Soviet Maritime Power

Abstract

We, as a nation, have travelled through a period of misguided unconcern about maritime matters. I can only reflect that the populace of our country, which comparatively rarely these days travels by sea — except to cross the Channel or go silver-sea cruising — has largely forgotten about its dependence upon the oceans for our material needs and our standard of living. Indeed the immensity of the ocean, still infinitely impressive if you should happen to find yourself upon it, even in a large ship, together with the extraordinary power it can generate, and the opaqueness of its depths to systematic penetration by detection systems, is entirely lost on the air traveller. We Europeans seem to have been going through a period of ‘sea blindness’ — most inappropriately, for in East—West terms, Western Europe is, we should realise, a subcontinental island — but I really do believe that the scales are at length beginning to fall away.