Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
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DKM Graf Spee, 1937
MSW Crew-member Phil Reeder [onslow] offers us for our review the DKM Graf Spee, 1937, in this "On Display" feature.
Victory at Sea - Dogger Bank 1915
Step back in time to 1915 when naval forces of England and Germany clashed at the Battle of the Dogger Bank.
Landing of Main Propulsion Diesel Engines Is Latest Milestone for Nation's Third Littoral Combat Ship
Source: Lockheed Martin
MARINETTE, Wis. --- The Lockheed Martin-led industry team completed a key milestone in constructing the nation's third Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) with the landing of the vessel's two main propulsion diesel engines. LCS 3, named Fort Worth, is on track for delivery to the U.S. Navy in 2012.
More than 85 percent of the ship's modules are under construction at the Marinette Marine shipyard. Lockheed Martin has reduced labor costs on LCS 3 by 30 percent by applying lessons from building LCS 1, the USS Freedom. The overall LCS 3 program is on-cost and on-schedule.
"We continue to make great progress building Fort Worth," said Dan Schultz, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Ship & Aviation Systems business. "Applying lessons learned from building USS Freedom, the Lockheed Martin team invested millions of dollars to improve production efficiencies, including the installation and use of higher-capacity, higher-efficiency overhead cranes, plasma-cutting tables and pipe-bending machines. Marinette Marine Corporation is a quality shipbuilder that puts their heart and soul into this ship, and it really shows."
Designed to operate in coastal waters, the LCS provides the Navy with a fast, agile shallow-draft warship that maximizes mission flexibility. The vessel is a highly automated surface combatant that can accommodate numerous mission packages, providing the flexibility to execute focused missions such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, as well as other potential missions.
Fort Worth's recently landed Fairbanks-Morse 16-cylinder diesel engines are a critical part of the Lockheed Martin team's proven LCS propulsion system, which incorporates diesel and gas turbine engines with steerable water jets. The two diesel engines will provide Fort Worth with an economical cruising speed range of more than 3,500 nautical miles.
"It's very exciting to see such excellent progress on the future USS Fort Worth," said Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-12-Texas), the ship's sponsor, whose congressional district encompasses the city of Fort Worth. "All of us in Fort Worth, and in the great state of Texas, are looking forward to christening this important ship and seeing it operating in the U.S. Navy's Fleet with USS Freedom."
In September, the team landed Fort Worth's two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines – the largest gas turbines installed on any Navy ship class – which will allow Fort Worth to sustain sprint speeds of well over 40 knots. The innovative propulsion system's two fixed and two steerable Rolls-Royce water jets provide superior maneuverability for mission execution.
The same propulsion system has successfully powered USS Freedom (LCS 1) more than 8,000 nautical miles since that ship's commissioning in November 2008. In October 2009, the Navy announced it would deploy USS Freedom early in 2010, two years ahead of schedule.
Lockheed Martin's LCS team delivered the first-of-class USS Freedom to the fleet in only six years from its initial concept, half the time of traditional naval combatant shipbuilding programs. Team members include naval architect Gibbs & Cox, ship builders Bollinger Shipyards and Marinette Marine Corporation, a Fincantieri company, as well as other domestic and international teammates.
Designed to operate in littoral waters, the Lockheed Martin-led team's LCS features a semi-planing steel monohull that provides the Navy with a survivable, fast, and agile shallow-draft warship, which maximizes mission flexibility and accessibility. With a proven open architecture networked, combat-management system common to other surface combatants in U.S. and international navies, the Lockheed Martin team's LCS provides unprecedented levels of reliability and interoperability with global maritime forces.
Future of RFA Tankers
Source: UK Ministry of Defense
The Times has published an article claiming that the MOD is to abandon plans to buy six new refuelling tankers for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) - the Merchant Navy - and is instead 'considering leasing, chartering or even converting second-hand ships to save money'.
A full international competition is currently underway for the contract to provide the new tankers. Expressions of interest have been sought from industry and responses are currently being evaluated. It is expected that a number of companies will shortly be invited to proceed to the next stage of the procurement process although it is too early to say how many. It should be noted that through-life cost, not just up-front cost, is of critical interest to the MOD in order to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.
Precisely how the ships will be managed remains to be determined. Suffice to say that the MOD is flexible in its approach to the future management of the ships (as proven with the Type 45 Support Contract and Offshore Patrol Vessels) and will consider all options for future support.
The Times article goes on to say 'People familiar with the MOD's thinking said that the cost of providing new tankers built to military standards could be more than £900 million, whereas buying new commercial ships from South Korea or Taiwan could cost as little as £150 million.'
To the untrained eye, the RFA fleet replenishment tankers may appear similar to some commercial tankers, but in actual fact the similarity is superficial and for a full military specification the actual design is substantially different to enable them to operate 24/7 in a naval task group in an operation.
Where the MOD has roles suitable for outsourcing under PFI, they have already done so; the provision of strategic roll-on roll-off ferry services is a good example of this. A review is underway which may identify other areas in which alternative management systems may be considered, but nothing has been decided and the review is still in its early stages.
It should be noted that the RFA, both its ships and as an organisation, is specifically tasked for military purposes and it is therefore difficult to draw direct and meaningful comparisons with the commercial Merchant Navy in manning or operations. Most of the ships are heavily used and all are available for contingencies at short notice.
The U-505 Submarine
Today’s website is the U-505 Submarine. Enjoy.
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1922 - Cruiser USS Galveston (CL 19) lands her Marine Corps detachment at Corinto, Nicaragua, to reinforce the Managua legation guard during a period of political tension.
1945 - Navy surface forces bombard Japanese positions at Iwo Jima.
1963 - The 1st Seabee Technical Assistance Team arrives in Vietnam.
Photo of the Day
Rear view of U-505 enroute to Museum of Science and Industry.
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