Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
U-Boat Aces Installment 9
Sean Ford is here with installment 9 of his excellent U-Boat Aces feature. Enjoy!
U-Boat Aces
Destroyer History Foundation
Today’s website is Destroyer History Foundation. If you are a fan of the tin can, then this site is for you. Enjoy.
Website
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1814 - The Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812.
1864 - Naval forces, under the command of Rear Adm. David Dixon Porter, begin an unsuccessful two-day attack against Fort Fisher, N.C.
1950 - Under the cover of Naval gunfire support, Task Force 90 completes a 14-day evacuation of 100,000 troops and equipment from Hungnam, North Korea. More than 91,000 refugees are also rescued.
General Dynamics Wins $14Bn Contract for 8 Virginia-Class SSNs
Source: US Department of Defense
Electric Boat Corporation, Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $14,011,153,663 fixed-price incentive multiyear contract for construction of eight Virginia-class submarines from FY 09 to FY 13.
Work will be performed at various sites throughout the United States (45%). Newport News, Va. (25%), Quonset Point, R.I. (15%); and Groton, Conn. (15%), and expected to be complete by February 2020.
Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured.
MNOK 140 Penguin Contract with Brazil
Source: Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
Today Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace signed a contract with the Brazilian navy for the delivery of Penguin anti-ship missiles and associated equipment valued at appr. MNOK 140. The missiles will be deployed on the Brazilian Navy's new maritime helicopters.
Kongsberg Gruppen (Kongsberg) is a multinational, knowledge-based group with over 5000 employees in more than 25 countries. The Group delivers high-technology systems to discerning customers engaged in offshore oil and gas production, the merchant marine, and the defence and aerospace industries.
The subsidiary Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace is Norway's premier supplier of defence and aerospace-related systems. The company had operating revenues of NOK 3.3 billion in 2007 and has more than 1800 employees.
Checkmates Fly from Iraq into Sunset
Source: US Navy
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- The Sailors of Sea Control Squadron (VS) 22 returned to Naval Air Station Jacksonville Dec. 15 after completing a five-month deployment to Al-Asad Air Base, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Their boots-on-the-ground and eyes-in-the-sky deployment in Iraq, required that VS-22 pilots, aircrew and maintainers operate in a very dangerous environment, substantially different to the conditions they normally encounter as a carrier-based platform.
To meet the demands of this mission, each of the 205 "Checkmates" completed anti-terrorism and desert survival training, in addition to qualifying with the M-16 rifle and M-9 pistol, prior to their deployment.
The large Al Asad Air Base (formerly Saddam Hussein's premier MiG-25 Foxbat air base) is located south of the Euphrates River in the volatile, largely Sunni, Al Anbar Province in western Iraq.
The squadron brought four S-3B Vikings to Al Asad, each equipped with the latest LANTIRN (Low Altitude Navigation Targeting Infrared for Night) navigation pod. LANTIRN is a terrain-following radar that enables pilots to maneuver and surveil at low altitudes during daylight or at night. According Lt. Jason Tarrant, the squadron flew about 80 percent of its non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (NTISR) combat missions at night.
"The Viking's LANTIRN infrared capability was invaluable for taking away the cover of darkness from enemy combatants," said Tarrant. "The Checkmates routinely detected heat signatures of vehicles, shelters, people and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) –and relayed that information to convoys and combat teams in the affected area."
The Checkmates flew an average of three sorties a day.
"Our VS-22 maintenance personnel displayed tireless dedication to keep these soon-to-be-retired birds mission ready. As far as I know, we sustained a 100 percent sortie completion record," said Tarrant.
VS-22 is the Navy's last S-3B Viking squadron. Disestablishment activities are scheduled for Jan. 28-30.
Photo of the Day
Marine Corps Sergeant Jeffrey Kellum hands a box of donated toys to Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Christopher Long as part of the "Toys for Tot" program. The toys, donated by Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11, will be given to children less fortunate in the Gulfport/Biloxi area.
Gator
