ROME L ESPRESSO IN ITALIAN 28 JUL 81 PP4-8

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 22, 2007
• Sequence Number: 34
• Publication Date: April 21, 1982
• Content Type: REPORT

FORM r.-7-5 101 UUSE S TIPREVIOUS GPO : 1981 0 - 345-783
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6 '
?
? r
9PNO &d 9JLL1rO1JEn
FOR:I IDDI/Congressional Support Staff
/FT SC
P._n..1-H-5120
?qrs. B1dq
REQUIREMENT NO: 8128/0988 DATE. 21 Apr 82
TITLE,' Rome L?ESPRESSO in Italian 28 Jul 81 pp4-8
FBIS
Article by Giovanni Maria Paces "Italy is a Missile Launching Pad"
FOREIGN BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84BOO148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84BOO148R000400820034-6
? 40
POLITICAL ITALY
NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS IN ITALY
Rome L'ESPRESSO in Italian 28 Jul 81 pp 4-8
IArticle by Giovanni Maria Pace: "Italy is a Missile Launching Pad"]
LText ] While the politicians talk of disarmament
and rearmament, the people ask: where are the arms?
Here for the first time is a complete map of the
atomic and missile bases in our country.
Rome. The F104's arc through the skies of Ghedi, near Brescia.
They carry nuclear bombs under their fuselages. The Orion P3's of
.the anit-submarine squadron which patrols the Mediterranean go in
and out of Sigonella in Sicily. They carry nuclear depth-charges
on board. In the fields of Polesine, sharp-toothed outlines rise
suddenly in the sky from the cane-swamps: they are the Nike Her-
cules missiles with atomic warheads. The top military commands,
the high political leaders have never said it officially, but the
reality is that in the Atlantic Alliance, after Germany, Italy is
the European country with the highest number of nuclear bases.
There are about 1000 atomic weapons in our country, each one with
s destructive capacity that is often 100 times that of the Hiroshima
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84BOO148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84BOO148R000400820034-6
? 49
bomb. Where are they? Who controls them? What advantages and what
dangers do they bring? For the first time, L'ESPRESSO lifts the
veil over the atomic arsenal in our country.
Nuclear Arms Deposits
Let us begin with the deposits: Longare is a small town 10 kilo-
meters from Vicenza; there is nothing famous about it. But it is
very important to the military. Carved out of the hills that stand
above the town, thare is, in fact, a superprotected base called,
in code, "Side Pluto." Here the Americans Army guards the major
part of the nuclear arms destined for the Italian theater. Outside
one sees only barbed wire, watch-towers and checkpoints with
insignias of the 28th Field Artillery and the 69th Ordnance Company:
this is the company responsible for the maintenance of nuclear
weapons in Italy. The arms are inside, but no one can enter, unless
he wears a US uniform. The city of Longare does not have maps of
.the top-secret zone. "When something has to be done inside the hill,"
says a local administrator, "the Americans call for our workers,
but they watch over them very carefully." The hilltop above the base
is held by an Italian unit whose job is to protect the back lines
of Site Pluto. Certain nights, the inhabitants of Longare are awaken-
ed by the passing of heavy equipment. They prefer to carry on the
comings and goings of arms away from indiscrete gazes.
Another American enclave (we shall speak later about the various
types of military installations) is the Air Force Base at Aviano,
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84BOO148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
13 kilometers above Pordenone, seat of the 40th Tactical Group of
the United States Air Force and pillar of the NATO strategic defense
plan in the Southern theater. The "strike missions" would be launched
from Aviano ("strike" in military language means "nuclear attack")
in case of war. Favored by meteorological conditions good for
flying, the Friulian base does not permanently host airborne contin-
gents, but serves as a backup base to which about 300 planes a
month fly, for the most part; from Spain. The atomic bomb deposit
is in "Area G" of Aviano, slightly to one side on the runway. In
case of war, the squadrons of guest airplanes, or "additive forces,"
can refuel or obtain any other type of assistance. A general test of
military emergency procedure took place one year ago, when the 60th
Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, a squadron composed of 72 F4 Phantoms,
arrived from Bergstrom Texas. Refueled over the Atlantic by Boeing
707 KC135's of the Strategic Air Command, transformed into flying
tankers, the Phantoms arrived at Aviano after 11 hours in flight,
and were serviced in record time. After that, they were involved in
a series of missions, 140 takeoffs and landings in three days, in
conjunction with a vaster, important maneuver called "Down Patrol
The bases of Ghedi, Rimini and other non-nuclear installations are
commanded by the base at Aviano, which extends over 380 hectares and
employs 2400 persons. There are two types of nuclear bases in Italy:
those belonging totally to the United States, with American per-
sonnel, arms, offensive and command. apparatus, such as Aviano,
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
IL I
Longare, La Maddalena, Sigonella, and the bases held by the Italian
military which has both airplanes and missiles to bring a nuclear
payload to its target, but on which atomic weapons are trusted
to special American units, the "custodial units." The custodial
units give to and activate nuclear arms for the Italians only if
and when they receive the order from their commands. In other words,
even when the Americans use Italian launch units, they are the only
ones to make decisions concerning the use of nuclear arms. To acti-
vate a nuclear weapon, it is necessary, as far as we know, to make
a combination of six numbers, three of which the commander of the
custodial unit knows, and three of which must come from the Ameri-
can high commands. In theory, the President of the United States in
person decides to use nuclear weapons, and in the case of interrupt-
ed communications, the various commands, in descending order.
The second type of bases, that is, those under limited Italian
command, such as Ghedi or Rimini, are generally supposed to pass
under NATO command in case of conflict. There are also, in Italy
and Europe, American bases which, in wartime, could be integrated
with NATO. All of them, integrated or not, would receive reinforce-
ments directly from the United States during the first days of
conflict.
Let us go back to Ghedi, in the province of Brescia, and the other
Air Force base dependent on Aviano: Rimini-Miramare. At each base
there are 36 F104 airplanes of the Italian Air Force, the famous
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
0 IV
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
Starfighters, a bit old, and waiting to be replaced by the Tornados,
but still able to transport nuclear bombs, probably the B43 type,
weighing 1500 kilograms. These bombs, too, will gradually be sub-
stituted by a newer type, the B61's, free-fall bombs with braking
parachutes, whose potential can be over one megaton, that is, one
million tons of TNT, enough to wipe out an urban area the size of
New York City. Near the Italian Air Force personnel, Ghedi and
Rimini host the Americans of the MUNSS, or Munition Support Squadron,
as those in the Air Force call the custodial units. At both Rimini
and Ghedi, some airplanes are in a constant state of alert, that is
with nuclear bombs aboard- and ready for takeoff. They sit in a
special area of the base and are protected by guards under order to
shoot anyone who crosses the security line marked around the air-
planes. The American squadrons which support Italian squadrons are
each composed of 86 men, including eight officers.
Naval-Air Bases
Italy has, as well an important naval role in the Atlantic Alliance.
It increases the capability for surveillance over the Mediterranean.
and the effective conduct of submarine warfare. The American Navy
has easy access to the heart of the Mediterranean from Gaeta, base
for the 6th Fleet, and Naples; the nuclear submarines get arms and
supplies from Maddalena; Sigonella, near Catania, is the base for
air operations connected with the Navy. In fact, the new Lockheed
P3 Orion turboprops that patrol the Mediterranean depart from
Sigonella. They have torpedoes, missiles and nuclear depth-charges
aboard, destined for Soviet submarines. Aside from the Orions on
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84BOO148R000400820034-6
? . ?
rotating shifts from the United States, Sigonella is inhabited by
the Hercules C130's of the Tactical Air Transport Squadron, an
important transport unit which insures the transport of nuclear,
arms from the aircraft carriers navigating along the Mediterranean
coasts.
Maddalina Island, in Sardinia, is the base for the US Naval Support
Office which assists nuclear propsllbd-.and armed submarines in ser-
vice in the Mediterranean. These "hunter-killer" or attack submarines
are part of the Los Angeles class, come directly from the United
ram
States, and stop at Maddalena, or better, at Santo Stefano Island,
for supplies and maintenance. They are equipped with ten or so
rocket-torpedoes with nuclear warheads, a one or two kiloton poten-
tial which are launched under water, fly to the surface and hit
the target, that is the enemy submarine, even if submerged. For
assistance, the United States submarines go alongside the support
ship Orion which substituted the Gilmore in qune.
The base at Maddalena is serviced by 200 sailors, while another
1000 or so are in service on the support ship. On the island of
Tavolara, at the mouth of the Gulf of Olbia, there is a station
for very low frequency radiotransmissions, essential in communica-
tions between submarines.
Naples is generally considered the Italian city with the most
important American military presence. The General Headquarters for
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84BOO148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
? ?,
Southern Europe of the Allied Forces in NATO is at Bagnoli.'There
is also the largest NATO and US communications center for naval
operations in the Mediterranean, as well as the commands--these
too for the entire basin--of the Naval Air Force, aircraft carriers,
and submarines: they thus make up the craft with ballistic missiles
aboard destined to hit the heart of the Soviet Union. On the Ionian
chessboard, at Gioia del Colle (Bari), there is also a non-nuclear
peacetime Air Force base that can be used in case of war. In May
1979, the 507th Tactical Fighter Group of the American Air Force,
equipped with F105's, completed. an exercise with the 36th Italian
Squadron at this base.
The American Army also uses Camp Darby, a vast deposit of arms and
material near Livorno, and Fort Ederle at Vicenza, a complex that
employs 2460 persons and hosts the General Headquarters of the
American Land Forces in Italy, the Southern European Task Force
(setaf). At Vicenza too, is the command of the Italian and American
NATO Air Force (to which Aviano, dependent as it is on Spain, does
not belong). The 62nd Engineers Company is also quartered in this
city; it is responsible for demolitions with nuclear explosives,
Atomic mines, easily transportable by jeep or helicopter, have poten-
tials varying from less than one up to five kilotons, and can be
\h aCC of
used to block the mountain passes -to a possible invader from the
east. At Vicenza as well, are the 559th Artillery Group, respon-
sible for the various nuclear custodial units present in Italy,
the Command of the 69th Ordnance Company, responsible for the
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
maintenance of nuclear arms (already met at Lone;are), and the 54th
Signal Company, responsible, among other things, for the communica-
tions system among nuclear arms deposits in Europe.
The nuclear arsenal in Italy-thus includes a wide variety of arms.
We have already spoken of the atomic mines. We add here that they
are probably stored in the caves of Site Pluto. Figuring.too in
the panoply are 203 millimeter artillery shells, the largest now
in stock, destined for the 14th and 15th Heavy Artillery Battalions
of the Italian Army. The potential of the shells, which can be shot
from a distance of up to 17 kilometers, varies from one to five
kilotons. Their prevalent use is in antitank defense. Soon the
M55 canons will be replaced by the most modern FH70 and M109
cannons, capable of shooting 155 millimeter shells, the smallest
nuclear arms in the American arsenal, and the first--some experts
maintain--whose use on the battlefield will signal the passage from
.conventional to nuclear warfare.
Going from the least to the most destructive in the nuclear arsenal,
we find the warheads of the Lance missiles, with a potential of
from one to 30 kilotons, a range of action from 40 to 100 kilo-
meters. The Lances were acquired in Italy in 1964-65. These missiles
and the nuclear cannons have substituted the old Honest John missiles
on the bases of Portogruaro, Codogn6 and Oderzo, near Treviso, and
Scihves, above Bressanone. While the Lances, "manageable".missiles,
? Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
 ? Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
W V
are adapted to frontline operations, the larger- Hercules are
deployed on fixed bases in Italy, on the northeastern part of the
Po River plain, with the aim of heading off a Warsaw Pact missile
or air attack. Their potential is about one kiloton, the range of
action is over 140 kilometers, and the maximum altitude over 45.
Nj
The I Hercules are divided into three groups--the 7th, 16th, and
17th--of our military Air Force, each one consisting of three
squadrons which are supported by the American custodial units, for
a total of nine "nuclear capable" squadrons, each one with more
N az-al
launchers. The principle bases for the N1RE Hercules are at: Bovolone,
24 kilometers from Verona, Ca Tron, near Treviso, Ceggia, near San
Donh di Piave, Chioggia at Ca' Bianca, Conselve, 21 kilometers from
Padova, Cordovado, above Portogruaro, the base closest to the
Yugoslav border, Monte Calvarina near Verona, Zelo near Rovigo.
These bases are all fairly muc e. Half hidden in the land like
shelters, surrounded by a strip of no man's land, they are guarded
by Italian Air Force personnel in battle readiness. Around them,
the slow comings and goings of the military with "US Army" on their
jackets. No one would say that the grass-covered bunkers hide
missiles until the olive-green bodies rise above the land at an
85. degree angle, as happens frequently in the launching simulations.
The farmers who work the land barely raise their eyes. For them, their
appearance is by now familiar. But not reassuring. "If war comes,"
says one resident of Zelo, "It's best to get out of here fast."
The missile bases are the primary targets for a possible Warsaw
Pact attack.
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84BOO148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
Finally, if the criterion for the list is not strictly that of the
presence of atomic weapons, but also that of the the condition of
being a potential target, the list can be lengthened to radio and
radar stations connected in various ways to the NATO nuclear
strategy. An essential communications center, from this viewpoint,'
is Coltano, 12 kilometers from Camp Darby (Livorno), where the
56th Signal Company keeps active, 24 hours a day, the communications
network between Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Germany. Communica-
tions with Germany take place through Site 046, that is, the station
at Finale Ligure on the Riviera di Ponente. Near these and other
important centers ar the large Air or Naval bases such as Aviano,
there is an entire series of minor relays, indicated as "Unknown
Remote Sites" by the United States Army or Navy, which dot the map
of Italy, from Bressanone to Gambhrie (Reggio Calabria), from
Monte Grappa to Piacenza, from Piano di Corsi (Trieste) to Tavolara,
already mentioned above in reference to submarines.
Explanation of map, p. 5: "Where they are, what they are like"
UJu,
The Nib, Hercules and Lance missile bases and the nuclear artillery
are concentrated in the northeastern part of the Po River plain.
Air Force bases with nuclear weapons are at Aviano, Ghedi (Brescia),
and Rimini. Antisubmarine aircraft are located at Sigonella (Cats- C
nia), refueling of nuclear submarines takes place at Maddalena
(Sardinia). The most important atomic weapons for the Italian
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
theater are at Longare, near Vicenza. Other sites are commands,
installations, radio centers connected with the NATO nuclear
strategy.
Key:
m Location Nuclear Arms Deposit
'J'Naval Base Radio Station
Air Force Base Fort
Missile Base
Insert, p 7 "This Document"3
How have we been able to make up the map of nuclear bases in Italy?
The constitution of these bases is the fruit of a myriad of accords
between the Italian and American governments, or simply of officials
responsible for particluar territories. These were signed and never
made public in the 1950's and 1960's. It was useless, therefore,
to ask the military authorities to see them: nuclear--material is
"classified," that is reserved. But the bases can be observed from
the outside, and by certain indications--the.presence of certain
American military, for example, indicates the nuclear nature of the
site--it is possible to understand, to reconstruct. Various pieces
fit into the mosaic, and the picture is slowly completed. L'ESPRES3O,
however, has not followed only this laborious method. It spoke with c t.,
who had already constructed the framework with painstaking attention
and yearlong comparison of texts. The specialist in European mili-
tary affairs whom we contacted is an American, Willian M. Arkin,
researcher at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, (the
same man who helped STERN to complete the map of atomic bases in
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
Germany). Arkin is writing a book titled, Nuclear War in Europe.
He permitted us to read the chapter concerning Italy. Other infor-
mation and confirmations came from consultation of the voluminous
Inventory of Goods of the American Army. In short, for anyone who
knows how to read, everything is written in the sources.
[ Insert, p8 "what does the Socialist Internationale Say?" l
ann1 -11
?&. Last week in Bonn the work of the socialist Internationale
took place. Willy Brandt, secretary of the Internationale, tried to
convince his European companions of the willingness of the Soviets
to open negotiations immediately on the delicate question of nuclear
warheads. From here,(the word of order he launched the SALT talks
must be reopened as soon as possible.
The Secretary of the PSI, Bettino Craxi, said he was in favor of
this stand. He maintained the necessity for participation by Euro-
pean representatives in the USA-USSR talks. The French Socialists,
as they, like the British, already have national nuclear deterrents,
were concerned with the tutelage of their "force for nuclear
dissuasion."
The Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, instead, was polemical. He
demonstrated a certain perplexity concerning the American willing-
ness to negotiate. German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt brought up the
same doubts: he declared "to not yet see any real direction in
the foreign policy of the United States."
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6
? ?
The Scandinavian countries expressed a particular position. In
particular, Danish Prime Minister Anker Jurbensen was the most
open to the Soviet suggestion-concerning the possibility of the
creation of a denuclearized zone in North Europe; in exchange, the
Soviet Union would commit itself to dismantlatomic installations
9941
CSO: 8128/0988
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP84B00148R000400820034-6