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World War II bought about a massive shift in world naval power. The British Royal Navy which had been the world's preminent naval power since Trafalgur (1805) gave way to the United States Navy. The Royal Navy did not have a comparable naval challenge until after World War I. The Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy were comparable until World War II. The massive America naval building program permanrtely changed that relatiuonship. The Imperial Japanese Navy was not only defeted, but totaly destroyed. This left left the United States as the unchallenged world naval power with a massive fleet dominating the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Naval forces at first played a minor role in the Cold War. The Soviet Red Navy was during World War II an extremely small force, at the time operating primarily in the Baltic. The United States provided both merchant shipping to carry Lend Lease supplies and a few surface elements, mostly destroyers. The United States moth-balled large numbers of naval vessels. Military planners with the advent of nuclear weapons questioned the importance of naval power. Gradually the importance of the Navy in fulfilling American commitments around the world became apparent. The Soviet Union at the end of World War II did not have a significant navy which is why they were unable to participate in the occupation of Japan. Given that Western Europe's ability to remain free was based on American support, the security of the North Atlantic sea lanes were a vital part of the Western alliance. The Soviets decided to build a poweful naval force. At first their primary focus was on submarine force to interedict American forces in event of a war in Europe. The Soviets gave increased attention to the Red Navy after the Cuban Missle Crisis (1962). The United States Navy blockaded Cuba and there was little the Soviets could do about it. It also provided the most dangerous point of the Cold War. Soviet subs had tactical nuclear weapons and one being depth charged by american sestroyers lmost used them. (Soviet Army commanders on Cuba also had tactical nuclear weapons.) The Soviets as a result. launched a massive naval building program. The Soviet submarine force and the U.S. Navy anti-sumarine warfare effort became a major battlefield of the Cold war. This took on major importance as both navies built submarine launched balistic missle systems. And the Soviets also expanded their surface fleet. And this also created a dangerous situation. The Soviet Navy grew so rapidly that many young, imexperinced officers were given commnd. As a result, provacative Soviet naval actions became common place at sea. [Michiahita] This appears to have gone beyond actual orders from the Kremlin. Mos of these incidents were unreported in the press. [Winkler] American military thinking during the Cold War was that the U.S. Navy's abilty to operate in the Sea of Okhotsk and other Soviet bations was a sobering realization to the Soviets making Soviet military aggression less likely. [Swartz] There were criticisms of this strategy. The Soviets labeled in provocative and left-leaning politicans and academics in America agreed. Soviet inteligence scored a major coup in gaing access to American secret naval codes. The Walker family was especially damaging. The relevations alerted the Soviets to the vulnerability of their submarines. [Swartz] (They were very noisy and easy to track.) The Red Navy at the time the Soviet Union imploded (1992) and come a long way in correcing those deficiencie. Naval forces took on major importance as both navies began building submarines with balistic missle systems. The sumrines became an critical part of the nuclear triad because they were immune to an attempted first strike. Ironically, missles instead of making navies obsolete, made them more important than ever.
World War II bought about a massive shift in world naval power. The British Royal Navy which had been the world's preminent naval power since Trafalgur (1805) gave way to the United States Navy. The Royal Navy did not have a comparable naval challenge until after World War I. The Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy were comparable until World War II. The massive America naval building program permanrtely changed that relatiuonship. The Imperial Japanese Navy was not only defeted, but totaly destroyed. This left left the United States as the unchallenged world naval power with a massive fleet dominating the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Soviet Red Navy was during World War II an extremely small force, at the time operating primarily in the Baltic. The United States provided both merchant shipping to carry Lend Lease supplies and a few surface elements, mostly destroyers.
Naval forces at first played a minor role in the Cold War. The United States moth-balled large numbers of naval vessels. Military planners with the advent of nuclear weapons questioned the importance of naval power. Gradually the importance of the Navy in fulfilling American commitments around the world became apparent. The Soviet Union at the end of World War II did not have a significant navy which is why they were unable to participate in the occupation of Japan.
Given that Western Europe's ability to remain free was based on American support, the security of the North Atlantic sea lanes were a vital part of the Western alliance. The Soviets decided to build a poweful naval force. At first their primary focus was on submarine force to interedict American forces in event of a war in Europe.
Important naval technologies were developed before the Cld War. Sonar was developed during World War I abnd radar was perfected during World War II. Naval aviation replaced the big-gun battleship as the primary naval power projection instrument. The major new technologies developed during the Cold War were jet-aircraft, nuclear ship propulsion, and missles. Jet technologies greayly enhanced the capabilitiues of carrier aircraft. Nuclear priopulsion expanded the range and duration of naval ships. It also reduced, but did not eliminate the need for foreign bases. The centuries old gun reign ended during the Cold War. Missles significantly changed naval tactics and mission. There were different types of missles. Tactical missles included ship to bship, ship to air, snd ship to ground. Missles increased both the striking bopower vof Cold War navies as well as their vmulnerability. And the develoopment od ship launbched nuckleae weapons made navies, especially submarines, a part oif the nucleat triade, eventially the most important becaise of their mobility and ability to hide.
The principal naval confrontation during the Cold War was that between the United States and the Soviet Union. And only these two countries maintained large powerful navies. Unlike the labnd phase of the Cold War where American abnd Sioviet forces were only mussel to mussel in Berlin, Amerucan and Soviet ships confronted each other all over the world, most prominntly during the Cuban Missle Crisis where the U.S. Navy forced an embargo against Soviet ships.
The Soviets gave increased attention to the Red Navy after the Cuban Missle Crisis (1962). The United States Navy blockaded Cuba and there was little the Soviets could do about it. It also provided the most dangerous point of the Cold War. Soviet subs had tactical nuclear weapons and one being depth charged by American destroyers almost used them. (Soviet Army commanders on Cuba also had tactical nuclear weapons.) The Soviets as a result of its inavbility to prevent the U.S. embargo launched a massive naval building program.
The Soviet submarine force and the U.S. Navy anti-sumarine warfare effort became a major battlefield of the Cold war. This took on major importance as both navies built submarine launched balistic missle systems. And the Soviets also expanded their surface fleet. And this also created a dangerous situation. The Soviet Navy grew so rapidly that many young, imexperinced officers were given commnd. As a result, provacative Soviet naval actions became common place at sea. [Michiahita] This appears to have gone beyond actual orders from the Kremlin. Mos of these incidents were unreported in the press. [Winkler] American military thinking during the Cold War was that the U.S. Navy's abilty to operate in the Sea of Okhotsk and other Soviet bations was a sobering realization to the Soviets making Soviet military aggression less likely. [Swartz] There were criticisms of this strategy. The Soviets labeled in provocative and left-leaning politicans and academics in America agreed.
Soviet inteligence scored a major coup in gaing access to American secret naval codes. The Walker family was especially damaging.
The Soviet relevations alerted the Soviets to the vulnerability of their submarines. [Swartz] (They were very noisy and easy to track.) The Red Navy at the time the Soviet Union imploded (1992) and come a long way in correcing those deficiencies.
Naval forces took on major importance as both navies began building submarines with balistic missle systems. The sumrines became an critical part of the nuclear triad because they were immune to an attempted first strike. Ironically, missles instead of making navies obsolete, made them more important than ever.
Only two countries maintained large modern navies during the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union. Ultimately the U.S. Navy suceeded in its primary mission to maintain a creditable defense and the security of its Western European allies. The Soviet Navy not only failed to undermine Western Europe's security, but the cost of building and maintaining the Navy and other military was beyond the capability of the inefficent Communist economy, eventually leading to the implosion of the Soviet Union. The U.S. Navy ended World War II as the largest navy in the world. The U.S. Navy's primary concern at the end of World War II was mothballing and decommisioning and scraping large numbers of ships. Thus was begun at a time in which the world was seen at peace and the Soviet threat not yet apparent. In addition, many militaey analysts and budget-concious politiacns argued that in the nuclear age, navies were an anachronism. This only changed as the Soviet threat became better understood and the Soviets began a major naval building program. The competition between the two navies became ione of the major and least reported campaigns of the Cold War. The Soviets expanded their Navy, especially after the Cuban missle crisis. By the end of the Cold War the Soviets has a large, higly competent naval, nuclearly armed, forces, but without the carrier battle groups of the U.S. Navy. In the end, a Communist economy was unable to support the massive military forces created by a Communist state. Britain also had a large naval force at the end of World War II. The Cold War was a period of steady decline for the Royal Navy. Both economic and political reasons were involved. This decline meant that that Britain was almost iunable to resoond to the Argentine seizure of ghe Falkands (1980s). The Royal Navy did acquire Tident nuclear missle submarines which became a political issue. Canada became a major nuclear power during World War II escorting North Atlantic convoys against the Germn U-bost threat. Canada primarily was involved in reducing the size of its navies. Other NATO allies (France and Italy built small navies.) Sweden improved the capabilities of its navy because of confrontations with the Soviets in the Baltic. China during the Cold War because iof the failure of the Communist economy was unablkre to build a major navy which is why Taiwan was able to mauntaun its indeoendence. This changed when the Communist Government asopted market reforms (late-1970s). As a result, China began to lay the foundation for a modern navy (1980s), but at the end of the Cold War (1991), China still did not yet a ceditable naval force.
Michiahita, Naruahige. "United States & Japan Cold War maritime strategies," Woodrow Wilson Center Seminar C-Span 3 (March 7, 2016).
Swattz, Peter. "United States & Japan Cold War maritime strategies," Woodrow Wilson Center Seminar C-Span 3 (March 7, 2016).
Winkler, David. "United States & Japan Cold War maritime strategies," Woodrow Wilson Center Seminar C-Span 3 (March 7, 2016).
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