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Naval Word of the Day

Continuing on with your Naval education we bring you another installment of MSW’s Navy Word of the Day.
WOD




The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Today’s website is The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, commonly known as DANFS, is the foremost reference regarding US naval vessels. Enjoy.
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This Day in U.S. Naval History

1865 - Amphibious attack on Fort Fisher, N.C.
1917 - The cruiser Milwaukee (CL 21) strands off Eureka, Calif., while attempting to refloat the submarine H-3 (SS 30).
1964 - USS Manley (DD 940) evacuates 54 American and 36 allied nationals after Zanzibar government is overthrown.


Navy Commissions USS George H.W. Bush with Namesake on Hand
Source: U.S Department of Defense

WASHINGTON --- With traditional pomp and circumstance and its namesake on hand, the last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS George H.W. Bush, was commissioned in Norfolk, Va., today.

“So what do you give a guy who has been blessed and has just about everything he has ever needed?” President George W. Bush, son of former President George H.W. Bush, joked during the ceremony. “Well, an aircraft carrier.”

The story of the USS George H.W. Bush, also known as CVN 77, begins well before its keel-laying in September 2003. It began in the early days of World War II, when the former President Bush was just 18 when he enlisted in the Navy as a seaman second class, his son said.

Just days before his 19th birthday, George H.W. Bush became the youngest Navy pilot when he received his wings and commission. The young pilot flew torpedo bombers off USS San Jacinto from August 1942 to September 1945. On Sept. 2, 1944, his plane was hit by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. He went down in the ocean and was rescued by the Navy submarine USS Finback.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals for courageous service in the Pacific theater. Thirty-five years later, he was sworn in as the 41st president of the United States and served two terms.

“The ship is a fitting tribute to a generation of men with whom my dad was privileged to serve,” the president said. “She’s also a tribute to a new generation of American soldiers and sailors and Coast Guardsmen and women, airmen and Marines who have stepped forward to defend the United States of America.”

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates also declared USS George H.W. Bush a fitting tribute to the man who served his country for more than 40 years in several capacities.

“There is no one more worthy of having the last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier named in his honor than our 41st president, the last of the World War II generation to serve as commander-in-chief,” Gates said. “As commander-in-chief, President [George H.W.] Bush had a courage and toughness that impressed all those who worked for him.

“At the same time, he was, and is, a man of feeling, especially where men and women in uniform are concerned,” the secretary added.

Gates remembered the 41st president’s tribute to the 47 sailors who died when a 16-inch gun turret exploded aboard USS Iowa on April 19, 1989. The press accused Bush of just “going through the motions,” because he appeared to speed through his remarks.

In fact, Bush was so moved by the sailors’ sacrifice that he would not have made it through his remarks had he not sped through them, the secretary said.

“He once said that a peaceful, prosperous international order required ‘the leadership, the power, and yes, the conscience of the United States of America,’” Gates said. “This ship that bears his name, this ship that we commission today, embodies all three.”

For the ship’s namesake, the commissioning brought back memories made more than six decades ago when, as a young sailor, he participated in the commissioning of USS San Jacinto.

“Those who are sitting out there where I was 65 years ago, preparing to serve aboard your new ship, I wish I was sitting right out there with you, ready to start the adventures of my naval aviation career all over,” the former president said. “As you prepare to man this ship, I do know that you take with you the hopes and dreams of every American who cherishes freedom and peace.

“And you take with you the undying respect and admiration of the entire Bush family,” he added before helping set the ship’s first watch.

“I know you will find comfort and inspiration, particularly in the night sky,” the senior Bush continued. “For it is in the splendor of the stars that you will truly understand the majesty of creation and bear witness to the certain hand of God.”

The nuclear-powered USS George H.W. Bush is nearly twice as long as the first ship on which its namesake served. It’s nearly as tall as the Empire State Building in New York City, and will be home to about 6,000 sailors and Marines.

And as the elder Bush pointed out, it has “feature that a few of my granddaughters, in particular, would really like … there are a mind-boggling 1,400 telephones.”

USS George H.W. Bush is set to make history and today marked the first day of that illustrious journey, said Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter. “The impact of a new carrier is global," he said. “For no other ship represents to the world the power of the United States the way this does.”


Russia plans to use nuclear-powered drilling submarine in the Arctic
Source: Russian Navy

The Russian program for oil production in Arctic includes plans on using a nuclear-powered drilling submarine.

This appears in a report written by the Russian oceanographer and expert on Russian energy safety Vladislav Lavin on behalf of the Environmental Foundation Bellona. Mr. Lavin emphasizes that this information is open, and has been presented at a conference on nuclear power in Russia organized by the Ministry of Atomic Energy.

According to the report, the plan for development of the Leningradskoye Field in the Kara Sea includes use of a manned, nuclear-powered submarine that can move between one well to another, attached to a fixed frame on the sea bottom. When the drilling is finished, underwater installations for production can be attached.

The submarine in the plan is 99 meters long, 31 meters wide and 33 meters high. The design is based on post-soviet rejected plans to reconstruct navy submarines into underwater container ships.

The benefits of being under water during drilling is that one can escape weather and ice, which make a big challenge to everyone planning oil and gas exploration in the Arctic. But Bellona believes the disadvantages of using nuclear power exceed the benefits.

- It is neither profitable, smart or environmentally justifiable, Vladislav Lavin says and adds that it is up to Gazprom’s international partners to refuse this practice.




First Production VH-71 Presidential Helicopter Arrives at Lockheed Martin to Start Final Production Phase
Source: Lockheed Martin

OWEGO, N.Y. --- The first Lockheed Martin pilot production VH-71 presidential helicopter to begin the integration and final production process arrived at the company's Owego, NY, facility today. Six of nine helicopters that make up the first phase of the VH-71 presidential helicopter program are now in the U.S., including four test-configured aircraft and two production aircraft.

"The arrival of this production aircraft to the Lockheed Martin facility here is a great start to the new year, after a very successful year for the program in 2008," said Jeff Bantle, Lockheed Martin VH-71 vice president and general manager. "Four years into the program, six aircraft are in the U.S. undergoing flight testing or integration, systems integration laboratories are fully functional and the helicopter is meeting or exceeding all key performance parameters."

The helicopter, pilot production aircraft number three (PP-3), will now be integrated with mission systems, outfitted with a cabin interior, painted in presidential livery and flight tested before being delivered to the U.S. Navy and ultimately to Marine Helicopter Squadron One. Two VH-71 test aircraft are also at the facility, undergoing mission systems installation. At Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD, two additional test helicopters are conducting flight testing, while production aircraft PP-1, which joined the test program November 24, is conducting ground vibration testing, after which it will also be flown to Lockheed Martin's Owego facility for integration and completion.

The VH-71 program is divided into two phases, or increments. Increment One provides five helicopters on an accelerated schedule with improved capabilities over the current fleet. Increment Two will provide a fleet of 23 helicopters that complete the White House requirements for a command and control platform.

Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego is the prime contractor and systems integrator for the VH-71 program with overall responsibility for the program and aircraft system. AgustaWestland, the principal subcontractor, has responsibility for the basic air vehicle design, production build, and basic air vehicle support functions. Lockheed Martin and AgustaWestland have partnered for more than 17 years with a worldwide record of excellence dating back to the Royal Navy's EH101 Merlin Mk1 program.


Photo of the Day



The guided-missile cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69) takes on fuel during an underway replenishment with the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn (T-AO 196).

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