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



USS Bataan Receives MEDEVAC, Treats Three Injured Haitians
Source: US Navy

USS BATAAN, At Sea (NNS) -- Amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHA-5) received two medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) helicopters at approximately 8:15 p.m. Jan. 19, with three injured Haitians aboard who received immediate medical care from the Bataan medical team.

U.S. Navy and Coast Guard search-and-rescue crews responded to two separate distress calls in the vicinity of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

An MH-60S Knighthawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22 medically evacuated two patients with potentially life-threatening injuries just before a Coast Guard HH-65A Dolphin carrying a third patient arrived aboard Bataan.

"This is why we train," said Cmdr. Melanie Merrick, senior medical officer aboard Bataan. "We are equipped for these types of injuries to provide resuscitation and stabilization. We will continue to assess the individuals and go from there."

The first two injured were a 24-year-old woman and a infant boy in need of urgent medical care. The third patient is a 70-year-old woman. Merrick said all three patients are stable and receiving medical treatment.

Bataan arrived off the coast of Haiti Jan. 18, and immediately began providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in support of Operation Unified Response. The Amphibious Relief Mission, a sea base from which relief operations are staged off the coast of Haiti, includes Bataan, USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44), USS Carter Hall (LSD 50).

Operation Unified Response is part of a larger U.S. response to a request from the government of Haiti for urgent humanitarian aid. U.S. Southern Command is working closely with the Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the international community to aggressively provide life-sustaining services to the people of Haiti. All military efforts are in support of USAID, which is orchestrating U.S. government contributions to the relief mission.


£333m of Contracts Awarded for New Super Aircraft Carriers
Source: UK Ministry of Defense

Contracts worth £333M have been awarded by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) to companies across the country to help to build the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Five sub-contracts have been awarded to suppliers from Glasgow to Portsmouth for equipment to be installed on the ships and services for their assembly, bringing the total value of sub-contracts awarded so far on the program to almost £1.1bn.

These contracts and sub-contracts represent the vast majority of the equipment orders for the Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers and demonstrate the progress made on the program to date.

The two future aircraft carriers will form the cornerstone of the UK's naval capability and will be the largest, most capable and powerful warships ever constructed in the UK. They will be a highly versatile and potent joint defense asset, able to meet the widest range of tasks around the world throughout their expected service life of around 50 years.

Sub-contracts have been awarded by the ACA to:
-- Imtech Marine & Offshore Ltd in Billingham, Teesside and Portsmouth for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, worth £120M;
-- Ship Support Services Ltd based near Rosyth for paint and scaffolding for the build process, worth £105M (SSS Ltd is a joint venture formed between Pyeroy in Gateshead and Cape in Wakefield);
-- Henry Abrams in Glasgow for transport of sections of the ship from the yards across the UK to Rosyth for final assembly, worth £85M;
-- Tyco in Manchester for fixed fire fighting systems, worth £15M; and
-- AEI Cables in Birtley, Co Durham for much of the 2,500 km of cabling to be installed, worth £8M.

Minister for Defense Equipment and Support Quentin Davies said:

"This news should reassure those who doubt this Government's commitment to the program. These sub-contracts will contribute thousands of jobs throughout the supply chain in addition to the thousands of jobs at the main shipyards which are building the ships.

"The build phase of the Carrier program is now well under way. The first units have already been delivered to Rosyth where these ships - the cornerstone of the Royal Navy of the future - will be assembled."

Head of Capital Ships at the MoD's Defense Equipment and Support Tony Graham said:

"The award of these contracts is evidence that the project is progressing well and momentum continues to grow. The project is successfully hitting its construction milestones and these contracts will help us meet our overall delivery plan. This work is particularly important for sustaining jobs and growing skills."

ACA Program Director Geoff Searle said:

"I am delighted to announce these substantial contracts for work on the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier program, covering the vital services that run throughout the ships, as well as essential elements of the actual shipbuild process itself. Most of these contracts, placed for the Aircraft Carrier Alliance will support local economies and jobs throughout the UK regions.

"The ACA has achieved many substantial milestones in the last 12 months, including commencing work on the build of HMS Queen Elizabeth in four UK shipyards and completing work on the huge Number One Dock in Rosyth where the ships will finally be assembled. Continuing this level of momentum is essential and the signing of these contracts is testimony that it will continue through 2010 and beyond."


BACKGROUND NOTES:
1. The contract to build the two new Aircraft Carriers was signed on 3rd July 2008. Funding for these new equipment contracts form part of the existing financial commitment by the MOD announced under this original contract.

2. Key facts:
--Displacement: 65,000 tonnes - over three times the size of the existing aircraft carriers
--Length: 280m - 90m longer than the existing aircraft carriers
--Width: 70m - twice the width of the existing aircraft carriers
--Range: 8,000 to 10,000 nautical miles
--56m from keel to masthead - 6m taller than Nelson's Column
--Four acres of sovereign territory provided by each ship
--Capacity for 40 aircraft - double that of the existing aircraft carrier
--110MW power station on board each ship - enough to provide all of Portsea Island with power
--1.5 million meters squared of paintwork, which is 370 acres or slightly more than acreage of Hyde Park
--80,000 tonnes of steel is on order for the two ships; three times that used in Wembley Stadium




USSR Navy in World War 2

Today’s website is the Division of US Naval Intelligence 1943 report on the USSR Navy. Enjoy.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1783 - Hostilities cease between Great Britain and the United States.
1903 - Theordore Roosevelt issues Executive Order placing Midway Islands under jurisdiction of the Navy Department.
1914 - School for naval air training opens in Pensacola, Fla.
1948 - Establishment of U.S. Persian Gulf Area Command.


Photo of the Day



Pearl Harbor in October of 1941. On January 20, 1887, the United States Senate allowed the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base (the US took possession on November 9 that year).

Gator