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



On Display - S-100 Schnellboot

New MSW crew-mate Ed Sarao (liberator) sends in a dazzling display of his build of Italeri Models 1/35 scale S-100 Schnellboot in this "On Display" feature.


On Display - IJN Light Cruiser Kinu

New MSW crew-mate Veniamin Litvin (Litvin70) shares a gallery of images of his fine build of IJN Light Cruiser Kinu as seen in 1942, in this "On Display" feature.




Hometown pride bubbles over as USS Fort Worth is christened
Source: Star-Telegram

MARINETTE, Wis. -- Twenty-seven years in the Navy, and even Capt. T.D. Smyers had never seen anything like it.
Just seconds after the resounding thunk of a champagne bottle hitting the bow of the USS Fort Worth, a strike delivered left-handed and low by U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, the ship slid down its elevated pier-side moorings and hit the water for the first time, listing heavily to starboard before righting, just as designed.

"That was extremely cool," said Smyers, commander of Naval Air Station Fort Worth and an aviator unaccustomed to the traditions of the ship side of the Navy. "To have all these people of Fort Worth come to frigid Wisconsin brings both the Navy and the city closer together at a crucial time in both of their histories. This has brought them together in a way never done before." He's right.



After 161 years of Fort Worth history and 235 years of the Navy, Saturday's christening at the Marinette Marine shipyards marked the first time a military vessel will bear the city's name.
"I have learned just how much pride there is in our city that we have come to be a part of the United States Navy fleet," said Mayor Mike Moncrief, who attended with about 60 civic and business leaders. "This ship will not only sail with the city's name, it will sail with our prayers for all those who serve our country and their families."

The littoral combat ship, 113 feet keel to mast and 389 feet long, is only the third of its kind and represents what Navy Rear Adm. David Lewis described as a "seminal shift" in building combat ships.
For 400 years, navies have built ships around weapons, he said, but the "littoral combat ship changes all that." Such ships were designed for speed, agility and flexibility, allowing crews to change weapons and mission packages within a day.

Because they can operate in water 20 feet deep, the ships also provide the Navy an option in coastal areas that it doesn't have with its larger blue-water vessels. The ship was launched into the Menominee River.
Built in Marinette by a Lockheed Martin-led contracting team at a reported cost of $480 million, the ship technically won't become the USS Fort Worth until it is commissioned in 2012. But it was already referred to as "Fort Worth" by Saturday's speakers, a blend of naval officials and representatives of Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan and the defense contractors.

Fort Worth resident and former Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, who pushed for the ships as Navy secretary after 9-11, said the ship represents close to 10 years of work for him. "For me personally, this is the culmination of a long journey."

After the first two littoral combat ships, the USS Freedom and USS Independence, were under construction, the Navy canceled future contracts because of spiraling costs and delays. Granger wasn't sure that Fort Worth would get a namesake ship.

But Assistant Navy Secretary Sean Stackley said that the Lockheed team and another led by General Dynamics, which is building a differently designed littoral, brought down costs and that the program was revived. The Navy, pleased with how the first two ships performed in testing, wants Congress to give it permission, by mid-December, to buy 10 ships from each company.

"We are working this every day on the Hill," Stackley said. Saturday's event took place on a breezy morning under gray skies with temperatures in the 20s. After hundreds of guests, including many workers who built the ship, heard more than an hour of speeches inside an assembly building, the activity shifted outside for Granger, the ship's sponsor, to do the honors.

"I christen thee 'Fort Worth,' and may God bless all the men and women who sail in her," she said before swinging the bottle.

Granger said Fort Worth is particularly proud of the ship because of its long relationship with the military, dating to Maj. Ripley Arnold's arrival with the 2nd Dragoons in the late 1840s.

"We deserve this honor because of our deep-rooted connection to our nation's armed forces in every chapter of our history," she said.
The future USS Fort Worth, as numerous naval officers noted, is nothing if not fast. It is powered by two diesel engines and two gas turbines that produce in excess of 100,000 horsepower that give it the ability to go from a standstill to 40 knots in a bit over a minute.

It doesn't have a propeller. Instead, it uses water jets that enable it to maneuver faster, said Joe North, director of the littoral program for Lockheed.
"It's easily the fastest surface combatant ship in the Navy today," North said. "This ship will keep up with a go-fast boat, and with its size, people won't know what to do about it."

Because the Navy wanted a crew of only 40, compared with a destroyer's crew of about 250, many jobs on the ship are automated. For instance, the engine rooms are unmanned, and the bridge can operate with only three people.
A small crew also means that sailors have a bit more privacy. The largest stateroom, for the most junior sailors, holds eight people.

Senior Chief Richard Henson, the ranking enlisted sailor on the "blue crew" and a 23-year Navy veteran, said the sailors selected for the ship are excited about the opportunities and responsibilities of being in a small crew.
"We're going to have sailors who are the sole experts in their field in several areas. ... Every sailor is vitally important."


Keen Sword 2011 Brings US and Japanese Sailors Together
Source: US Navy

PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel and their U.S. counterparts aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) work side-by-side Dec. 5 to increase interoperability and improve the alliance during Keen Sword 2011.

Keen Sword officially kicked off on Dec. 3 with dozens of ships from the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) taking part. The exercise places a major focus on integrated air and missile defense as a key component in the defense of Japan.

"We have already gained ground in terms of increasing our interoperability," said Adm. Umio Otsuka of the JMSDF. "This exercise does a good job of preparing us to work as one entity although we are two individual nations."

Nearly 30 Sailors from the JMSDF are aboard USS George Washington working side-by-side with their U.S. Navy counterparts. From monitoring the waters for enemy contacts to being fully integrated with the Commander Task Force 70 (CTF 70) staff, these Japanese Sailors have overnight, merged their skill sets with the U.S. Navy with both nationalities learning from each other.

"With the cooperation from the crew of GW, this exercise has allowed us to learn about new tactics and technology," said Capt. Atsushi Tanaka of the JMSDF.

From the flight deck of USS George Washington, one doesn't have to look far to observe the interoperability of the U.S. Navy and the JMSDF. The USNS Tippecanoe conducted a Fueling at Sea (FAS) Dec. 5 with the Japanese ships, JS Hyuga, JS Ikazuchi and the JS Kongo. Shortly thereafter, the JS Ikazuchi pulled alongside GW to practice the always challenging maneuver of sailing next to a carrier while conducting a FAS. The two ships successfully maintained their course less than 150 yards apart.

"Today's successful FAS is a testament to the excellent Sailors from both of our navies. Both the JMSDF and the U.S. Navy train very hard to maintain a high safety standard and this part of the exercise demonstrated our professionalism and ability to get the job done together," said Capt. David Lausman, George Washington's commanding officer.

Keen Sword 2011 is the tenth joint-bilateral field training exercise since 1986 involving Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and the United States military. The timing of this exercise also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the signing of the US-Japan Cooperation and Security Treaty.

The exercise runs until Dec.10 and involves more than 10,500 military personnel from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps at military bases throughout mainland Japan, Okinawa and in the waters surrounding Japan.




USS Jacob Jones (DD 61)

Today’s website is the USS Jacob Jones (DD 61). Enjoy.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1830 - The Naval Observatory, the first U.S. national observatory, was established in Washington, D.C., under the command of Lt. Louis Malesherbes.
1901 - The first report on the Ship Model Basin at the Washington Navy Yard was issued by Naval constructor David W. Taylor, who designed the basin. It's the first facility of this type in U.S. to test hull shapes.
1917 - German submarine torpedoes sink USS Jacob Jones (DD 61) off England.
1968 - Operation Giant Slingshot began in Mekong Delta.


Photo of the Day



The Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO 199) refuels the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers Ikazuchi (DD-107) and Kongo (DDG-173).

Gator