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Scotland: The United States strategic footprint during the Cold War

Essay

Throughout the nuclear tensions of the 1980s, Scotland was an important geographic pivot point with regard to United States military operations, and the implications for its inhabitants were therefore significant.

Scotland was in the front line of the Cold War due to its strategic location. By 1980 it had an American nuclear ballistic missile submarine base, intelligence gathering sites, strategic reinforcement airfields as well as communications stations and administrative locations. There was never any lessening of the American presence, as Scotland fulfilled a strategic imperative of establishing targets for the Soviets away from mainland USA.

The early Cold War concept of operations placed great importance on the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) Gap. Ships and submarines from the USSR and the USA had to transit this gap to be in range to launch attacks. Control of these waters was therefore vital. Scotland was conveniently located for this monitoring role. It was even more important as the early intercontinental nuclear missiles had a limited range and could not be launched from the United States and hit targets in the Soviet Union. Based in Scotland, they could quickly move to firing positions in the Northern Seas.

The United States had a wide spectrum of military establishments in Cold War Scotland. These included airfields at Machrihanish and Prestwick, anchorages in West Highland sea lochs, port facilities at Rosyth and Greenock, logistics bases at Glen Douglas and elsewhere, a nuclear missile submarine base at Holy Loch and navigation stations in the Shetlands and Thurso. They had live firing ranges at Cape Wrath, communications networks from Aberdeen to Galloway, as well as strategic intelligence gathering sites at Kirknewton, Edzell and Thurso. These sites became more important to the USA when intelligence-gathering facilities were lost in Turkey and Pakistan in the late 1960s.

Soldiering days

I explored Scotland as a Scout, hillwalker and paratrooper. I was always intrigued by history and as a 13-year-old schoolboy I attended a lecture in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, given by a famous professor of Roman history from Oxford University. Dressed in my school blazer and short trousers, I stood up amongst all the adults and asked a question about the Antonine Wall. That was the start point of my lifelong journey through history.

I regularly visited places which intrigued me and always tried to obtain some information about them. This behaviour was repeated as I blossomed as a hillwalker and trudged through the highlands and lowlands of Scotland. During my Army career I followed the same path. But I did not have enough time to investigate these matters in depth. This niggled me over the years, but family and career took precedence.

It was only when I became older that I had the time to reflect on these missing segments of my education. I am now in the winter of my years and have researched those memories from times long gone. On my first day as a junior officer, I was politely informed by the sergeant-major to "get a f****** notebook, sir". Because of this sage advice, and a collection of notebooks, I can retrace my journey. Several of these locations were first seen on the end of a parachute. All I knew at the time was that they had been used for American military activity. 'I must find out more about this place some time,' I thought then. This mantra was oft repeated when I came across other locations. But I was too busy with my Cold War career to act. The Cold War and my military career ended at the same time and I am now in my era of research.

Strategic retaliation

Holy Loch was the most important American base in the UK and became America's first Polaris missile submarine base in 1961. This location was described as a 'magnet' that would draw enemy missiles away from the mainland USA. It fitted the American strategic requirement to be close to the Soviet targets, but far away from the shores of the USA. It could ensure that the submarine refit programme and crew turnover activities could be achieved without the need for lengthy non-operational voyages back to the USA. It was known as Fleet Ballistic Missile Refit Site One. The base eventually closed in 1992, when the new Trident missile provided the ability to hit targets in the USSR from American home waters. Scotland had served its purpose by then.

The short range of the early Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM) dictated basing and deployment locations. Because of Holy Loch, the USA had short transit times to patrol areas near the Soviet Union. In contrast, the Soviet bases required their submarines to make a long transit through the NATO-monitored GIUK Gap to their mid-ocean patrol areas. This resulted in only a small percentage of the Soviet force occupying patrol areas at any time. The importance of Scotland's location was obvious. However, missile ranges increased on both sides and this advantage waned.

By 1980 Holy Loch was the sole USA nuclear-armed submarine base in Europe

Met by protests from thousands of CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) protesters, Submarine Squadron 14 (SubRon 14) settled in at the Holy Loch. The submarines conducted sea trials in the Firth of Clyde and Irish Sea before their missions, occasionally brushing with Soviet intelligence-gathering trawlers in the area. A USA submarine laden with 160 warheads collided with a Soviet vessel off the coast of Scotland in 1974. The USS James Madison was departing Holy Loch to take up station when it collided with a Soviet submarine waiting to take up trail. Damage was minimal to both vessels and the Soviet boat subsequently submerged again. In the confusion of the collision it is perfectly feasible a war could have been sparked.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, SubRon 14 undertook its trade test and was successful. All of the submarines moved to their operational station in the Northern Seas, awaiting the firing orders which never arrived. The depot ship USS Proteus moved out to a naval Z-berth (safe anchorage) in a West Highland sea loch, while the families and locals in Dunoon expected to be incinerated in any nuclear exchange. The Z-moorings would also have been used by the Royal Yacht Britannia, with the Queen on board, during any hostilities. That is why it cruised the North West coast of Scotland each year. By 1980 Holy Loch was the sole USA nuclear-armed submarine base in Europe, following the closure of the other European base, at Rota in Spain, home of SubRon 16 which was moved to King's Bay, Georgia. Although both squadrons were now armed with longer-range Poseidon missiles, Holy Loch was retained due to its proximity to the GIUK Gap.

Despite the regular CND protests, there was plenty of support for the Holy Loch base. This was demonstrated by the support of the parliamentary Labour Party who decided not to oppose the base, while only two of the Labour-controlled Clydeside burghs, Greenock and Clydebank, dissented. The local community in Dunoon and elsewhere welcomed its economic benefits.

The protests subsided after the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963. The base had almost 3000 personnel and the neighbouring Labour councils accepted the economic benefits of the situation. The American sailors fondly recall their tours of duty in Argyll. Following its removal in 1992, there was a long period of economic hardship in the surrounding area.

Intelligence gathering

Scotland's proximity to the Northern Seas and northwest Russia was another factor in its strategic attractiveness. This enabled it to be used as a base for intelligence gathering, whether from aircraft or land bases. This capability was exploited by the United States.

Signals intelligence (SIGINT) was the most important source of intelligence during the Cold War. SIGINT had alerted the White House to the Soviet missiles in Cuba in 1962 and it provided more than 90 per cent of processed intelligence information for NATO. The USSR operated in a similar fashion. SIGINT was obtained from listening stations or from 'ferret' flights. These were undertaken by aircraft which flew close to the enemy border and listened to communications traffic, while recording radar and defence transmissions. They also used cameras.

The United States Air Force (USAF) recognised their requirement for intelligence about these specific areas and operated a SIGINT station at Kirknewton, near Edinburgh, from 1952 to 1966, when it moved to Harrogate. Its operational sector covered the east of Scotland to southern Scandinavia. In 1959 the U S Navy established another SIGINT site at RAF Edzell, with a mission to support intelligence gathering in the Northern Seas zone patrolled by Polaris submarines from the Holy Loch. Edzell became a major American intelligence and communications centre throughout the Cold War.

[RAF] Edzell became a major American intelligence and communications centre throughout the Cold War

Edzell had a strength of more than 3000 personnel and delivered SIGINT and strategic operations support for the US Navy and the National Security Agency (NSA). Its operational activities expanded and RAF Kinnaber was soon added. The daily SIGINT information was transferred to NSA headquarters in Washington DC via the Courier Transfer Station, USAF Prestwick. Edzell monitored all Soviet electronic traffic and missile testing in the Barents Sea and White Sea. These were vital areas where the USSR based its nuclear submarine fleet and large naval forces. It monitored all of these Soviet submarine and warship activities and was regarded as the 'European SIGINT showcase'. The USA Senate described Edzell as 'performing a mission vital to the security of the nation'. As such, it played a role in the Cuban Missile Crisis and listened in to the USS Liberty (1967) and USS Pueblo (1968) crises.

Edzell's wide range of activities included support of the High Frequency Direction Finding (HFDF) Network, the satellite reconnaissance programme, the airborne nuclear testing system. It also acted as a base station for the ocean surveillance system and the target location system. Its value was confirmed when it was placed under the direct command of the Director NSA by 1980. The American personnel who served at Edzell recall it as their favourite posting and were wholehearted members of the local community.

Thurso had been a Second World War SIGINT station and was reactivated in 1962 to provide radio support for the Polaris fleet. Like Edzell, its responsibilities increased and in 1977, Thurso became the main communications station for the U S Navy in the UK. It provided a wide range of voice, telex and satellite services and was part of the ballistic missile early warning systems network. Thurso was the main European site for communication with the nuclear-armed submarines. There were several adjacent sites which housed some of the extensive masts and aerials which were required. The work at Thurso was of such importance that it was located close to the UK nuclear reactor site at Dounreay. Thurso and relay stations in the north of Scotland had failsafe links to the Northern Sea submarines.

The U S naval communications network in Scotland was separate from any UK systems. This was part of the ambiguity of the American presence. Although NATO requirements were used as a cover-all term, in reality many of the activities were American-controlled. The UK government agreed to this as there was the quid pro quo of UK access to American nuclear technology. This had been restricted by the McMahon Act of 1946, which was approved following a series of spy scandals in the UK, Canada and Australia.

These American SIGINT sites were easily identified by their gigantic antenna systems and radomes. In addition, American radar picket ships (SIGINT vessels) operated off the west and north coasts of Scotland and utilised Rosyth and Greenock for resupply and maintenance. Both Thurso and Edzell were involved in the anti-submarine programme. There was a direct link to Thurso and Edzell from the British planes which tracked Soviet submarines in the UK Northern Seas. The bases also provided shore-to-submarine communications and SIGINT data.

Both were links in the Transit satellite navigation data for submarines in the northern waters, and both downloaded satellite communications. In addition, American intelligence-gathering submarines transmitted information from Russian waters to both sites. Most importantly, Edzell and Thurso were part of the American high-level command network. As part of this system, USA strategic command aircraft, with their 10 kilometres trailing antenna, communicated with Thurso.

The Soviets devoted a 'significant amount of effort' to intelligence-gathering activities in Scottish waters. This involved ferret flights and a fleet of intelligence-gathering vessels, mainly trawlers, which regularly berthed at Ullapool which was often crowded with 'trawlers' who were covered with antennae but no fishing equipment. The Soviets maintained a large fleet of these intelligence-gathering trawlers along the west and north coasts of Scotland during this period as they needed information about NATO activity in the GUIK Gap.

Command, Control and Communications (C3)

Scotland's geographical position meant it was a suitable location for United States communications bases which carried signals from the USA to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR, always an American officer). As a consequence, a network of unmanned communications stations spread down the countryside. For example, Mormond Hill housed a ground-to-air link which was part of the Apollo space mission network. This location was also a relay point for nuclear early-warning systems.

Other communications projects included the AUTOVON system, a discreet top-level link to the President of the United States for command and control purposes. Little information was provided on this mission-critical system. It operated via a line of unmanned sites at Latheron, Inverbervie, Kinnaber, Craigowl Hill, East Lomond, Kirk o' Shotts, Brown Carrick Hill and Seargeant Law. In other words, it covered the full length of Scotland and very few people knew anything about its purpose. These, and other locations, were also links in other systems, such as the upgraded Digital European Backbone which had seven Scottish locations, including West Murkle. Most of these systems included Edzell and Thurso.

NATO required the Allied Command Europe (ACE High) command and control system for communication between SACEUR and other commanders, including the President of the United States. Huge reflectors and aerials more than 50 metres high were erected at each ACE High link, drawing more attention to the selected sites. It was the biggest communications project of its kind ever undertaken and extended from Norway to Turkey, with three of its stations located in Scotland.

Airfields

The United States used western Scottish locations for fuel storage and air bases as these were suitable for its strategic requirements. Without these Scottish facilities, major anti-submarine warfare training would have been severely curtailed. The Clyde area was chosen for the construction of USA airfields at Machrihanish (Campbeltown) and Stornoway. Atomic weapons stockpile facilities were also authorised for these sites. All of the facilities in the Clyde area — including ammunition and oil storage depots, Machrihanish airfield and associated communications sites — were assigned to SACEUR for wartime use.

Several Scottish airfields played a role in the American presence in Scotland during the Cold War. Without this involvement, it is possible that the airfields would have closed. There were US military flights to various Scottish airfields, but the most prominent in this respect were Machrihanish, Prestwick and Shetland.

Prestwick Airport had been a major transatlantic ferry flight terminal during the Second World War. It was reactivated for USAF use in 1951 and was thereafter used for air-sea rescue tasks, including manned space flights. It also handled full-scale reinforcement exercises when large numbers of aircraft flew from the United States to West Germany. Its other tasks included early warning flights, radar detection (ferret) flights and weather (reconnaissance) flights. Its value was also confirmed by being the Courier Transfer Station for the despatch of Edzell's intelligence information to Washington DC, and also as the changeover station for crews for the Holy Loch submarines. An American serviceman who passed through was Elvis Presley, en route for West Germany and military service in 1960.

nuclear weapons specialists from the USA were posted to Machrihanish

The radar detection flights flew from Prestwick to carry out SIGINT missions within Soviet air space. These were undertaken by USAF and RAF aircraft. Maritime patrol aircraft, on anti-submarine missions, often had to use Prestwick because poor weather prevented them from landing in Iceland. Many such missions were carried out by US aircraft. These aircraft deployed sonobuoys over a wide area and many of the aircraft flew from Prestwick. The transmissions were listened to in Scottish locations such as Edzell, Thurso and Scatsta. In addition, Prestwick was regularly used for USA air-to-submarine communications trials.

Campbeltown is one of the most remote locations in Scotland. However, the airfield at Machrihanish has important history. It was the scene of the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission in 1906 and was one of the three busiest airfields in the UK during the Second World War when it handled transatlantic ferry flights. The U S government requested an upgrading of the airfield in the 1960s and a huge NATO fuel depot was constructed, as well as a storage area for storing nuclear depth charges for use by the US Navy and the RAF. Its military significance was underlined when nuclear weapons specialists from the USA were posted to Machrihanish and the base was placed under the command of the Commander in Chief Atlantic (CINCLANT, always an American officer).

This USA participation produced the longest runway in Western Europe (3,049 metres) to receive large transport aircraft as several hundred aircraft had to be delivered from the US to Europe within three days for wartime reinforcement. The base was regularly used by RAF Vulcan bombers (the UK's airborne nuclear delivery force) and also by U S Navy P-3 Orion patrol aircraft (which carried nuclear torpedoes). Both Machrihanish and Prestwick were suitable locations for this activity and were regularly used.

Technology and munitions

Navigation at sea is a crucial matter and the U S Navy developed a long navigation system (LORAN) using land-based radio transmitters to enable ships and aircraft to fix their positions. This technology was vital as it ensured that all SLBM targeting was accurate. The United States also laid down large fixed arrays of hydrophones, supported by shore stations, to counter Soviet submarine penetration of the GIUK Gap and U S waters. This was known as the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS). Needless to say, Scotland facilitated SOSUS and LORAN with bases in the Shetlands and Lewis.

The Americans also stored the munitions requirement for a Marine Expeditionary Force (strength 40,000) at Glen Douglas. The development of this location, with its proximity to Holy Loch, was beset with a non-military problem which delayed its construction for almost two years. The Scottish Office and the Admiralty feuded over which of them had the responsibility for a flock of sheep on the site. The sheep won. Also, Gallanach Bay, Oban was the landing point for the first transatlantic telephone cable during the Cold War. This was completed in 1956 and carried the hot line between the USA and Soviet leaders.

Cold War tensions

The 1980s were a turbulent time for USA-Soviet relations. The United States boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow in retaliation for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. President Reagan called the Soviet Union an 'evil empire' in 1983 and Andropov suspended USA-Soviet arms control talks. The Warsaw Pact nations in turn boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. President Reagan's Star Wars programme and the shooting down of a South Korean airliner by Soviet fighter jets in September 1983 increased pressure to a scale unknown since the Cuban Missile crisis.

During this strained period, the Scottish locations had an increase in their workload. The satellite reconnaissance programme assumed greater importance as there were NATO concerns that the Soviet Union was breaking the terms of the nuclear weapons treaties. This in turn produced a greater workload for Edzell in its downloading role. The Holy Loch submarines embarked on a missile conversion programme as longer-range Poseidon missiles were installed in its boats. Thurso, and the sites in Shetland and Islay, had to cope with an increased undersea monitoring programme. Both Machrihanish and Prestwick played a significant role in handling the transit of aircraft, troops and equipment during the annual Reforger exercises.

The most dangerous time during my Cold War career was the crisis created by NATO's Exercise Able Archer in 1983. The USSR misinterpreted the large training activity as a prelude to a pre-emptive strike by NATO. A crisis arose and was defused by Soviet intelligence from such locations as Glen Douglas, which reported no extra activity at armaments bases. At the time I was receiving briefings from serious-faced senior officers, but none of their misgivings came to pass. Matters only calmed down with the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev as Soviet leader in 1985.

As Cold War pressure increased in the 1980s, the USSR drew up plans to attack targets in the UK. It has become clear that Aberdeen and its harbour were on this list. Soviet intelligence, gathered locally, stated that 'the coastal area north from Aberdeen is suitable for amphibious landing.' The harbour was a key feature 'there are berthing facilities on both banks. Dockage facilities can provide the complete overhaul of vessels, including destroyers.' Once again, Scotland was identified as a convenient place.

The Edinburgh Conversations

Scotland was also involved in attempts to defuse the Cold War and in September 1983, senior Soviet military officials, diplomats and academics arrived at the University of Edinburgh for 'The Edinburgh Conversations'. They met with leading military, diplomatic and academic experts from the UK and the USA. The key player was Professor John Erickson, a world-renowned expert in Soviet military affairs. It has been claimed that the Edinburgh Conversations played a significant role in the thawing of the Cold War.

My research has now led me to the National Library of Scotland where the Erickson Collection is held, and the National Archives of Scotland. I embarked on this journey of self-education at the millennium, retracing my steps from my paratrooper days, and have completed two degrees. My current research will uncover some of the secrets of those long-gone days when a young man with a notebook pledged to find out more.

Further reading

The National Library pof Scotland holds the John and Ljubica Erickson Collection which covers topics such as the politics and government of the Soviet Union, the Cold War and international relations, and military technology (including such subjects as ballistics, missiles and radar). The collection came to the Library from Professor Erickson's former Department of Defence Studies at Edinburgh University. Further details of the John and Ljubica Erickson Collection are available on Library Search by searching for shelfmark 'Erick'.

  • 'Fortress Scotland: A guide to the military presence', by Malcolm Spaven (London: Pluto Press / Scottish CND, 1983) [National Library of Scotland shelfmark: QP1.83.1029].
  • 'GCHQ: The Secret Wireless War 1900-86', by Nigel West (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1986) [Shelfmark: Q4.86.281].
  • 'Prestwick Airport and Scottish Aviation', by Peter Berry (Stroud: Tempus, 2005) [Shelfmark: PB8.206.759/7].
  • 'Rich Relations: The American Occupation of Britain', by David Reynolds (London: Phoenix Press, 2000) [Shelfmark: H3.95.2716].
  • 'Scotland and the Cold War', by Brian Jamison (Dunfermline: Cualann Press, 2003) [Shelfmark: QP1.205.5154L].
  • 'Shield of Empire: The Royal Navy and Scotland', by Brian Lavery (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2007) [Shelfmark: HB2.207.9.134].
  • 'The American Years, Dunoon and the US Navy', by Andrene Messersmith (Glendaruel: Argyll Publishing; 2003) [Shelfmark: HP3.204.0354].
  • 'US defence bases in the United Kingdom: A matter for joint decision?', by Simon Duke (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1987) [Shelfmark: Q3.87.186].

 

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