Port visit links
November 13th, 2009 | Ballistic missile defense Carriers Maritime operations Royal Navy Science and technology Ships Submarines | Posted by Phil Ewing
Sailors aboard the carrier Nimitz mustered to get ready to man the rails for a port visit in Japan, much as today's links are mustering to provide you with news and updates // MCSA Robert Winn / Navy
Restricted maneuvering doctrine settin’, ATM cash-withdrawin’, rail mannin’ links, eager to tie up, race down the brow and get into the bars town as quickly as possible:
- After a triumphant visit and commissioning in its namesake city, the amphibious transport dock New York, like so many other newcomers to the Big Apple, is taking refuge in New Jersey.
- The Royal Navy’s newest attack submarine, the Astute, is on its way to the Royal Navy’s famed submarine base in Faslane, Scotland.
- The littoral combat ship Freedom is making a visit to Naval Station Mayport, Fla., the local newspaper reported, nervously pointing out that LCS will “replace” the frigates homeported there.
- Have you heard about this amazing discovery of these World War II Japanese submarines off Hawaii?
- The Missile Defense Agency has announced the next six ships that will be upgraded with ballistic missile defense capability, and, as expected, they’re all East Coast destroyers.
- Remember that movie in which the decommissioned carrier John F. Kennedy inexplicably crushes the White House in a tidal wave? It comes out today.
San Juan and the SANDF
November 6th, 2009 | Carriers Foreign navies Historical Submarines | Posted by Andrew Scutro
Groton-based fast attack submarine San Juan arrives in South Africa for "regional security cooperation activities" and other events.//USN
In what’s becoming almost a habit, another U.S. Navy ship has stopped to visit South Africa. On Nov. 4, the fast attack submarine San Juan pulled into Simon’s Town for what 6th Fleet bills as a “first-ever, at-sea” engagement with that nation’s undersea fleet.
San Juan follows the destroyer Arleigh Burke, which arrived in Durban on July 13 for a similar visit. And last October, the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and cruiser Monterey stopped in Cape Town, marking the first time a U.S. flattop had been to South Africa since the Franklin D. Roosevelt made a stop in 1967.
The U.S. Navy has been building ties with the South Africans steadily in recent years. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead met naval leadership there in April.
For most of the second half of the 20th century South Africa was an international pariah because of its segregation policy known as “apartheid,” which was repealed in 1991. Check out the South African military here.
Gator swims up, swallows submarine
November 5th, 2009 | Historical Maritime operations Science and technology Ships Submarines | Posted by Phil Ewing
The dock landing ship Carter Hall could be the first amphibious ship to transport a nuclear submarine in its well deck // MCSN Derek Poole / Navy
Have you ever looked down at the well deck of an amphibious ship and thought, wouldn’t it be cool if we tried to put the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile down there, or a Fleetwood Pace Arrow, or a giant mobile Tim Hortons? Admittedly, this is kind of silly — those things would obviously all fit at the same time, with plenty of room for actual green gear.
The dock landing ship Carter Hall actually is getting ready to try out carrying some crazy cargo in its well deck: This week this ship arrived at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, with the mission of gulping down the decommissioned research submarine NR-1, which is riding on a support barge. Carter Hall will transport the legendary sub to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington, where its reactor will be dismantled. Wrote Foster’s Daily Democrat:
The barge and NR-1 will be guided into the well deck of Carter Hall utilizing a combination of tugs and the ship’s capstan system — a rotating machine that is used to lift or pull heavy objects with the assistance of lines or cables.
After that, it’ll be a long, slow trip around the continent. After that — maybe NR-1 will become a museum ship.
Vectors. Found, and lost.
October 27th, 2009 | Personnel Science and technology Submarines | Posted by Andrew Scutro
Some things are just motivating, like the last few words of the Star Spangled Banner, sacks of cash, hot steak sandwiches and of course, the Five Vector Model. The Scoop Deck staff is on an eternal search for reliable sightings of the Five Vector Model and yes, we found another one, pictured above. It was in Groton. Here is one example we keep in the archive, a sighting from the Navy’s Birthday in 2006, somewhere in the Pacific. If you see a 5VM, in any form, please send in a photo. Probably the most prized example would be a “5VM” vanity license plate. Or a tattoo. That would be sweet.
Fun Fact for the kids: note the difference in vector type and amount between the above example from Groton and the one from the Essex in 2006.
Stranded on a sub in the Chesapeake Bay (updated)
October 26th, 2009 | Life at Sea Maritime operations Naval Academy Submarines | Posted by Phil Ewing
Visitors spent a sunny afternoon stranded topside on the fast attack sub Annapolis when the Navy's boats to ferry them to shore broke down // Lt. Patrick Evans/ Navy
ABOARD THE FAST ATTACK SUBMARINE ANNAPOLIS – After a pleasant but brief visit to this sleek black shark, lurking incongruously amid the sails gliding across the shimmering Chesapeake Bay, it was time to leave.
The Annapolis’ skipper, Capt. Mike Holland, said our launch would be arriving any moment — plus Scoop Deck had asked to see the ship’s Vertical Launch System tubes in the bow — so we climbed up the ladder forward of the conn and examined them for a few moments in the clear, but chilly, Maryland sunshine. It was just after 12:30. After several more minutes of conversation on the sub’s bow, our boat still hadn’t arrived.
Undersea update
October 23rd, 2009 | Submarines nuclear weapons | Posted by Andrew Scutro
Just in time for the Naval Submarine League’s annual symposium next week here near Washington, D.C., the good news arrives that the ballistic missile submarine West Virginia successfully launched two unarmed D-5 Trident II ballistic missiles on Oct 23., likely off the Navy’s missile test facility in Port Canaveral, Fla.
Maybe more likely to come up in discussion at Sub League will be the recent honor bestowed on the crew of the fast attack submarine Hartford. They were commended on Oct. 20 for 1,000 consecutive days without any of the 140 crew involved in a drunk driving incident. What might ignite a few wisecracks during a coffee break is that Hartford has been under repair at Electric Boat in Groton because on March 20 in the Strait of Hormuz it collided with the amphib New Orleans.
Gordon Brown’s SSBN situation
September 25th, 2009 | Ballistic missile defense Royal Navy Submarines The Middle East leadership | Posted by Phil Ewing
Arguments are taking place around the world over whether Britain should mothball one of its four Vanguard-class ballistic missile subs // Royal Navy
U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s support for eliminating one of the Royal Navy’s four Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines isn’t just a British issue anymore — there are reports about it from all around the world, including here in the States. The latest one to catch our attention was this editorial in the Wall Street Journal faulting Brown and his government for scaling back Great Britain’s nuclear deterrent:
[I]t’s no accident that Britain’s nuclear era coincides with her longest period of relative peace in history. Deterrence works, though its effects can only be inferred by crises evaded and battles not fought … All this, while Iran has just upgraded Britain to Most Evil Nation status. It’s an unpleasant reality and something Mr. Brown ought to think carefully about, lest he be accused of being Barack Obama’s poodle.
And that editorial was written before the world learned Friday that Iran has a second nuclear processing facility.
Here’s another thing to think about — what does Brown’s decision mean for the SSBN(X) program?
The U.S. and Royal Navies have said they want to share a common missile compartment for their next generation of ballistic-missile submarines. Will mothballing one Vanguard mean that work has to speed up? Or could it place Britain on the road to eliminating its deterrent mission altogether — as much of the population wants — and mean the U.S. will end up shouldering the whole load for SSBN(X)?
Airborne early warning links
September 11th, 2009 | Aviation Chiefs Royal Navy Science and technology Ships Submarines Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
Much as the E-2C Hawkeyes of VAW 115, the "Liberty Bells," become a strike group's eyes in the sky, so too do today's links give early warning about what's new on the Web // MC3 Jarod Hodge/ Navy
Bow catapult launchin’, air-searchin’, combat air patrol-vectorin’, friend-or-foe identifyin’ links, orbiting high above the strike group to alert you in advance about these items on the Web:
- The reef-ization of the destroyer Arthur W. Radford, which you learned about awhile ago here on the Deck, is reportedly going to be “a big deal” for Maryland tourism.
- A Royal Navy sailor has become the first woman in that august service, and only the second woman in Britain’s military, to receive the prestigious Military Cross.
- An marine inventor claims his new light submarine “has capability greater than the U.S. Navy”
- You probably thought “leaders” was just a normal English word, but it’s actually an acronym, according to this — on a related matter, hooya, chiefs!
- Navy Times told you recently about Virginia Sen. Jim Webb’s worries about the state of the Navy’s four shipyards — looks like he’s not the only one who’s concerned.
Typhoon SSBN sighted off the Jersey shore?
August 27th, 2009 | Foreign navies Photos Submarines | Posted by Phil Ewing
A Typhoon-class ballistic missile submarine altogether unlike the object sighted this week off the Jersey coast // U.S. Missile Defense Agency
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water — well, as “safe” as it gets on the Jersey shore — amateur ship-spotters start spotting Russian ballistic missile submarines out there! Naturally the Center of Excellence went into overdrive when this headline appeared, and then shifted back to normal drive when eyes were lain on the associated photo.
Whatever that thing is, a Typhoon it ain’t.
(For the record, if a Typhoon did get close to a beach, it would probably look like this — although there’s no telling whether this photo is real, either)
So what do you think that thing actually is?
VBSS Team links
August 24th, 2009 | Carriers Naval Academy Science and technology Ships Submarines merchant ships | Posted by Phil Ewing
"Unidentified vessel, this is U.S. Navy warship; halt and prepare to accept this news and information" // MC3 David Wyscaver
Pilot-ladder climbin’, rigid-hull inflatable boat drivin’, shotgun-carryin’, vessel-inspectin’ links, ordering you to heave to and prepare to be boarded by these interesting tidbits:
- Not everyone in Japan was pleased that the carrier Nimitz is paying a visit this week.
- Kansas City’s business and city fathers are sending donations to help out with the commissioning ceremony of the fast-attack submarine Missouri.
- Who loves football more, the infamous “Buck-nuts” who play along the banks of the old Olentangy, or the midshipmen who ply the tranquil Severn? With the help of some bone-crunching hits, we’re gonna find out Sept. 5.
- Check out this post about seven sweet ship engines, which includes the power plants of today’s warships and civilian vessels.
- Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Sink! Sink! Sink!