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



Alert - Community Build, Session 4
We have a very busy time at MSW of late, be careful not to forget that the end of Build Session Four of our "MSW Community Build" is coming up fast!
September hath 30 days, and this next session will officially close on the start of Oct. 1, 2008, EST, so to qualify for this months score, be sure that you have your latest and greatest progress images uploaded and posted into your individual BLOG threads...Keep modeling!

Review - Hasegawa IJN Carrier Bi-planes
Join crewmate Jim Adams for a MSW in box review of Hasegawa’s 1/700 IJN Carrier Based Bi-planes.
Review

Review - Flyhawk Models' Yamashiro PE Set
Dade W. Bell (Karybdis) gives us a closer look at Flyhawk Models 1/700 scale PE set, dedicated to the IJN Battleship Yamashiro, in this MSW Inbox Review!
Review




This Day in U.S. Naval History

1944 - USS Narwhal (SS 167) evacuates 81 Allied prisoners of war that survived the sinking of Japanese Shinyo Maru from Sindangan Bay, Mindanao.
1946 -Lockheed P2V Neptune, Truculent Turtle, leaves Perth, Australia, on a long-distance non-stop, non-refueling flight that ends October 1.
1959 - USS Kearsarge (CVS 33), with Helicopter Squadron 6 and other 7th Fleet units, begins six days of disaster relief to Nagoya, Japan, after Typhoon Vera.

Northrop Grumman-Built Destroyer Truxtun (DDG 103) Completes Successful Builder's Trial

The Northrop Grumman Corporation-built Aegis guided missile destroyer Truxtun (DDG 103) moved one step closer to completion by successfully performing two days of builder's sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico last week.

The ship, under construction at the company's Shipbuilding sector here, is the 25th ship in the DDG-51 class of destroyers being built by Northrop Grumman. Truxtun will now prepare for U.S. Navy acceptance trials later this month.

“DDG 103 is magnificent,'' said U.S. Navy Capt. Beth Dexter, Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Gulf Coast. “She needs some polish -- but make no mistake -- I'd have no hesitation in taking this one to the fight!''

This highly capable multi-mission ship can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the United States' military strategy. Truxtun will be capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century.

“The Gulf Coast team should be rightfully proud of Truxtun's fine performance during trials,'' said Richard Schenk, vice president of test and trials for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding-Gulf Coast. “The testing of her systems validated our shipbuilders' ability to construct a fine product.''

The builder's sea trial demonstrates Northrop Grumman's means of testing the various new systems on DDG 103 prior to the acceptance trial, scheduled for the week of Sept. 29. All major hull, mechanical and electrical systems were tested during the trial as well as the Aegis Combat System, the U.S. Navy's most technologically advanced combat system.

“The Navy needs the best and we deliver,'' said George Nungesser, DDG 51 program manager for Northrop Grumman. “DDG 103 performed with no major problems on builder's trial. Everybody on the Northrop Grumman team pulled together to make the trials and construction of this ship a success.''

U.S. Navy Commander Timothy R. Weber, a native of Decatur, Georgia and 1990 graduate of Vanderbilt University, is the ship's first commanding officer and will lead a crew of 276 officers and sailors. The 510-foot, 9,200-ton Truxtun has an overall beam of 66.5 feet and a navigational draft of 31 feet. Four gas-turbine propulsion plants will power the ship to speeds above 30 knots.

The ship is named for Commodore Thomas Truxtun (Feb. 17, 1755 - May 5, 1822), captain of the first U.S. Naval ship, USS Constellation. Truxtun began his career as a privateer during the American Revolution. Appointed captain by George Washington in 1794, he was responsible for the first capture of an enemy vessel, the French frigate L'Insurgente, during the Quasi-War with France in 1799.

Russia sends warship to fight piracy near Somalia

Russia's Navy has sent a missile frigate to waters off the Somali coast to fight piracy in the region, a Navy spokesman said on Friday.

"The Neustrashimy (Fearless) frigate from the Baltic Fleet left the main naval base in Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad on Wednesday to ensure security in several regions of the world oceans," Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said.



He added that Russia had decided to periodically send its warships to regions plagued by sea piracy to protect its citizens and commercial vessels.

Pirates are increasingly active in the waters off Somalia, which has no effective government and no navy to police its coastline. The International Maritime Bureau said more than 30 incidents of piracy were registered in the region in 2007. According to UN data, 26 attacks have been committed so far this year off the coast of the East African nation.

Russian nationals are frequently among the crews of civilian ships hijacked by pirates off the Somalia coast. In the most recent case pirates off the coast of Somalia seized a Ukrainian ship en route to Kenya with three Russian, 17 Ukrainian and one Latvian national on board.

"We are planning to participate in international efforts to fight piracy off the Somalia coast, but the Russian warships will conduct operations on their own," Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky earlier said.

At the beginning of June, the UN Security Council passed a resolution permitting countries to enter Somalia's territorial waters to combat "acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."

The Neustrashimy is the only Project 1154 Yastreb class missile frigate in active service with the Russian Navy to have been built before the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is designed as a general purpose ASW ship to follow on from the Krivak class frigates and incorporates some 'stealth' technology.

The ship's armament includes SS-N-25 Switchblade anti-ship missiles, SA-N-9 Gauntlet SAM, a 100-mm gun, torpedoes and depth charges.

The frigate also carries a Ka-27 ASW helicopter.




For all you fans of college football, here’s this week’s AP Top 5
1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. LSU
4. Missouri
5. Texas

Scores from around the country…
Oregon State shock top-ranked USC Trojans, 27-21
No. 2 Sooners lay claim to No. 1, beat Horned Frogs behind high-flying offense 35-10.
No. 8 Alabama turns up heat in first half on way to win over No. 3 Georgia 41-30.
Ole Miss uses blocked PAT to upset No. 4 Florida 31-30.
No. 5 LSU stays unbeaten with scrappy win over Mississippi State 34-24.

Scores of interest
Ohio U. blast VMI 51-31.
Senior Newswriter Gator Loup’s alma mater McNeese blows out S. Virginia 63-7.

Military Academy Scores
Navy controls mistake-prone No. 16 Wake Forest 24-17.
Texas A&M stops Army charge on late fourth down 21-17.
Air Force had a bye week.

Photo of the Day



A starboard bow view of the Spanish navy's aircraft carrier PRINCIPE DE ASTURIAS (R-11) executing a turn during the joint exercise Dragon Hammer '92.

Gator