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



On Display - Type XXIII Submarine, Probefarht, 1944

MSW crew-mate Jan Klarbæk (MrMox) sends us yet another fine display of modeling workmanship in 1/72 scale, this time, Type XXIII Submarine, Probefarht, 1944!
On Display




USS Washington BB56

Today’s website is USS Washington BB56. Get a feel for how large and powerful "The Mighty "W" was and download detailed large diagrams. Enjoy.
Website




This Day in U.S. Naval History

1911 - The hulk of battleship USS Maine is sunk at sea with full military honors.
1945 - The island of Iwo Jima is declared secure.
1966 - Gemini 8 is launched. Former naval aviator Neil Armstrong flew on this mission, which completed seven orbits in 10 hours, 41 minutes at an altitude of 161.3 nautical miles. Recovery was by USS Leonard F. Mason (DD 852).


Navy Names Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado
Source: US Navy

Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter announced today that the fourth littoral combat ship (LCS) will be named USS Coronado.

The announcement continues the practice of naming the agile LCS vessels after American mid-sized cities, small towns and communities. The ship is named in honor of the patriotic citizens of Coronado, Calif. Home to Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI) and Naval Amphibious Base (NAB), Coronado has been home to the Navy since 1917.

More than 90 tenant commands reside at NASNI, including the Naval Aviation Depot, the largest aerospace employer in San Diego. The base is homeport to two aircraft carriers, USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).

NAB Coronado has approximately 5,000 personnel and more than 30 tenant commands including Naval Surface Force Pacific and Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Pacific. The base is also home to Naval Special Warfare Command including several SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) and special boat teams, and the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training center.

Two previous ships have been named for Coronado. USS Coronado (PF 38), a Tacoma-class patrol frigate, earned four battle stars for supporting landings in New Guinea and Leyte during World War II. USS Coronado (AGF 11) served as flagship for the Third Fleet and was decommissioned in 2006.

Designated LCS 4, Coronado will be designed to defeat littoral threats and provide access and dominance in coastal waters for missions such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare. There are two different LCS hull forms – a semiplaning monohull and an aluminum trimaran – designed and built by two industry teams, respectively led by Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. These seaframes will be outfitted with reconfigurable payloads, called mission packages, which can be changed out quickly. Mission packages are supported by special detachments that will deploy manned and unmanned vehicles and sensors.


Discussions Aim to Resolve U.S. Survey Ship Incident
Source: U.S Department of Defense

WASHINGTON --- The incident in the South China Sea involving a U.S. ocean surveillance ship is serious enough to merit face-to-face discussions between U.S. and Chinese officials, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today.

The USNS Impeccable – an unarmed Military Sealift Command vessel -- was conducting operations in international waters 70 miles south of Hainan Island on March 8 when the ship was surrounded and harassed by five Chinese vessels.

Morrell said the U.S. defense attaché in Beijing has been talking with China’s defense ministry about the incident.
The Chinese defense attaché also is speaking with Defense Department officials.

“[The incident] is serious enough that we believe it requires face-to-face talks to find out what was going on here and to ensure that there are no further incidents of this nature in the future,” Morrell said.

Morrell reiterated the U.S. position that the Impeccable was performing its mission in international waters.

“We hope that the Chinese would behave in a similar way, that is, according to international law,” he said. “Furthermore, this incident is not at all consistent with the expressed desire of both governments to build a closer relationship, particularly a closer military-to-military relationship.”

The U.S. position is that if a ship is lawfully operating in international waters, “that that is legal and permitted, and there should be no … reason to interfere with those operations,” Morrell said.

Officials are hopeful that the conversations between the two nations will clear up any misunderstandings about this incident and ensure it doesn’t happen again, he added.


Photo of the Day



The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), top, the guided-missile cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69), center, and the French Navy destroyer Jean Bart (D615) transit the Mediterranean Sea.

Gator