Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
New Vendor- Gwylan Models
Model Shipwright news writer Sean Ford introduces a new vendor to our crew.
News
National Maritime Museum of Belgium
Today’s website is the National Maritime Museum of Belgium. Nationaal Scheepvaartmuseum is one of the most popular museums in Belgium. Enjoy.
Website
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1859 - The first Navy ship built on the West Coast of the United States, Saginaw, is launched at Mare Island, Calif.
1867 - The Navy Civil Engineering Corps is established.
1899 - An act of Congress creates the rank "Admiral of the Navy" for George Dewey.
1973 - Women begin pilot training in the Navy.
Navantia Begins Building Third S-80 Sub for Spanish Navy
Source: Navantia
The Navantia shipyard in Cartagena has begun the construction of the third of four S-80-class submarines ordered by the Spanish navy.
The first steel plate for the boat was cut on January 27, and its delivery to the customer is scheduled for 2015. The shipyard is currently cutting parts for the pressure hull, which will form the ring sections for final assembly.
While construction of the third boat gets under way, work is continuing on the previous two submarines. The hull sections of the first one are being fitted out internally, while work on the second is currently focused on assembling the pre-manufactured parts to form the pressure hull.
The first S-80 is scheduled to be delivered to the Spanish navy at the end of 2013, while the second will follow one year later.
Lockheed Martin-Built Trident II D5 Missile Achieves 126 Successful Test Flights
Source: Lockheed Martin
SUNNYVALE, Calif --- The U.S. Navy conducted a successful test flight Feb. 13 of a Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) built by Lockheed Martin. The Navy launched the unarmed missile from the submerged submarine USS Alabama (SSBN 731) in the Pacific Ocean.
The Trident II D5 missile now has achieved 126 successful test flights since 1989 – a record unmatched by any other large ballistic missile or space launch vehicle.
“The Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs has achieved this level of performance with its effective leadership and partnership with the entire Navy and industry team,” said Melanie A. Sloane, vice president of Fleet Ballistic Missile programs, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, the Navy’s Trident missile prime contractor. “The D5 missile’s record of success underscores the readiness and reliability of this key element of our nation’s strategic defenses.”
The Navy launched the missile as part of a Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO) to certify USS Alabama for deployment, following a shipyard overhaul period and conversion from Trident I C4 to Trident II D5 configuration. For the test, a missile was converted into a test configuration using a test missile kit produced by Lockheed Martin that contains range safety devices and flight telemetry instrumentation.
First deployed in 1990, the D5 missile is currently aboard OHIO-class submarines and British VANGUARD-class submarines. The three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile can travel a nominal range of 4,000 nautical miles and carries multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., is the prime contractor and program manager for the U.S. Navy’s Trident missile. Lockheed Martin Space Systems employees, principally in California, Georgia, Florida, Washington, Utah and Virginia, support the design, development, production, test and operation of the Trident Strategic Weapon System. Lockheed Martin Space Systems has been the Navy’s prime strategic missile contractor since the inception of the program more than 50 years ago.
The test also involved the Lockheed Martin-integrated navigation subsystem that provides navigation data required to support today’s stringent Trident Weapon System performance requirements. Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors Undersea Systems at Mitchel Field, N.Y., has been the prime contractor for the navigation subsystem aboard fleet ballistic missile submarines since 1955.
Altogether, nearly 3,000 employees throughout the Lockheed Martin Corporation support the Navy’s Fleet Ballistic Missile program.
Photo of the Day
An SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the "Dragonslayers" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 11 flies behind the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during a high speed maneuvering exercise.
Gator
