Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
On Display - OSK Himalaya Maru
Jim C. Smith (Freighter) continues to expand his Maru collection. This time he brings us OSK Himalaya Maru.
On Display
LCT Footage/Loading - Unloading Trials
Alan McNeilly shares great footage of the LCT trials prior to D Day. While mainly armor based, it provides a lot of great footage of the landing craft also.
LCTs
Archives & Collections Society
Today’s website is Archives & Collections Society. They are a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to maritime history and conservation, marine research and nautical education. Enjoy.
Website
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1798 - The first U.S. Navy surgeon, George Balfour, is appointed.
1847 - Commodore David Connor leads a successful amphibious assault near Vera Cruz, Mexico.
1862 - The first battle between ironclads - USS Monitor and CSS Virginia - takes place.
Caspian Flotilla will not be relocated from Astrakhan
Source: Russian Navy
Information about the relocation of the Caspian Flotilla from Astrakhan to Makhachkala has nothing to do with reality, said Captain First Class Igor Dygalo, an aide to the commander of the Russian Navy.
Some media outlets have published information alleging that the headquarters of the Caspian Flotilla had chosen Makhachkala as its main base and that a new strike group was being set up. Such modernization, allegedly, will do away with the imbalance in the dislocation of the ships of the Caspian Flotilla, increase its effectiveness, and reduce fuel usage, Ria Novosti reported citing a source in the Flotilla who refused to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. The missile ship Tatarstan, currently the most effective unit of the Caspian Flotilla, is based in Makhachkala, while all missile boats are based in Astrakhan. And to carry out combat exercises, the boats have to cover a distance of 180 kilometers on the Volga-Caspian Canal to regroup, said the source.
Such “Pseudo news citing so-called anonymous sources” has begun appearing in the media in relation to the restructuring of the Russian Armed Forces, Dygalo said.
The Caspian Flotilla is based in Astrakhan and protects Russia’s national interests in the region of the Caspian Sea, including in the fight against terrorism, the protection of trade routes, as well as the defense of the country’s interests in the oil regions. The Flotilla was created by Peter the Great in 1722. It includes today a few brigades and divisions, air units, and coast guards. The 106th Brigade, which is meant to protect water regions; the 327th Guard Division of Surface Ships; the 242nd Assault Ships Division; and the 77th Marines Brigade are all based in Kaspiysk. A division of missile boats is based in Astrakhan, and the Tatarstan and marines are based in Makhachkala. Most of the boats in the Flotilla are obsolete. According to the commander of the Flotilla, Rear Admiral Viktor Kravchik, most of the fleet would be replaced by 2016.
Canadian Navy to Escort World Food Program Ships
Source: Canadian Navy
The Government of Canada is deploying the frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec to the coastal region of Somalia for the next few weeks to conduct naval escorts of World Food Program ships carrying life-saving supplies to the area. The government is acting on a request from the UN World Food Program (WFP) and UN International Maritime Organization.
We are currently seeking to receive formal authorization from the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia to escort World Food Program ships into their territorial waters. "Food supplies are urgently needed in Somalia but deteriorating security has made delivery difficult by land and sea," said the Honorable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. "Canada is stepping up to the plate by tasking Ville de Quebec with the role of escorting World Food Programme ships to ensure their safe arrival at designated ports."
The WFP is responding to urgent humanitarian needs in Somalia. Over 2.4 million Somalis rely on food aid, of which, ninety percent arrives by sea. While pirates have launched 24 attacks (in 2008) on vessels off Somalia's eastern and northern coasts, to date no escorted WFP ships have been targeted. Naval escorts have been provided by France, Denmark and the Netherlands over the last eight months. A Dutch frigate escorted the last ship loaded with food for beneficiaries in Somalia at the end of June. Somalia has been beset by instability and insecurity for almost 20 years and is further affected by the regional drought and increasing world food prices.
"Canada calls on all actors to respect international humanitarian law and ensure full, safe and unhindered access to assist those in need," said the Honorable David Emerson, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"Canada is a dedicated supporter of the WFP, and the deployment of the HMCS Ville de Quebec to Somalia is yet another example of our commitment to those suffering from hunger and food insecurity," said Minister Beverley Oda, Minister of International Cooperation. "We are the third largest contributor to the WFP this year, and it is vital that the contribution we've made produces real results on the ground for those who are in need. By providing this ship, Canada will ensure that millions of Somalians receive the food aid that they so desperately need."
"The Canadian Forces' contribution to this mission highlights our flexibility and determination in supporting international relief efforts," said General Walt Natynczyk, Chief of the Defence Staff.
On July 17th, HMCS Ville de Quebec originally deployed on Operation SEXTANT, Canada's maritime contribution to the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1). With this new task, which will facilitate humanitarian operations, HMCS Ville de Quebec will operate under Operation ALTAIR for about one month in direct support of WFP shipments to Somalia. Following this mission in September, she will return to her original tasking with SNMG1 scheduled to end in December.
Canada currently has three ships deployed with Operation ALTAIR (Her Majesty's Canadian Ships (HMCS) Iroquois, a destroyer acting as the command ship, Calgary, a frigate, and Protecteur, an auxiliary oil replenishment ship).
ASC Sale Will Not Proceed
Source: Australian Department of Defense
The Rudd Government announced today that the sale of ASC Pty Ltd, formerly the Australian Submarine Corporation, will not proceed at this time.
Lindsay Tanner, Minister for Finance and Deregulation and Joel Fitzgibbon, Minister for Defense emphasized that the current uncertainty in global financial markets presented significant risks to a successful sale of the company.
In addition, a sale in the short term could complicate the operations of the company given ASC is currently building the Royal Australian Navy’s Air Warfare Destroyers and likely to be considered in any future submarine build program.
Lindsay Tanner thanked the business, legal and process advisers to the sale, Lazard Carnegie Wylie, Freehills and Sparke Helmore, for their work in helping prepare ASC for sale.
Lindsay Tanner said: “It is unfortunate that the current economic climate presents significant risks to a successful sale of ASC. However, the work undertaken in preparing ASC for sale will provide valuable lessons for the Commonwealth’s roles as owner and customer in the future”.
Lindsay Tanner and Joel Fitzgibbon also thanked ASC’s Board of Directors and management team for their assistance and professionalism in preparing the company for sale.
Second Lockheed Martin F-35B STOVL Fighter Achieves Successful First Flight
Source: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company
FORT WORTH, Texas --- Lockheed Martin's second short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B Lightning II accomplished its first flight on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The aircraft, known as BF-2, joins a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A and another STOVL F-35B that already have logged a combined total of 84 flights.
During its flight on Wednesday, BF-2 went through a series of maneuvers to assess its subsystems and basic handling qualities, and to check on-board instrumentation. Subsequent missions will take the aircraft higher and faster, in a structured series of flights. All F-35 test aircraft to date have been powered by the Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan, the most powerful engine ever to fly in a jet fighter.
"The F-35 program is now entering a period of greatly accelerated flight testing, as aircraft are delivered to the flight line at an ever-increasing rate," said Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and F-35 program general manager. "Each aircraft that rolls off the assembly line fulfills a unique verification objective and moves us closer to our customers' initial operational capability dates."
BF-2 is on schedule to deploy to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., later this year. It will remain in Fort Worth for the next several months to conduct a series of ground-test events, instrumentation calibrations, powered hover-pit testing (simulating flight) and airworthiness flights, including STOVL-mode operation. Initial flights will be in conventional mode.
BF-2 is essentially identical to the first STOVL jet, BF-1. The major difference lies with the instrumentation - the two aircraft have different roles during flight testing. BF-2 will conduct flutter envelope expansion, air-refueling testing, high angle-of-attack testing, performance and propulsion testing, weapons testing and radar-signature testing. BF-1 will concentrate on initial STOVL flight operations such as short takeoffs, hovers and vertical landings, and will conduct ship-suitability and gun-integration testing. BF-1's first vertical landing is planned for the middle of 2009.
The F-35 is a supersonic, multi-role, 5th generation stealth fighter. Three F-35 variants derived from a common design, developed together and using the same sustainment infrastructure worldwide will replace at least 13 types of aircraft for 11 nations initially, making the Lightning II the most cost-effective fighter program in history.
Photo of the Day
Sailors and Marines aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) load vehicles onto Landing Craft Utility (LCU) 1627.
Gator
