The
GIUK gap is an area in the northern
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
that forms a
naval warfareNaval warfare is combat in and on seas, oceans, or any other major bodies of water such as large lakes and wide rivers.-History:Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Land warfare would seem, initially, to be irrelevant and entirely removed from warfare on the open ocean,...
chokepoint. Its name is an acronym for
GreenlandGreenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago...
, IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
, and the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, the gap being the open ocean between these three landmasses. The term is typically used in relation to military topics.
The GIUK gap is particularly important to the British
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
, as any attempt by northern European forces to break into the open Atlantic would have to do so either through the heavily defended
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
which is also the world's busiest shipping lane or through one of the exits on either side of
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
.
The
GIUK gap is an area in the northern
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
that forms a
naval warfareNaval warfare is combat in and on seas, oceans, or any other major bodies of water such as large lakes and wide rivers.-History:Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Land warfare would seem, initially, to be irrelevant and entirely removed from warfare on the open ocean,...
chokepoint. Its name is an acronym for
GreenlandGreenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago...
, IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
, and the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, the gap being the open ocean between these three landmasses. The term is typically used in relation to military topics.
Importance to Royal Navy
The GIUK gap is particularly important to the British
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
, as any attempt by northern European forces to break into the open Atlantic would have to do so either through the heavily defended
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
which is also the world's busiest shipping lane or through one of the exits on either side of
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
. When also considering British control over the strategic fortress of
GibraltarGibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers and shares a land border with Spain to the north...
at the entrance to the Mediterranean, Spain (northern coast), France (Atlantic coast) and
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
are the only mainland European nations that have direct access to the Atlantic ocean in a way that cannot be easily blocked at a choke point by the Royal Navy.
History
In the modern period, the exploitation of the GIUK gap by northern forces and measures to patrol and secure the gap by opposing forces has played an important role in naval and overall military planning.
World War II
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the gap was used by German ships to break out from their bases in northern
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
in an attempt to attack
convoyA convoy is a group of vehicles traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval convoys have been used for hundreds...
s, but these actions were generally unsuccessful due to blocking efforts in the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
and the GIUK gap. The Germans were aided tremendously with the fall of France, when they were able to base their
submarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability...
s on the French coast. Between 1940 and 1942 the
Denmark Straitthumb|250px|Location mapThe Denmark Strait is a strait between Greenland and Iceland . The Norwegian island of Jan Mayen is located northeast of the strait....
between Iceland and Greenland was one of the few areas that
RAFThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
patrol bomberA maritime patrol aircraft, also simply patrol aircraft, or by the older term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol, anti-shipping, anti-submarine and search and rescue roles....
s could not reach, and thus became the centre for considerable action.
The origin of the term "gap" can be traced to this period, when there was a gap in air coverage known as the
Mid-Atlantic gapThe Mid-Atlantic Gap was the gap in coverage by land-based Coastal Command antisubmarine aircraft during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. It is frequently known as The Black Pit, as well as the Atlantic Gap, Air Gap, Greenland Gap, or just "the Gap". This resulted in heavy...
or "Greenland air gap". This gap was an area that landbased aircraft could not reach and as a result were not able to carry out their
anti-submarineAnti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
duties. The gap was eventually closed in 1943 with longer-ranged versions of aircraft such as the
Short SunderlandThe Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. Based in part upon the S.23 Empire flying boat, the flagship of Imperial Airways, the S.25 was extensively re-engineered for military service...
and
B-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, built by Consolidated Aircraft. It was produced in greater numbers than any other American combat aircraft of World War II and still holds the record as the most produced U.S. military aircraft. It was used by many Allied air forces and...
, making submarine actions in the Atlantic nearly impossible.
Cold War
The gap again became the focus of naval planning in the 1950s, as it would be the only available outlet into the ocean for
SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
submarines operating from their bases on the
Kola PeninsulaThe Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far north of Russia, part of the Murmansk Oblast. It borders upon the Barents Sea on the North and the White Sea on the East and South...
. The primary concern was that if the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
"turned hot", naval convoys reinforcing Europe from the U.S. would suffer unacceptable losses if Soviet submarines were allowed to operate in the North Atlantic. The United States and Britain based much of their post-war naval strategy on blocking the gap, eventually installing a chain of underwater listening posts right across it, known as
SOSUSSOSUS, an acronym for SOund SUrveillance System, is a chain of underwater listening posts across the northern Atlantic Ocean near Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom—the GIUK gap. It was originally operated by the U.S. Navy for tracking Soviet submarines, which had to pass through the...
.
The Royal Navy's primary mission during the Cold War, excluding the nuclear deterrent role, was that of
anti-submarine warfareAnti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
(ASW). The development of the
Invincible-class anti-submarine carriersThe Invincible-class is a class of light aircraft carrier currently serving with the British Royal Navy. Of the three vessels of this class, and are in operation, with decommissioned from service and in reserve until 2010.- Development :...
was part of this doctrine with their primary mission being anti-submarine warfare using the
Sea KingThe Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British license-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines, British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
helicopter. The
Type 23 frigateThe Type 23 frigate is a class of frigate serving with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. All the ships are named after British Dukes, thus the class is also known as the Duke class. The first Type 23 was commissioned in 1989, and the sixteenth, was launched in May 2000 and commissioned in June...
was to be a pure ASW platform, its mission expanded following the
Falklands WarThe Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
.
Likewise, the Soviets planned to use the gap to intercept any
NATOThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
ships, especially aircraft carriers, heading towards the Soviet Union. Ships and submarines as well as
Tupolev Tu-142The Tupolev Tu-142 is a Russian maritime reconnaissance/anti-submarine warfare turboprop aircraft...
maritime surveillance aircraft were to be used to track the threatening ships.
In popular culture
The GIUK line is mentioned in a few books as a significant plot element, such as
Tom ClancyThomas Leo Clancy Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War and his video games. His name is also a brand for similar movie scripts written by ghost writers and many series of...
's
Red Storm RisingRed Storm Rising is a 1986 techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond about a Third World War in Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces, set around the mid-1980s...
and
The Hunt for Red OctoberThe Hunt for Red October is a 1984 novel by Tom Clancy. The story follows the intertwined adventures of Soviet submarine captain Marko Aleksandrovich Ramius and CIA analyst Jack Patrick Ryan.The novel was originally published by the U.S...
. In
Red Storm RisingRed Storm Rising is a 1986 techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond about a Third World War in Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces, set around the mid-1980s...
, the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
launches a surprise attack on the NATO airbase NAS Keflavik. The station is completely unprepared and is taken quickly. The result of the attack is the fracturing of the GIUK gap, which allows the Soviet Northern Fleet to place all their SSBNs (ballistic submarines) in friendly-controlled waters with a few SSNs (fast-attack submarines) to stand guard (a
bastionA bastion in naval strategy is a heavily-defended area of water in which friendly naval forces can operate safely. Typically, that area will be partially enclosed by friendly shoreline, defended by naval mines, monitored by sensors, and heavily patrolled by surface, submarine, and air forces.-...
defense). The loss of Keflavik and the GIUK line also allows numerous SSNs to slip through the gap and into the Atlantic unchecked.
Early editions of the
HarpoonHarpoon is a series of realistic air and naval computer wargames based upon Larry Bond's miniatures game of the same name, which can be viewed at . A player can play one side: Blue or Red, in simulated naval combat situation, both local conflicts, as well as in Cold War confrontation between the...
naval warfare simulation were based around defending the GIUK Gap. Tom Clancy used the simulation to test the naval battles for
Red Storm RisingRed Storm Rising is a 1986 techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond about a Third World War in Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces, set around the mid-1980s...
.
Birds
The GIUK gap is also a route for
migratory birdBird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. These however are usually irregular or in only one direction and are termed variously as nomadism, invasions,...
s such as the
northern wheatearThe Northern Wheatear or Wheatear is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
to cross the Atlantic to reach Greenland and Eastern Canada.
See also
- Battle of the Denmark Strait
The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a World War II naval conflict between ships of the Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine.The British battleship Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser Hood fought the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, both of which were attempting to...
- Broad Fourteens
200px|rightThe Broad Fourteens is an area of the southern North Sea that is fairly consistently fourteen fathoms deep . It is located off the coast of the Netherlands and south of the Dogger Bank, roughly between longitude 3°E and 4°30'E and latitude 52°30'N and 53°30'N...
- Communication with submarines
Communication with submarines is difficult because radio waves don't travel well through thick electrical conductors like salt water.The obvious solution is to surface and raise an antenna above the water, then use ordinary radio transmissions. Early submarines had to frequently surface anyway for...
- Long Forties
200px|rightThe Long Forties is an area of the northern North Sea that is fairly consistently forty fathoms deep . It is located between the northeast coast of Scotland and the southwest coast of Norway, centred about 57°N 0°30′E...
- Mid-Atlantic gap
The Mid-Atlantic Gap was the gap in coverage by land-based Coastal Command antisubmarine aircraft during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. It is frequently known as The Black Pit, as well as the Atlantic Gap, Air Gap, Greenland Gap, or just "the Gap". This resulted in heavy...
- Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...
- Fulda Gap
The Fulda Gap is a region of lower elevation between the former East German border and Frankfurt, Germany. Named for the town of Fulda, the Fulda Gap was strategically important during the Cold War...