Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
On Display - HMS Exeter D-89
MSW Crew member Bob Cicconi shares a build that is out of his norm, a modern warship HMS Exeter D89 in 1/700.
Lights out for the Sea Shadow
Source: Yahoo News
Call it a funeral at sea for the U.S. Navy's Sea Shadow. The stealth ship, which served as an inspiration for the supervillain's supervessel in the James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies," is set to be dismantled and recycled.
The Navy had hoped that a private buyer would come forward and take the spy ship off its hands. Alas, there were no takers, so the bizarre black Sea Shadow is heading for the scrap heap.
News of the ship's inglorious end (which is probably coming soon) inspired waves of Web searches on Yahoo!. Over the past 24 hours, online lookups for "spy ship 007" and "james bond spy boat" sailed to big gains.
The ship, which resembles a stealth fighter airplane, cost the U.S. Navy $195 million to build and operate, according the U.K.'s Daily Mail. The ship was "never intended for missions, just testing."
If you're thinking the Sea Shadow would look pretty cool in your own backyard, here are a couple of things to consider. According to Fox News, it's about 160 feet long and 70 feet wide. And it hasn't exactly been getting regular oil changes either. A Lockheed Martin spokesman told Fox that the company "hasn't had anything to do with the ship for at least four to five years"--suggesting that the new owner could well be in for some heavy maintenance work.
But all is not lost. Navy spokesman Chris Johnson told Fox that there could still be a last-second taker for the Sea Shadow. If that happens, it would be an escape worthy of 007 himself.
First Underwater Launch of Future Naval Cruise Missile
Source: French Defense Procurement Agency
On June 8 the French defense procurement agency, Direction générale de l'armement (DGA), carried out the first underwater firing of the future naval cruise missile (MdCN). This development firing took place from a submerged platform that mimics the characteristics of a dived submarine installed at the “DGA Essais de missiles” test range on the Ile du Levant (Var). The MdCN will arm the French navy’s FREEM multipurpose frigates from 2014, and the new class of Barracuda nuclear-powered submarines from 2017.
All of the launch’s objectives were attained. It notably allowed the validation of the following phases: missile ejection; exit from the water; separation from the underwater container; and transition to cruising flight.
DGA awarded the contract for the development of the MdCN to MBDA in late 2006. As specified by the Defense White Paper, 200 missile rounds have been ordered to date, 150 for the FREMM frigates and 50 for the Barracuda-class submarines.
Having a range of several hundreds of kilometers, the MdCN is designed to strike targets located well inland, deep in enemy territory. It is complementary to the air-launched Scalp-EG cruise missile from which it is derived.
Carried by surface combatants stationed at a safe stand-off range in international waters, or deployed on submarines, the MdCN is especially intended to destroy infrastructure targets of high strategic value.
Chesapeake–Leopard Affair
Today is the anniversary of the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair.
C.S.S. Shenandoah
Today’s website is C.S.S. Shenandoah. Enjoy.
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1807 - HMS Leopard attacks USS Chesapeake.
1865 - Confederate raider Shenandoah fires last shot of Civil War in Bering Strait.
1884 - Navy relief expedition under Cmdr. Winfield S. Schley rescues Lt. A.W. Greely, USA, and six others from Ellesmere Island, where they were marooned for three years on Arctic island.
1898 - Adm. Sampson begins amphibious landing near Santiago, Cuba.
Diorama Idea of the Day
F/V Time Bandit powers through heavy seas. To see the original high resolution photo, click here.
Gator
