Allied Forces North Norway

Last updated
Allied Forces North Norway
Active1952 - 1994
Part of Allied Forces Northern Europe, Kolsås, Norway
Location Bodø, Norway

Allied Forces North Norway (NON) was a NATO command tasked with the defense of Northern Norway. NON's area of responsibility covered the three northernmost counties of Norway: Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, as well as the adjacent sea territory. It formed part of Allied Forces Northern Europe.

Contents

History

Allied Forces North Norway (NON) was activated in 1962 along with Allied Forces South Norway (SONOR) and Allied Forces Baltic Approaches. Unlike most other NATO commands NON was a staffed entirely by members of the Norwegian Armed Forces. Its operational headquarters was located in a bunker at Reitan, which today is used as the Norwegian Joint Headquarters. The commander of NON had three deputies: Commander Land Forces North Norway, Commander Air Forces North Norway, and Commander Naval Forces North Norway. Each of the three deputies commanded the Norwegian units of his service branch based in District Command North Norway  [ no ]. Incoming allied units would have come under the command of these three deputy commanders. [1]

Structure in 1989

NON had the following units at its disposal to fight an attack by the Soviet Union's 6th Army:

Commander Naval Forces North Norway

Meloyvaer Fortress 120mm Tornautomatpjas m/70 automatic gun Meloyvaer Fortress Canon B - Russoya.JPG
Meløyvær Fortress 120mm Tornautomatpjäs m/70 automatic gun

Naval Forces North Norway (NAVNON) was tasked with the defence of Northern Norway's coastal waters against Soviet naval incursions and amphibious landings. Operations in the ocean beyond Norway's coastal waters were under the command of NATO Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic's (SACLANT) Northern Sub-Area Command (NORLANT). Therefore NAVNON consisted of coastal artillery units and one fast attack craft squadron. The boats for the fast attack craft squadron were dispatched from units in Southern Norway on a rotational basis.

Commander Air Forces North Norway

Relief Map of North Norway.png
Norwegian Air Force bases in Northern Norway
A F-16A Fighting Falcon prepares to take off at Bodo Air Station during the exercise Alloy Express in 1982. F-16 at Bodo Main Air Station.jpg
A F-16A Fighting Falcon prepares to take off at Bodø Air Station during the exercise Alloy Express in 1982.

Commander Land Forces North Norway

Norway Troms rel location map.svg
Norwegian military garrisons in Troms county
Norway Finnmark adm location map.svg
Norwegian military garrisons in Finnmark county
Norwegian Leopard 1 tanks in Northern Norway in 1982 2 norwegian Leopard tanks in the snow.jpg
Norwegian Leopard 1 tanks in Northern Norway in 1982

Reinforcements

A British Army Scimitar reconnaissance vehicle during exercise COLD WINTER '87 in Norway FV107 Scimitar COLD WINTER '87.JPEG
A British Army Scimitar reconnaissance vehicle during exercise COLD WINTER '87 in Norway

NON would have been reinforced by the following Norwegian units from Allied Forces South Norway:

US Marine Corps Norway Air-Landed Marine Expeditionary Brigade (NALMEB) Prepositioning Program material at the Bjugn Cave Facility Bjugn Cave Facility in Norway.JPEG
US Marine Corps Norway Air-Landed Marine Expeditionary Brigade (NALMEB) Prepositioning Program material at the Bjugn Cave Facility
USS Guadalcanal during Exercise Teamwork '92. Starboard bow view of USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7) during exercise TEAMWORK 92.jpg
USS Guadalcanal during Exercise Teamwork '92.

NATO would have planned to reinforce Allied Forces North Norway with 2–7 days with the following allied formations:

U.S. Forces in Northern Norway

The US military maintained three small units in Northern Norway.

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References

  1. Till, Geoffrey (1988). Britain and N. A. T. O.'s Northern Flank. London: MacMillan Press. p. 143. ISBN   978-0-333-43931-9.
  2. Lund, John (1989). Don't Rock The Boat - Reinforcing Norway in Crisis and War (PDF). Washington DC: Rand Corporation. ISBN   0-8330-0960-5.
  3. 1 2 Nordic Forces in the 1980s CIA
  4. 1 2 Till, Geoffrey (18 June 1988). Britain and N. A. T. O.'s Northern Flank. ISBN   9781349094318 . Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  5. "Marine Corps • Korps Mariniers (KMARNS)".
  6. Cavas, Christopher P. (September 20, 2015). "Cave-Dwellers: Inside the US Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway". Washington DC: US Department of Defense.
  7. 1 2 "Status of the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program in Norway" (PDF). US Government Accounting Office. US Government. Retrieved 2 December 2017.