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



Feature - Building a Type IX U-boat, 1/400

Crewmate Erik Brandlen (Grenadier37) shares a build story of Mirage Models Type IX U-boat kit, 1/400 scale, in this MSW Feature!
Feature


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




USS Monitor Center

Today’s website is USS Monitor Center. This site is dedicated to the history of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor. Enjoy.
Website




This Day in U.S. Naval History

1783 - Hostilities cease between Great Britain and the United States.
1903 - Theordore Roosevelt issues Executive Order placing Midway Islands under jurisdiction of the Navy Department.
1914 - School for naval air training opens in Pensacola, Fla.
1948 - Establishment of U.S. Persian Gulf Area Command.


Brocklesby Sets Sail to Use New Minehunting System
Source: UK Ministry of Defence

Navy minehunter HMS Brocklesby left Portsmouth yesterday for a six-month mission which will see her use her state-of-the-art mine warfare system for the first time.

HMS Brocklesby will become part of a NATO group including mine countermeasures vessels from Germany, Belgium, Latvia and the Netherlands, and a Danish frigate, which will embark on the clearance of live Second World War ordnance from the English Channel, North Sea and Baltic.

This operation will allow Brocklesby to use Seafox, her new state-of-the-art mine warfare system, which comprises a remote-controlled unmanned submarine with a camera and is capable of destroying ordnance in depths of more than 300 metres.

Prior to beginning the operation, the NATO group will travel to Copenhagen where they will attend a ceremony to mark Denmark taking command of NATO’s mine countermeasures group in the region and will then sail to the Mediterranean for a month of exercises.

HMS Brocklesby's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Tom Tredray, said:

"It will be busy but varied – it is always interesting working with ships from foreign navies and I know the younger members of the ship's company in particular are looking forward to that.

"We also have a number of goodwill port visits lined up in France, Italy, Spain and Germany."

The ship's company are also looking forward to speedier internet and email access – Brocklesby is one of the first ships in the Royal Navy to be fitted with an upgraded broadband system.

The ship is due to return to Portsmouth in July 2009.


Tālivaldis Vessel to Join the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1
Source: Ministry of Defence Republic of Latvia

On 9 January, the National Armed Forces Naval Forces Flotilla’s M06 Tālivaldis minehunter will leave for Copenhagen, Denmark, to join the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (NATO SNMCMG1). This will be the third time when a Naval Forces vessel will be operating within the MCM unit. M04 Imanta minehunter was operating in the MCM unit in 2008 and M03 Namejs minehunter was operating in the MCM unit in 2007.

The MCM unit will leave for the Mediterranean Sea. It will be the first time, when a Naval Forces vessel will be operating in the Mediterranean Sea.

Besides the Latvian vessel, there are also Danish, Belgian, Dutch, British and German ships operating in the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (NATO SNMCMG1).

The main task of the unit is to conduct countermeasure activities in the Baltic, Northern and Mediterranean Seas, as well as respond to crisis situations. It is planned to test the vessels’ survivability this January in the German city of Neustadt. In February, the vessels will leave for the Mediterranean Sea to get ready for their certification, which will be conducted during the Loyal Mariner exercise in March when the vessels will be certified as NATO Response Force group.

Vessels will also participate in the mine countermeasures exercise (Minex) near Italy. The mine countermeasures exercise near France will be conducted in April, while the mine countermeasures exercise off the coasts of Germany will take place in May. In June, the MCM unit will participate in the Baltops 2009 exercise, which will close in Germany with the traditional Kiel Week. The M06 Tālivaldis minehunter is expected to return to Latvia at the end of June.

Tālivaldis minehunter is the Imanta Class vessel, which joined the Naval Forces in April 2008. The vessel was built in 1984; it is 51.6m long and 8.96m wide, and can develop the speed of 15 knots. The vessel has a crew of 44 sailors.


Photo of the Day



The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) departs Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego after embarking personnel assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9.

Gator