On the bridge of the cruiser Little Rock not long ago, Vice Adm. William I. Martin, commander of the U.S. Mediterranean fleet, braced his elbows on a chest-high rail and focused his binoculars on the "skunk" (naval jargon for any unidentified vessel) cutting through his formation. The intruder's silhouette - long and lean, with missiles protruding from a bow launcher like buck teeth - was a dead giveaway. Without even glancing at the flag snapping on its mainmast, Martin and his staff knew its identity. The stranger in their midst was a Russian guided-missile destroyer.

As the Soviet vessel closed to within 150 yards of an American destroyer, Martin radioed a blunt message in Russian: "In a few minutes, my task force will commence maneuvering at high speeds and on varying courses. Your present position in this formation will be dangerous for your ship. I request you to clear our formation without delay;" Whereupon the Russians took the angry hint and fell back - though never farther away than the horizon.

Muscle: The Russian destroyer and it's companions - in the distance Martin could make out two more Soviet warships plus a trawler known to be crammed with sensitive electronic equipment - were part of Moscow's new Mediterranean squadron, a modern, power-packed unit of more than 40 ships, including the latest guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, assorted auxiliary craft and eight to ten submarines. And their presence on the horizon underscored a new turn in international affairs. The Mediterranean, the Russians seemed to be saying, was no longer an American lake.

Until recently, such a challenge from Moscow would have been unthinkable. Historically, Russia has never been a major naval power, and after 1905, when the greatest of czarist fleets was destroyed by the Japanese, such naval strength as Russia did possess was designed primarily for the defense of its own coasts. In the mid-1950s, however, with the buildup of the Soviet merchant navy (now the world's fifth largest) and the increase in Soviet commitments abroad, Russian admirals began to think in global terms. Soviet Fleet Adm. Sergei Gorshkov put his country's new naval ambitions on record a few years ago when he wrote: "In the past, our ships have operated primarily near our coasts. Now, we must be prepared to deliver crushing strikes against sea and ground targets of the imperialists on any point of the world ocean and adjacent territories."

Today's Soviet presence in the Mediterranean obviously stems from the strategy enunciated by Gorshkov. Before it was put into practice, Russia's Western fleet was divided into three segments: Northern, Baltic and Black Sea. Traditionally, each force kept to its own geographic area. This lack of mobility was due, in part, to year-round ice conditions in northern waters and to Soviet inhibitions about passing through narrow straits (such as the Kattegat and the Bosporus) which could easily be interdicted by Western naval units. Even more important, however, were the restrictions imposed on the Soviet Navy by its lack of service units and its failure to develop techniques for refueling and replenishing warships at sea.

Rendezvous: Lately, however, the Russians seemed to have stolen a page from the U.S. Navy, which often resupplies its fleets from tankers and cargo ships even when port facilities are available. The Russians are still short of Mediterranean ports - though they now put into Yugoslavian and Algerian harbors for liberty, and may soon start using some of the Arab harbors along the Levant. But their units in the Mediterranean have been supplied by a procession of oilers, tugs, tenders and other support ships which rendezvous with the warships at anchorages in international waters.

Despite the impressive firepower of the Russian guided-missile ships, most observers insist that the effective balance of power in the Mediterranean hasn't been shifted by the new Soviet presence. (The U.S. Sixth Fleet stations two or three carriers in the area regularly and has enormous air superiority.) But if the arrival of Soviet warships hasn't changed the equation, it has certainly complicated it, and given U.S. admirals something new to contend with. "I have no doubt we can defend ourselves against what they have here, Admiral Martin told NEWSWEEK'S Rome bureau chief Curtis Pepper last week. "But what concerns me is their buildup from here on out. Make no mistake about it, they are here to stay, to explore, and to exploit. The Soviet Navy has entered the Mediterranean and they don't intend to leave it.

Photo and article are from Newsweek Magazine, August 28, 1967 Issue, pages 39- 40.

It wasn't unusual to have the naval fleets from two different countries maneuvering simultaneously in the same part of the ocean. Often this dangerous practice was used to make a "statement" as to who was in control of that particular part of the sea. Other times it seemed to be nothing more than a show of bravado.

In this news wire photo several of the crew on board USS Little Rock watch a Russian submarine tender in the Mediterranean Sea. The photo is dated Nov 1973.