Allied Forces South Norway
| Allied Forces South Norway | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1952 - 1994 |
| Allegiance |  North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
| Part of | Allied Forces Northern Europe, Kolsås, Norway |
| Location | Stavanger, Norway |
Allied Forces South Norway (SONOR) was a NATO command tasked with the defense of Southern Norway. SONOR's area of responsibility included all of Norway with the adjacent sea territory excluding the three northernmost counties of Norway, which were under Allied Forces North Norway.
Allied Forces South Norway (SONOR) and was activated in 1962 along with Allied Forces North Norway (NON) and Allied Forces Baltic Approaches. Unlike most other NATO commands SONOR was a staffed entirely by members of the Norwegian Armed Forces. It's operational headquarters was located in Stavanger and today houses NATO's Joint Warfare Centre. The commander of SONOR had three deputies: Commander Land Forces South Norway, Commander Air Forces South Norway and Commander Naval Forces South Norway. Incoming allied units would have come under the command of these three deputy commanders.
In case of war SONOR had the following units at its disposal:
Naval Forces South Norway (NAVSONOR) was tasked with the defence of Southern Norway's coastal waters against Soviet naval incursions and amphibious landings. Operations to the South of Norway's coastal waters were under the command of NATO's Allied Command Channel and Allied Forces Baltic Approaches. Therefore most major naval units of the Norwegian Navy would have come under other NATO commands, with NAVSONOR retaining control of coastal artillery units and smaller coastal defense boats. NAVSONOR also dispatched a squadron of fast attack crafts to NAVNON on a rotational basis.
In 1989 the Royal Norwegian Navy had the following ship and submarines in service. While these units were all based in Southern Norway, in wartime the submarines and frigates might have been dispatched to the various NATO commands defending the North Sea and the Baltic Approaches, while some of the patrol boats would have been sent to reinforce NAVNON in Northern Norway.
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