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



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MSW crew-mate Mark Partis (surfsup) shares a wonderful 1/200 KM Bismarck built by a friend over a two year time period.




Royal Navy's Most Advanced Destroyer Sets Course into Service
Source: UK Ministry of Defence

While appearing at Portsmouth Navy Days the first of the Royal Navy's new Type 45 Class destroyers, HMS Daring, was declared formally available for tasking on Saturday 31 July 2010.

HMS Daring was commissioned into the Royal Navy fleet in July 2009. Since then the ship has been undertaking a series of MoD-managed trials and acceptance activities to test and confirm the ship's technical capability and ensure that it is ready to join the Royal Navy as a front line warship.

This period has included Daring's crew undertaking rigorous basic operational sea training and the Type 45 making its first overseas visit, to Ireland.

Now, the 7,500-tonne ship can officially begin to play a key role in various operations around the world.

HMS Daring's ability to operate a range of helicopters from its flight deck and embark up to 60 troops, in addition to the ship's own company, make the warship a versatile Royal Naval asset, able to support land forces and carry out humanitarian missions.
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Peter Luff, said:

"The first in-service date for the Type 45 Class is a significant achievement for both the programme and the Royal Navy. It represents the first step towards delivering the fleet of the future.

"Along with her five sister ships, Daring will set new standards in air defence and will demonstrate her wider ability across the future challenges faced by the Armed Forces. I have no doubt that Daring will provide sterling service throughout its life."
Captain Paddy McAlpine, Daring's Commanding Officer, said:

"Daring represents a step change for the Royal Navy. Her technology and design make her an easy ship to fight with and my ability to control the airspace around the task force is unsurpassed.

"My ship's company and I are proud and privileged to serve in this truly magnificent ship, forging the way for the class. The potential that I have witnessed to date promises that this capability is set to become the cornerstone of the future Royal Navy."
Head of the Type 45 programme, Commodore Steve Brunton, said:

"This milestone is the culmination of a huge amount of hard work over five years of construction, and another two years of trials and development, by 4,000 workers at the Clyde and Portsmouth shipyards, many more at suppliers across the UK, and staff at MOD and in the Royal Navy.

"The strong relationship between MOD, industry and the Royal Navy has been critical to achieving today's success."

HMS Daring was in Portsmouth at the weekend as part of Navy Days, the Royal Navy's annual event that gives the public the chance to meet the people and the ships of the modern Navy.

More than 25,000 visitors flocked to Portsmouth Naval Base for the three-day event which ended on Sunday 1 August.

HMS Daring and sister vessel Dauntless opened their doors to the public along with six other ships, including 'floating hospital' Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Argus, fresh from a recent refit.

Historic ships HMS Victory and HMS Warrior also proved a big draw, as did a BAE Systems exhibition featuring the company's current shipbuilding projects, including the two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, and a glimpse of the future, the Type 26 combat ship, which is expected to enter service in the early 2020s and will replace the Navy's current fleet of Type 22 and 23 frigates.

Commodore Rob Thompson, Naval Base Commander, said:

"Navy Days was a huge success. The mainly dry and warm weather played a part but a big draw was seeing the Royal Navy's ships and personnel at close hand.

"The event proved an exciting opportunity to show the general public the wide role of the Royal Navy and what its men and women are up to across the globe - from taking the fight to the Taliban in Afghanistan to countering pirates in the Gulf of Aden."

HMS Daring is due to undergo further operational training and capability development in preparation for her first operational deployment, planned for 2011.


LCS 1 Demonstrates Its Potential At RIMPAC Exercises
Source: Lexington Institute

Every two years, the United States organizes and hosts the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC). This is the world’s largest maritime exercise, this year involving some 32 ships, 5 submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 20,000 personnel. Participating countries include Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, Singapore and Thailand. It is a clear and powerful demonstration of the value of collaborative defense efforts in the Pacific region.

While RIMPAC has been going on since 1971, this year is notable for, among other things, the first appearance at one of the biennial events of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). USS Freedom, LCS 1, is demonstrating the characteristics that will make the planned fleet of LCS a vital element of the U.S. Navy for decades to come.

The value of the LCS comes from the inherent capabilities of the vessel, its shallow draft and high speed and from its adaptability. A defining feature of the LCS is its ability to deploy modular force packages tailored to specific missions. In this instance, USS Freedom was outfitted for an interdiction mission. It was equipped with the LCS Surface Warfare Mission Package and embarked Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron (MAREXSECRON) 2 and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22. LCS 1 and its onboard units conducted simulated boarding exercises and even participated in the sinking of a target ship.

Both LCS 1 and LCS 2, the USS Independence, will open up new opportunities for naval collaboration between the U.S. and its allies, particularly in the Pacific region. Its modular design will allow the LCS to rapidly switch between the currently planned set of surface warfare, ASW and mine countermeasure missions. Clearly, the inherent flexibility of the LCS design will allow for other combinations of capabilities to be deployed, such as air and missile defense, shore bombardment, humanitarian assistance and air and sea surveillance.

Equally important, both LCS variants offer the potential to equip foreign navies. In the past, U.S. Navy ships have been too expensive and even too capable for all but the richest and most sophisticated foreign navies to procure. LCS will be relatively less expensive and possesses the virtue of an open architecture that will enable foreign navies to customize the ship to meet their needs. There is a tremendous value also to foreign navies operating the same platforms and weapons systems as the U.S. Navy.

RIMPAC 2010 is a demonstration both of the power of collaborative defense efforts and a clear reminder of the central role the United States, in general, and the U.S. Navy, in particular, play in maintaining the peace and stability of the Pacific region. As defense budgets tighten both for the U.S. and many friendly nations, collaboration in regional security will only grow more important. So too will the ability of the United States to provide its friends and allies with the military equipment they need to defend themselves and help secure regional peace.


Northrop Grumman Continues Construction for the Next-Generation Aircraft Carrier, Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)
Source: Northrop Grumman Corp

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. --- Northrop Grumman Corporation lifted two generators weighing over 195,000 pounds each into the aft section of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), currently under construction at the company's Shipbuilding sector in Newport News, Va., yesterday.

The diesel generators supply backup power throughout the ship in the event that power is lost.

"Landing these diesel generators is a significant event for us and is just one example of the many major components the yard is receiving and installing in the ship," said Mike Shawcross, vice president of Newport News' Aircraft Carrier Construction program. "Ford is now about 11 percent complete. We continue to be committed to executing each phase of construction with a focus on first-time quality. We're excited with our progress and construction of the ship."

Named after the 38th president of the United States, Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), whose keel was laid Nov. 14, 2009, is the first ship of the new Gerald R. Ford class. The Ford class will continue the legacy of highly capable U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ship platforms.

Enhancements incorporated into the design include flight deck changes, improved weapons handling systems and a redesigned island, all resulting in increased aircraft sortie generation rates. It will also include new nuclear power plants; increased electrical power generation capacity; allowance for future technologies; and reduced workload for the sailors, translating to a smaller crew size and reduced operating costs for the Navy.




The Battle of Savo Island

Today’s is the 68th anniversary of the Battle of Savo Island. Here is a look at the famous battle.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1815 - Captain Stephen Decatur concludes treaty for the United States with Tripoli.
1842 - Signing of Webster-Ashburton Treaty under which United States and Great Britain agreed to cooperate in suppressing the slave trade.
1865 - Return of Naval Academy to Annapolis after four years at Newport, R.I.
1919 - Construction of rigid airship Shenandoah (ZR 1) is authorized.
1941 - Atlantic Charter Conference is first meeting between President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
1942 - Battle of Savo Island begins; First of many sea battles near Guadalcanal.
1945 - Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Navy weaponeer arms the atomic bomb.
1949 - First use of pilot-ejection seat for emergency escape in U.S. made by Lt. Jack I. Fruin of VF-171 near Walterboro, S.C.


Photo of the Day



The Australian guided-missile frigate HMAS Newcastle (FFG 06).

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