Ships of the US 6th Fleet almost continuously patrol the Black Sea. American Poseidon aircraft and Global Hawk high-altitude reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles based at Sigonella airbase (Sicily) fly 10-15 km to the coast of Crimea and even to the Kerch Bridge, while other American drones have been regularly patrolling along the 15-16 hours along the Russian-Ukrainian border from the Black Sea to Belarus. Half a century ago, this could not have been dreamed even in a nightmare, but today it has become a reality. In this regard, I recalled an episode from the distant past, already little known to the younger generation, which I watched on TV reports in real time.
AMERICA REINFORCES NATISK
Since the fall of 1968, the United States has intensified its intelligence activities in the Pacific Northwest. So, from October 1967 to the summer of 1968, the American intelligence ship Banner (AGER-1) conducted eight cruises to the shores of the USSR and the same amount to the shores of the PRC and DPRK. The ship cruised along the edge of the territorial waters most of the time, but occasionally violated the border. Chinese torpedo boats based in Lushun (formerly Port Arthur) tried to intercept the Banner, but managed to escape into neutral waters.
Banner also conducted electronic reconnaissance near Vladivostok. Officially, he walked 12 miles off the Soviet coast, but later it turned out that he was 4-5 miles close to the coast. Throughout the voyage, the ship was monitored from a Soviet patrol ship. But then this ship was unexpectedly replaced by an old dredger, which a few days later, apparently carrying out an order, made a bulk on the Banner. The reconnaissance ship got off with a dent and hastened to leave the area, heading for its port. The Americans did not advertise this incident, especially since it was not the first with the participation of this ship in the area. And on June 4, 1966, "Banner" collides with the Soviet ship "Anemometer" in the Sea of Japan. Both vessels receive minor damage.
TRANSPORT BECOMES A SCORTER
On January 11, 1968, another American reconnaissance ship "Pueblo" (AGER-2) left the Sasebo naval base (Japan) with the task of electronic control of the bases and ports of North Korea and observation of Soviet ships. This ship was built in 1944 and was a military transport. With hull number FP-344, the ship had been supplying American troops in the Philippines for 10 years, and in 1954 it was laid to rest.
A new life for "Pueblo" began when it was decided to use it under the AGER (Auxiliary General Enviromental Research) program. In fact, under this name, electronic intelligence ships were hiding. However, for the sake of decency, civilian ocean scientists were included in the command of such ships. In 1966, the repair and re-equipment of the ship began. The cargo holds were converted into living quarters for the increased crew of the ship, and a rectangular superstructure was installed at the stern, which housed electronic equipment.
Displacement "Pueblo" was 900 tons, length - 53, 2 m, width - 9, 75 m, maximum speed - 12 knots. The Pueblo was armed with two heavy machine guns. The crew consisted of 83 people: 6 officers, 29 operators of electronic reconnaissance equipment, 44 sailors and 2 civilian oceanographers. Commander Lloyd M. Bacher, 39, was appointed in command of the ship, while Lieutenant Timothy L. Harris, 21, was in charge of the scouts.
January 21, 1968 "Pueblo" was at the edge of the territorial waters of the DPRK, where he found a Soviet submarine underwater and began tracking it, but soon lost contact. On January 23, the Americans re-established contact with the submarine and, apparently, got so carried away by the pursuit that they entered the territorial waters of North Korea. At 13:45, torpedo and patrol boats of the DPRK Navy in 7.5 miles from the island of Riedo detained the Pueblo, which was in the territorial waters of the DPRK (the Americans claimed that the ship was in international waters). During the arrest, the ship was fired upon. One of the sailors was killed and 10 wounded, one of them seriously.
Concerned about the capture of the Pueblo, President Lyndon Johnson convened a consultative meeting with military and civilian experts. Immediately, the assumption arose about the involvement of the USSR in the incident. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara argued that the Soviets knew about the incident in advance, and one of the president's advisers remarked that "this cannot be forgiven." McNamara said that the Soviet hydrographic vessel Hydrolog follows the aircraft carrier Enterprise and, periodically approaching the aircraft carrier at 700-800 meters, performs the same functions as the captured Pueblo. Note that McNamara was cunning: the fact is that the speed of the Hydrolog was two, if not three times less than that of the aircraft carrier.
On January 24, while discussing the American response at the White House, National Security Adviser Walter Rostow raised the idea of ordering South Korean ships to seize the Soviet ship following the aircraft carrier Enterprise for the sake of symmetry. Such a "symmetrical" response could have grave consequences, because, according to American data, a Soviet nuclear submarine of Project 627A "walked" behind the aircraft carrier "Enterprise" during its transition to the Korean coast, and it is not known how its commander would react.
THE FLEET GOES TO THE SHORE OF KOREA
Soon, by order of the President, 32 American surface ships were concentrated off the coast of Korea, including the nuclear attack aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVAN-65), the attack aircraft carriers Ranger (CVA-61), Ticonderoga (CVA-14), “Coral Sea (CVA-43), anti-submarine aircraft carriers Yorktown (CVS-10) and Kearsarge (CVS-33), missile cruisers Chicago (CG-11) and Providence (CLG-6), light cruiser "Canberra" (CA-70), nuclear-powered missile cruiser "Thomas Trakstan" and others. In addition to surface ships, by February 1, the 7th US Navy Fleet was ordered to deploy up to nine diesel and nuclear-powered torpedo submarines off the coast of Korea.
In such a situation, the USSR could not remain an outside observer. Firstly, there are about 100 km from the area of maneuvering of the American squadron to Vladivostok, and secondly, the USSR and the DPRK signed an agreement on mutual cooperation and military assistance.
The Pacific Fleet immediately tried to monitor the actions of the Americans. At the time of the capture of the Pueblo, the Soviet hydrographic vessel Hydrolog and the Project 50 patrol ship were on patrol in the Tsushima Strait. It was they who discovered the American Carrier Strike Group (AUG), led by the atomic attack aircraft carrier Enterprise, when it entered the Sea of Japan on January 24.
On January 25, US President Johnson announced the mobilization of 14.6 thousand reservists. The American media demanded to strike at the Wonsan naval base and to liberate Pueblo by force. Admiral Grant Sharp offered to send the destroyer Hickby directly into the harbor under the cover of aircraft from the aircraft carrier Enterprise and, taking the Pueblo in tugboat, take him away. Several more options for the release of the reconnaissance vessel were also considered. However, they all had little chance of success, since there were seven Project 183P missile boats and several patrol boats in Wonsan, as well as coastal batteries. So the plan of the US Department of Defense was more realistic, when it offered to bomb the Pueblo without stopping before the death of the crew members.
From our side, an operational squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Nikolai Ivanovich Khovrin headed for Wonsan, consisting of Project 58 Varyag and Admiral Fokin missile cruisers, Uporny (Project 57-bis) and Irresistible large missile ships (Project 56M), destroyers of project 56 "Calling" and "Vesky". The detachment was tasked with patrolling the area in readiness to protect the state interests of the USSR from provocative actions. Arriving at the place, N. I. Khovrin conveyed a report: “I arrived at the place, I am maneuvering, I was intensively flying around by“widgets”at a low height, almost clinging to the masts.”
The commander gave the order to open return fire in case of a clear attack on our ships. In addition, Fleet Aviation Commander Alexander Nikolaevich Tomashevsky was ordered to take off with a regiment of Tu-16 missile carriers and fly around aircraft carriers with KS-10 missiles fired from their hatches at a low altitude so that the Americans could see anti-ship missiles with homing heads. Tomashevsky took 20 missile carriers into the air and headed the formation himself.
27 Soviet submarines were also deployed in the area of operation of the American carrier strike groups.
DISCHARGE
From the moment our missile carriers flew over the aircraft carriers, two of them began to withdraw to the Sasebo region (Japan). The Enterprise and Ranger reconnaissance by the method of tracking and issuing target designation for launching a missile strike was carried out by the destroyers Caller and Veskiy. In addition, their departure was photographed by the Tu-95RTs. The latter pair were tasked with photographing the aircraft carrier Ranger. The pilots found it in the East China Sea and photographed the ship, so suddenly that the aircraft carrier did not even have time to raise its fighters. Then in Moscow, the Minister of Defense, examining the photographs, reproached the commander of the Pacific Fleet for writing in a telegram that the aircraft carrier had not had time to raise its fighters, but an aircraft was visible in the picture above the aircraft carrier. But the latter explained to him that this was our plane, with Major Laikov, and his wingman was taking pictures, he was at a height.
On December 23, 1968, when the American government made an official apology and admitted that the ship was in the territorial waters of North Korea, all 82 crew members and the body of the deceased sailor were sent to the United States. The Pueblo remained laid up in Wonsan Harbor, and in 1995 it was brought to Pyongyang, where it was used as a museum.
I think that the episode half a century ago should be remembered by the American admirals who were sending aircraft carrier formations to the shores of Korea.
