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



Review - Flyhawk’s 1:700 Royal Navy Ladders and Searchlights
MSW Crewmember Rodger Cole (halfyank) brings us a first look review of Flyhawk’s 1:700 Royal Navy Ladders and Searchlights. Enjoy.


Review - LionRoar’s World War II Hanging Ladders in 1/700
MSW Crewmember Jim Adams (goldenpony) brings us a first look review of LionRoar’s World War II Hanging Ladders in 1/700 scale. Enjoy.




Defense Wants to Modernize Torpedoes
Source: Netherlands Ministry of Defense

Defense wants to upgrade the MK48 torpedo for its Walrus-class submarines, State Secretary Jack de Vries wrote in a Sept. 17 letter to Parliament.

The Netherlands use a version of the MK48 designed in the 1970s for deployment in deep water. This has limited capabilities to engage targets in shallow water operations. Australia, the United States and Canada will soon moved to a more recent modification of the MK48 which is better suited for use in shallow waters.

Exchange of information

The current Dutch torpedoes cannot cooperate with weapons of those nations that have already modernized their own torpedoes. This cooperation consists of exchanges of technical and operational information. The new modifications of Dutch torpedoes will make this cooperation possible again.

Also, the U.S. supplier of the torpedoes has reported that it no longer wishes to maintain specific parts of the current Dutch configuration, and the Netherlands do not have the capacity to pursue these independently.


Navantia Lays Keel for Third Venezuelan Patrol Vessel
Source: Navantia

The San Fernando-Puerto Real shipyard on 22 September laid the keel of the third of four Economic Zone offshore patrol boats (POVZEE) that it is building for the Venezuelan Navy.

The event was attended by the Director of the Shipyard, Fernando Miguélez, a delegation from the Commission of the Comptroller-General of the National Armed Forces (CONGEFAN) of Venezuela, Admiral Padron, head of the Venezuelan Naval mission in Spain, and the program managers for the Venezuelan naval programs (POVZEE and BVL).

The POVZEE are a series of four sophisticated vessels Navantia designed to operate in any geographical setting, performing different types of missions such as surveillance and protection of the Exclusive Economic Zone, protection of maritime traffic; defense of strategic interests, search and rescue; assistance to maritime traffic, humanitarian missions, marine pollution control; prosecution of smuggling, drug trafficking and illegal immigration, and surveillance and information-gathering for operational or environmental intelligence.

The main features of POVZEE are:
- Maximum length: 98.9 m
- Length between perpendiculars: 85.8 m
- Beam: 13.6 m
- Depth to main deck: 7.2 m
- Displacement: 2,419 tons
- Maximum speed: 24 knots
- Power: 4 x 4400 kW
- Classification Society: GL


Besides these four PVOZEE patrol vessels, Navantia is also building, in the Bay of Cadiz shipyard, four BVL coastal surveillance vessels for Venezuela.

The contract for these eight ships, whose construction will involve five million working hours (1,456,900 for Navantia and 3,580,700 for subcontractors and suppliers) was signed on 28 November 2005. Deliveries are scheduled between late 2009 and late 2011.




Battleships and Knights

Today’s website is [http://xoomer.virgilio.it/bk/]Battleships and Knights[/url]. This site is a good reference for Italian Navy subjects. Enjoy.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1864 - USS Washusett captures Confederate raider CSS Florida in harbor of Bahia, Brazil.
1924 - Rigid airship Shenandoah commences transcontinental flight.
1975 - President Gerald Ford signs law allowing admission of women into service academies.


Photo of the Day



Awesome effect of firing of 5 inch gun turrets.

Gator