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



Navy Word of the Day
Ahoy Shipmates!
Continuing on with your Naval education we bring you another installment of MSW’s Navy Word of the Day.
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
Navy Word of the Day


WW1 Warships Campaign
Ahoy mates! The World War I Warships campaign will be kicking off on May 15. If you haven’t signed up, please do. We would love to have you. If you have signed up, time to dust off those kits and get ready to start building.
Campaign HQ




Battle of Jutland

Today’s website is WWI – The War at Sea. this website follows the events of largest battle in naval warfare history using maps, graphics and animations, showing how and why it happened. Enjoy.
Website




This Day in U.S. Naval History

1862 - CSS Virginia blown up by Confederates to prevent capture.
1898 - Sailors and Marines from USS Marblehead cut trans-oceanic cable near Cienfuegos, Cuba, isolating Cuba from Spain.
1943 - Naval task force lands Army troops on Attu, Aleutians.
1965 - U.S. destroyers deliver first shore bombardment of Vietnam War.


Royal Navy Continues Training Iraqi Navy
Source: U.K. Ministry of Defence

The withdrawal of British combat troops from Iraq has already begun and by 31 July 2009 the vast bulk of British Armed Forces will have all left the country. Except that is, a small group of Royal Naval personnel.

The naval personnel will be staying in southern Iraq to train the fledgling Iraqi Navy who have a task essential to the country's future economic development; protecting the country's oil network and main port of Umm Qasr.

The port of Umm Qasr is gradually growing into a thriving area of commerce as it fulfils its role as Iraq's only deepwater quay facility.

The port operates 24-hours-a-day and hundreds of containers are being shipped from the area with thousands of trucks daily coming in and out of the port area. Located close to the Kuwaiti border, Umm Qasr receives 80 per cent of the country's imports.

The port is therefore also home to the Iraqi Navy which as well as protecting the port traffic has the vital role of protecting the country's two oil terminals out in the Gulf. These generate around 90 per cent of Iraq's income.

British troops are currently based at two camps in Umm Qasr. One of the two sites will be handed over to the Americans at the end of this month, but UK military personnel are likely to remain at the second camp until at least 2011 where a British-led Naval Training Team, currently consisting of 55 British and 25 US personnel, will continue its work mentoring the Iraqi Navy.

The Iraqi Navy has been working hard to improve the safety and security of the port, their offshore oil infrastructure and Iraq's territorial waters, and while at present coalition forces protect the two oil terminals in the Gulf, known as KAAOT and ABOT, on-platform defence of KAAOT is expected to be handed over to the Iraqis at the end of this month.

The Iraqi Navy has around 2,000 personnel, including Marines, and has grown and improved significantly since the 2003 invasion.

Royal Navy Captain Richard Ingram, head of the coalition naval advisory team in Umm Qasr, said their progress had been "pretty dramatic", but added: "There's still a lot to achieve."

Security has not been a problem at the oil terminals since April 2004, when a failed attack was launched on KAAOT, but it is still taken extremely seriously.

British soldiers from The Queen's Royal Hussars currently patrol around Umm Qasr port wearing soft hats and without body armour, although they still carry weapons. But they will hand over responsibility for the port's security to the increasingly professional 2nd Battalion of the Iraqi Marines and return home at the end of this month.

Royal Navy Captain Graham Charlesworth, who advises the port on development, said:

"We're not blasé about security. We've adopted this posture because that's what the threat assessment says pertains to this port. We are not just cavalier about it."

Colonel Jamal, the Iraqi Marines 2nd Battalion's commanding officer said the security situation had improved "from zero to 70 per cent" since a major Iraqi Army-led operation against militias in Basra last year known as Charge of the Knights - and to "80 per cent" at Umm Qasr.

He described the port as an "artery" feeding all of Iraq, adding:

"I am happy because the port of Umm Qasr belongs to all Iraqis and the investment that comes in the future is going to help Iraq's development and reduce unemployment."

The Iraqi Government has asked for the Royal Navy-led training team to stay in the country after the bulk of the British troops pull out over the summer.

The port's capacity is increasing by 20 per cent a year, and it handled imports of 7.5m tonnes in 2008.

Major projects to dredge the port and remove wrecks will enable it to take more large vessels in the future.

While it is primarily a commercial port, it also has a passenger terminal and a ferry from Dubai runs to Umm Qasr twice a week.

British Defence Secretary John Hutton highlighted the importance of the port earlier this year, saying:

"The UK and our coalition partners are working with the Iraqi authorities to develop the port and it is one of the key areas in which international companies are looking to invest."

With the British mentoring of the Iraqi Navy set to continue, the economic lifeline of southern Iraq should become ever more secure.


JP2048 Phase 3 Amphibious Watercraft Replacement
Source: Australian Department of Defence

The Minister for Defence, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP, today announced first pass approval for a number of landing craft to complement the two new CANBERRA class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) amphibious assault ships currently under construction for the Royal Australian Navy.

These landing craft - to be acquired under Phase 3 Joint Project 2048 - will enable the CANBERRA class LHD ships to conduct operations ‘over the shore’, where there are no fixed port facilities.

Mr Fitzgibbon said the landing craft will be able to lift heavy equipment which may be embarked on the ships, including the new M1A1 Abrams tank in service with the Australian Army and transport it to shore. The Minister was visiting Robertson Barracks to discuss the 2009 Defence White Paper with the women and men of 1 Brigade, including the benefits that will follow for the Defence community in Darwin.

“During the next stage of the project, Defence will seek offers from Navantia for the construction and delivery of the LCM-1E landing craft. This landing craft is designed for inter-operability with the CANBERRA class LHD and is in service with the Spanish Navy,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

A final decision on the LCM-1E will be made by Government in 2010, once Defence has developed more accurate cost information and can consider offers to be sought from Navantia. Options to build the LCM-1E in Australia will also be considered.

Mr Fitzgibbon said once delivered, the LHDs and landing craft will form part of the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) broader amphibious deployment and sustainment system.

“An effective amphibious capability will form a critical component of the ADF’s ability to operate in our region. Improving the facilities of the port to accommodate the new large troop carrying vessels identified in the White Paper is a key priority,” said Mr Fitzgibbon.

The Minister also met with the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, the Hon. Paul Henderson MLA, and discussed the way forward on greater collaboration between Defence and the Northern Territory Government.

“Defence's planned investment in these port facilities reinforces the Government's commitment to Darwin as a strategic location for future Defence planning,” Mr Fitzgibbon concluded.




F-35’s First STOVL Flight Delayed by 6 Months
Source: defense-aerospace.com

The first flight test of the F-35's Short Takeoff Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant in that mode is now expected to take place in September, a further delay of about six months beyond that already expected, due to problems with the jet's engine built by Pratt & Whitney, Reuters reported from the Navy League Sea Air Space conference.

The first flight in STOVL mode was initially scheduled for March.

Quoting US Navy Captain Wade Knudson, the F-35 program’s acting program manager, Reuters reported that the STOVL variant had completed hover pit tests that simulated missions in short takeoff and vertical landing mode, and would resume testing of conventional takeoffs and landing this summer, followed by the STOVL mode flight.

The STOVL aircraft has already flown in conventional mode.

The reasons for the new delay are the need to fix the engine that failed, to “tweak” the software controlling the leading edges, and to ensure that the nine doors that open during STOVL all operated correctly, according to another report by the DoD Buzz website from Navy League.

Noting that the F-35 STOVL version was facing a serious excess weight problem – it is some 3,000 pounds overweight-- DoD Buzz said that this is no longer seen as a problem because STOVL pit tests indicate that the engine now generates more power than planned, possessing what Knudson said was an “excess” 300 to 500 pounds of thrust.


Photo of the Day



SMS Seydlitz badly damaged but underway while en route to port after the battle of Jutland.

Gator