Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.



Feature - Replenishment At Sea in Western Pacific 1944

MSW Crew member Thomas Schröeder dazzles us with his latest 1/700 scale wonder, this time, it's Replenishment At Sea in Western Pacific 1944.




China Says Aircraft Carrier to be Used for Research, Training
Source: Voice of America news

China's defense ministry said Wednesday that an aircraft carrier being readied for sea trials will be used for scientific research, experiments and training.

Ministry spokesman Geng Yanshen told reporters Wednesday that despite its carrier program, China remains committed to a naval strategy of defending its own shores. The nearing completion of the carrier has worried some of China's neighbors, who fear it could be deployed as part of a battle group to project Chinese power in disputed areas including the South China Sea.

Geng's comments marked the ministry's first official comment on the carrier, although senior military officials have discussed it and photos have appeared in Chinese media. There had been speculation that sea trials would begin July 1 as China marked the 90th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Communist Party.

Geng said only that the timing of the maiden voyage will depend on the schedule of the refit.

The vessel is being rebuilt from the stripped-down hull of the carrier Varyag, which was purchased from Ukraine and towed to a shipyard in the northern Chinese port of Dalian in 1998. China is expected to use knowledge gained from the process to build at least three more carriers.

Geng said the process of training pilots how to fly planes off an aircraft carrier is also “in progress.”


Minister for Defence Materiel – Air Warfare Destroyer Gun Mounts Have Arrived
Source: Australian Department of Defence

The Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare announced in Adelaide today that the $8 billion Air Warfare Destroyer project has taken delivery of three main gun mounts of the Air Warfare Destroyers.

The gun mounts, manufactured by BAE Systems in the United States, are valued at $80 million and will be placed into a controlled storage facility in Adelaide until they are installed on HMA Ships Hobart, Brisbane and Sydney.

“The guns will be able to hit targets on land, air and at sea. They are capable of firing both Royal Australian Navy standard munitions and future extended range munitions,” Mr Clare said.

Similar gun mounts are installed on the Royal Australian Navy’s ANZAC Class frigates, the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke Class destroyers, the Spanish F-100 frigates and on ships within the South Korean, Japanese and Danish navies.

More than 1,000 people are currently working on the construction of the ships across three shipyards in Australia; at ASC in South Australia, Forgacs in New South Wales and BAE Systems in Victoria.

“This is an important project for the Australian Defence Force. These destroyers will be among the most advanced and capable warships in the world,” Mr Clare said.




Battle of the Nile

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of the Nile.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1801 - U.S. schooner Enterprise captures Tripolitan ship Tripoli.
1921 - Successful tests of gyroscopic high level bombsight (Norden Bombsight) at Torpedo Station, Yorktown, Va. Carl Norden developed the bombsight for the Bureau of Ordnance.
1946 - Office of Naval Research established.
1950 - Control of Guam transferred to Department of Interior.
1958 - USS Nautilus (SSN 571) submerges under Arctic ice cap near Point Barrow.