Exercise Verity
Encyclopedia
Exercise Verity was a 1949 multilateral naval training exercise involving 60 warships from the British
, French
, and Dutch navies for the newly formed Western Union, the precursor to the Western European Union
(WEU). A contemporary newsreel described this exercise as involving "the greatest assembly of warships since the Battle of Jutland
."
was signed by the United Kingdom
, France
, Belgium
, Luxembourg
and the Netherlands
on 17 March 1948. It was a mutual intergovernmental self-defence treaty which also promoted economic, cultural and social collaboration. The Brussels Pact had cultural and social clauses, and provisions for the setting up of a Consultative Council. The basis for this was that a cooperation organization between Western nations would help stop the spread of Communism.
(WUDO), the defence arm of the Western Union. Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
was the WUDO's senior officer as Chairman of the Commanders-in-Chief Committee.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Rhoderick McGrigor, RN, was in overall command of Exercise Verity. At the time of the exercise, Admiral McGrigor was serving as Commander-in-Chief
of the British Royal Navy
's Home Fleet.
, near Penzance
, prior to setting sail for the Bay of Biscay for the week-long exercise. Field Marshal Montgomery held a reception on board the flagship, the aircraft carrier HMS Implacable
. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands
sponsored a cocktail party aboard the cruiser HNLMS Tromp
. Field Marshal Montgomery stayed on board the Implacable as an observer during the exercise.
Submarines, including the highly advanced French boat Roland Morillot
,made simulated attacks against convoys and naval formations using dummy torpedoes. The exercise included bombers flying from land-based airfields. French and British carriers also launched air strikes, with Implacable successfully carrying out strike operations against the enemy ("White") aircraft carrier force led by the light aircraft carriers HMS Theseus
and the French Arromanches.Actually sister ships, Arromanches formerly being HMS Colossus Naval bombardment and convoy escort operations were also carried out. Finally, motor torpedo craft
of the Belgian Navy joined other Western Union warships to execute mine-sweeping operations in Weymouth Bay
.
On 4 July the White force aircraft (RAF Lancasters and Dutch fighters) operated searches against the Blue force (escorted by French aircraft and British flying boats) as it approached the Bay of Biscay.
Later both naval surface forces combined in a simulated convoy - the aircraft carriers standing in for troopships - with Lancasters, Mitchells and Meteors as air cover.
Land based fighters and naval strike aircraft practiced attacks with cannon and rockets against the smaller ships and then against the main force of four carriers, the battleship Anson and supporting destroyers. The same was practiced the morning of the following day.
One unusual example of allied cooperation involved the replacement of the outer wing of a Netherlands Sea Fury fighter aircraft
that had been damaged by a bird strike. Since the Royal Netherlands Navy did not provide such elaborate spare parts when the aircraft's group deployed to RNAS Culdrose, the damaged Sea Fury received a replacement wing with British markings.
Admiral McGrigor summarized the accomplishments of Exercise Verity by noting: "The object of these manoeuvres is to show that we are willing and able to work together in case of aggression... I can say straight away that it's been a very great success..."
Aviation units included Royal Netherlands Air Force with Mitchell medium bombers and Meteor fighters, Royal Netherlands Navy Fireflies and Sea Furies Royal Netherlands Navy at French Maritime Air Force Dornier and Sunderland flying boats and Wellington bombers, operating from Brest
and Lorient
. Belgium contributed fighter aircraft in "a preliminary stage". The RAF forces included Avro Lancaster
and Avro Lincoln
heavy bombers, Sunderland flying boats and Meteor fighters. Overall control was RAF Coastal Command.
Implacable carried de Havilland Sea Hornet fighters and Blackburn Firebrand
strike aircraft.
The British 15th Carrier Air Group operated Fairey Firefly
s and Hawker Sea Furies from land bases.
became much more important than concerns over German rearmament. Western Europe therefore sought a new mutual defence pact involving the United States
. The United States recognized the growing threat of the USSR and was responsive to this concept. Secret meetings began by the end of March 1949 between American
, Canadian
and British officials to negotiate such a trans-Atlantic mutual defence pact. Eventually, it would lead to the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C.
in 1949. NATO began forming its own military command structure in 1951, at which time the headquarters, personnel and plans of the WUDO were transferred to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
(SHAPE), and SHAPE took over responsibility for the defence of Western Europe.
The Treaty of Brussels was amended by the Protocol signed in Paris
at the conclusion of the London and Paris Conferences
on 23 October 1954, which added West Germany
and Italy
to the Western Union, which was renamed the Western European Union.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, French
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
, and Dutch navies for the newly formed Western Union, the precursor to the Western European Union
Western European Union
The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
(WEU). A contemporary newsreel described this exercise as involving "the greatest assembly of warships since the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
."
Background
The Treaty of BrusselsTreaty of Brussels
The Treaty of Brussels was signed on 17 March 1948 between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, as an expansion to the preceding year's defence pledge, the Dunkirk Treaty signed between Britain and France...
was signed by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
on 17 March 1948. It was a mutual intergovernmental self-defence treaty which also promoted economic, cultural and social collaboration. The Brussels Pact had cultural and social clauses, and provisions for the setting up of a Consultative Council. The basis for this was that a cooperation organization between Western nations would help stop the spread of Communism.
Command structure
The command authority for Exercise Verity was the Western Union Defence OrganizationWestern Union Defence Organization
The Western Union Defence Organization was the defence arm of the Western Union, the precursor to the Western European Union . The WUDO was also a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , and its headquarters, personnel, and plans provided the nucleus for NATO's military command...
(WUDO), the defence arm of the Western Union. Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC , nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from...
was the WUDO's senior officer as Chairman of the Commanders-in-Chief Committee.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Rhoderick McGrigor, RN, was in overall command of Exercise Verity. At the time of the exercise, Admiral McGrigor was serving as Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's Home Fleet.
The Operation
The 60-ship fleet gathered in Mount's BayMount's Bay
Mount's Bay is a large, sweeping bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom, stretching from the Lizard Point to Gwennap Head on the eastern side of the Land's End peninsula. Towards the middle of the bay is St Michael's Mount...
, near Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
, prior to setting sail for the Bay of Biscay for the week-long exercise. Field Marshal Montgomery held a reception on board the flagship, the aircraft carrier HMS Implacable
HMS Implacable (R86)
HMS Implacable was an Implacable-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy.- History :She was laid down at Fairfields Shipyard on Clydeside three months after her sister-ship Indefatigable and was clearly destined for the British Pacific Fleet once worked up...
. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld , later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, was prince consort of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and father of six children, including the current monarch Queen Beatrix....
sponsored a cocktail party aboard the cruiser HNLMS Tromp
HNLMS Tromp (1937)
HNLMS Tromp was the lead ship of the Tromp-class light cruisers of the Royal Netherlands Navy during and after World War II.Originally designated as a flotilla leader and a torpedo cruiser in the Deckers Fleet Plan of 1931, she was laid down at the "Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij" ,...
. Field Marshal Montgomery stayed on board the Implacable as an observer during the exercise.
Submarines, including the highly advanced French boat Roland Morillot
Roland Morillot (S613)
German submarine U-2518 was a Type XXI U-boat of the Kriegsmarine at the end of World War II, which later served in the French Navy, where she was commissioned as Roland Morillot, in honour of Roland Morillot, a French submarine officer killed in 1915.-Kriegsmarine:The submarine was laid down on 16...
,made simulated attacks against convoys and naval formations using dummy torpedoes. The exercise included bombers flying from land-based airfields. French and British carriers also launched air strikes, with Implacable successfully carrying out strike operations against the enemy ("White") aircraft carrier force led by the light aircraft carriers HMS Theseus
HMS Theseus (R64)
HMS Theseus was a Colossus-class light fleet aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. She was laid down in 1943 by Fairfield at Govan, and launched on 6 July 1944.-Workup and initial service:...
and the French Arromanches.Actually sister ships, Arromanches formerly being HMS Colossus Naval bombardment and convoy escort operations were also carried out. Finally, motor torpedo craft
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
of the Belgian Navy joined other Western Union warships to execute mine-sweeping operations in Weymouth Bay
Weymouth Bay
Weymouth Bay is a sheltered bay on the south coast of England, in Dorset. It is protected from erosion by Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland, and includes several beaches, notably Weymouth Beach, a gently curving arc of golden sand which stretches from the resort of Weymouth, along to the...
.
On 4 July the White force aircraft (RAF Lancasters and Dutch fighters) operated searches against the Blue force (escorted by French aircraft and British flying boats) as it approached the Bay of Biscay.
Later both naval surface forces combined in a simulated convoy - the aircraft carriers standing in for troopships - with Lancasters, Mitchells and Meteors as air cover.
Land based fighters and naval strike aircraft practiced attacks with cannon and rockets against the smaller ships and then against the main force of four carriers, the battleship Anson and supporting destroyers. The same was practiced the morning of the following day.
One unusual example of allied cooperation involved the replacement of the outer wing of a Netherlands Sea Fury fighter aircraft
Hawker Sea Fury
The Hawker Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft developed for the Royal Navy by Hawker during the Second World War. The last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, it was also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built.-Origins:The Hawker Fury was an...
that had been damaged by a bird strike. Since the Royal Netherlands Navy did not provide such elaborate spare parts when the aircraft's group deployed to RNAS Culdrose, the damaged Sea Fury received a replacement wing with British markings.
Admiral McGrigor summarized the accomplishments of Exercise Verity by noting: "The object of these manoeuvres is to show that we are willing and able to work together in case of aggression... I can say straight away that it's been a very great success..."
Force composition
Major naval units included the British battleship ; the British carriers , and ; the French carrier Arromanches; three British and five French cruisers; and 21 "destroyers and destroyer escorts".Aviation units included Royal Netherlands Air Force with Mitchell medium bombers and Meteor fighters, Royal Netherlands Navy Fireflies and Sea Furies Royal Netherlands Navy at French Maritime Air Force Dornier and Sunderland flying boats and Wellington bombers, operating from Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
and Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
. Belgium contributed fighter aircraft in "a preliminary stage". The RAF forces included Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
and Avro Lincoln
Avro Lincoln
The Avro Type 694, better known as the Avro Lincoln, was a British four-engined heavy bomber, which first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were known initially as the Lancaster IV and V, but were renamed Lincoln I and II...
heavy bombers, Sunderland flying boats and Meteor fighters. Overall control was RAF Coastal Command.
Implacable carried de Havilland Sea Hornet fighters and Blackburn Firebrand
Blackburn Firebrand
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Brown, Eric, CBE, DCS, AFC, RN.; Green William and Swanborough, Gordon. "Fairey Swordfish". Wings of the Navy, Flying Allied Carrier Aircraft of World War Two. London: Jane's Publishing Company, 1980, p. 157–167. ISBN 0-7106-0002-X.* Buttler, Tony....
strike aircraft.
The British 15th Carrier Air Group operated Fairey Firefly
Fairey Firefly
The Fairey Firefly was a British Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm ....
s and Hawker Sea Furies from land bases.
Aftermath
When the division of Europe into two opposing camps became unavoidable, the threat of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
became much more important than concerns over German rearmament. Western Europe therefore sought a new mutual defence pact involving the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The United States recognized the growing threat of the USSR and was responsive to this concept. Secret meetings began by the end of March 1949 between American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and British officials to negotiate such a trans-Atlantic mutual defence pact. Eventually, it would lead to the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1949. NATO began forming its own military command structure in 1951, at which time the headquarters, personnel and plans of the WUDO were transferred to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...
(SHAPE), and SHAPE took over responsibility for the defence of Western Europe.
The Treaty of Brussels was amended by the Protocol signed in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the conclusion of the London and Paris Conferences
London and Paris Conferences
The London and Paris Conferences were two related conferences in London and Paris in late September and October 1954 to determine the status of West Germany...
on 23 October 1954, which added West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to the Western Union, which was renamed the Western European Union.
External links
- HMS IMPLACABLE LEADS WESTERN UNION FLEET video newsreel film - Pathé Films onlinePathéPathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
- July 14, 1949