Operation Deep Water

The exercise took place within the Allied Forces Southern Europe area of responsibility, and was conducted by one of AFSOUTH's subordinate commands, Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe (STRIKFORSOUTH), commanded by Vice Admiral Charles R. Brown, USN, who also commanded the United States Sixth Fleet. A total of 96 warships participated in Operation Deep Water. Consequently, Operation Deep Water opened with a simulated atomic air strike in the Gallipoli area on 25 September 1957. Operation Deep Water culminated with the landing of 8,000 U.S. Marines at Saros Gulf near Gallipoli, Turkey, from a 38-ship amphibious task force led by flagship , on 29 September 1957. The principal U.S. Marine unit was the 6th Marines (Reinforced), commanded by Colonel Austin Shofner, USMC. Operation Deep Water saw the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, become the first unit of the United States Marines Corps to participate in a helicopter-borne air assault operation ('vertical envelopment') during an overseas deployment. It was also the first time that a U.S. Marine joint air-sea-ground task force had been used in a NATO exercise. Air support was provided by aircraft carriers from the U.S. Sixth Fleet throughout all phases of Operation Deep Water. The Tu-16 may have come from 199th Guards or 290th ODRAPs of 46th Air Army, Long Range Aviation. ==U.S. units involved in the exercise==

U.S. Marine Corps units The following United States Marine Corps units participated • Regimental Landing Team 6 (RLT-6) • 3rd Battalion 6th Marines • 2nd Amphibious Reconnaissance Company • U.S. Marine aviation units embarked on board • Marine Fighter Squadron 312 (VMF-312) — North American FJ-3/3M Fury • Marine Attack Squadron 324 (VMA-324) — Douglas AD-4B Skyraider • Marine Attack Squadron 533 (VMA-533) — Grumman F9F-8 Cougar • Marine Aircraft Group 26 (MAG-26) • Marine Helicopter Transport Squadron (Medium) 461 (HMR(M)-461) — Sikorsky HRS-3 • Marine Light Helicopter Squadron 262 (HMR(L)-262) — Sikorsky HR2S-1 U.S. Navy carrier aviation units Carrier Air Group 17 (CVG-17) embarked on board : Carrier Air Group 4 (CVG-4) embarked on board (pictured): ==Outcome==

Vice Admiral Brown summarized the results from Operation Deep Water by noting: "If I were the Russians, I'd get the hell out of there (Dardanelles) if a war started. With what we've got, we could make monkey meat out of them." Operation Deep Water took place as part of a series of concurrent NATO exercises held during the fall of 1957 which were the most ambitious military undertaking for NATO to date, involving more than 250,000 men, 300 ships, and 1,500 aircraft operating from Norway to Turkey. These other 1957 exercises were Operation Strikeback, which concentrated on NATO's eastern Atlantic/northern European flank; Operation Counter Punch involving Allied Forces Central Europe on the European mainland; Operation Stand Firm in the English Channel; Operation Sea Watch, a convoy escort exercise in the North Atlantic Ocean; and Operation Fend Off/Operation Fishplay, an anti-submarine exercise in the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap ("GIUK gap"). ==See also==