By the late 1960s the Soviet submarine fleet was increasingly dangerous. Cruise missile-equipped Soviet submarines were posing an increasing threat to US Navy aircraft carrier battle groups. They could hit carriers from distances previously impossible for submarines. Techniques for detecting submarines at longer ranges were required.
Tailships: The Hunt for Soviet Submarines in the Mediterranean, 1970-1973, by John Rodgaard explores one United States Navy initiative to counter Soviet submarines. It used passive towed array detection systems, a promising but untested technology. Four destroyer escorts were equipped with experimental systems as testbeds.
Rodgaard opens the book by framing the US-Soviet Cold War at sea with an introductory chapter. He then examines the promise shown by passive towed-array sonars. Studied as early as World War I, by the 1950s technology advances led to tests with experimental passive-array sonars. By the late 1960s the Navy had one system ready to deploy and test.
As Rodgaard shows, the system was unusual. It could detect submarines at great distances, but depended on a long, submerged towed-array system. Unlike traditional anti-submarine warfare warships, the sensor-equipped vessels were observers. They were too distant from their quarry to attack. Moreover, their observation had to be processed at a shore-based facility.
The Navy outfitted four Dealey-class destroyer escorts, built in the 1950s, but already obsolete, to tow the new Interim Towed-Array Sonar System (ITASS), and sent them to the Mediterranean to test them. From 1970 through 1973 they tested the ITASS against the latest generation of Soviet diesel- and nuclear-powered submarines.
Rodgaard presents the situation in the Mediterranean, then one potential Cold War ignition point. He examines the capabilities of both the Soviet submarines and American carrier battle groups operating there at that time. He also looks at the patrols conducted by the four tailship DEs during their deployment.
The result is a fascinating look at the United States Navy and life in the Navy during the height of the Cold War. The successes and failures of the tailships are explored, as are the experiences of the sailors aboard them and their dependents living in Italy. Rodgaard closes Tailships with a look at subsequent developments, including follow-on towed array surveillance systems and ships, some still in service.
Tailships contains numerous maps and diagrams (some full color) which allow readers to follow the action and clarify what is happening. Numerous photographs of the aircraft, ships, facilities and people involved illustrate the text. There are also six pages of full-color profile plates of the vessels of primary interest.
Tailships is a book mainly of interest to those with an interest in Cold War naval history and the history of technology. There are no stirring naval battles, but for those interested in naval technology, especially that of the 1960s and 1970s, this is a must-read book. The details of how passive sonar systems work and are deployed will fascinate those interested in such things. It also explores the evolution of anti-submarine warfare systems and submarines between World War II and the present.
