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



Feature - WWII Submarines
MSW Crewmember Anthony Kochevar (AJKOCHEV) shares with us a trio of World War II Submarines in 1/700.
Feature




St. Mary's Submarine Museum

Today’s website is the St. Mary's Submarine Museum. Located in historic downtown St Mary’s, Georgia, the museum is a great place to learn about the Silent Service. A wide variety of Submarine artifacts, memorabilia and information are available for viewing, and you can checkout the beautiful St Mary’s waterfront thru a real periscope. Enjoy.
Website




This Day in U.S. Naval History

1917 - Navy convoy of troopships carrying American Expeditionary Forces arrives in France.
1950 - North Korea invades South Korea beginning Korean Conflict.


Russian Navy takes delivery of new frigate
Source: Russian Navy

Russia's newest frigate, the Yaroslav Mudry, was officially presented to the navy on Friday, a spokesman for the Yantar shipyard said.

The frigate, which has just completed sea trials, has a displacement of 4,250 tons and a maximum speed of 30 knots. It is armed with anti-ship missiles, air defense systems, a 100-mm artillery mount, depth charges, and a Ka-27 helicopter.

Construction has taken almost 19 years due to a lack of financing.

Further delays occurred in early May, when a Ka-27 Helix helicopter crashed into the Baltic Sea during the Yaroslav Mudry's sea trials.

The crash occurred after the helicopter's blades grazed the frigate.

The Baltic Fleet commander earlier said the Yaroslav Mudry could join the international anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden after entering service with the Baltic Fleet.


Mexican Navy find ton of cocaine stuffed in frozen sharks
Source: Mexican Navy

Mexican Navy officers have seized 893 kilograms (1,968 pounds) of cocaine that was stuffed into 30 frozen shark carcasses bound for the United States, Dive magazine reported on Thursday.

The Dover Strait container ship was detained off the Yucatan Peninsula by Mexican authorities on suspicion of drug smuggling. X-rays and dogs were used to search the ship. The narcotics were found wrapped in 870 plastic bags inside the sharks.

The discovery was made after the naval officers stopped the Florida-bound ship at the port of Progreso.

Navy Commander Eduardo Villa told reporters: "Those in charge of the shipment said it was a conserving agent, but after checks we confirmed it was cocaine."

The ship received its cargo in Costa Rica and was sailing under a Marshall Islands flag.

Latin American drug cartels are notoriously inventive in smuggling drugs into the U.S., placing drugs in picture frames, boots, religious statues, and sealed beer cans.




DCNS and Thales Awarded Phase 2 of the UAV Deck Landing Study D2AD
Source: Thales

PARIS AIR SHOW --- The French defence procurement agency (DGA) has awarded DCNS and Thales the second phase of the D2AD study to design and demonstrate an automatic takeoff, landing and deck landing system for rotary-wing UAVs. Phase 2 demonstration trials will be conducted in Mesa, Arizona, and will use the AH-6U Little Bird unmanned helicopter from Boeing.

D2AD is the acronym for Démonstration d'un système d'appontage et d'atterrissage pour drones (UAV landing system demonstration programme).

Landing tests on fixed and moving platforms will pave the way for deck landing trials on a French Navy vessel at sea, planned for mid-2011.

The DGA awarded the D2AD study contract in late 2008 as part of a broader risk reduction effort to support future tactical UAV programmes for the French Navy and Army. The DCNS/Thales system demonstrator will incorporate the full spectrum of operational constraints related to takeoff, landing and deck landing operations, including the required levels of discretion in a range of environmental, weather and sea state conditions.

Thales is responsible for the landing system, the UAV system and the trajectory control system. DCNS is responsible for ship motion prediction, the deck landing strategy and for securing the UAV to the flight deck.

The D2AD study is conducted in three phases:
-- Phase 1 includes definition of a complete set of specifications for the D2AD system and associated interfaces.
-- Phase 2, awarded in early May, includes development of the demonstrator and trials on land.
-- Phase 3 will conclude the study with final deck landing trials on a French Navy vessel in high sea state conditions (up to sea state 5).


Photo of the Day



A surfaced Peruvian submarine is underway with the guided-missile frigate USS Kauffman (FFG 59) during a multi-national group sail involving the Peruvian and U.S. navies.

Gator