Allied Command Baltic Approaches
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Allied Command Baltic Approaches |
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 coat of arms |
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| active | 1962 to 2002 |
| Type |
 NATO - Headquarters
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| former seat of the staff | Karup , Denmark |
| Nickname | BALTAP |
The NATO command area of the Baltic Sea accesses (Baltic Approaches / BALTAP) , which existed from 1962 to 2002, was designated as Allied Command Baltic Approaches ( ACBA ) .
history
The NATO Baltic Sea Access Command Area was established on January 8, 1962, with headquarters in Karup , Denmark . It was created at German insistence to end the previously existing division of German naval forces between the NATO command areas of Northern Europe and Central Europe . After the security situation changed in 1990, the command was reclassified in 1993 and dissolved in 2002.
Mission and responsibility
The area of responsibility BALTAP included the territory of Denmark (excluding Greenland and Faroe Islands ), the federal states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein and the sea areas of the eastern North Sea , the Baltic Sea accesses with Skagerrak , Kattegat , Belten and Sund and the Baltic Sea. The responsibility for air defense over the German part of the BALTAP area was a specialty. Until 1990, the Western Allies were responsible for air defense over the entire Federal Republic of Germany on the basis of the Allied right of reservation . After France withdrew from the military integration of the alliance, this task was carried out jointly by the USA and Great Britain. The 2nd Allied Tactical Air Fleet (2nd ATAF) was responsible for the Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg area and was led by a British officer of RAF Germany with headquarters in Mönchengladbach .
organization
1962 to 1993
The organization created when the BALTAP command area was set up existed with minor changes from 1962 to 1994. At this time, ACBA comprised four subordinate NATO commands:
- the multinational corps Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland (LANDJUT) under the leadership of the commander (COMLANDJUT) in Rendsburg
- the Land Forces in Zealand (LANDZEALAND) under the command of the Commander (COMLANDZEALAND) in Copenhagen
- the Air Force Baltic Sea Accesses (AIRBALTAP) under the leadership of the Commander (COMAIRBALTAP) in Karup and
- the naval forces Baltic Sea Accesses (NAVBALTAP) under the leadership of the commander (COMNAVBALTAP) in Karup (until 1976 in Kiel- Holtenau) with the commanders subordinate to him
- Flag Officer Denmark (FOD) in Aarhus , also national commander of the Danish fleet
- Flag Officer Germany (FOG) in Glücksburg , at the same time national commander of the German fleet
- Commander German Northsea Subarea (COMGERNORSEA) in Sengwarden , also national German commander of the naval forces of the North Sea (BSN) .
1993 to 2002
On October 1, 1993, a reorganization came into force, which took into account the changed military situation in the Baltic Sea region. While the two commands of the land forces remained in place, the two headquarters of the naval and air forces were dissolved. The COMAIRBALTAP was replaced by the Interim Combined Air Operations Center 1 (ICAOC 1) in Karup. The two national fleet commanders were placed directly under COMBALTAP as Admiral Danish Fleet (AdmDanFleet) and Commander German Fleet (COMGERFLEET).
Subordinate forces
In the event of an alliance, COMBALTAP had to lead the NATO forces assigned to it. According to the plans, all Danish armed forces with the exception of some parts in the outlying areas were intended to be placed under COMBALTAP. Germany had planned the land and air forces stationed in the BALTAP area and the entire sea and sea air forces for this area. External reinforcements from the USA and Great Britain were also planned.
guide
ACBA was led by a Danish officer with the rank of lieutenant general or a vice admiral , who was called Commander Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (COMBALTAP), his deputy was a German officer of the same rank. COMBALTAP was under the NATO command Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) in Kolsås near Oslo in Norway from 1962 to 1993 . After a change in the NATO command structure, it was placed under the Central Europe Command (AFCENT) on October 1, 1993. For the operational management of the air and naval forces, an operational assignment of these forces was carried out under the new command Northwest Europe ( AFNORTHWEST ) with its component commands AIRNORTHWEST and NAVNORTHWEST.
References
Web links
- BALTAP ( Memento from June 29, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
literature
- Peter Monte: The role of the Navy of the Federal Republic of Germany in defense planning for Central and Northern Europe from the 1950s to the turn of 1989/90 . In: Werner Rahn (Ed.): German Marines in Transition . P. 565 ff. Munich 2005. ISBN 3-486-57674-7 .
- Norbert Rath: Headquarters Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (HQ BALTAP) . In: Marineforum . 4/1997, p. 3ff.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter Monte: The role of the Navy of the Federal Republic of Germany in defense planning for Central and Northern Europe from the 1950s to the turn of 1989/90 . In: Werner Rahn (Ed.): German Marines in Transition . P. 565 ff. Munich 2005. ISBN 3-486-57674-7 .
- ↑ Brian Wanstall; Air defense in the Baltic Sea region - Denmark guards the straits; in: Interavia 12-1982, pp. 1297ff.
- ^ Norbert Rath: Headquarters Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (HQ BALTAP) . In: Marineforum . 4/1997, p. 3ff.