Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (BALTAP) was the NATO command with responsibility for the Baltic Sea area. It was in existence from 1962 to 2002.
The NATO command Baltic Approaches was created on 8 January 1962, with headquarters in Karup, Denmark. It was created at Germany's urging, in order to end the previous separation of the German naval forces between the NATO commands Northern Europe and Central Europe. After the changes in the international security situation in 1990, the command was restructured in 1993 and deactivated in 2002.
Contents |
The area of responsibility of BALTAP comprised the territory of Denmark (without Greenland and the Faroe Islands), the German states Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein and the eastern North Sea, the Baltic approaches with Skagerrak, Kattegat, the Danish straits, and the Baltic Sea. One peculiarity was the responsibility for air defense over the German part of the BALTAP area. Until 1990, the western Allies were responsible for air defence over the whole Federal Republic of Germany on the basis of the occupation statute. After France had withdrawn from the integrated military structure of the alliance, this task was undertaken by the United States and the United Kingdom. The 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF) was responsible for the area of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, and was led by a British officer from RAF Germany, with headquarters in Mönchengladbach.[1]
The structure that was brought into being with the creation of BALTAP remained with few changes from 1962 to 1994. During this time, BALTAP comprised 4 subordinate commands:
On 1 October 1993, a restructuring took effect, which took into account the changed military situation in the Baltic Sea. Whilst the two land forces commands remained in place, the two headquarters of the naval and air forces were deactivated. The Interim Combined Air Operations Centre 1 (ICAOC 1) in Karup took the place of COMAIRBALTAP. The two national naval commanders were placed directly under COMBALTAP as Admiral Danish Fleet (AdmDanFleet) and Commander German Fleet (COMGERFLEET).
In case of war, COMBALTAP would have to lead the NATO forces assigned to it. According to plans, all Danish forces with the exception of some units in the outer regions were to be placed under COMBALTAP. Germany had provided for its land and air forces stationed in the BALTAP area, and its entire naval and naval air forces, to be subordinated to COMBALTAP. In addition, external reinforcements from the United States and Britain (UK MObile Force, primarily 1st Infantry Brigade) were planned.
BALTAP was led by a Danish officer with the rank of a Lieutenant General or a Vice Admiral, who had the designation Commander Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (COMBALTAP). His deputy was a German officer of the same rank. From 1962 to 1993, COMBALTAP was under the NATO command Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) in Kolsås outside Oslo in Norway. After a change in the NATO structure, it was placed under Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) on 1 October 1993. For the operational command of the air and sea forces, a partial assignment of these forces to Allied Forces Northwestern Europe (AFNORTHWEST) with its component commands AIRNORTHWEST and NAVNORTHWEST was made.