Naval combat between US and UK forces Suez crisis

ar-pharazon

Banned
Okay so the Suez Crisis is historically significant as it signaled the US would not brook the old European empires seeking to maintain their holdings.

What if at some point somewhere in the mediterrean, Red Sea, or elsewhere there had been an exchange of fire between US and British ships?

Not a war or even large scale engagement but just an exchange of fire.

How would that have affected Anglo-American relations?
 
Deliberate or accidental?

In the latter case, I think there would have been a cover up.
The former is too ugly and absurd to contemplate.
 
Britain follows France out of the mainstream of Nato if its deliberate. It would have to be the USN that fired first as I can see no possibility of an RN ships captain doing so. If its and accident then the careers of whoever commands the ships involved ends extremely quickly and via the Glasshouse or Brig.
 
The closest OTL incident I can think of is the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty in 1967 in which several aircraft and a number of MTBs attacked and seriously damaged the US Spy ship in international waters in what is almost certainly a deliberate attack (depending on who you believe)

The US remained quite chummy with Israel in the years since!

Given that Britain and the US are far more important allies to each other than Israel is then I suspect that the issue would be likewise hushed up and swept under the carpet.
 

FBKampfer

Banned
Depends on what ships run into each other.

If HMS Tiger runs into Missouri, well then the HMS Tiger disappears with all hands, and the USN misplaces 9 16" shells.
 
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