[Australia]: Operation Accordion

[Owen]

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OPERATION ACCORDION​

CLASSIFIED AND TOP SECRET Shared with: Zak Jamie Connor​

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Objective:	Defend the State of Israel
Date:	25 August 1999 - 20 November 1999
Location:	Middle East
Status:	Concluded. Status quo ante bellum.

BELLIGERENTS​

Australia Israel Support: Sweden

Turkey Saudi Arabia

COMMANDERS AND LEADERS​

Dame Quentin Bryce (Governor-General) Kim Beazley (Prime Minister) John Faulkner (Minister for Defence) Admiral Chris Barrie (Chief of the Defence Force) Vice Admiral David Shackleton (Chief of Navy) Rear Admiral David Campbell (Commander Australian Fleet) Naftali Bennett (Prime Minister) Benny Gantz (Minister of Defense)

Mesut Yilmaz (President and Prime Minister) Huluski Akar (Minister of National Defence) Salim Dervişoğlu (Commander, Turkish Naval Forces) Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (King and Prime Minister) Admiral Fahd al-Ghofaily (Commander, Royal Saudi Navy)

STRENGTH​

Royal Australian Navy: Fleet Command: Surface Combatant Group: HMAS Sydney (Perth-class Destroyer: 310x Regular Personnel, 40x RIM-66 Standard MRs, 6x Mark 46 torpedoes, 40x Ikara anti-submarine missiles, full rounds for 2x 5"/54 calibre Mark 42 guns and 2x Phalanx CIWS, 70x Mark 36 SRBOC decoys, 4x Nulka decoys) HMAS Perth (Perth-class Destroyer: 310x Regular Personnel, 40x RIM-66 Standard MRs, 6x Mark 46 torpedoes, 40x Ikara anti-submarine missiles, full rounds for 2x 5"/54 calibre Mark 42 guns and 2x Phalanx CIWS, 70x Mark 36 SRBOC decoys, 4x Nulka decoys) HMAS Adelaide (Adelaide-class Frigate: 185x Regular Personnel, 40x RGM-84 Harpoons, 32x RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, 6x Mark 46 torpedoes, full rounds for 1x OTO Melara 76mm gun, 6x .50 calibre machine guns and 1x Phalanx CIWS) HMAS Canberra (Adelaide-class Frigate: 185x Regular Personnel, 40x RGM-84 Harpoons, 32x RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, 6x Mark 46 torpedoes, full rounds for 1x OTO Melara 76mm gun, 6x .50 calibre machine guns and 1x Phalanx CIWS) HMAS Melbourne (Adelaide-class Frigate: 185x Regular Personnel, 40x RGM-84 Harpoons, 32x RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, 6x Mark 46 torpedoes, full rounds for 1x OTO Melara 76mm gun, 6x .50 calibre machine guns and 1x Phalanx CIWS) HMAS Bataan (Adelaide-class Frigate: 185x Regular Personnel, 40x RGM-84 Harpoons, 32x RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, 6x Mark 46 torpedoes, full rounds for 1x OTO Melara 76mm gun, 6x .50 calibre machine guns and 1x Phalanx CIWS) HMAS Warramunga (Anzac-class Frigate: 165x Regular Personnel, 8x RGM-84 Harpoons, 64x RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, 6x Mark 46 torpedoes, full rounds for 1x 5"/54 calibre Mark 45 gun, 6x .50 calibre machine guns, 2x .50 calibre Mini Typhoons and 1x Phalanx CIWS, 70x Mark 36 SRBOC decoys, 4x Nulka decoys) HMAS Ballarat (Anzac-class Frigate: 165x Regular Personnel, 8x RGM-84 Harpoons, 64x RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, 6x Mark 46 torpedoes, full rounds for 1x 5"/54 calibre Mark 45 gun, 6x .50 calibre machine guns, 2x .50 calibre Mini Typhoons and 1x Phalanx CIWS, 70x Mark 36 SRBOC decoys, 4x Nulka decoys) HMAS Stuart (Anzac-class Frigate: 165x Regular Personnel, 8x RGM-84 Harpoons, 64x RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, 6x Mark 46 torpedoes, full rounds for 1x 5"/54 calibre Mark 45 gun, 6x .50 calibre machine guns, 2x .50 calibre Mini Typhoons and 1x Phalanx CIWS, 70x Mark 36 SRBOC decoys, 4x Nulka decoys) HMAS Toowoomba (Anzac-class Frigate: 165x Regular Personnel, 8x RGM-84 Harpoons, 64x RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, 6x Mark 46 torpedoes, full rounds for 1x 5"/54 calibre Mark 45 gun, 6x .50 calibre machine guns, 2x .50 calibre Mini Typhoons and 1x Phalanx CIWS, 70x Mark 36 SRBOC decoys, 4x Nulka decoys) HMAS Kanimbla (Kanimbla-class Landing Platform Amphibious: 220x Regular Personnel, full rounds for 6x .50 calibre machine guns and 1x Phalanx CIWS, 2x Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel) HMAS Success (Durance-class Replenishment Ship: 235x Regular Personnel, 8,700 tonnes of diesel fuel, 975 tonnes of aviation fuel, 250 tonnes of munitions, 116 tonnes of water, 95 tonnes of naval stores, 57 tonnes of consumables, full rounds for 7x 12.7mm machine guns and 1x Phalanx CIWS, 1x Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel) Submarine Group: HMAS Waller (Collins-class Submarine: 58x Regular Personnel, 22x Mark 48 Mod 6 Advanced Capability torpedoes, 2x SSE decoys) HMAS Dechaineux (Collins-class Submarine: 58x Regular Personnel, 22x Mark 48 Mod 6 Advanced Capability torpedoes, 2x SSE ecoys) Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving Group: Mine Warfare Forces: HMAS Hawkesbury (Huon-class Minehunter: 40x Regular Personnel, full rounds for 1x DS30B rapid fire cannon and 2x .50 calibre machine guns, 2x Double Eagle mine disposal vehicles) HMAS Diamantina (Huon-class Minehunter: 40x Regular Personnel, full rounds for 1x DS30B rapid fire cannon and 2x .50 calibre machine guns, 2x Double Eagle mine disposal vehicles) Clearance Diving Branch: Clearance Diving Team Two (300x Regular Personnel embarked on HMAS Kanimbla) Fleet Air Arm: 817 Squadron (40x Regular Personnel, 12x Westland Sea Kings (1 on each Adelaide-class, Anzac-class and Durance-class, 3 on HMAS Kanimbla)) Naval Support Command: Navy People, Training and Resources: Royal Australian Navy Health Services: Primary Casualty Reception Facility (100x Regular Personnel embarked on HMAS Kanimbla) Israeli Navy: 3x Dolphin-class Submarines 3x Sa'ar-5 class Corvettes Israeli Air Force: 50x F-16D "Barak"s 17x F-15D "Baz"s

Turkish Navy: 2x Clemenceau-class Aircraft Carrier 1x Dokdo-class Amphibious Assault Ship 7x Yi Sunsin-class Destroyer 6x G-class Frigate 9x Kılıç-class Fast Attack Craft 5x D'Estienne d'Orves-class 6x La Fayette-class Frigate 10x Yildiz-class Fast Attack Craft 2x Akar-class Replenishment Oiler 600x Marines 4x Lockheed AP-3C Orion 105x F-16 Fighting Falcon 25x F-4 Phantom II 20x BAE Sea Harrier 2x Embraer 145 AEW&C Royal Saudi Navy: 3x Udaloy II-class Destroyers Royal Saudi Army: 1,000x Troops 206x Tanks 70x Multiple Launch Rocket Systems

CASUALTIES AND LOSSES​

None

None

 

[Owen]

In the early hours of the morning, HMAS Sydney, HMAS Melbourne, HMAS Bataan, HMAS Warramunga, HMAS Ballarat, HMAS Kanimbla, HMAS Waller, HMAS Dechaineux, HMAS Diamantina, HMAS Hawkesbury and HMAS Success would leave Sydney Harbour fully loaded and with full complements. They would begin to head out of the Sydney heads, heading south down the New South Wales coastline, through the Bass Strait, across the Great Australian Bight to arrive at Garden Island in Western Australia, near Perth, to meet up with the elements of the operation from Fleet Base West. This would take them on transit route: QF > PF > OF. The entirety of 817 Squadron would also fly across the country, stopping for necessary fuel breaks at civilian and military airports across the country.

Once at Garden Island and meeting up with the elements from Fleet Base West. Once there and organised the remaining ships would be fully loaded and complemented. The ships arriving from Sydney would refuel and reload to full amounts. The 817 Squadron Sea Kings would begin landing on their assigned vessels. They would begin to head out from Western Australia as a massive fleet. Of course, this would not be unnoticeable to the residents of Rockingham, Western Australia. It would quickly make the news and would become public knowledge a large Royal Australian Navy fleet was heading into the Indian Ocean and the Department of Defence would confirm this, but nothing about operational matters, their purpose, their destination or their complement. They would take transit route: OF > OG > NH > MI > MJ > LK to stop in the Gulf of Aden within international waters. HMAS Success would ensure that all ships were refuelled as necessary. The Collins-class submarines would remain surfaced across the Indian Ocean. The two Huon-class minehunters would have the shortest range and would need fully refuelling at least twice to get to the Gulf of Aden. Only the Adelaide-class Frigates would need a small amount of refuelling just before the Gulf of Aden in order to make it into the Gulf of Aden, the remaining ships had well beyond the range to go from Perth to the Gulf of Aden. Their orders would be to remain in international waters in the Gulf of Aden.

Secretly the United Kingdom would be sent a memo to inform them of the deployment and the possibility for necessary refuelling for HMAS Success from Diego Garcia, requesting such permission.

Operational manifestos would now be shared with: Israel, the United Kingdom and Sweden.

Zak Axis12 VBCFan Jamie Connor

 

[Owen]

With the threat from Turkey seemingly subsiding, the decision was made by the National Security Committee of Cabinet to conclude the operation. All vessels would begin turning back after spending months in the Gulf of Aden, they would be refuelled by HMAS Success and would also stop at Diego Garcia for a day for some R&R. The UK Ministry of Defence was informed about this (Jamie). They would take the same route back to head back to Australia, first making a port call Fleet Base West in Perth to drop off the elements which are stationed then, followed by transiting across the Great Australian Bight and the Bass Strait to head back to Fleet Base East in Sydney where the remaining elements would go. All aircraft onboard the ships would return to their respective bases.

The operation was declared over.

Axis12 VBCFan Zak