Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
Feature - XIV AMA Model Show Ship Report
On Display - HMS Queen Mary
MSW crew-mate Kostas Katseas (angeleyes) shares shares a wonderful build display of British Battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary in this “On Display” feature.
General Dynamics NASSCO Delivers USNS Charles Drew
Source: General Dynamics NASSCO
SAN DIEGO --- General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, today delivered USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10) to the U.S. Navy. The ship is named in honor of Dr. Charles R. Drew (1904-1950), the African American surgeon and hematologist who pioneered the procedures for the safe storage and transfusion of blood.
NASSCO began construction of USNS Charles Drew in October 2008. The 689-foot-long supply ship will serve under the Navy's Military Sealift Command. The ship is capable of delivering almost 10,000 tons of dry cargo and petroleum products at one time to Navy and allied ships underway at sea.
Including the Charles Drew, NASSCO has delivered ten T-AKEs, which are also known as Lewis and Clark-class ships. The eleventh through thirteenth ships are under construction at the San Diego shipyard. Construction of the fourteenth and final ship of the Lewis and Clark class will begin in the fall.
Navantia Launches Final EEZ Patrol Vessel for Venezuela
Source: Navantia
The Navantia shipyard in Puerto Real on July 13 held a ceremony for the christening and launch of the fourth and final EEZ patrol vessel for the navy of Venezuela, the "Karin". The ship was sponsored by Petra Elena Medina de Paz, wife of the Inspector General of the Navy of Venezuela, Vice Admiral Alcibiades, also present at the launching.
The ceremony was also attended by the Ambassador of Venezuela to Spain, Julian Isaiah, Spain’s Ambassador to Venezuela, Damaso de Larios, the Chief of the Navy of Venezuela, both Naval Commanders and Staff Operations, Chief of mission of the Venezuelan Navy in Spain, the Defense Attachés of both countries, and the Director of the Shipyard and the Commercial Director Navantia, among others.
The OPVs for Venezuela are 98.90 meters long, displace 2,200 tonnes and can reach a top speed of 25 knots. The can perform different missions, including surveillance and protection of the Exclusive Economic Zone, protection of maritime traffic, defense of strategic interests, search and rescue operations, relief and humanitarian aid, marine pollution control, prosecution of smuggling, drug trafficking and illegal immigration, surveillance and intelligence, information-gathering, operational or environmental protection and passive electronic warfare.
The contract of the four EEZ patrol vessels and four Littoral Surveillance Ships (BVL), whose construction will involve five million hours of work (1.4569 million hours for Navantia and 3.5807 million hours for its subcontractors) was signed on November 28, 2005.
The first delivery of a Venezuelan patrol boat, the BVL "Guaicamacuto," took place on March 2. Deliveries of the other vessels are scheduled until the end of 2011.
USS San Diego (ACR 6) Shipwreck
Today’s website is the USS San Diego (ACR 6) Shipwreck. Enjoy.
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1886 - Atlanta, the first steel-hulled American cruiser armed with breechloading rifled guns, is commissioned.
1897 - Lt. Robert E. Peary departs on year long Arctic Expedition which makes many important discoveries, including one of largest meteorites, Cape York.
1918 - Armored cruiser USS San Diego (ACR 6) sunk off Fire Island, N.Y. by a mine laid by German U-boat U-156.
1940 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs second Naval Expansion Act.
Photo of the Day
An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) approaches the Republic of Singapore Navy stealth multi-mission frigate RSS Supreme (73).
Gator
