Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
On Display - Fort Drum - 1930's
MSW Crew member Peter Fulgoney shares a wonderful build of the Concrete Battleship - Fort Drum.
First Gerald R. Ford-Class Carrier Gets Superlift Toward Completion
Source: Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. --- Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the lead ship in the new class of U.S. Navy super carriers, took another step toward completion Saturday as Huntington Ingalls Industries erected a 945-ton superlift near the stern of the ship. Gerald R. Ford is being built using modular construction, a process where smaller sections of the ship are welded together to form large structural units called superlifts. These superlifts are pre-outfitted and then lifted into the construction dry dock with the shipyard's 1050-metric ton crane.
The superlift erected on Gerald R. Ford Saturday contains a diesel generator room, a pump room, an oily water waste pump room, 16 complete tanks and 18 partial tanks that will be completed when the superlift is welded to the rest of the ship. The superlift is assembled from 18 smaller structural units supplied by the steel fabrication and assembly division. It is one of 162 total superlifts that comprise the ship.
"This superlift has been constructed over the past 16 months by our talented shipbuilders," said Rolf Bartschi, vice president of the CVN 78 Program. "The quality of their work and the pride they have in constructing this great ship is inspirational. It is one of the heaviest superlifts we will construct and lift into the dock."
Gerald R. Ford represents the next-generation class of aircraft carriers. The Ford class features an enhanced flight deck with increased aircraft sortie rates, improved weapons movement, a redesigned island, a new nuclear power plant, electromagnetic catapults and growth margin for future technologies and reduced manning. The Gerald R. Ford's keel was laid Nov. 14, 2009, and the christening will occur in 2013 with delivery to the U.S. Navy in 2015. Long-lead material procurement for the second ship of the class, the currently unnamed CVN 79, began in 2009.
Philippine Navy Studies Submarine Purchase
Source: Forecast International
MANILA --- The Philippine Navy is reported to be considering the establishment of a submarine fleet. The Navy may acquire the submarine no later than 2020, depending on the political and administrative atmosphere.
A feasibility assessment of the proposal is currently in hand. The assessment will first be presented to Navy officials before being submitted to the Armed Forces of the Philippine General Headquarters and the Department of National Defense.
How the Philippine Navy will fund the acquisition of a number of submarines when it is only just barely capable of keeping its current fleet in commission has not been explained. Nor has the precise role of the submarines been identified, given the operational and tactical environment in which the Philippine Navy operates.
HMS Shannon captures USS Chesapeake
Today is the anniversary of the HMS Shannon capturing the USS Chesapeake. It was during this battle the famous words “Don’t give up the ship!” were said.
World War 2 Cruisers
Today’s website is World War 2 Cruisers. Enjoy.
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1813 - HMS Shannon captures USS Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence. As the mortally wounded Lawrence was carried below, he ordered, "Tell the men to fire faster! Don't give up the ship!" These words would live on in naval history. Oliver Hazard Perry honored his dead friend Lawrence when he had the motto sewn onto the private battle flag flown during the Battle of Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 1813.
1871 - Rear Adm. Rodgers lands in Korea with a party of Sailors and Marines and captures five forts to secure protection for U.S. citizens after Americans were fired upon and murdered.
1914 - General Order 99 prohibits alcohol aboard naval vessels, or at navy yards or stations.
1915 - First contract for lighter-than-air craft for Navy.
1939 - Director of the Naval Research Laboratory, Capt. Hollis M. Cooley, proposes research in atomic energy for future use in nuclear powered submarine.
1944 - ZP-14 Airships complete first crossing of Atlantic by non-rigid lighter-than-air aircraft.
1954 - First test of steam catapult from USS Hancock (CV/CVA 19).
Diorama Idea of the Day
USS Guadalcanal in heavy seas. To see the original high resolution photo, click here.
Gator
