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1962

F. Zozulya, 'Memo on the Operation of Foreign Naval Vessels Against Soviet Ships in 1962'

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SECRET

Copy Nº [handwritten: 1]

 

 

MEMO

on the operations of foreign naval vessels against Soviet ships in 1962

 

1. At 2035 5 January American patrol vessel Nº 194 approached the tanker “Zhitomir” in the region of the island of Cuba. The patrol vessel maneuvered at a distance of 100 meters, asked the name and port of destination of the ship.

2. At 1200 29 January British trawler Nº 1189 approached the fishing base ship “Tambov” in the Shetland Islands. The trawler maneuvered in direct proximity to the ship.

3. At 0235 13 February in the East Korean Bay the “Zhemchug” fishing trawler was approached by the South Korean patrol vessel “Nakton,” which maneuvered in direct proximity and photographed the trawler.

4. At 1135 12 March American patrol ship Nº 585 accompanied the transport “Askol’d” in the region of the island of Cuba.

5. At 1420 21 March in the Tyrrhenian Sea the American destroyer “O’Hare” asked for the callsigns of the transport “Chernovtsy” and followed the Soviet ship.

6. At 1400 29 March in the approaches to the island of Cuba the American destroyer “Lawrence” asked for the callsigns and followed in close proximity the transport “Dushanbe.”

7. At 1645 13 April Moscow time in the Kattegat Strait West German cutter Nº R6071 approached the transport “Unzha.” The cutter aimed a gun at the ship.

8. At 1420 17 May the American destroyer “Lawrence” (side Nº 4) approached the transport “Ivan Sechenov” in the region of the island of Cuba. The American vessel asked the name of the Soviet ship, the surname of the captain, what cargo it had on board, from where and to where the ship was going.

9. At 1835 on the same day the destroyer “Lawrence” again approached the transport and lay in a parallel course at a distance of about 200 meters. The destroyer accompanied the ship for 30 minutes and again asked for information about the cargo and the surname of the captain. Not receiving a reply, the ship played a battle alert and aimed a gun at the ship.

10. At 1800 19 September north of the island of Haiti [SIC] an American cruiser approached the transport “Angarskles” and followed on a parallel course.

11. At 1030 21 September southeast of the Bermuda Islands destroyer Nº 941 approached the transport “Atkarsk” and accompanied it.

12. At 1930 21 September in the region of the island of Cuba the transport “Fizik Vavilov” was followed by three US destroyers.

13. At 2300 21 September in the region of the island of Cuba corvette Nº 148 approached the tanker “Zhitomir” and began a call with a searchlight, approached, crossed the course, and followed on a parallel course.

14. At 0830 21 September an American aircraft carrier, presumably the “F. Roosevelt,” transmitted an order to the fishing base ship “Sovetskaya Latviya” to stop, and followed it in an area north of the Azores Islands.

 

CHIEF OF THE MAIN STAFF OF THE NAVY

ADMIRAL

[signature]

F. ZOZULYA

 

                                                [handwritten: 2409(illegible character)]

A memo describing the different operations that foreign naval vessels made against Soviet ships in 1962. The memo includes information about American, British, and South Korean vessels.


Document Information

Source

TsAMO fond 1, opis 14041cc, delo 1, ll. 46-47. Contributed by Sergey Radchenko and Vladislav Zubok and translated by Gary Goldberg.

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Original Uploaded Date

2023-07-24

Language

Record ID

300493

Original Classification

Secret

Donors

Blavatnik Family Foundation