OPLAN 316-62: the Invasion of Cuba, 1962

Having read the Cuba War thread as regards to things going nuclear, how about the possiblity of the war in Cuba and adjacent waters staying conventional? CINCLANT had the appropriate OPLAN; it was CINCLANT OPLAN 316-62, and it called for an 8 to 18 day air campaign to precede the invasion. The landings were to be carried out on order of CINCLANT, and involved:

XVIII Airborne Corps (West of Havana)

82nd Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
1st Armored Division
1st Infantry Division
4th Infantry Division
Corps Troops (artillery, aviation, etc)

II Marine Amphibious Force (East of Havana)

2nd Marine Division
2nd Infantry Division
Regimental Landing Team 5 (from 1st Marine Division)
Corps Troops from III Corps

CINCLANT Reserve:

5th Infantry Division
One Combat Command from 2nd Armored Division

Special Operations:

One SF Group
One SEAL Team

AF and Navy Air assets to follow later, along with the outline of the planned invasion.
 

The Sandman

Banned
Given the nuclear torpedo-armed subs the Soviets had in the area, and that they apparently had already shipped some tactical nukes to the island, I find it highly unlikely that no one on the Cuban/Soviet sides pushes the nuclear trigger, especially as Cuba has no hope of surviving a conventional war with the US.
 

Philip

Donor
Given the nuclear torpedo-armed subs the Soviets had in the area, and that they apparently had already shipped some tactical nukes to the island, I find it highly unlikely that no one on the Cuban/Soviet sides pushes the nuclear trigger, especially as Cuba has no hope of surviving a conventional war with the US.

In addition to shipping tactical warheads, the local commanders were given release authority over them. It is borderline ASB to assume they would not be used as a last ditch defense. If you want a conventional war, the invasion must begin before the Crisis.
 
In addition to shipping tactical warheads, the local commanders were given release authority over them. It is borderline ASB to assume they would not be used as a last ditch defense. If you want a conventional war, the invasion must begin before the Crisis.

Local authority was revoked on October 27, 1962, at 4:30 PM EST. That's when the order was sent by Moscow to Cuba. In addition, Gen. Pilaev had recieved orders from Malinovsky on October 22nd to "repel the enemy by joint efforts of the Cuban Army and all Soviet troop units, excluding Statsenko's weapons and all of Beloborodov's cargo."

So even prior to the official rescinding of local authority, Pilaev was operating under orders to not use the nuclear weapons available to him. In my TL, I get around these orders by "heat-of-the-moment" actions. In this TL, I'd suggest simply having people follow orders and simply have the weapons destroyed by air strikes, as all but the FROGs likely would be in the opening hours of the air offensive.
 

Philip

Donor
Local authority was revoked on October 27, 1962, at 4:30 PM EST. That's when the order was sent by Moscow to Cuba.

Yes, after a local commander, acting on his own authority, ordered the downing of a U2. That is, after the Soviets realized they were loosing control of the situation. Less than 8 hours later, the US informed NATO that 'within a very short time' she would 'take whatever military action may be necessary'. That's uncomfortably close in time.

In addition, Gen. Pilaev had recieved orders from Malinovsky on October 22nd to "repel the enemy by joint efforts of the Cuban Army and all Soviet troop units, excluding Statsenko's weapons and all of Beloborodov's cargo."
Indeed, but one wonders about the effectiveness of that order given (a) that Moscow felt the need to issue a second order on 27 October and (b) the independent actions taken by the SAM commander.

In my TL, I get around these orders by "heat-of-the-moment" actions.
I think that faced with an American invasion, such actions seem likely.

In this TL, I'd suggest simply having people follow orders and simply have the weapons destroyed by air strikes, as all but the FROGs likely would be in the opening hours of the air offensive.
I agree, but some of those FROGs had nuclear tips. Bye-bye, Gitmo.
 
The Hawks at Gitmo would have taking care of the Frogs.

Highly unlikely. The I-Hawk wasn't deployed until the 1970s, and it was only theoretically capable of taking out a theatre-scale missile. The actual capability wasn't demonstrated in a test until 1990. The tube-based electronics of the original HAWK don't stand a chance of shooting down an incoming FROG, even if every possible condition was balanced in the defenders' favor.
 
Yes, after a local commander, acting on his own authority, ordered the downing of a U2. That is, after the Soviets realized they were loosing control of the situation. Less than 8 hours later, the US informed NATO that 'within a very short time' she would 'take whatever military action may be necessary'. That's uncomfortably close in time.

I'm not sure what you're getting at here. Pilaev's orders never precluded the use of conventional weapons against American aircraft, and he was completely within his bounds to shoot down the aircraft if he had given the order -- which he did not. The order was given by a local commander, as you mentioned.

Indeed, but one wonders about the effectiveness of that order given (a) that Moscow felt the need to issue a second order on 27 October and (b) the independent actions taken by the SAM commander.

I think we can judge the effectiveness of the twin orders in the fact that no nuclear weapons were used in OTL. That alone speaks for itself. Of course, in an invasion, things would be somewhat different, but that is not the question.
 
Highly unlikely. The I-Hawk wasn't deployed until the 1970s, and it was only theoretically capable of taking out a theatre-scale missile. The actual capability wasn't demonstrated in a test until 1990. The tube-based electronics of the original HAWK don't stand a chance of shooting down an incoming FROG, even if every possible condition was balanced in the defenders' favor.

Didnt say I-Hawk. said Hawk (MIM-23A). And it actually itercepted a Honest john at Redstone in January 1960.So I dont see it not bring able to get a Luna.
 
I'm not sure what you're getting at here. Pilaev's orders never precluded the use of conventional weapons against American aircraft, and he was completely within his bounds to shoot down the aircraft if he had given the order -- which he did not. The order was given by a local commander, as you mentioned.

What he getting at is that on the night of the 26 THE CUBANS ATTACKED the guideline site at Banes and launched at the u-2 not Pilaev.
 
The U-2 shootdown was not by Cubans, it was done on the orders of the Soviet Air Defense Command in Cuba. The book Operation Anadyr even has the account from the SA-2 battery commander getting the order from his chain of command.

While I dig out the OB stuff for the USN and USAF, here's the outline of the invasion: (from Dino Brugioni's Eyeball to Eyeball and the recent book Defcon-2)

Prior to A-Day Army SF teams were to insert into Cuba and disable several Air Defense radars. After the radars were knocked out, the first waves from Florida and the carriers (four attack carriers were on station) were to hit SA-2 sites, AAA batteries, and the air bases where MiGs and Il-28s were based. After the air defense had been suppressed, the main strikes on the SS-4 and SS-5 sites were to go in, with each site attracting the attention of at least a squadron of F-100s or A-4s, with 500-lb. bombs and napalm. Continuous sorties throughout the day were to be flown until the Soviet/Cuban AF and air defenses were knocked out, and all known missile sites destroyed. The pattern would continue with Soviet and Cuban ground forces and beach defenses (including the coastal defense SS-C-2 batteries) being hit, and intensive post-strike recon by U-2s, RF-8s, RF-101s, and SAC RB-47Es to determine if any missiles survived, with info being passed to the targeteers at STRIKCOM (MacDill AFB). After 8 days, CINCLANT would have had an evaluation done as to whether or not to continue to the maximum period of 18 days. (You can bet that XVIII Airborne Corps and II MAF would want the full 18-day preparation period before putting boots on the ground)
Upon CINCLANT order, the invasion would go in.

West of Havana (XVIII Airborne Corps): The 82nd Airborne Division was to jump on Jose Marti IAP and the San Antonio de Los Banos AB, with the 101st Airborne Division jumping on Baraoca airfield and Mariel NAS. Prior to the jump, SEAL teams were to insert into the port of Mariel to disable any demolitons set on the port facilities and to seize any ships in the port to prevent their scuttling to block the harbor and port facilities. Upon Mariel being declared Secure, the 1st Armored Division would be put ashore, one Brigade at a time, using 15 LSTs shuttling from Port Everglades and Miami (it would take 30 hours to put the whole Division in Cuba). Elements of the 1st ID (The "Big Red One") were to be flown in to the captured airfields and reinforce the 82nd. One brigade of 1st Armored was to strike to Pinar Del Rio and take the SS-4 sites at San Cristobal, while the remainder of the Division was to push east to link up with the 82nd. After 1st AD, the rest of 1st ID and the whole of the 4th ID were to be put ashore to fully control Western Cuba from the outskirts of Havana all the way west to the Western Tip of Cuba. Havana was to be isolated, not seized. Guanajay IRBM site was to be overrun by either the 101st elements out of Baraoca, or by elements of 1st AD.

East of Havana (II MAF): 2nd Marine Division was to assault several beaches from Varadero Beach all the way West to Tarara Beach, with a full Regimental Landing Team assigned to each. Upon securing beachheads and linking up, the Marines would seize the port of Matanzas. This would allow the 2nd ID to land. Once the 2nd "Indian Head" ID was ashore, the Marines would head west to link up with XVIII Airborne Corps and complete the isolation of Havana. 2nd ID was to head east to the Sagua la Grande and Remidios missile sites. Regimental Landing Team 5 would conduct an assault near Santiago de Cuba to fix Soviet and Cuban forces in Eastern Cuba and take pressure off of Guantanamo. Upon the securing of all missile sites, and the isolation of Havana, the rest of the island was to be secured with a combination of overland attacks and amphibious end-arounds. Organized resistance expected to end by L+18. Upon the island being secured, two Army National Guard divisions were to be called up for occupation duty, while some of the invasion forces were to return to CONUS for rest and refit, as they were tasked also with the reinforcement of Europe.

Two notes: it was estimated that 1,190 sorties would be flown on the first day, with some pilots making at least two, if not three missions on Day one. Likely sortie rate would likely be 700-900 on average for the full air campaign and the invasion itself.
Also, Fort Benning, GA, was to house any Soviet or Soviet bloc POWs brought from Cuba.
 
Here's the USN/MC/AF Orbat:

USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) with CVG (Carrier Air Group)-6
USS Independence (CVA-62) with CVG-8
USS Shangri-La (CVS-38) with CVG-10
USS Essex (CVS-9) with CVSG (Carrier Air Antisubmarine Group)-60
USS Randolph (CVS-15) with CVSG-58
USS Wasp (CVS-18) with CVSG-52
USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) with CVSG-54

Over 100 USN ships were at sea in Atlantic and Carribean waters to maintain the blockade and to mount II MAF and non-airborne elements of XVIII Airborne Corps for OPLAN 316. Several cruisers and destroyers were on station off Cuba for Naval Gunfire missions during the air strike phase, and one cruiser and three destroyers were off Gitmo for NGFS at all times. Cruiser and destroyer captains already had their gunfire support targets laid in.

Recon squadron VFP-62 at NAS Cecil Field, with a det to NAS Boca Chica/Key West

USMC air:

MAG-14: F-8 and A-4 squadrons at NAS Boca Chica/Key West
One additional MAG to control three A-4 and one F-8 squadrons at NAS Gitmo.
One USMC F-8 Squadron to NAS Roosevelt Roads, PR

USAF:

Patrick AFB (Cape Canaveral): 4th TFW (F-105)
McCoy AFB (now Orlando IAP): 354th TFW (F-100), 427th Air Refueling Squadron (KB-50), det from 552 Air Warning and Control Wing (EC-121)
McDill AFB (Tampa-St. Petersburg): 12th TFW (F-84F), 15th TFW (F-84F)
27th TFW (F-100), 363rd TRW (RF-101), 622nd Air Refueling Squadron (KB-50)
Homestead AFB (Miami): 31st, 401st, 474th TFWs (F-100), 319th FIS (F-104A)
NAS Boca Chica/Key West: 479th TFW (F-104)

Four ADC Fighter-interceptor squadrons (two with F-104, one with F-102, and one with F-106) also in Florida.

Army Air Defense: One Nike Battalion to Homestead-Miami (6 batteries) from Fort Bliss, TX. One HAWK battalion (from Fort Meade, MD) to Homestead-Miami, one HAWK battalion to Key West. One HAWK battalion each to Patrick AFB, McDill AFB, and McCoy AFB/Sanford NAS. One of the Nike batteries from Fort Bliss was dual-tasked in the surface-to-surface role with nuclear warheads against targets in Cuba.
 
any chances of US using tactical nukes to destroy missile site(s)? Thinking conventional bombing either woun't get them all or not get them in time.
 
When the FROGs (Lunas) were discovered on RF-8 photography, it was assumed by CINCLANT that the missiles might have nuclear warheads. Accordingly, Admrial Ward (CINCLANT) asked for JCS approval to take tac nukes into Cuba. He was authorized to bring the 8" Howitzers and Honest John missiles of the 1st AD, and the 1st, 2nd, and 4th IDs and 2nd MarDiv, but no warheads in-country without express Presidential approval. Most likely, they would've been aboard ship offshore, and available to be sent ashore if needed. The AF no doubt had F-84Fs, F-100s, and F-105s in Florida that were nuclear loaded (indeed, Brugoini's book mentions that air units in Florida had nuclear ordnance to attack the four Soviet RCTs in Cuba if so authorized). The Navy had A-4s on the carriers that had a nuclear strike capability, and since NAS Sanford (outside Orlando) was the home of the East Coast Heavy Attack community (A-3s and A-5s), some of them were nuclear-loaded. Again, a nuclear strike via air would only occur on JFK's orders. Most likely in a retaliation mode if Ivan popped a FROG or FKR, or to strike SS-4 sites if a launch appeared to be imminent. One AF General, probably on LeMay's staff, did say the the U.S. should go ahead and use nuclear weapons in Cuba anyway, to prevent Soviet use of their own weapons.
 
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