Archive for the ‘Sea’ Category

RAN in Papua New Guinea:

The Royal Australian Navy is investigating an uncharted wreck, believed to be a submarine, which was found during the conduct of Operation RENDER SAFE 2011 off Rabaul in Papua New Guinea, on 26 October 2011.

The wreck was discovered in a joint activity by the New Zealand Navy survey ship HMNZS Resolution and the Australian Minehunter HMAS Gascoyne.

The wreck is located in Simpson Harbour, which was an area known for submarine operations during World War II.

As with any wreck discoveries, immediate identification is not possible and work will continue over the coming days to identify both the type and the nationality of the vessel.

Once further details are ascertained, the relevant country authorities will be advised.

Authorities from the USA, Japan, PNG and New Zealand have been informed of the discovery

Operation RENDER SAFE is the Australian Defence Force (ADF) contribution to enduring explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) support to the nations of the south-west Pacific, being conducted over the period 18 October to 4 November.

UPDATE: It appears that the sub is Japanese.

67 years ago today:

Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944. Task Force 38 aircraft attack the Japanese battleship Musashi (foreground) and a destroyer in the Sibuyan Sea. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

The ship was hit by 17 bombs and 19(!) torpedoes. It sank later that day.

Look, we all wish we had some heavier hitters. From talk of re-activating the battleships once again to making use of the rapid-fire 8″ guns from the USS Des Moines on some sort of bombardment monitor, MO and its readers love us some big naval artillery.

But the fact is that the decision makers have decided differently and we probably won’t be seeing the big stuff unless/until we get some electromagnetic mass driver type systems.

So, in the meantime, it’s nice to see a little effort put into Stretching the 3-inch.

Lusty prepares to join Libyan warzone after £40m upgrade

HMS Illustrious is on stand-by to go to war in Libya, The News can reveal.

The Portsmouth-based warship, which only came out of a £40m refit last month, will be sent to relieve HMS Ocean in the Mediterranean in the next six months. [emphasis Murdoc's]

British Army pilots are training to fly AH-64 Apache attack helicopters off of the Illustrious. The ship was refitted to operate helicopters only after the British military retired the last of their Harrier jump jets last year.

Considering that the big rush to get the ship into action will take up to six more months, Murdoc’s thinking the Brits aren’t expecting an end to the action anytime soon.

UPDATE: Here’s a shot of the “Lusty” (pre-refit):

The Royal Navy Invincible-class aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious (R 06), and Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69 transit in formation during a multi-ship maneuvering exercise in the Atlantic Ocean. The three carriers are currently participating in Operation Bold Step where more than 15,000 service members from three countries partake in the Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFX). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jay C. Pugh (RELEASED). Photographer's Name: MC2 Jay C. Pugh Date Shot: 7/29/2007

Came across this photo while looking for something else:

A port side view of the burnt out, listing and drifting hulk of the Egyptian ferry boat AL-QUAMAR AL-SAUDI AL-MISRI shortly after dawn. The ship's boiler had blown up in the pre-dawn hours and set the ship hopelessly afire. The call was given to abandon ship and the destroyer USS BRISCOE (DD-977), the guided missile frigate USS TAYLOR (FFG-50) and the fleet oiler USNS HENRY J. KAISER (T-AO-187) all moved in quickly to assist in the rescue of survivors and comb the sea for the missing. Date Shot: 5/19/1994

More background and some stunning images of diving the wreck here.

Two never-used Navy ships head to scrapyard

USNS Bejamin Isherwood and the USNS Henry Eckford, Kaiser class oilers, were never completed:

When the company defaulted on its Navy contract in 1989 the 660-foot ships were sent to Florida for completion, but cost disputes terminated that contract in 1993.

Since then, the vessels have sat 95 and 84 percent complete at the mouth of the James River as part of the mothballed ghost fleet.

From the comments section:

Built in an inept shipyard with heavy Democratic ties in Philly. They were really messed up in construction, with an unsuccessful attempt to fix them in another yard. Since then, the serving Kaiser class oilers have been modified and kept up to standards. These bollard huggers have moldered, without the regular upkeep that makes a ship so expensive to keep in top operating order.

and

I was an electrician at Tampa Shipbuilding and a member of the test and trials crew that would have taken the Isherwood for sea trials.

I can’t comment on what happened in Pennsylvania but in Florida the story was pure incompetence by management and union foot dragging by labor.

From day 1 the project was mismanaged. The parts not installed were crated in huge 8′x8′ wooden crates 5′ tall with no concern for contents. Machine parts were thrown on top of light fixtures…
This act of near sabotage by the Pennsylvania workers who were losing their jobs was not appreciated but was understandable.

Arriving in Florida the crates were opened and inventoried… then the parts were returned to the crates!

Murdoc’s been thinking we need a couple of big prison ships. Maybe these would have worked.

Instead we paid the UK $10 million to take them off our hands and have them scrapped.

(via Instapundit)

Here’s the lead ship of the class in action:

A starboard beam view of the fleet oiler USNS HENRY J. KAISER (T-AO-187) underway alongside the aircraft carrier USS SARATOGA (CV-60) for an underway replenishment. Photographer's Name: PH2 Al Renkel Date Shot: 8/13/1993

Tattooed veterans wanted for book

On Saturday, veterans with tattoos are invited to the Battleship New Jersey to have their photos taken for a new book by photojournalist Kyle Cassidy.

His upcoming book will feature military tattoos of veterans from all branches of the service and any era. Cassidy will be on the forecastle taking photos from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Murdoc interviewed Cassidy a few years ago about his book Armed America.

Cassidy’s been working on this tattoo book for a while.

The guided-missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43) approaches Valparaiso, Chile, after completing the final exercise of the Pacific phase of UNITAS 52. Thach is deployed supporting Southern Seas 2011. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Stuart Phillips/Released)

The star marks the spot where the Mk13 single-arm missile launcher used to be mounted. All Perry-class frigates have had these removed, stripping the ships of their zone anti-air capability. The Standard SM-1 missiles were no longer up to the task, but the removal of the launchers also means that the ships lost their capability to fire Harpoon missiles.

Some of the Perrys are going to get 25mm guns mounted on the station. I’m not sure if this has been done yet or not.