their numbers always remain the same.
And now - noticing the Russian squadron on the horizon, most of the American ships hastened to leave the area of responsibility of the Sixth Fleet, leaving the Mediterranean borders of NATO, sorry, with a bare bottom. Speaking in Russian - the Sixth Fleet ceased to exist, remaining only in the form of paper instructions and empty berths of Mediterranean bases.
This story is not new - the brave British sailors acted according to a similar scenario, who, having barely received information about the German battleship Tirpitz entering the sea, abandoned the unarmed transports of the PQ-17 convoy to their fate and ignominiously fled at the 30-knot speed. It is significant that the British squadron, at least, was not inferior to the German ships and even had an advantage due to the presence of carrier-based aircraft. The death of the PQ-17 convoy left a shameful stain on the entire history of the British fleet.
So it happened this time: an elderly missile cruiser, a couple of large anti-submarine ships, four landing ships with full holds of "black jackets", a small frigate and a patrol boat, laid down back in 1966, drove all the super-ships of the "probable enemy" from the coast of Syria ", Disrupting the already prepared plans for an armed invasion. American sailors are seriously afraid of the Russian Navy - they have long understood that when the shells run out, our ships will break their side, as happened in the Black Sea.
Let's take a look at who faced the small Russian squadron for fun:
The Dwight Eisenhower nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is a lump of combat matter weighing 100,000 tons; an invincible monster capable of striking an enemy at a distance of a thousand kilometers and examining the entire surface of the Mediterranean Sea in a day. Two Westinghouse reactors, unlimited autonomy in terms of fuel supplies. The displacement of the huge ship is twice the total displacement of all ships of the Russian group.
The main argument of the killer vehicle is 70 … 80 aircraft for various purposes, capable of pouring 1900 tons of ammunition onto the heads of enemies from the immense cellars of the super-aircraft carrier. State-of-the-art equipment, radars and supercomputers, a seawater desalination plant, catapults, ammunition elevators, aerofinishers and aircraft lifts, heavy armor, unique fire extinguishing systems, giant storage facilities and cold rooms, nearly six thousand crew members.
On December 1, 2012, the Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in the eastern Mediterranean. On December 13, 2012, the invincible aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower unexpectedly said goodbye to everyone, and flew out of the Mediterranean Sea with a bullet, heading for its home base in Norfolk.
According to the official version, the ship was taken away to defuse the tense situation in this region. Hmm … why did the Americans get scared of the "tense situation" ?! In my opinion, their whole policy is aimed at creating tensions around the world.
Following the escaped Eisenhower, Turkish politicians looked sadly, who now have to independently manage the situation on the border with Syria.
Universal amphibious assault helicopter dock "Iwo Jima". A huge barge, comparable in displacement and capabilities with the aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov". On board "Iwo Jima" - thirty aircraft: attack aircraft with vertical takeoff, heavy transport helicopters and converters, a squadron of attack rotary-wing vehicles. Below the flight deck are the living quarters designed to accommodate 2,000 marines. Even lower, there are decks for transporting armored vehicles. And at the level of the waterline - a dock chamber filled with water, in which there are three ready-made amphibious assault ships on an air cushion.
For two weeks, the Iwo Jima, overloaded with military equipment, cruised the Syrian waters importantly, but as soon as she saw the small Russian large landing ships, she rushed to the West, waddling and puffing at the 23-knot run.
Together with the aircraft carrier Eisenhower, his personal guard, the missile cruiser Hue City, with full cellars of Tomahawks, prepared for shelling Syrian cities, left the Syrian waters. The most modern ship, equipped with the all-seeing system "Aegis" and 122 launchers to launch any type of missile in service with the US Navy. But no modern technology has saved the Americans from a fierce fear of the Russian squadron. And not without reason - a quarter of a century ago, the missile cruiser Yorktown, similar in design to the Hue City, returned from a Black Sea cruise with a destroyed deck deck and cracked sides. Although it would seem that he was just trying to get closer to Sevastopol … And here is the whole of Syria, the Russian sailors will generally cut them in half with a ramming blow.
In addition to the missile cruiser, the retinue of the American super-aircraft carrier included three Orly Burke-class URO destroyers - McFaul, Carney and Farragut. All of them, naturally, fled with their flagship. Stunning ships, masterpieces of world shipbuilding, ready to shoot the enemy with five dozen winged "Tomahawks" or to defeat the target in low earth orbit. Finally, Burke-class Aegis destroyers are a key element of the US missile defense system. Strong, sturdy and modern destroyers. So what? Did it help a lot?
In total, on the naval approaches to Syria, the Americans concentrated a grouping of 17 most powerful and modern ships: an aircraft carrier and UDC, Aegis cruisers, destroyers, frigates, integrated supply ships and ships of the Marine Transportation Command. And the total number of ships of the Sixth Fleet reached 40 units! To date, most of them have left the Mediterranean Sea, while the rest of the ships are hiding in their bases.
Americans are the most humble and ascetic people. In the composition of the Sixth Fleet there is always only … one ship. The special command ship Mount Whitney is the very exception that confirms the general rule. Unlike all other ships, Mount Whitney rarely leaves the Mediterranean basin and, in fact, is the eternal flagship of the American naval group in this region.
The idea is not bad - to ensure effective command and control and coordination of the forces of the Navy and the Marine Corps, it was proposed to build a specialized command ship, extremely saturated with receiving and transmitting equipment, equipped with rooms for briefings and meetings, comfortable admiral's cabins and command posts. On board there is equipment for receiving a helicopter. Externally, Mount Whitney features a flat, spacious deck that is literally littered with antenna housings. In principle, Mount Whitney is difficult to distinguish from civilian research vessels or spacecraft communications ships. The only thing that a warship gives out in it are six-barreled automatic anti-aircraft guns "Falanx" installed on the bow and in the stern.
In 2008, Mount Whitney, forgetting about its flagship functions, was the first to deliver humanitarian aid to Georgia. Along the way, he tried to make a "friendly visit" to Sevastopol, but was booed and exhibited in shame from the Black Sea. This time, sensing that the Russians are determined to defend Syria, the flagship of the Sixth Fleet has locked itself in its base in Gaeta (Italy) and does not show itself to our sailors.
Speaking of bases, the Sixth Fleet has a significant number of logistical support points in the Mediterranean. Among them are facilities in Italy: in addition to the already mentioned naval base Gaeta, on the coast of this country there is a large naval base Naples with a highly protected coastal command post and a forward base of La Maddalena (a nuclear submarine base on the island of Sardinia). In addition, the Sixth Fleet can use the Italian naval base of La Spezia, Taranto, Brindisi, Augusta (a large fuel supply point). On the coast of Spain, there is another large facility - the Rota naval base, which is used in conjunction with the Spanish Navy. Also, for the deployment of base patrol and anti-submarine aircraft, the American fleet can use numerous air bases in European countries (for example, AB Sigonella on the island of Sicily).
The maintenance of all these military facilities is a heavy burden on the shoulders of American taxpayers. The commanding staff of the Sixth Fleet are trying to cut costs, and sometimes this leads to hilarious results - in September 2009, the Gaeta naval base was left without fresh water for several days: a private Italian water company simply turned off the water for non-payment.
Epilogue
Whatever events unfold in the Middle East, the coast of Syria is under constant control by the Russian Navy. We won this round - American ships left the Mediterranean, and without the help of American aircraft carriers, UDC and Aegis destroyers, NATO has no clear advantage at sea - European sub-aircraft carriers and frigates, devoid of any serious strike weapons, pose no threat to Russian grouping of ships of the Black Sea, Baltic and Pacific fleets. Let's hope that soon the North Sea sailors will come to the area and our Navy will be able to conduct truly grandiose exercises in the Mediterranean Sea.
Yes, the Sixth Fleet is cool and strong, but the era of atomic weapons is guaranteed to “multiply by zero” all non-nuclear weapons in a global war. And in local conflicts, the one who is more daring and decisive has the advantage. The US Navy has extensive experience in maritime warfare, but Americans do not like to fight unprepared, they need time to deploy and careful preparation. Our sailors, on the contrary, are ready to fight in any conditions - this is our main and only trump card; unexpected tricks and desperate bravery devalue any Aegis and Tomahawks.
