Birth of a Nuclear Base: The US, Italy, and the Cold War Path to La Maddalena


Abstract


This article reconstructs the path that in 1972 led the US and Italy to negotiate and eventually agree on the homeporting of a US submarine tender in La Maddalena, Sardinia, which became the de-facto main US nuclear submarine base in the Cold War Mediterranean. Unlike what has been claimed by anti-base authors, according to the records of the Department of State the opening of a US base in La Maddalena was not an achievement of a long-term US foreign policy goal, but a compromise. Indeed, the Department of Defense aimed to homeport a submarine tender in the much more strategical Augusta Bay, Sicily, while the remote La Maddalena was proposed by Italy, whose government (unsurprisingly) negotiated with the US pursuing its own national interest.

Keywords: US Navy Base La Maddalena; US-Italian Relations; US Bases in Italy; US Nuclear Submarines in Italy; Cold War Mediterranean

References


ARCHIVAL SOURCES

National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD (NARA), Record Group 59 – General Records of the Department of State (RG 59), Miscellaneous Lot of Files, Lot File no. 58 D 357, Subject Files Related to Italian Affairs, 1944-1956 (A1 1285).

National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD (NARA), Record Group 59 – General Records of the Department of State (RG 59), Subject Numerical Files 1970-1973 (A1 1613-D).

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