Operation Anadyr
Encyclopedia
Operation Anadyr was the code name used by the Soviet Union
for their Cold War
(1962) secret operation of deploying ballistic missile
s, medium-range bombers, and a division of mechanized infantry in Cuba
to create the army group that would be able to prevent an invasion of the island by U.S. forces
. Anadyr included a military deception
campaign intended to mislead Western intelligence forces: personnel were issued Arctic equipment and trained for cold weather, and the operation itself was named for the Anadyr
river in the northern part of the Russian Far East
. The ballistic missiles were shipped to Cuba on merchant ships, and were detected by American intelligence agencies both en route and in Cuba.
Plans were to deploy 60,000 troops, three R-12 missile regiments and two R-14
missile regiments. Troops were transferred by 86 ships, that conducted 180 voyages from ports Baltiysk
, Liepāja
, Sevastopol
, Feodosia, Nikolaev, Poti
, Murmansk
. Between mid-June 17 and mid- October, 24 launching pads, 42 R-12 rockets, including six training ones, some 45 nuclear warheads, 42 Il-28
bombers, a fighter aircraft
regiment (40 Mig-21 aircraft), two Anti-Air Defense
divisions, four mechanized infantry regiments, and other military units (47,000 troops in total) were transferred. The fighter regiment deployed was the 32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (32 Gv IAP) flying MiG-21F-13s, deployed from Kubinka
. The 32nd Regiment was renamed 213th Fighter Aviation Regiment during the deployment. The deployment was uncovered by U.S. reconnaissance aircraft on October 14. Two days later the fact of Soviet missile presence on Cuba became known to the U.S. President and military command and the Caribbean Crisis started. Cuban Missile Crisis
threatened nuclear war
until diplomatic pressure caused Premier of the Soviet Union
Nikita Khrushchev
to halt Anadyr and remove the missiles.
, Cuba
, much like the United States
bases ballistic missile submarines in Holy Loch
, Scotland
. The operation began on October 1, 1962 with the departure of four diesel-electric attack submarines to the Caribbean Sea
to clear the way. All four submarines were Project 641 boats, known to NATO as the "Foxtrot" class
. The boats were the B-4, known as Chelyabinski Komsomolets, the B-36, the B-59, and the B-130.
Kama failed independently of Anadyr; none of the ballistic missile submarines ever departed for Cuba, and all four of the attack submarines were detected and followed closely by American destroyer
s and ASW aircraft. (Some of the destroyer crews harassed the Soviet submarines by dropping hand grenades overboard, which did no harm to the boats but made it clear that depth charge
s could follow at any time.) Equipment failures and the skill of the destroyer crews prevented three of the submarines from breaking contact long enough to surface and recharge their batteries; those three suffered the ignominy of surfacing in sight of their enemy, an action that in time of war would have caused their death or capture. Only Chelyabinski Komsomolets successfully broke contact and returned to the Soviet Union without being forced to surface.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
for their Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
(1962) secret operation of deploying ballistic missile
Ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the...
s, medium-range bombers, and a division of mechanized infantry in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to create the army group that would be able to prevent an invasion of the island by U.S. forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
. Anadyr included a military deception
Military deception
Military deception is an attempt to amplify, or create an artificial fog of war or to mislead the enemy using psychological operations, information warfare and other methods. As a form of strategic use of information , it overlaps with psychological warfare...
campaign intended to mislead Western intelligence forces: personnel were issued Arctic equipment and trained for cold weather, and the operation itself was named for the Anadyr
Anadyr River
Anadyr is a river in the far northeast Siberia which flows into Anadyr Bay of the Bering Sea and drains much of the interior of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Its basin corresponds to the Anadyrsky District of Chukotka....
river in the northern part of the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
. The ballistic missiles were shipped to Cuba on merchant ships, and were detected by American intelligence agencies both en route and in Cuba.
Plans were to deploy 60,000 troops, three R-12 missile regiments and two R-14
R-14 Usovaya
The R-14 Chusovaya was a theatre ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was given the NATO reporting name SS-5 Skean and was known by GRAU index 8K65. It was designed by Mikhail Kuzmich Yangel. Chusovaya is the name of a river in Russia...
missile regiments. Troops were transferred by 86 ships, that conducted 180 voyages from ports Baltiysk
Baltiysk
Baltiysk , prior to 1945 known by its German name Pillau , is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separating the Vistula Bay from the Gdańsk Bay. Baltiysk...
, Liepāja
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
, Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
, Feodosia, Nikolaev, Poti
Poti
Poti is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also...
, Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
. Between mid-June 17 and mid- October, 24 launching pads, 42 R-12 rockets, including six training ones, some 45 nuclear warheads, 42 Il-28
Ilyushin Il-28
The Ilyushin Il-28 is a jet bomber aircraft of the immediate postwar period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Force. It was the USSR's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was also licence-built in China as the Harbin H-5. Total production in the USSR was 6,316...
bombers, a fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
regiment (40 Mig-21 aircraft), two Anti-Air Defense
Soviet Anti-Air Defense
The Soviet Air Defence Forces was the air defense branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. It continued being a service branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1998. Unlike Western air defense forces, V-PVO was a branch of the military unto itself, separate from the Soviet...
divisions, four mechanized infantry regiments, and other military units (47,000 troops in total) were transferred. The fighter regiment deployed was the 32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (32 Gv IAP) flying MiG-21F-13s, deployed from Kubinka
Kubinka (air base)
Kubinka is an air base in Moscow Oblast, Russia located 5 km northwest of Kubinka. In close proximity to Moscow, the Kubinka facility showcases the best of the Russian Air Force to the general public....
. The 32nd Regiment was renamed 213th Fighter Aviation Regiment during the deployment. The deployment was uncovered by U.S. reconnaissance aircraft on October 14. Two days later the fact of Soviet missile presence on Cuba became known to the U.S. President and military command and the Caribbean Crisis started. Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
threatened nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
until diplomatic pressure caused Premier of the Soviet Union
Premier of the Soviet Union
The office of Premier of the Soviet Union was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Twelve individuals have been premier...
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
to halt Anadyr and remove the missiles.
Operation Kama
A part of Operation Anadyr was Operation Kama, a plan to forward-base seven Soviet ballistic missile submarines in MarielMariel
Mariel may refer to:* Mariel , given name.* Mariel, Cuba, a municipality and city in Cuba.* The Mariel boatlift, a 1980 exodus of Cubans to the United States.* Mariel Hemingway, actress and granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway....
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, much like the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bases ballistic missile submarines in Holy Loch
Holy Loch
The Holy Loch is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Robertson's Yard at Sandbank, a village on the loch, was a major wooden boat building company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The operation began on October 1, 1962 with the departure of four diesel-electric attack submarines to the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
to clear the way. All four submarines were Project 641 boats, known to NATO as the "Foxtrot" class
Foxtrot class submarine
The Foxtrot class was the NATO reporting name of a class of diesel-electric patrol submarines that were built in the Soviet Union. The Soviet designation of this class was Project 641....
. The boats were the B-4, known as Chelyabinski Komsomolets, the B-36, the B-59, and the B-130.
Kama failed independently of Anadyr; none of the ballistic missile submarines ever departed for Cuba, and all four of the attack submarines were detected and followed closely by American destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s and ASW aircraft. (Some of the destroyer crews harassed the Soviet submarines by dropping hand grenades overboard, which did no harm to the boats but made it clear that depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s could follow at any time.) Equipment failures and the skill of the destroyer crews prevented three of the submarines from breaking contact long enough to surface and recharge their batteries; those three suffered the ignominy of surfacing in sight of their enemy, an action that in time of war would have caused their death or capture. Only Chelyabinski Komsomolets successfully broke contact and returned to the Soviet Union without being forced to surface.