This book was made possible through the dedication of the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1945.
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402
© 2017 by Anthony R. Wells
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wells, Anthony R., author
Title: A tale of two navies: geopolitics, technology, and strategy in the United States Navy and the Royal Navy, 1960–2015 / Anthony R. Wells.
Other titles: Geopolitics, technology, and strategy in the United States Navy and the Royal Navy, 1960–2015
Description: Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016034115 (print) | LCCN 2016034270 (ebook) | ISBN 9781682471210 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: United States. Navy. | Great Britain. Royal Navy, | Sea-power—United States. | Sea-power—Great Britain. | Naval strategy. | Naval art and science. | United States—Military relations—Great Britain. | Great Britain—Military relations—United States. | Geopolitics.
Classification: LCC VA58.4 .W45 2017 (print) | LCC VA58.4 (ebook) | DDC 359/.03094109045—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016034115
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First printing
This book is dedicated to the men and women who served in the US Navy and the Royal Navy between 1960 and 2015, a tumultuous fifty-five years that witnessed dramatic political and strategic changes during which the seascape of the world played a dominant role.
This book is their story.
In memory of all those who lost their lives in the service of the US Navy and the Royal Navy—the last lines of “Ulysses,” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson:
Come, my friends,
’T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Contents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
Organizational Change and Strategic Priorities Impact the US Navy and the Royal Navy
CHAPTER 2
Limited War in the Nuclear Era: Impact on the US Navy and the Royal Navy
CHAPTER 3
The Technology Race Is On: The US and Royal Navies Face an Emerging Soviet Navy That Seeks Technological Parity
CHAPTER 4
The 1960s: The Soviet Navy Challenges the US Sixth Fleet and the Royal Navy
CHAPTER 5
The US Navy and Royal Navy as Key Echelons of American and British Intelligence
CHAPTER 6
The Soviets Shift Gears and Make Serious Challenges at the Time of the Walker Spy Ring
CHAPTER 7
A Real Shooting War at Sea: The Falklands Campaign of 1982
CHAPTER 8
The Changing Tide: The Demise of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold War
CHAPTER 9
The 1990s: A Decade of Rising Threats in the Middle East and a Period of Retrenchment with the End of the Cold War
CHAPTER 10
Conflicts, Minor Wars, and the World-Changing Event of 9/11: The US Navy and Royal Navy in a New Era
CHAPTER 11
The New Challenge in the Middle East, the Rise of China, and a Possible Challenge from Russia
CHAPTER 12
The Sea in Future Strategy: The Future Partnership of the United States Navy and Royal Navy
SOURCE NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
PHOTOS
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill during the Atlantic Charter Conference, August 10, 1941
