Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
Feature - French BB Liberte Class, Democratie
Sit back and enjoy this MOD by MSW Crewmember Bob Cicconi (BOBCICCONI) of the French Navy BB Liberte Class, Democratie by Fleet Net in 1/700.
Feature
Feature - Building Revell's USS Midway
Join me as MSW Crewmember Tim Reynaga (TimReynaga) shares with us his build of the classic Revell kit of the USS Midway.
Feature
Discovery of the AE2 - Aussie Sub from WWI
Today’s website is an article on the Discovery of the AE2 - Aussie Sub from WWI. The mission of the Australian submarine AE2 was to pass through the Dardanelles near Turkey. Their were to sink as many ships as possible and after several days of action and avoiding enemy patrol ships, laid on the ocean floor. On April 30, 1914, 'Within seconds (of rising to the surface), the engine room was hit and holed in three places' by enemy torpedoes. Enjoy.
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This Day in U.S. Naval History
1775 - Benedict Arnold captures British sloop and renames her Enterprise, first of many famous ships with that name.
1798 - Appointment of Benjamin Stoddert as first Secretary of the Navy.
1969 - Launch of Apollo 10, dress rehearsal for first lunar landing mission. Navy Cmdr. John W. Young was the command module pilot and Navy Cmdr. Eugene A. Cernan was the lunar module pilot.
Russian ship grounded
Source: Source: The Barents Observer
The Russian fishery vessel ”Petrozavodsk” this morning grounded by the coast of the Bear Island in the Barents Sea. Norwegian authorities fear that oil will leak from the vessel and harm the rich sea bird populations in the area.
All the 12 sailors of the “Petrozavodsk” are reported to be safe and well after the ship grounded this morning by the South Cape at the Bear Island.
Assistant Governor on the Svalbard archipelago Lars Fause confirms to NRK that the ship has 54 cubic meters of oil as well as other petroleum substances on board. He fears that the oil could leak into the waters and harm the vulnerable marine environment.
The ship grounded in an area with big cliffs and with major sea bird populations. Mr. Fause says. He underlines to NRK that the top priority now is to prevent oil from the vessel to harm the vulnerable environment. The coast guard vessels “KV Svalbard” and “KV Harstad” have both been sent to the area to assist in the oil clear-up operation. Both ships have oil preparedness equipment on board.
The ship crew is being transported with helicopter first to the Bear Island and then to the Norwegian mainland, RIA Novosti reports.
The "Petrozavodsk" operates in the Barents Sea as transport vessel for trawlers in the area.
The captain is charged for drinking alcohol while on duty. A preliminary blood-alcohol test showed a level of 1.3 ‰. He admits to have been drinking after the accident, while still on duty, Norwegian Broadcasting Cooperation reports.
The vessel’s mate is charged for sleeping on duty, so that the vessel entered a protected area and ran aground. He is also charged for drinking while on duty.
According to the Governor of Svalbard, the vessel’s maneuvers looked so suspicious that it was decided to take blood samples of the officers. The satellite tracks show that the vessel held steady course straight towards the shore, NRK reports.
Raytheon Develops Anti-Surface Warfare Capability for Tomahawk Block IV Missile
Source: Raytheon Company
TUCSON, Ariz. --- Raytheon Company has developed a technology plan to enhance moving target capabilities for the combat-proven Tomahawk Block IV missile. The technology will enable naval forces to effectively engage moving maritime surface targets and conduct anti-surface warfare missions.
"This capability will allow the warfighter to attack a new tactical target set from more than 900 nautical miles (1035 statute miles)," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon Missile System's Air Warfare Systems' product line. "Raytheon's technology road map is the first step toward a rapid-development effort that will deliver a single, affordable, multi-mission missile capable of land attack and anti-surface warfare operations."
The Tomahawk Block IV is a surface- and submarine-launched, precision-strike, stand-off weapon. It is designed for long-range precision strike missions against high-value and heavily defended targets.
More than 1,900 Tomahawk rounds have been fired in support of almost every conflict since 1991, and more than 1,300 Tomahawk Block IV missiles have been delivered since 2005. The Tomahawk Block IV is integrated on numerous surface and subsurface combatant platforms in the U.S. Navy and subsurface combatant vessels in the U.K. Royal Navy.
New training center for Air Wing Kuznetsov
Source: Barents Observer
Russia plans to establish its first training center for carrier plane pilots by the Sea of Azov. Building of the 2.7 million EUR center will start in 2010.
Pilots at Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Northern Fleet’s Admiral Kuznetsov, have till now been sent for training at the Crimea in Ukraine, but problems with Ukrainian authorities have complicated the situation and training has repeatedly been cancelled. Russia pays Ukraine 500 USD per year in rent for the center. According to some sources, Ukraine now plans to rent the facilities also to China, newspaper Kommersant reports.
The new training center will be located at an old airfield outside Yeysk in the Krasnodar territory. The project is already approved by President Dmitry Medvedev. The building is expected to take two years and 1500 persons will serve at the base.
The need for Russia to have its own training center for carrier plane pilots is connected with Russian plans for expansion of the carrier fleet. In July last year Commander of the Russian Navy, Vladimir Vysotsky, said that Russia intends to hold five or six aircraft carriers, which are to operate from both the Northern fleet on the Kola Peninsula and at the Pacific fleet in the Far East.
Photo of the Day
Turrets of the SMS Konig.
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