Penny Wise and Pound Foolish, 688 edition

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Kittery, Maine (Dec. 12, 2025) — The improved Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) departs Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to conduct sea trials. The submarine underwent major repairs, structural inspections, and the replacement of mechanical and electrical systems, extending its service life and ensuring the Navy’s long-term fleet readiness. As America’s leader for attack submarine maintenance, repair, and modernization, PNSY is enhancing critical warfighting capabilities by safely delivering high-quality, on-budget, and on-time service to the fleet, ensuring warfighters are battle-ready when called upon. (US Navy photo by Branden Bourque)

The Los Angeles (SSN-688) class submarine is a thing of joy.

Sixty-two mother beautiful 7,000-ton 30-ish knot hunter killers that can carry a mixture of 37 torpedo/TLAM/Harpoon/Mines in their hull, with the latter half also having 12 VLS cells for a little added “room to boom.”

They were a big reason that, when coupled with the older Sturgeon-class “fish boats,” the Navy had 83 SSNs on the list in 1995, a fleet likely never surpassed in human history in terms of cutting-edge hunter killers.

Designed to run 30+ years with a midlife Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) that can take 2-4 years, done at about the 15-19 year mark, the 688s have a very long life planned. The preceding Sturgeons followed a shorter lifecycle, sans refueling but with a less comprehensive mid-life overhaul, but most still served 25 or more years in commission.

However, in the interest of saving a buck or billion, between 1995 and 2008, the Navy elected to lay up 11 of these dedicated underwater Swiss army knives at their midlife point, sending Los Angeles class sisters USS Baton Rouge, Omaha, Cincinnati, Groton, Birmingham, New York City, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Boston, Baltimore, and Atlanta to recycling after just 15 or so years in operation rather than springing for a RCOH. Another six boats (USS Portsmouth, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Rickover, Augusta, Honolulu, and Salt Lake City) inside the same period were retired in their early 20s–a full decade early– due to their previously planned RCOH cancelled.

So 17 of 62, just over one-quarter of the class, were given the pink slip while there was still work to be done. That works out to 225~ planned submarine years that just evaporated, and that is a lowball estimate. These were 225 years that were already promised by previous SECNAVs and CNOs, Congresses, and Presidents. On hulls that were already paid for by the taxpayers.

This left those 688s still on the payroll to work longer and harder. The two most recently decommissioned, USS Key West (SSN-722) and Helena (SSN-725), were in commission just over 38 years.

Sure, sure, you can argue that the billions saved by scrapping 17 gently used SSNs helped make the current 26 Virginia-class subs (which started construction in 2000) more affordable, but that program buildout is running behind schedule, and, counting both the 688s that were commissioned early and those that weren’t, 36 Los Angeles-class boats have been retired.

Today, the Navy just has 50-52 SSNs in service, with the force skewing to slightly more Virginias (24 commissioned, two delivered pending commissioning), followed by 23 remaining 688s, and three super secret duty Seawolves. This is expected to decline to around 40 or so as the 688s are being retired faster than the Viginias are being built (and Australia also wants some SSNs of their own)

Thus, you see the shortfall in SSN hulls available.

But wait, the Navy has pulled a tiny rabbit out of the hat by extending the service life of up to five Los Angeles SSNs to help mitigate the gap.

To that aim, USS Cheyenne (SSN 773), a Block III 688i and the last Los Angeles-class boat commissioned in 1996, last week completed its Engineered Refueling Overhaul availability as the first submarine to undergo an overhaul as part of the Service Life Extension Program — extending her total service life beyond 44 years.

The Cheyenne Project Team, encompassing various trade workers, engineers, and material support personnel at PNSY, worked alongside the ship’s crew to return Cheyenne back to the fleet as a battle-ready Navy asset — an achievement that advances the effort to close the gap in ready attack submarines. This milestone ensures the U.S. Submarine Force remains the most lethal, capable, and feared combat force in the world.

Make it make sense that the same Navy that killed 15-year-old members of Cheyenne’s class now wants her to keep prowling well past her 40s.

Different times and suffering from different crimes, I suppose.

Kittery, Maine (Dec. 12, 2025) — The improved Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) departs Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to conduct sea trials. The submarine underwent major repairs, structural inspections, and the replacement of mechanical and electrical systems, extending its service life and ensuring the Navy’s long-term fleet readiness. As America’s leader for attack submarine maintenance, repair, and modernization, PNSY is enhancing critical warfighting capabilities by safely delivering high-quality, on-budget, and on-time service to the fleet, ensuring warfighters are battle-ready when called upon. (US Navy photo by Branden Bourque)

Getting Some Sun with the Boys

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Some 85 years ago today. 6th Australian Division, Cyrenaica, Libya. 29 December 1940. Official wartime caption: “Near Bardia, one of the BREN gun posts is placed to protect the artillery batteries from dive bombers. Left to Right: Gunners N.H. McLeod and Whalen, Bombardier Greenwood.” Note the Boys .55 caliber anti-tank/anti-material gun and its distinctive “donut” style muzzle break.

Negative by James Francis (Frank) Hurley, Australian War Memorial No. 004944

Formed in September 1939 from the 16th (New South Wales), 17th (Victoria), and 18th Australian Infantry Brigades, the 6th Australian Infantry Division Brigade sailed for the I Australian Corps in the Middle East via brigade-sized lifts between 20 January and 8 May 1940 with the last (the 18th Bde) diverted to England at the time of Dunkirk. The carved-out brigade was replaced by the newly formed 19th Bde, raised in Palestine from the 2/4th, 2/8th, and 2/11th Battalions, in November 1940. (The 18th, having spent six months on defensive duties in England, finally reached North Africa in January 1941, where it was attached to the Australian 7th Division).
 
The 6th Australian Division entered combat at Fort Maddalena and Garn el Grein on 11 and 12 December 1940 and would see lots of action during Operation Compass in and around Tobruk, where the division lost 214 men killed, 790 injured and 21 captured– traded for a part in capturing 65,000 Italians by 5 February 1941. 
 

Members of C Company (mostly from 14 Platoon), Australian 2/11th Infantry Battalion, part of the 6th Division’s 19th Bde, having penetrated the outer defenses of Tobruk, assemble again on the escarpment on the south side of the harbor after attacking anti-aircraft gun positions, on 22 January 1941. San Giorgio is one of the plumes in the background. Burning fuel oil tanks at the port are the second. AWM

Rushed to Greece in March 1941, the 6th Division suffered more than 2,800 casualties– most of those taken prisoner– in the withdrawal from Greece. Used to capture Syria from the Vichy French, post-Pearl Harbor/Darwin, the 6th was pulled from Syrian garrison duty and rushed home where they soon were allowed to bask in the “joy” of the Kokoda trail and the New Guinea campaign. 
 
Disbanded in early 1946, during its six-year war, over 40,000 Australians served in the division’s ranks, fighting across three continents from Libya to Greece to Syria and New Guinea. Of these, 1,763 were killed in action or died, a further 3,978 were wounded and a total of 5,153 men became prisoners of war. 

M948 Bayonet Alert!

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I am a bayonet freak.

Perhaps even a bayonet superfreak with probably 150-200 in my collection dating back to the 1700s and often opining on them.

So, when I saw that Centerfire Systems has Portuguese FBP m/948 bayonets on sale in three grades from $39 to $59, I was all in. I mean, who has too many Portuguese bayonets on hand?

My “good condition” FBP m/968 bayonet. At some 11.75 inches long overall, it has a dagger-style point and double edged 7-inch blade with a steel scabbard. It is probably the most “fighting knife” oriented bayonet I have ever encountered.

Note the lack of a muzzle ring and a very Mauser-style (though it will not fit a Mauser) locking mechanism on the rear. I also love the fact that it has wood grip panels rather than plastic, a rarity in a Cold War-era bayonet.

Notice the similarities between the m/948 bayonet and the German-made Portuguese Mauser M937A Rifle bayonet

These were all made between 1948 and 1988, with the bulk in the 1960s. As such, they popped up in several African hot spots in any number of hands and are still sometimes encountered on the continent.

What was the m/948?

Portugal, which suffered over 30,000 casualties serving with its British allies in the Great War, rearmed in the 1930s with what eventually turned into 150,000 German-made (and Swazi-marked) Mauser-Werke AG Oberndorf 98K bolt-action rifles (adopted as the Espingarda Mod.937). These were augmented by Steyr MP-34 sub guns dubbed the Pistola Metralhadora (machine pistol) m/938 (in 7.65 mm) and m/942 (in 9 mm).

While they largely sat out WWII but aligned with London and Washington (keeping Franco’s Spain neutral in the process), the Cold War soon came around, and Portugal was one of the original 12 NATO alliance members in 1949. This meant the country needed to modernize its forces should it be forced to fight the Soviets.

This need was kicked into overdrive when all of Portugal’s overseas territories slowly slid into revolt– with a little help from Moscow. What followed was the 13-year (February 1961 to April 1974) Guerra do Ultramar (The Overseas War), spent fighting Communist-backed insurgent guerrillas in the country’s African colonies of Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau, as well as in East Timor and Goa in the Indian Ocean.

In other words, the Portuguese needed new guns. Lots of them.

Some 800,000 Portuguese military and colonial paramilitary members fought in the Guerra do Ultramar during the Cold War, with an average of 100,000 deployed overseas at any given time. To arm these troops, Lisbon’s Fábrica Militar de Braço de Prata (FBP) factory began licensed production of HK G3 (Espingarda Automática m/961) rifles and HK21 (m/968) machine guns in 7.62 NATO, as well as a locally designed m/968 60mm patrol mortar, and the m/948 sub-machine gun.

The Portuguese also purchased small numbers of Belgian-made FN FALs (13,470, designated the m/962) and Dutch-made AR-10s (about 4,500, designated m/961) to help fill their needs until the home-built HKs came online. As you can see, all was well within the NATO extended family.

Designed in the late 1940s by Portuguese artillery Major Gonçalves Cardoso, the FBP m/948 was a simple blow-back action 9mm open bolt SMG that borrowed elements from the German MP40 (bolt and recoil assembly, barrel and nut design), British STEN (mags, mag release, ejector), and the American M3 Grease Gun (stock, sights, grip, etc). The imitation is so complete that m/948 bolts can apparently be used in MP40s as a drop-in replacement, and the gun readily accepts STEN mags.

The FBP m/948 was a simple spot-welded “tube gun” made from inexpensive stampings that borrowed from the MP40, STEN, and M3. This intact model in the IWM collection, IWM (FIR 10392)

Production was only about 20-30,000 guns, mostly in the 1960s, and they were issued primarily to NCOs, commandos, and guards– which meant they were also often captured and used against Portuguese units as well.

These production numbers from FBP are available:

“In 1963, 11,867 G-3s and 5,572 FBP submachine guns were manufactured; in 1964, there were 23,724 and 6,561; in 1969, the numbers were 45,660 and 694. In total, until 1988, the factory produced 442,197 G3 and 19,113 FBP submachine guns.” (Pinto, Renato. Portugal and Weapons – A History of Small Arms and Military Industries. Colibri, 2024.)

Guerrillas of the PAIGC on Como Island with a motley accumulation of weapons, including PPsh, PPS, and FBP SMGs. The PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde) was a communist organization formed in 1956 and openly backed by the Soviets.

A Portuguese air force T-6 Texan, and a Dornier Do 27, atCazombo field, Angola, guarded by a sentinel with an FBP. The Portuguese used an amazing 250 T-6s and 150 Do-27s in the African Bush Wars, being an ideal combo for COIN and transport/liaison work from small fields. 

Note the distinctive bayonet lug on the m/948 and its STEN mag. 

The gun was made in a semi-auto variant (m/963) as well as one with a cooling sleeve around the barrel (m/976).

The FBP factory later became part of the unified national defense industries system (INDEP) and closed its doors in the early 1990s, with its last product being the even simpler blowback action Lusa submachine gun, which, designed to replace the m/948, was never put into production; its technical data package was sold to U.S. investors and faded into history.

It seems Portugal has been finally disposing of the last m/948s on hand over the past 10-12 years, and, while I’ve seen the bayonets pop up as components of torched parts kits, seeing them by themselves in good condition for under $100 was a no-brainer.

I’d recommend grabbing one while you can.

Just Cause Sheridans

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Following up on the recent mention of the anniversary of Just Cause here on the blog, I would be remiss to point out something super interesting in that 1989 intervention.

It was the only instance of the M-551 Sheridan Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle (AR/AAV) being used exactly as it was designed: as an airdropped light tank.

Crewed by the 3rd Battalion of the 73rd Armor Regiment, 82nd Airborne, the 10 M-551A1s that were hurled to the earth from speeding C-141 Starlifters on 20 December 1989, were the only air drop into combat of the vehicle.

One was damaged and another destroyed when their chutes failed to deploy properly (an 80 percent success rate!), but the use in Panama of the eight functional survivors was “considered highly successful.”

The Sheridan went on to see combat once again in Desert Storm (being the first American Army armor on the ground) and run around the Mojave with the NTC for years, but other than Panama, its claim to fame was in Vietnam.

Albeit without airdrops.

CZ wins big German military pistol contract

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It would seem that the ghosts of 1938 have been exorcised, to a degree anyway.

Back in July, it looked like CZ was going to get a €25 million award for the Bundeswehr’s new P13 pistol. The award will be for 62,000 pistols first, with an option for as many as 186,000 guns, with an aim to replace the hard-serving polymer-framed hammer-fired 9mm P8A1 pistol, a variant of the HK USP, which has been in service since 1994.

The HK P8 compared to the CZP10. Eger

Well, it looks like the deal went through, with CZ releasing more details last week.

CZ was awarded this contract following an open international tender, prevailing over several global competitors. The pistols designated as P13 for the Bundeswehr are based on the CZ P-10 C OR (Optics-Ready) model, featuring a Flat Dark Earth (FDE) finish. It is a modern striker-fired service pistol designed for professional use, renowned for its reliability, durability, and intuitive handling. It features excellent ergonomics, high magazine capacity, and precise construction, making it a preferred choice among military and law enforcement customers in many countries.

CZ will work closely with its authorized partner in Germany, POL-TEC GmbH & Co., to fulfil the contract and provide comprehensive support to the Bundeswehr.

Myrtle Lighting the Way: 5,380 nautical miles on a 154-footer

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The USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) crew returns home Dec. 14, 2025, after completing a successful expeditionary patrol under Operation Blue Pacific, deepening partnerships with Pacific nations and bolstering maritime security in the region. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Mandy Thomas) 251214-G-G0020-7958

The tired crew of the 154-foot Sentinel (Webber)-class fast response cutter USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) returned home to Guam last week, capping a 5,380nm expeditionary patrol that lasted just under a month (17 November to 14 December) under Operation Blue Pacific. Of that, 15 days were dedicated to” providing a persistent presence in the exclusive economic zones of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau.”

They also conducted five community events, including a volleyball game with locals, swimming lessons for children, and tours of the cutter.

“The patrol went beyond simple transit. It focused on building maritime security, engaging directly with Pacific partners, and enforcing international maritime law through shared operations,” notes the service.

Keep in mind that the FSM and Palau are being highly courted by Chinese interests, as are just about every island chain between Guam and the Philippines and Australia and Taiwan. So this is truly a hearts and minds mission in addition to showing the flag.

That’s why the two dozen Coasties aboard the 154-footer are punching above their weight class.

Hazard is the 39th FRC, named in honor of the first enlisted woman in the U.S. Coast Guard who served as an electrician and radio operator in the Great War.

She is one of three cutters of her class currently based in Guam and arrived there five years ago, replacing two aging 110-foot Island-class WPBs.

Santa Rita, Guam (Sept. 24, 2020) Coast Guard Cutter Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) enters Apra Harbor before arriving at its new homeport in Santa Rita, Guam. The new Fast Response Cutter (FRC) is the first of three scheduled to be stationed on Guam and is replacing the 30-year old 110-foot Island-class patrol boats. FRCs are equipped with new advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems and boast greater range and endurance. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class MacAdam Kane Weissman)

‘She’s All Ablaze’

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In the hard Christmas of 1915, the gleaming new “Superdreadnought” USS New York (Battleship No. 34) was resting in the Hudson. Bedecked with Christmas trees from her yardarms and one huge Douglas fir on the roof of A Turret, the warship hosted 100 needy children on a tour.

USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com, via Navsource. https://www.navsource.org/archives/01/34a.htm

Then came a large Christmas Party attended by members of the battleship’s crew, who all chipped into the fund to buy the kiddies some gifts to make their season bright.

From a period paper published on 26 December 1915:

When Chief Bos’n’s Mate ‘Arry Percival of the superdreadnought New York slipped his ‘and around ‘is waistline to the top of ‘s pocket and nonchalantly withdrew there from something which looked ever so much like a regular flask filled with an amber-colored something that made the grape juice in the punch bowl on the reporters’ table blush a deeper purple, everyone in the foc’sle was too busy feeding his or her’s Christmas face to gasp at ‘Arry’s apparent audacity. But it wasn’t that at all, and nobody should have gasped anyhow if anyone had time to indulge in an outburst.

So, Mr. Percival proceeded to justify his lack of respect for h’ by sprinkling a great big melon-shaped plum pudding with what is technically known on shipboard as the illuminating gear, same being the contents of the flask-like affair from the Chief Bos’n’s Mate’s ‘ip pocket. Then he touched a lighted match to the steaming dish and surveyed the dancing blue flames with evident satisfaction. The next instant, Mr. Percival lifted the huge platter in his arms and paraded his burden along as happy a Christmas table as yesterday knew.

“‘Ere you go, children,” beamed the Chief Bos’n’s Mate. “She’s all ablaze.”

And the “Ahs ” and “Ums” that greeted his announcement simply smothered the flames as he set the dish before the New York’s guests in the center of the long mess table.

Fast forward exactly 30 years, and after Great War service in Battleship Division Nine as reinforcement for the British Grand Fleet, earning three battle stars for her WWII service that included 1,088 operational days with the Atlantic Fleet and another 276 in the Pacific, firing over 53,000 shells in anger, she was docked in the Hudson once again.

A tired and very well-traveled war vet.

From her amazing 229-page WWII cruise book digitized online via the Bangor Public Library, the “Christmas Ship” in December 1945:

Father Christmas’s Cold War Lighthouse Run

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Put into service in 1967, the Leuchtturm Kiel stands some four miles offshore of Kiel in the shallows of the Kieler Außenförde and serves as both the pilot station for the busy terminal and a manned aid to navigation– the only one of its type in use in Germany.

Soon after it was established, each December saw Weihnachtsmann, Father Christmas, hitch a ride out to the station to deliver holiday treats to the keepers and pilots, with his traditional sleigh or horse replaced by a fast attack craft of the Warnemünde-based 7. Schnellbootgeschwader (the 7th Fast Patrol Boat Squadron, 7. SG or 7. S-geschwader), a unit that had only been formed a few years earlier, in 1961.

It was a no doubt fast trip of about 75 nm across the Holsatian littoral.

Father Christmas on a Lürssen-built 42m Type 142 Zobel-class schnellboot of 7. SG, delivering goodies to Leuchtturm Kiel in December 1972. (Foto: Bundeswehr/Archiv)

And via a Type 143 Albatros-class FAC of the West German 7. Schnellbootgeschwader aus Kiel im Jahr 1985 den Weihnachtsmann (Foto: Bundeswehr/Archiv WBK I „Küste“)

(Foto: Bundeswehr/Archiv WBK I „Küste“)

Type 143A Gephard class Hyäne (P6130) (S80) of 7. SG on the Leuchtturm Kiel run in December 1994, complete with a Santa cap on her stern RAM launcher.

Typically equipped with 10 boats and two small 2,300-ton/324-foot Rhein-class tenders, 7. Schnellbootgeschwader kept watch over their stretch of the Baltic with jaunts to Norwegian fjords on NATO exercises.

The last four boats of 7. SG (Hermelin, Frettchen, Hyäne, and Zobel) stood down on 16 November 2016, capping a 55-year run for the squadron and logging over 350,000nm in patrols.

Santa gets out to the lighthouse by other means these days, but he surely remembers his schnellboot days.

Christmas 1944 ‘Somewhere in England’

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No Warship Wednesday today for obvious reasons.

But I do have something special for you guys (and we do have a companion piece publishing tomorrow)

While poking around my normal haunts of antique stores, library sales, and the like, I came across an old book and bought it. No surprise.

A bigger surprise was finding this old veteran tucked in between the pages, used as a bookmark. It is well-traveled and yellowed, printed on cheap paper using wartime-quality ink.

But it has traveled 81 years to be here and deserves a mention.

I am presenting you with the program and menu for the 1944 Christmas dinner aboard the United States Landing Ship (Tanks) 294, at the time, “somewhere in England.”

I thought one of the more humorous parts was that “Cigarettes!” with an exclamation point is listed under desserts.

USS LST-294 gets hardly a mention in naval history, but she was there. I mean t-h-e-r-e kinda there. Like the first wave of D-Day on Omaha Beach, kinda there. And that was just over four months after she commissioned.

USS LST-294 high and dry on the beach at Normandy, June 1944.

Cigarettes! Indeed.

Smoke ’em if you got ’em, boys.

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