Sir Humphrey

Within a short time U2 flights, Satellites and other assets would improve the ability to glean imagery, report ship movements and spot ships in refit. Less than 25 years later US files show they had huge understanding of every stage of construction about Soviet SSBNs.

The rest of the report is classified, but its a great reminder of how HUMINT reporting providing invaluable building block intelligence in the early days of the Cold War. We will never know who risked it all to make these notes and debrief them to the CIA, but we owe them.

The sketch therefore is a vital note showing what an asset could recall. Its a helpful diagram that would have verbally confirmed to analysts the type of ships likely to be in harbour, reconfirming known ORBATS and potentially helping give new information out on the submarine.

The report also noted that the amount of activity seemed unusual, but provided helpful descriptions of the vessels, their appearance, paint scheme and so on. This sort of information was impossible to glean from SIGINT.

The dates are redacted, but it also provides timely advice on ship movements (or lack of), which could be used to infer information on the readiness of ships for operations. Notable too were comments on the SVERDLOV - her name has been redacted for reasons unknown!

Other information commented on ships in refit, helping note about unusual features. This could be used to corroborate other reports, and also advise on new features or refit activity. This was again invaluable for naval analysts looking at the Baltic fleet.

This is helpful as it confirms ship locations, and also the presence of older capital ships. "October Revolution" dated back to 1915, had fought in WW2 (where she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner) and was then awaiting disposal.

The report then states ships seen in Krondstadt harbour, near Leningrad. This included cruisers, and the ancient Gangut class battleship "October Revolution" as well as submarines in the basin.

Thankfully Western intelligence had a range of different sources to report information. In this case, a CIA source, probably onboard a ship in the Baltic reported in early 1955 seeing three cruisers on a Westerly course near Norway.

Of particular concerns was the Sverdlov class cruiser. Well armed with 6" guns and a global range, it was a potent threat to NATO reinforcement convoys and merchant shipping in the Atlantic.

After the Cold War began, travel into the Soviet Union became challenging. The Baltic was, in parts, a closed lake. With limited aerial imagery available, it was hard to get good coverage of what the Soviet Navy was up to in the Baltic area.

This may look like a child's drawing of warships, but in fact it is a SECRET 1955 CIA HUMINT report on Soviet naval vessels in the Baltic.

PSL thread analysing a forgotten report to show value of Cold War HUMINT sources for analysis and intelligence.

I tend to not post very often on Bluesky as I find a lot of people here are rather prickly. I'm going to give it another go and try cross posting some of my X threads, and host them here too, and see what the response is like though.

Overall this visit was a huge success, opening the doors to cooperation at a crucial time in the bilateral links between the two navies. Sadly these links were not to endure. Makarov retired in 1992 - today a Russian warship bears his name.

Despite this 1SL was careful to sound suitably apologetic for his behaviour, signing off in the manner of a chastened junior officer!

It was noted that a short visit to an RN submarine by a submarine Admiral went down very well indeed. The mood music changed on the visit and resulted in the offer to visit any Soviet submarine - an incredible opportunity.

He went on to note that USN seniors were now visiting Soviet submarines, so this was not unusual. Additionally the visit occurred due to a programme gap when Makarov suggested not giving his speech again (to the delight of the RN!).

1SL noted that during the Yazov visit, an SSBN visit had been mooted, but "discarded on grounds of taste" as well as practicality. He had no recollection of opposing an SSN visit as suggested by the SofS. (a polite way of suggesting the Minister was lying?)

1SL responded with a personal note to SofS setting out his reasons for the visit. It is incredibly unusual to find a 4* Officer sending a personal 'reasons in writing' letter like this, making it of real historical value.

After the event, Ministers were NOT happy that 1SL had allowed Makarov onboard the TRENCHANT. The Secretary of State was concerned and asked for his reasons as to why the visit occurred - particularly given there had been prior opposition to the Soviet Minister visiting one.

The visit appeared to have been a real success, building strong links at senior leadership level and helping to cement practical working relationships with the leadership. There was real genuine hope for the future.

On the final day there was a visit to the RN Submarine museum at which "he came alive" and then more talks. 1SL noted at their final meeting how emotional he was when describing the Royal Navy personnel he'd met "even me, however I was, the only one to get kissed"

He spent the night at a dinner with Flag Officer Naval Aviation, by all accounts getting raucously drunk and describing the Yak fighter jet as 'junk'. This was noted appreciatively by the hosts!

From there he went to Plymouth. A last minute opportunity arose at 1SL discretion to arrange a 30 minute visit to HMS TRENCHANT. It was noted that Makarovs behaviour was impeccable (e.g. no spying ). The prize -an offer of a return visit to ANY Soviet submarine...

On the 2nd day he flew to Portland to visit FOST and learn about sea training. He then visited HMS LONDON at sea. He was very complimentary of FOST and the ship noting "the Ship would win" - this was high praise from a former opponent.

The trip began in London with staff talks and then a presentation to the Staff Course at Greenwich. This was by all accounts a turgid speech, and there was much gratitude by the RN for his willingness to spontaneously cut most of it on the hoof!

To get best from visit, RN staff pre-agreed the questions they would ask him, to maximise the value of the trip. The write up of some of these questions shows the range of concerns, the increasingly open relationship and the hopes for the future of both navies.

The Naval Staff wanted to show him the modern Royal Navy and arranged a visit across the UK to surface ships, naval bases and a last minute visit to HMS TRENCHANT. The only points of concern were his speech to the Staff Course, and his reaction at being forced to watch 'Cats'!

The theme of his visit was the major cuts facing the Soviet Navy, and his worries about how to crew the remaining ships. He saw clear risks in reducing the fleet at a time when there were "40 plus units of the US fleet that could threaten the USSR".

Makarov was the Soviet 'Chief of the Naval Staff', and a submariner by background. He was leading the Soviet Navy through massive change and cuts, and the RN was keen to build good working links with him. Clearly he liked a cigarette, and to have his jokes laughed at!