Sure, it is not perfect, but it is a better plan than not having a frigate at all, which is what we are doing now. Just wish they at least had 16 VLS cells and some torpedo tubes along with the sensors to use them, that’s all I’m saying…
Via DoW:
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is being awarded a $282,885,933 cost-plus-award-fee contract for FF(X) class frigate lead yard support. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed by April 2028. Fiscal 2026 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $59,092,397 (73%); and fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $21,500,339 (27%), will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(2) (unusual and compelling urgency). Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-26-C-2306).
Of course, there is also a push to perhaps buy COTS surface escorts from Japan and/or South Korea, which brings us to the launch this week of the ROK Navy’s fourth FFX Batch-III Frigate, ROKS Jeju (FFG-832).
Jeju is a 3,600-ton-class next-generation frigate, with a full-load displacement of approximately 4,300 tons. The ship is 423 feet long and can reach a maximum speed of 30 knots on a CODEOG plant. She will carry a 5-inch gun (YES!), 16-cell VLS, two triple ASW tubes, 8 TLAM/SLAM-ER equivalents, and a CIWS.
I mean, folks love Hyundai, Kia, LG, and Samsung over here…
A Royal Navy patrol from the Battle-class fleet destroyerHMS Barrosa (D68), aboard a perau, on a coastal patrol in Brunei during the defense of that country from neighboring Indonesia.
Official caption: “Navy patrols hunt arms smugglers in Borneo. April 1964, off the coast of Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah. To assist the Royal Navy’s constant search for arms and ammunition smuggling, the sultan of Brunei provided specially built peraus, small craft that are particularly maneuverable in the narrow channels between mango swamps.”
IWM (A 34819)
The rating in the foreground is armed with a Lanchester “machine carbine,” that curious unlicenced British knockoff of the German C.G. Haenel MP28/II submachine gun. That design, attributed to the famous Hugo Schmeisser, was itself an improvement of the Great War-era Bergmann Maschinenpistole 18, a 9mm blowback-action open bolt burp gun that weighed a hefty 11 pounds, sans ammo.
Lanchester Machine Carbine 9mm MK 1 via Royal Armouries, is basically an unlicensed MP28 with some tweaks
In British service, the Lanchester– so named after the supervisor at the Sterling Armaments Company where it was initially produced during WWII– was a bit lighter (“only” 9.5 pounds) and could use either a purpose-made (though almost impossible to fully load) 50-round stick mag or the common 32-round Sten magazine.
Oh yeah, and it also accepted the outlandishly long 22-inch P07 bayonet.
Boatswain of the Royal Australian Navy with a Lanchester during WWII
1943 Devonport Dockyard, Nov 25, 1943, U-536 survivors brought in by crews of HMCS Snowberry, HMS Tweed, and HMCS Calgary. Note the Lanchester SMG
With a whopping 95,469 Lanchesters cranked out by Sterling, Greener (the famous shotgun folks), and Boss (another famous scattergun maker), most went to the Royal Navy and Commonwealth sister services, who kept them in service into the 1970s, when they were phased out in favor of the…Sterling.
A group of 19 Douglas AD Skyraiders forms the letters “LC” as they fly over their home, the recently recommissioned “Long Hull” Essex-class fleet carrier USS Lake Champlain (CVA-39)on 30 April 1956.
U.S. Navy photo from the USS Lake Champlain (CVA-39) 1955-1956 cruise book
The aircraft are from Carrier Air Group 6 (CVG-6), which accompanied “Champ” on a six-month Mediterranean deployment from October 1955 to April 1956, where she carried to AD units (VMA-324 and VA-25) along with a squadron of FJ-3 Fury (VF-33), another of F2H-3 Banshee (VF-62), and one of F9F-8 Cougars (VF-74).
Laid down in drydock by the Norfolk Navy Yard on the Ides of March 1943, the future CV-39 launched on 2 November 1944 and commissioned 3 June 1945, putting her just a skosh too late to the Big Show and had to spend the days immediately after WWII in Magic Carpet duties instead.
Retired to the “Mothball Fleet” by February 1947, Champ was recalled to active duty during Korea and was active off that peninsula with CVG-4 from 11 June to 27 July 1953, averaging 23 helicopter evolutions per day interspersed with as many as 147 combat sorties per day.
Following Korea, she was sent on a series of five different Med cruises and eight shorter Atlantic deployments, and joined in the naval quarantine of Cuba, but her biggest claim to fame was in supporting NASA by recovering Mercury 3 (5 May 1961), Gemini 3 (19 January 1965), and Gemini 5 (29 August 1965).
“Escorting Gemini V to USS Lake Champlain.” USS Dupont was the closest ship for the recovery of Gemini 5. Navy divers from the destroyer recovered the astronauts and transferred them via helicopter to USS Lake Champlain. Painting, Watercolor on Paper; by Luis Llorente; 1965; Unframed Dimensions 30H X 22W Accession #: 88-162-CO
88-162-CT These sketches show the sequence of retrieving the command module – recovery by the UDT team, Gemini 5
Champ was decommissioned in May 1966 and subsequently scrapped in 1972. Although her keel had been laid 29 years prior, she had only spent about 17 of those on active duty.
Her ship’s motto, as befitting her name, was Excelsior.
If you enjoy my always ad-free Warship Wednesday content, you can support it by buying me a cup of joe at https://buymeacoffee.com/lsozi As Henk says: “Warship Coffee – no sugar, just a pinch of salt!”
Warship Wednesday (on a Thursday) 30 April 2026: 695 Feet of Glory
Official Royal Navy Photograph, from the All-Hands collection at the Naval History and Heritage Command. NH 97044
Above we see a Fleet Air Arm Hawker Sea Fury F.B.11, VR-943, of No.804 Squadron, take to the air of the British Colossus-class light fleet carrier HMS Glory (R62)for a combat mission during the Korean War, circa June 1951. Note the Fury’s invasion stripes to keep UN allies unfamiliar with the type from engaging it, and the “R” tail flash, denoting her as belonging to Glory’s 14th Carrier Air Group.
Completed too late for much combat in WWII, Glory earned her keep off Korea, completing 25 highly active patrols across three tours between April 1951– arriving on station some 75 years ago this week– and May 1953.
The Colossus class
Our girl was one of 16 (planned) “1942 Design Light Fleet Carriers” for the RN. This series, broken up into Colossus and Majestic-class sub-variants, was nifty 19,500-ton, 695-foot-long carriers that the U.S. Navy would have classified at the time as a CVL or light carrier.
They were slower than the fast fleet carriers at just 25 knots with all four 3-drum Admiralty boilers lit and glowing red, but they had long legs (over 14,000 miles at cruising speed), which allowed them to cross the Atlantic escorting convoys, travel to the Pacific to retake lost colonies, or remain on station in the South Atlantic or the Indian Ocean for weeks.
The classes’ 1946 Jane’s entry.
Ditching the full armored decks of the RN’s larger carriers, these light boys only had 10mm mantlets around aircraft torpedo warhead rooms while longitudinal watertight bulkheads covered machinery spaces.
A sort of “pocket” fleet carrier, they could be manned by just 850 crew if needed– not counting their air group personnel and Marine detachment, which could bring her embarked numbers up to 1,300– while still being able to carry 40~ aircraft.
Designed specifically for globetrotting, their 112-foot-wide flight deck and easily dismantled abeam sponsons allowed for passage through the Panama Canal. Meanwhile, special attention was given to operations in tropical conditions, be it Aden or Singapore, with air conditioning standard in many compartments.
Benefitting from late-war sensor technology, they were completed with Type 79B early warning, Type 281B air search, and Type 282 fire control radars, as well as a Type 144 sonar. When it comes to the Type 282, they had as many as six of the UHF-band range-only fire control radar for AAA batteries. Speaking of which, they were designed to carry six quad 40mm/39 2pdr QF Mk VIII pom poms and 32 Oerlikons (11 twin and 10 single).
August 1951. Off Korea. Pom Pom gun action stations in HMS Glory. The gun’s crews closed at instant readiness. A multiple close-range weapon manned by Royal Marines of HMS Glory. Note the Brodie-style helmets, surely quaint even in the early days of the Cold War. IWM (A 31959)
HMS Glory at dock in January 1946, showing public inspection and queues. Note her array of 2-pdr pom poms and 40mm Bofors with Type 282 fire control radars, and her small island with a thin funnel. Photo by Allan Green. State Library Victoria H91.108/2012
This would quickly change, as we shall see.
Meet Glory
Our subject is at least the 13th HMS Glory in the Royal Navy since 1747 and, as such, carried six cherished battle honors forward (Glorious First of June 1794, Calder’s Action 1805, Martinique 1809, Guadeloupe 1810, China 1900, and Dardanelles 1915).
The 12th Glory was formerly the German-built Russian protected cruiser Askold, seized by the British in Kola Bay in May 1918 during the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War and used as a depot ship in Scotland until she was returned to the Soviet Navy for scrapping in 1922.
Askold had five thin funnels, which gave her a unique silhouette for any vessel in the Imperial Russian Navy. This led British sailors to nickname her “Packet of Woodbines” after the thin cigarettes popular at the time.
Our carrier Glory was laid down at Harland & Wolff at Belfast on 27 August 1942, just as the Japanese were being stopped in the Solomons and the Germans were closing in on Stalingrad. However, our new flattop was a slow build-out and wasn’t launched until after the Avalanche Landings in Italy in late 1943.
HMS Glory began her trials in November 1944 and was accepted, allocated for service with the British Pacific Fleet, commissioning on 2 April 1945, just a month out from VE-Day. Still, Glory beat her sisters Ocean, Theseus, Triumph, Venerable, Vengeance, and Warrior into fleet service. Meanwhile, sisters Perseus and Pioneer were completed as aircraft maintenance ships, not true carriers.
HMS Glory underway in coastal waters circa late 1944-early 1945. IWM (A 28925)
Same as above, IWM (A 28926).
Glory’s first skipper was Capt. Anthony Wass Buzzard, DSO, who picked up the suffix after his name as commander of the destroyer HMS Gurkha in the Norway campaign. A regular who shipped out to fight the Kaiser as a 13-year-old Mid in 1915, Buzzard was later gunnery officer aboard the battleship HMS Rodney during the pursuit and sinking of the Bismarck in 1941, with his guns the first to open fire on the German leviathan in her last surface action.
Last Days of the Big Show
Before heading to the Far East to join the BPF’s 11th Aircraft Carrier Squadron, Glory conducted flying trials with her first air wing, a mixture of 18 Barracudas from 837 Naval Air Squadron and 21 Corsairs of 1831 NAS, forming the 16th Carrier Air Group. She also picked up 17 40mm Bofors in place of smaller 20mm cannons.
On 14 May 1945, the ship became operational and departed Portsmouth, bound for Australia by way of the Mediterranean.
Arriving at Fremantle on 16 August 1945, she received word that the Japanese were suing for peace.
HMS Glory arrives at BPF Australia in August 1945 with Barracuda and Corsairs on her deck. IWM (A 30392)
A brand new carrier full of fresh aircraft and crew with nothing to do, Glory achieved a footnote in WWII history by hosting the surrender of 139,000 troops under Japanese Lt. General Imamura and Admiral Jin Icha Kusaka at Rabaul on 6 September (VJ+4), with the surrender party signing the instruments on her deck after a conference in Capt. Buzzard’s cabin. As such, she became the flag of Task Group 111.5, escorted by HM Sloops Hart and Amethyst.
“At sea off Rabaul, New Britain. 6 September 1945. Flight crews prepare Corsair and Barracuda aircraft on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Glory before takeoff. They will circle overhead during the surrender ceremony between Lieutenant General V.A.H. Sturdee, General Officer Commanding First Army, Lt. General H Imamura, commander Eighth Area Army, and Vice Admiral J. Kusaka, commander Southeast Area Fleet.” Note the widespread use of shorts and the general lack of blouses– the tropical uniform of the day. AWM 095778
Same as the above, a Corsair riding the elevator from hangar to flight deck off Rabaul, 6 September 1945, to provide CAP over the surrender. AWM 095740
The conference was held in the captain’s cabin. Left to right: Admiral Jin-Incha Kusaka, Commander Japanese S E Navy; General Imamura, General S E Japanese Army; Lieutenant General V A H Sturdee, GOC First Australian Army; Brigadier E L Sheehan, BGS, First Australian Army; and Captain Wass Buzzard, RN, discussing the immediate occupation of Rabaul by the 11th Australian Division. IWM (A 30501)
The surrender ceremony for 139,000 Japanese in New Britain, New Ireland, the Solomons, and New Guinea, which took place on the flight deck of HMS Glory off Rabaul. The surrender of the Japanese army in the southwest Pacific area was signed by General Imamura, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Army in the region. Here General Imamura is bending over the table reading after Admiral Jin Icha Kusaka signed the treaty for the Japanese Southeastern naval forces. In the background are officers and ratings of HMS GLORY. Note the men stood at ease on either side of the flight deck. Photo by Lt C Trusler, Royal Navy. IWM (A 30499)
Note the RM with the Lancaster SMG ready to the left! General Imamura, Japanese South-Eastern Army Chief, signing the official document for the surrender of 139,000 Japanese in New Britain, New Ireland, the Solomons, and New Guinea. The surrender ceremony took place on the flight deck of HMS GLORY off Rabaul. Lieutenant General Sturdee, GOC First Australian Army, who signed for the Allies, is closely watching the Japanese General from the other side of the table. Admiral Jin Icha Kusaka signed the treaty for the Japanese southeastern naval forces. Photo by Lt C Trusler, Royal Navy. IWM (A 30498)
Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura, Commander of the Japanese 8th Area Army, signing the instrument of surrender on board HMS Glory near Rabaul. Vice Admiral Jinichi Kusaka, Commander of the Japanese Southeast Area Fleet, stands by to add his signature to the document. AWM 045213
Gen. Hitoshi Imamura, who surrendered his sword to Sturdee, was tried by an Allied war crimes tribunal and imprisoned until 1954. Finding his punishment to be too light, Imamura built a replica of his prison in his garden and confined himself there until he died in 1968. VADM Kusaka Jinichi died in 1972, aged 83. No war crimes indictments were leveled against him personally, though subordinate officers faced trials at Rabaul for atrocities against Allied prisoners and local populations.
Glory then proceeded to Manila to embark liberated Commonwealth POWs from Japanese camps, with part of the carrier’s hangar turned into a temporary hospital. Many of the men had been captured in Singapore in 1942. She would take these men across the Pacific to Esquimalt/Vancouver in Canada for further repatriation. Over 1,000 men were carried, and the ship made three such trips from October through the end of the year.
9 October 1945, HMS Glory embarks released British and Canadian POWs at Manila. Five members of the RAF who spent three years in captivity in Japan. Left to right: AC1 Melville of Clydebank, Scotland; AC1 Barry of Frindale, Glamorgan; LAC Duncan of Leeds; LAC Parish of Arsett, Essex; and Corporal Painey of Tamworth, Birmingham. Photo by BT Hawk. IWM (A 30943)
British aircraft carrier H.M.S. “Glory” at dock, Vancouver BC, November 1945, sporting Victory Bond signage. Keep in mind that the Crown was broke as a joke for a generation after VJ Day. Photo by James Crookall, Vancouver City Archives. AM640-S1-CVA 260-1539
Same as above, giving a good dockside view, giving a good look at her mast. Note the Canadian Pacific boarding gangway and the building in the Marine Building, a renowned Art Deco skyscraper that was the tallest building in the British Commonwealth when completed in 1930– and had been designed with a zeppelin tower. AM640-S1-: CVA 260-1537
Same as above, photo by William Donn. AM1545-S3-CVA 586-4077
Quiet Interbellum
Her POW Magic Carpet rides completed, Glory remained in the Pacific for the first eight months of 1946 and called on Australia again that January with the larger carriers Indefatigable and Implacable, along with sister Venerable.
HMS Glory (R62) upon her arrival at Melbourne, Australia, on January 23, 1946. Note the dress uniformed RM band on her bow. Photo by Allan Green. State Library Victoria H91.108/2063
Aircraft carriers HMS Implacable (left), HMS Indefatigable (right), and HMS Glory (back right) at Station Pier in Melbourne, Australia, January 1946. Note how well the little 13,000-ton/695-foot light carrier compares to her 32,000-ton/766-foot armored deck big sisters.
Station Pier, Melbourne, Australia, Jan 1946 HMS Indefatigable near opposite Implacable, ahead HMS Glory Victoria State Library
HMS Glory on a visit to Melbourne, 1946. Argus news image. State Library Victoria H98.104/2475
Visit by British aircraft carriers H.M.S. Glory, H.M.S. Indefatigable, H.M.S. Venerable, and H.M.S. Implacable to Melbourne, 1946. State of Victoria Archives
Visit by British aircraft carriers H.M.S. Glory, H.M.S. Indefatigable, H.M.S. Venerable, H.M.S. Implacable to Melbourne, 1946 State of Victoria Archives
HMS Glory leaves Waitematā Harbour with aircraft and vehicles of No. 14 Squadron RNZAF bound for Japan. 8 March 1946. RNZAF Archives
By August 1947, Glory departed for home with her paying off pennant flying via Singapore, Trincomalee, and the Mediterranean, arriving back at Portsmouth in October, where she entered ordinary for the next two years, reactivated in October 1949 and, after a stint at Devonport dockyard, sailed to join the Mediterranean Fleet.
It was in Malta in December 1949 that Princess (future Queen) Elizabeth came aboard Glory on the occasion of the King’s birthday for a visit and inspection.
The parade on the flight deck of HMS Glory was inspected by Princess Elizabeth. IWM (A 31630)
Princess Elizabeth inspects officers and men of the Mediterranean fleet on HMS Glory on the King’s birthday. 14 December 1949, on board the light fleet carrier HMS Glory, at Malta. IWM (A 31626)
In July 1950, she was part of Exercise Bandit, off the island of Skiathos, then went on to receive a very smoky salute from the elderly Turkish battlecruiser Yavuz (ex-SMS Goeben).
July 1950. The cruiser HMS Phoebe entering Marmice Harbor, Turkey, for the Fleet Regatta. HMS Glory in the foreground. Fireflies of 812 on the flight deck of HMS Glory. IWM (A 31691A)
August 1950. HMS Glory, the flagship of the Flag Officer (Air) Mediterranean, Rear Admiral Guy Grantham, CB, CBE, anchored off Tangier during the summer cruise of the Mediterranean Fleet. The bow of the Italian training ship Amerigo Vespucci in the foreground. IWM (A 31716)
War! (of the Korean variety)
One of Glory’s sisters, HMS Triumph (R16),was the first British aircraft carrier deployed to the Korean War, dispatched on 29 June 1950. As part of the Royal Navy’s Far Eastern Fleet, she and her 13th Carrier Air Group—equipped 800 Naval Air Squadron equipped with the Supermarine Seafire F.R Mk. 47 and 827 Naval Air Squadron with the Fairey Firefly F.R.Mk.1—conducted the first British carrier strikes against North Korean targets at Pyongyang and Haeju by 3 July.
Another of Glory’s sisters, HMS Theseus (R64), relieved Triumph, carrying 23 Furies from 807 Squadron and 12 Fireflies from 813 Squadron, 17th Carrier Air Group, beginning strikes on North Korean targets on 9 October 1950. All told, Theseus launched 3,500 sorties on 86 days during its seven-month deployment. During the first six months, Theseus’ air wing dropped 829,000 lbs. of explosives and fired 7,317 rockets and “half a million rounds of 20mm ammunition.”
Then Glory clocked in to relieve Theseus, with the 14th CAG’s 804 Squadron (Sea Fury) and 812 Squadron (Firefly) embarked.
Her first tour, 23rd April to 30th September 1951, would cover nine patrol periods, each of about two weeks, in which her Furies and Fireflies would hammer enemy positions in conjunction with American carriers.
She also picked up a U.S. Navy HO3S-1 (Sikorsky H-5 Dragonfly) C-SAR helicopter det, which would put in yeoman service not only for her downed aviators but also for others.
Glory suffered her first loss in the campaign on Saturday, 28 April 1951, when Lt. EPL Edward, FAA, a Sea Fury pilot of 804 Squadron, crashed into the Yellow Sea while on a patrol near Clifford Island. He was listed MPK (missing, presumed killed) and never recovered, one of 254 British personnel considered MIA during the Korean War.
Korea, 1951. Aircraft positioned on the flight deck of HMS Glory following a strike on Korea during the Korean War. AWM P00320.001
A Sea Fury takes off from HMS Glory circa 1951 off Korea. AWM P00320.010
A war photographer apparently shipped aboard in June 1951 and captured some amazing images.
June 1951. Off Korea. A Sea Fury aircraft of 804 Squadron being maneuvered into position on the flight deck of HMS Glory. The aircraft is already bombed up and ready to fly off on another sortie. Note the deck tractor and 60-pound rockets under wings. IWM (A 31912)
June 1951. Off Korea. A Sea Fury aircraft of 804 Squadron, assisted by rockets, takes off from HMS Glory. IWM (A 31910)
June 1951. Off Korea. A Firefly aircraft of 812 Squadron with rocket-assisted take-off leaving the flight deck of HMS Glory for an anti-submarine patrol in Korean waters. IWM (A 31911)
June 1951. Off Korea. HMS Glory’s U.S. Navy Sikorski Dragonfly helicopter landing on the flight deck. This helicopter has been christened “The Thing”. It has saved several of the Glory’s pilots. IWM (A 31916)
June 1951. Off Korea. A Firefly aircraft (FR 5, 812 Squadron), touching down on HMS Glory. The ‘bats’ are watching his charge safely down. His assistant with binoculars is reporting the next aircraft coming in to land. IWM (A 31914)
June 1951. Off Korea. One of HMS Glory’s Sea Fury aircraft of 804 Squadron goes down on the flight deck lift for servicing in readiness for the next day’s strikes. IWM (A 31909)
August 1951. Off Korea. Cleaning the pilot’s windshield is one of the many essential tasks performed by the Pilot’s Mate before takeoff. Leading Airman R Colebrook, of Mitcham, Surrey, is cleaning the windshield of his Sea Fury aircraft in HMS Glory. IWM (A 31960)
August 1951. Off Korea. Naval Airman J Davies of Birmingham loads the cannon of a Sea Fury aircraft with 20mm shells before the next flight takes off from HMS Glory. Note the airman’s sandals and the Firefly in the background. IWM (A 31957)
On 26 September, Glory handed over her station to the arriving Australian Majestic-class near-sister carrier HMAS Sydney (ex-HMS Terrible) and made for Kure, where she spent four days cross-decking her Fireflies and most of the air stores to the Ozzie flattop.
25 September 1951, on board the light fleet carrier HMS Glory, operating in Korean waters shortly before her relief by HMAS Sydney. Sea Fury aircraft of 804 Squadron flying past the carrier’s island before landing after accomplishing their last strike mission of their first Korean deployment. IWM (A 31982)
September 1951. Two aircraft carriers, HMAS Sydney (left) and HMS Glory, side by side in dock. The flight decks of both carriers are packed with aircraft whose wings are folded up. The Sydney is carrying Hawker Sea Fury and Fairey Firefly aircraft of Nos. 805, 808, and 817 Squadrons, 20th Carrier Air Group, RAN Fleet Air Arm. (Original print housed in P run in AWM Archive Store) AWM P01838.005
Glory then sailed for Hong Kong for a four-month refit and much-needed R&R for her crew and squadrons.
Thus refreshed, Glory relived Sydney and began her second tour off Korea on 27th January 1952, and would continue it until 5 May, conducting five patrols.
April 1952. Off Korea. A Stork perched on the wing of an aircraft in HMS Glory. IWM (A 32115)
Glory left the area on 29 April and headed for Sasebo, where she de-ammunitioned. On 1 May, she sailed for Hong Kong and turned over to her sister HMS Ocean on the 3rd. This wrapped the 14th CAG’s war.
When Glory started her third tour (8 November 1952 to 19 May 1953) for a further 11 patrols, she did so with a new air group as the 14th CAG had been disbanded. She also carried an RN helicopter C-SAR det rather than having to go with a loaner from the USN.
From the Small Wars Journal:
When Glory returned in November 1952 to the Korean theatre, she had embarked two independent squadrons, in place of 14th CAG, these being No.801 squadron, flying Sea Furies, and No.821 Squadron flying Fireflies. She rendezvoused with Ocean on 4th November, and participated in exercise Taipan, the defense of Hong Kong, at the end of which, she embarked five Sea Furies, three Fireflies, and two Dragonfly helicopters from Ocean, along with some pilots. The Fireflies were modified for operational work by having HF radio and ASH radar removed, and a fuel tank fitted in place of the radar nacelle. A map box was fitted in place of the pilot’s PPI mounting. A Sten gun was carried, in case of an emergency landing in enemy territory, and the observer had an R/T press-to-transmit switch fitted in the rear cockpit, so he could warn of approaching hostile aircraft. The white spinners were painted grey.
On 6th November, Glory sailed for Sasebo and arrived on the 9th, embarking stores and fuel, before leaving for the operational area the next day.
HMS Glory with Sea Fury FB.IIs of 801 NAS and Firefly AS.5s of 821 NAS (Firefly AS.5) embarked Korea, winter of 1952-53.
HMS Glory and a Town-class cruiser, probably HMS Birmingham, during the Korean War, circa winter 1952-53. A Dragonfly helicopter is approaching the cruiser’s stern. IWM (A 31911)
Across her three tours, Glory lost 22 aircraft destroyed or damaged beyond repair. These included one of the ship’s SAR Dragonfly helicopter and crew on 16 December 1952, when it was caught in a crosswind on the flight deck and, despite a snatch takeoff, it toppled into the sea, taking its two-man crew to the bottom.
She suffered no fewer than 20 Air Crew Casualties during the war:
Lieutenant E.P.L. Stephenson, 26 April, 1951.(804 Squadron)
Aircrewman G.B. Wells, 28 June 1951 (812 Squadron)
Lieutenant R. Williams, 16 July 1951 (812 Squadron)
Sub-Lieutenant I.R. Shepley, 16 July 1951 (812 Squadron)
Commissioned Pilot T. Sparke, 18 July 1951 (804 Squadron)
Sub-Lieutenant R.G.A. Davey, 22 July 1951 (812 Squadron)
Lieutenant R.J. Overton, 15 March 1952 (804 Squadron)
Lieutenant R. Neville-Jones, 18 November, 1952 (801 Squadra)
Lieutenant A.P. Daniels, 16 December 1952, SAR helicopter crew
Aircrewman E.R. Ripley, 16 December 1952, SAR helicopter crew
Lieutenant P.G. Fogden, 20 December 1952 (821 Squadron)
Lieutenant R.E. Barrett, 25 December 1952 (821 Squadron)
Sub-Lieutenant B.E. Rayner, 5 January 1953 (801 Squadron)
Sub-Lieutenant J.M. Simmonds, 5 January 1953 (801 Squadron)
Lieutenant C.A. MacPherson, 11 February 1953 (801 Squadron)
Sub-Lieutenant R.D. Bradley, 11 February 1953 (801 Squadron)
Lieutenant J.T. McGregor, 25 April 1953 (801 Squadron)
Sub-Lieutenant W.J.B. Keates, 25 April 1953 (801 Squadron)
Glory also had one of her aircrew captured, 801 Squadron’s Lieutenant (E)(A/E/)(P) Derek Graham Mather, shot down during an attack on the bridges near Chaeyoung on 5 January 1953.
“We had some secondary targets, one of which was another bridge. I led the second attack in — they were waiting for us. It was a flak trap. I released my bombs, and suddenly there was a bang from a 76mm shell,” noted Mather, who managed to escape his shattered Sea Fury only to be met in the snow by a waiting Chinese patrol.
During her three tours in Korean waters, Glory had spent 530 days at sea and had steamed 157,000 miles. The period included 15 months of war service and 316 days in Korean waters. An impressive 9,064 operational sorties (7,388 offensive and 1,676 defensive) had been flown with 13,070 flights made in total when non-combat missions were logged.
Across those three tours, Glory and her squadrons had expanded:
278 1,000-pound bombs
7,080 500-pound bombs
24,238 60-pound rockets
20 depth charges
1,441,000 20mm shells
Targets destroyed included 712 buildings, 33 road bridges, 37 rail bridges, and 162 railway lines cut.
In recognition of her service, Glory was authorized the battle honor “Korea 1950-53” while her crew and CAG accumulated six DSOs, 20 DSCs, two CBEs, two OBEs, three MBEs, eight BEMs, a Queen’s Commendation (PoW), and 33 Mentions in Despatches.
July 1953. A Sikorsky Dragonfly helicopter, operating from Malta, hovers over HMS Glory when she called in at Malta on her way to the UK. The broken plate gives a pleasing frog skin camo effect. IWM (A 32604)
Throughout the war, Commonwealth-manned Colossus and Majestic-class light carriers endured off the coast– the Admiralty tasking them rather than larger flattops to save money– with Glory being replaced by HMS Ocean and HMAS Sydney, while the Canadian-manned HMCS Warrior transported replacement aircraft from Britain.
In all, FAA and RAN pilots flew at least 25,366 combat sorties from these budget light carriers during the Korean conflict– with Glory alone accounting for 36 percent of these by herself.
Continued Cold War service
By 1954, the Royal Navy had been reduced to 139,000 billets, down from 153,000 seen at the end of the Korean War the year prior, and was targeted to be reduced to just 133,000 by 1955. The signs of things to come!
The number of Glory’s sisters in RN service had greatly decreased. Venerable, renamed Karel Doorman, had been sold to the Netherlands in 1948. Colossus, renamed Arromanches, was sold to France in 1951. Vengeance was lent to the Australians in early 1953. Half-sister ferry carriers Perseus and Pioneer were on the bubble, with the latter slated to be scrapped that year.
This just left Glory, Ocean, Theseus, Triumph, and Warrior in RN service, as listed in Jane’s 1954-55 volume, as seen below.
The Brits still had a very significant carrier force headed into the rest of the Cold War, with the 46,000-ton sisters HMS Ark Royal and Eagle, the twin 33,000-ton armored carriers Implacable and Indefatigable of WWII fame, the 29,000-ton Indomitable, the 32,000-ton Illustrious, the 30,000-ton Victorious (then being refit with an angled flight deck), the four 20,000-ton Hermes class sisters (Hermes, Albion, Bulwark, and Centaur), the 19,000-ton Hercules and Leviathan, plus our five Glory and two ferry carriers (Perseus and Unicorn).
That’s 20 flattops, which are a lot of flattops by any standard!
Taken in hand with Britain’s last battlewagon, HMS Vanguard, still in service as flagship of the Home Fleet, her four mothballed KGVs (Anson, Howe, Duke of York, and King George V), and two laid up monitors (Abercrombie and Roberts), and you could mistake the RN as the world’s second largest fleet in the world at the time.
Silhouettes as per the 1954 Jane’s:
Of course, all was subject to change, and many of the above were laid up or pending disposal or transfer.
Following a post-Korea refit in Rosyth, Glory went back to the Med for another round of flying exercises and flag-showing visits before returning to Portsmouth in February 1954.
Glory in the Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta, in January 1954
That saw the end of the Glory’s flying as she now became a ferry carrier, making a trip out to the Far East, again dropping off and picking up men and supplies en route, spending a few hours on a mud bank in the Great Bitter Lake on her way out there.
Shortly after her return, she took part in delivering relief supplies in Scotland during the blizzards of January 1955. The remainder of that year was spent in Rosyth before, in May 1956, leaving for Plymouth for a few weeks before she returned to Rosyth in June and was finally Paid Off.
In 1957, all preservation work was stopped, then after being on the disposal list for a time, the tugs arrived on 23 August 1961 to tow her to Inverkeithing to be broken up.
Tugs pulling HMS Glory, Colossus aircraft carrier, to the breakers in Inverkeithing, August 23 1961
By 1960, the RN had drawn down to 102,000 officers and men and had no battleships or monitors and just nine carriers of all types (Ark Royal, Eagle, Hermes, Albion, Bulwark, Centaur, Magnificent, Victorious, and Leviathan), with only about half considered active fleet carriers.
The last of her Glory’s sisters in the Royal Navy, Triumph, was kept around as a repair ship until 1975, then scrapped.
The final vessel of her class sent to the breakers, the third-hand ex-HMS/HMAS Vengeance/ex-NAeL Minas Gerais, was sold for scrap by the Brazilian owners in 2004, torched to man-portable pieces on the beach at Alang.
Of Glory’s WWII and Korean War squadrons, 837 NAS disbanded in 1947, 1831 NAS in 1982, 804 NAS in 1961, 812 NAS in 1956, 821 NAS in 1953, and 801 NAS in 2007, the latter flying Harriers in the Falklands.
In the early 1960s, when Glory was being decommissioned, Lord Mountbatten, Chief of the British Defence Forces and Admiral of the Fleet, allowed the ship’s 1944-marked brass bell to be taken by Mr. F C Wilkins CB, a retiree of the RN who had served for 47 years. It, along with its clapper, marlinspike bell rope, plaque, and a WWII flown ensign, now resides in the collection of the Australian War Memorial.
The IWM contains a collection of interviews with past members of Glory’s crew, of which at least 21 are available to listen to online.
Her WWII skipper, RADM Anthony Wass Buzzard DSO, OBE, RN, retired in 1951, capping a 29-year career. He passed away in 1972, at age 69.
The aviator lost as a POW during Korea, Sea Fury driver Derek Graham “Pug” Mather, underwent brutal mistreatment over nine months as a Chinese prisoner, including attempted brainwashing, but was eventually released post-cease fire and returned to service, on Glory— welcomed back aboard by a Royal Marines band– in January 1954. Converting to helicopters, he did an exchange tour with the USN, served aboard the commando carrier HMS Albion, and retired as a captain in 1969 with his last post as Director of the Air Engineering School at HMS Daedalus in RNAS Lee-on-Solent. On retirement, he spent 10 years with Marconi Underwater Systems, then assumed charitable work as a hospital driver and domestic governor of the King William IV Naval Foundation Cottages. Pug passed in 2007, aged 79, leaving two daughters and two sons.
Sadly, the Admiralty’s naval list has not been graced with a “Glory” since 1961.
Thanks for reading!
Meminisse est ad Vivificandum – To Remember is to Keep Alive
***
If you like this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO), Publishers of Warship International
The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.
With more than 50 years of scholarship, Warship International, the written tome of the INRO, has published hundreds of articles, most of which are unique in their sweep and subject.
PRINT still has its place. If you LOVE warships, you should belong.
Sporting a pale blue-grey commonly called “French Grey” that was arrived at by adding blue pigment to a grey enamel base, Supermarine F.37/34 fighter prototype serial K5054 made its first flight on 5 March 1936 under the controls of test pilot Capt. Joseph “Mutt” Summers, CBE.
Prototype Spitfire K5054 Air Historical Branch-RAF MOD
After several minor tweaks and a new and improved prop, K5054 reached 348 mph in level flight in mid-May, then Summers flew K5054 to RAF Martlesham Heath and handed the aircraft over to Squadron Leader Anderson of the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) where it led to the Spitfire with the Air Ministry placing an inital order of 310 aircraft for roughly £9,500 a pop on 3 June 1936– while A&AEE was still working on its final report!
The first production Spitfire, K9787, rolled off the Woolston, Southampton assembly line in mid-1938, and ultimately 20,351 Spitfires were produced over the next 10 years in 24 main “Marks” (variants).
No less than 341 Allied pilots (including 16 Americans) gained “ace” status at the controls of a Spit during WWII.
Flight Lieutenant W.H. Pentland, of No. 417 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, awaiting start-up in his Supermarine Spitfire Mark VC (s/n BR195 ‘AN-T’) at Goubrine, Tunisia, in May 1943. Other aircraft of the squadron are lined up alongside. Royal Air Force official photographer, Woodbine G (F/O) IWM TR 861
The type remained, impressively, in front-line service until at least 1961, when it was retired by the Irish Air Corps at a time when jet fighters were entering their third generation.
The Imperial War Museum’s painstakingly built “99 percent accurate” circa 1993 flying replica of K5054 has been making rounds on a two-week tour of the country but has recently returned to Duxford, just in time to celebrate the Spitfire’s 90th birthday.
The 190-foot, 1,200-ton Miami-class auxiliary gunboat/steel-hulled “cruising cutter” Tampa (WGC-11) was built to spec at Newport News and commissioned on 19 August 1912.
Constructed at $250,000 for the Revenue Cutter Service, she was a simple coastwise vessel, armed with a trio of 6-pounders in peacetime, with weight and space reserved to upgrade those to 3-inchers during war.
USCGC Tampa photographed in harbor, before World War I. Note her two visible whalers. Completed in 1912 as the U.S. Revenue Cutter Miami, she was renamed Tampa in February 1916. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. NH 1226
She spent her first few years stationed in southern Florida (go figure), under her original name (Miami), service she alternated with heading to the North for the International Ice Patrol every spring– remember these were the years just after the loss of the Titanic.
Crew photo of the Revenue Service Cutter Miami (future USCGC Tampa) while on Ice Patrol, circa 1912-16. Note one of her 6-pounder guns to the right of the photo
Revenue Cutter Miami, the future USCGC Tampa, USCG 190326-G-G0000-1001
Then came war, and Tampa was quickly modified for overseas service with five other large cutters.
As detailed by the CG Historian’s Office:
On 1 February 1916, three days before the Gasparilla Carnival and South Florida Fair in Tampa, her name was changed to Tampa. Again that year, she made the ice patrol and then returned to Key West. The year 1917 was very eventful for the crew of Tampa. The South Florida Fair and Gasparilla Carnival at Tampa was the greatest yet, lasting nine days, from 2 February through the 10th. With four days to recuperate from this gala affair, they went on to patrol the Annual Motor Boat Regatta at Miami from 15 to 17 February 1916. On 27 and 28 March, they patrolled the races of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club in St. Petersburg, Florida.
There was a shadow over the spring gaiety of 1917, however. On 2 February 1917, the opening day of the Fair and Carnival in Tampa, was the day the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany. Perhaps the men of Tampa sensed that this would be their last celebration with the citizens of their favorite city. On 6 April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany, and immediately, Tampa and other Coast Guard cutters were transferred to the Navy. During the next four months, she received heavier armament by trading her three six-pounders for four 3-inch guns and a pair of machine guns. After preparations at the Boston Navy Yard, Tampa moved to the New York Navy Yard on 16 September and reported for duty to the commanding officer of USS Paducah (Gunboat No. 18). Ordered to duty overseas, the warship departed New York on 29 September in company with Paducah, Sterling, B.H.B. Hubbard (SP-416), and five French-manned, American-made submarine chasers in tow. After stops at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Tampa and her sailing mates reached Gibraltar on 27 October 1917.
Based in Gibraltar, the Tampa, Seneca (her companion ship during the ice patrols), Yamacraw, Ossipee, Algonquin, and Manning made up Squadron 2 of Division 6 of the Atlantic Fleet Patrol Forces. Their mission was to protect convoys from submarine attacks. In the little more than a year left to her, Tampa escorted 18 convoys, comprising a total of 350 vessels, through the U-boat-infested waters from Gibraltar to Britain. Her record during this period was outstanding. She was never disabled, and her one request for repairs had been on two minor items, in spite of spending more than fifty percent of her time at sea and steaming an average of 3,566 miles a month.
A haze grey USCGC Tampa moored in a European port (possibly Gibraltar), circa 1917-1918. Note the paddle tug astern of Tampa and the large converted yacht in the distance. The latter may be a British Navy vessel. Donation of Charles R. Haberlein Jr., 2009. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. NH 106706
She was sunk while escorting a convoy on 26 September 1918– just seven weeks before the Armistice– in the Bristol Channel off the coast of Wales by German UB III-class submarine UB-91 (Kptlt. Wolf Hans Hertwig).
Tampa, in company with her fellow escorts, departed Gibraltar with the 32-ship convoy HG 107, bound for Liverpool, on 17 September 1918. The convoy proceeded without incident beyond Cornwall and into the Irish Sea. During the late afternoon of 26 September, Tampa parted company with the convoy as she was in need of refueling. Ordered to put into Milford Haven, she proceeded independently toward her destination. At 7:30 p.m., as she steamed toward the Bristol Channel, UB-91 (Kapitänleutnant Wolf Hans Hertwig) spotted the ocean escort and, according to the U-boat’s war diary entry, dived and maneuvered into an attack position. From a range of about 550 meters, UB-91 fired one G6AV torpedo with a special attachment from her stern torpedo tube at 8:15 p.m. Minutes later, the warhead detonated on Tampa’s port side amidships, throwing up a huge, luminous column of water. Two minutes later, the U-boat was shocked by a second detonation, most likely caused by Tampa’s depth charges reaching pressure fuse depth, as the cutter sank.
All 131 souls aboard— 111 Coast Guardsmen, four U.S. Navy signalmen, a captain of the British Army, 10 seamen of the Royal Navy, and five British dock workers– were killed, representing the largest single loss of life for the Coast Guard during the conflict and, except the disappearance of the collier USS Cyclops, was the largest loss of life suffered by U.S. Naval forces in any incident of the First World War.
Painting of the sinking of Cutter Tampa by the German submarine UB-91, painted by noted marine artist John Wisinski. Photo by: USCG Historian’s Office, VIRIN: 220818-G-G0000-1001
Admiral William S. Sims, the senior U.S. naval officer on duty in Great Britain, received the following letter from the Lords of the British Admiralty:
“Their Lordships desire me to express their deep regret at the loss of the USS Tampa. Her record since she has been employed in European waters as an ocean escort to convoys has been remarkable. She has acted in the capacity of ocean escort to no less than 18 convoys from Gibraltar, comprising 350 vessels, with a loss of only two ships through enemy action. The commanders of the convoys have recognized the ability with which the Tampa carried out the duties of ocean escort. Appreciation of the good work done by the USS Tampa may be some consolation to those bereft, and Their Lordships would be glad if this could be conveyed to those concerned.”
Two bodies in U.S. naval uniforms later washed ashore, one of which was identified by a waterlogged pocket tag as being Seaman James Marconnier Fleury, USCG. They were both buried with full military honors at Lamphey Churchyard (a small country churchyard in Wales). Fleury’s family later brought home his body and buried him in a cemetery in Long Island, New York, but the unidentified Coast Guardsman still rests in Lamphey Churchyard. Local citizens care for his grave to this day.
Unknown Tampa Crewman, Lamphey Churchyard, Wales, United Kingdom, ca. 2014 “In loving memory of our unknown shipmate from the USS Coast Guard Cutter Tampa torpedoed in the Bristol Channel September 26th, 1918. Erected by the USS Tampa Coast Guard Post 719 American Legion, New York. USCG 170602-G-XX000-152
The UB-91 was surrendered at Harwich on 21 November 1918. Operated by a British crew, she toured several cities, including Cardiff and Newport, where she was displayed from 12–20 January 1919 and visited by local officials to raise funds for mariners’ charities. After the boat’s breakup at Briton Ferry in 1921, her deck gun was moved to Chepstow’s war memorial. Her only wartime skipper, Hertwig, credited with 14,668 tons of shipping (Tampa and three steamers) returned to Germany on board the transport Lucia Woerman and resigned from the Imperial Navy in 1920. He later joined the Kriegsmarine in 1937 at age 52 and held a series of training and desk jobs. KzS Hertwig was taken prisoner by the British during the liberation of Denmark in May 1945 and held in a PoW camp till the end of 1946. He passed in 1958, of cancer.
Until now, the only tangible part of Tampa that has ever been located was a brass boat plate from one of her whalers, found on 14 April 1924, almost six years after she was lost, discovered by a 14-year-old lad while beachcombing at Rest Bay, Porthcawl, England.
Tampa boat plate NH 41869
Now it seems, as reported by the Gasperados Dive Team, that the final resting place of Tampa is in 320 feet of water, some 50 miles off Newquay, England.
“Since 1790, the Coast Guard has defended our nation during every armed conflict in American history, a legacy reflected in the courage and sacrifice of the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Tampa,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard. “When the Tampa was lost with all hands in 1918, it left an enduring grief in our service. Locating the wreck connects us to their sacrifice and reminds us that devotion to duty endures. We will always remember them. We are proud to carry their spirit forward in defense of the United States.”
In 2023, the Coast Guard Historians Office was contacted by the Gasperados Dive Team regarding the Tampa. Over the past three years, the all-volunteer team conducted an extensive search for the wreckage.
“We provided the dive team with historical records and technical data to assist in confirming the wreck site,” said Dr. William Thiesen, Coast Guard Atlantic Area Historian. “This included the archival images of the deck fittings, ship’s wheel, bell, weaponry, and archival images of the Tampa.”
The Coast Guard is now developing plans for underwater research and exploration in coordination with its offices of specialized capabilities, historians, cutter forces, robotics and autonomous systems, and dive locker.
And so we remember.
In Waters Deep– Eileen Mahoney
In ocean wastes no poppies blow, No crosses stand in ordered row, There young hearts sleep… beneath the wave… The spirited, the good, the brave, But stars a constant vigil keep, For them who lie beneath the deep. ‘Tis true you cannot kneel in prayer On certain spot and think. “He’s there.” But you can to the ocean go… See whitecaps marching row on row; Know one for him will always ride… In and out… with every tide. And when your span of life is passed, He’ll meet you at the “Captain’s Mast.” And they who mourn on distant shore For sailors who’ll come home no more, Can dry their tears and pray for these Who rest beneath the heaving seas… For stars that shine and winds that blow And whitecaps marching row on row. And they can never lonely be For when they lived… they chose the sea.
With that being said, we were very tickled by the fact that Federal is making, in the U.S. (they are now Czech owned, so just saying), a 150-grain FMJ bullet with a fatter (than Power-Shok’s .313 ballistic coefficient 150-grain JSP) .410 ballistic coefficient. It is also cataloged at 2,740 fps, dialed lower than the 2,900+ often seen on commercial hunting ammo in the same caliber/bullet weight.
The box lists the new .30-06 Federal American Eagle 150-grain FMJ for the Garand as having a flat trajectory at 100 yards, with a 4-inch drop at 200 and 14.5 at 300 yards.
The front of the box calls out Federal’s 250th anniversary series of loads commemorating the events of 1776.
Of course, the Garand was the Army’s standard infantry rifle from 1937 through 1957, a period covering World War II and the Korean War. The rifle remained in use with Reserve and National Guard units through the 1970s.
The ammo is bright and consistent. At the range, we found the rounds to hold within 25 fps of the advertised muzzle velocity across 10 rounds measured through a Caldwell umbrella-style chronograph.
It has long been standard for Garand owners and enjoyers to stoke their vintage rifles with .30-06 150-grain loads with a little gentler power curve than what is seen in modern commercial hunting ammo. The CMP, probably the foremost expert on the Garand, specifically warns against using bullets more than 172 to 174-grain in weight, saying, “These rifles are at least 70 years old and were not designed for max loads and super heavy bullets.”
When it comes to cost, Federal lists this load with an MSRP of $41.99 per 20-cartridge box, but, as of the publication of this article, we have seen them listed for $31.99.
Compared to what else is out there, CMP offers a custom 150-grain ’06 Creedmoor Berger OTM round with Lapua Brass at $175 per 100 rounds (which works out to $35 per 20). Meanwhile, comparably priced Czech-made Sellier & Bellot’s 150-grain M2 ball repro (at 2,700 fps) and Serbian-made Prvi Partizan’s 150-grain (2,745 fps) Garand-specific loads are often tough to find in stock.
So, with that, barring a good deal on some Cold War Lake City loads that have been in arsenal storage for the past half-century, Federal’s Garand load is a decent buy for the price.
Plus, while many loadings on the surplus market are corrosive (Norwegian, Korean, etc) or attract a magnet (such as Greek HXP and Ethiopian), which can bar it from some ranges, the Federal load does not.
The country’s newest fast-attack submarine and the fifth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name, USS Idaho (SSN 799), was commissioned at SUBASE New London on Saturday, 25 April.
Sailors assigned to the Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Idaho (SSN 799) man the rails during a commissioning ceremony at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn., on April 25, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo 260425-N-UM744-1007 by John Narewski/Submarine Readiness Squadron (SRS) 32)
One of 10 Block IV Virginias, Idaho, carries two multipurpose Virginia Payload Tubes (VPT) forward, seen open in the above image, allowing her to carry and launch a dozen Tomahawks or similar missiles vertically. This is in addition to her 25 slots for Mk-48 ADCAPS or Harpoons fired from her four forward tubes.
The future USS Idaho (SSN 799) seen on builders trials 251215-N-N2201-002
Named for “The Gem State,” SSN 799 will operate as part of SUBRON4 and is expected to have a 33+ year life cycle, surpassing that of the fourth USS Idaho (Battleship No.42), which commissioned in 1919 and, after earning seven battle stars during WWII, was scrapped in 1947.
Nice to see the name return to the Navy List after a nearly 80-year break.
USS Idaho (BB-42) passing through the Panama Canal, c. 1945 National Archives 80-G-K-6572
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) sails in the Atlantic Ocean, April 12, 2026. The George H. W. Bush Carrier Strike Group, comprised of nearly 5,000 Sailors, provides combatant commanders and America’s civilian leaders with increased capacity to underpin American security and economic prosperity, deter adversaries, and project power on a global scale through sustained operations at sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class John R. Farren)
Right now, as noted by open sources (Centcom releases, USNI’s Marine Tracker, etc), we have three carrier strike groups– built around USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), and George H.W. Bush (CVN 77)— as well as two ARGs (USS Boxer and Tripoli), either in the region or steaming there. Tripoli is also deployed with USS New Orleans (LPD-18) and Rushmore (LSD-47) with the 31st MEU embarked, while Boxer is sailing with USS Comstock (LSD-45) and Portland (LPD-27) as well as the 11th MEU.
Centcom confirms this is the first time they have had three CVNs in their area of operation since 2003, and greater than 20,000 assorted Bluejackets and Marines are afloat.
They have no less than 18 Burkes supporting:
USS Mitscher (DDG-57)
USS Gonzalez (DDG-66)
USS Milius (DDG-69)
USS Ross (DDG-71) (Bush CSG)
USS Mahan (DDG-72) (Ford CSG)
USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) (Bush CSG)
USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) (Ford CSG, Air Defense Commander)
USS Bulkeley (DDG-84)
USS Mason (DDG-87) (Bush CSG, Air Defense Commander)
USS Pickney (DDG-91)
USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) (Ford CSG)
USS Spruance (DDG-111) (Lincoln CSG)
USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112)
USS John Finn (DDG-113)
USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115)
USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) (Ford CSG)
USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119)
USS Frank E. Petersen (DDG-121) (Lincoln CSG, Air Defense Commander)
For those keeping count, that is roughly 300K tons of carriers, 250K tons of ‘Phibs, and 165k tons of destroyers, with the Silent Service’s SSNs and SSGNs not publicized and keeping very silent indeed, and the logistics tail, which never gets any love except from Sal.
So, pushing just shy of a million tons, with three carriers, 18 tin cans, six Gators, and AO/AOE/SS undetailed. Truth be told, that is one serious naval force.
Sadly, there are no Ticos forward deployed to Centcom. Looks like the old girls are sitting this one out, and all the CSGs are using upgraded SM-3 carrying DDGs for the group’s Air Defense Commander roles.
Combat air squadrons embarked include a homogenous 11 F/A-18E/F units (VFA-14, VFA-31, VFA-37, VFA-41, VFA-83, VFA-87, VFA-103, VFA-105, VFA-131, VFA-151, and VFA-213), three of EA-18Gs (VAQ-130, VAQ-133, and VAQ-142) and a single F-35C squadron– the Black Knights of VMFA-314.
Ironically, this puts the Marines, which by trope are given the obsolete stuff the Navy doesn’t want any longer, with the most advanced fighter in squadron service during Epic Fury– leaving the Navy to push 14 assorted squadrons of Rhino! Of further note, there are no F-18C/D models deployed, with the 5-6 legacy squadrons that use these are all stateside Marine dirt-dets, as the last carrier deployment for those little birds was with VMFA-323 in 2021 on Nimitz.
Still, somewhere around 400 embarked aircraft when all the MH-60s aboard the DDGs and the MEU’s air units are counted.
In other sad news, the Navy’s minesweeping solution, the mine module equipped LCSs (USS Canberra, Santa Barbara, and Tulsa) were all pulled out of Bahrain in March and have been notably MIA while two aging Avenger-class sweepers based in Sasebo, USS Chief (MCM-14) and Pioneer (MCM-9), are “speeding” towards the Hormuz, a short 6,600nm jaunt away, a sail of 20 days at their typical 14 knot cruising speed. Of course, that doesn’t include stops to refuel and flirt with monkeys.
What’s left for the rest of the world?
What does this leave for other contingencies?
A MH-60S Sea Hawk, attached to the “Indians” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6, transports stores to Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a vertical replenishment-at-sea in the Pacific Ocean, April 23, 2026. Nimitz is deployed as part of Southern Seas 2026, which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational, and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Johnathan McCune)
Well, of the country’s CVNs, Nimitz is in her slow-motion final cruise around Latin America to begin her deactivation, Stennis is in RCOH (where she has been for five years) and isn’t expected back in the fleet until at least October 2026, Reagan is in DPIA until at least August of 2026, Harry S. Truman (which the Navy wanted to decommission in 2019!) is set to begin her much needed RCOH in June, and JFK won’t commission until the summer of 2027 (a date likely to be pushed back after the lessons learned during Ford’s now epic deployment and saga of underway mechanical casualties).
This leaves on the East Coast the 49-year-old Ike— which is just wrapping up sea trials after a yard stint that was completed early (yes, Virginia, it is possible) and is set to retire in 2028 but probably won’t (see Ford/JFK)– Vinson and Teddy R on the West Coast, and George Washington forward deployed to Japan from where the Navy will keep her as a hedge against China/NorK.
Further, speaking to big-deck LHD/LHAs, the Navy only owns nine after the Bon Homme Richard fire, and two are deployed to Epic Fury as noted above. Iwo Jima is assigned to operations off Venezuela right now (delaying a planned $200 million update to operate F-35s), and two others, Essex and Kearsarge, are working up on the East and West coasts, respectively. Of the other four, two are in fairly poor material shape, with Bataan currently receiving heavy maintenance after a fire last December during her two-year-long modernization, and America is undergoing a DSRA at NASSCO until at least July 2027.
The new construction big deck phibs, the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8), Fallujah (LHA-9), and Helmand Province (LHA-10) have had their delivery dates pushed back to July 2027, July 2031, and September 2034, respectively.
Afloat in the Pascagoula River proper is the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8), the first Flight I America-class Lightning carrier, circa March 2026. She still has another 15 months of fitting out and trials to come. Chris Eger
For reference, Bougainville was laid down in March 2019, which would give her an eight-year construction cycle. The first steel on Helmand Province hasn’t even been cut yet, so even 2034 may be optimistic (although Wasp is set to retire that year). Even if Helmand Province arrives in the fleet in 2034 as planned, class leader America (LHA-6) will be 20 years in service then, while the Wasp-class LHDs will be edging to age 40, which is never a good look on a gator (the longest serving Tarawa class, the very high-mileage Peleliu, only spent 34 years and five weeks in commission).
In late 1915, it was hit on an idea for the soldier-rich but equipment-poor Imperial Russian Army– which had lost immense supplies of pre-war arms and ordnance in their series of sweeping defeats delivered by the Germans in the 12 months from Tannenberg in August 1914 to the capture of Warsaw in August 1915– that one of the best ways to help its allies in France was to send men there to fight with French-supplied arms.
While the French asked for a 400,000-strong Russian Expeditionary Force, the REF led to the piecemeal dispatch of ultimately five picked two-regiment brigades, plus an artillery brigade and an engineer battalion, some 44,319 volunteers in all.
The 1st Russian Special Brigade, 180 officers and 8,762 enlisted under Maj. Gen. Nikolai Aleksandrovich Lokhvitsky, left Moscow on 3 February 1916 and, during the coldest stretch of the Russian winter, set out East across the Trans-Siberian Railway to board four waiting French ships that would take them to the Western Front via the Indian Ocean and Suez Canal.
30,000 miles of the 1st Russian Expeditionary Brigade to France, 1916
After 80 days and 30,000 miles of travel by rail and ship, on 20 April 1916, the first two ships (Amiral Latouche-Tréville and Himalaya) carrying the lead elements of the brigade arrived in Marseille, having passed through Samara, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Harbin, Dairen, Saigon, Colombo, and Port Said.
It would be the first time that armed Russian formations had marched through France since Alexander I’s boys came in 1814 to get rid of Napoleon.
While only the officers and NCOs shipped out with their personal arms (handguns) and a picked “colors company” was equipped with Mosins, by and large, the Russians came sans small arms.
The newly arrived Russians were billeted at the training camp at Mailly-le-Camp in Champagne, where they learned to use their new French equipment, which included primarily Mle 1874/80/14 Gras rifles (often with Mle 66 bayonets) that had been rechambered to fire 8mm Lebel ammunition, Hotchkiss machine guns, gas masks, and Adrian helmets.
Besides the nearly 50,000 Gras rifles used by the REF (M1874/80/14 8mm conversions), France shipped another 400,000 (mostly original 11mm models) directly to Russia to help alleviate shortages. Even though a hopelessly obsolete design by 1916, it was better than no rifle at all
After the 3rd brigade (the 2nd and 4th brigades had been sent to the Salonika front in the Balkans) arrived in France in September 1916, it was merged into a “square” four-regiment division under Major Gen. Mikhail Ippolitovich Zankevich at Mourmelon-le-Grand, then sent to the Front.
Russian units took part in the Battle of Verdun. After serious losses during the April offensive of 1917 on the Western Front, amounting to 5,183 soldiers and officers killed and wounded– more than a quarter of their strength– the Russian 1st and 3rd Brigades were withdrawn to rest in the La Courtine military camp near Limoges.
Although the Revolution back home in Russia eventually caught up to the REF aboard– resulting in a widespread mutiny that had to be put down by French forces in September 1917– reformed Polish, Lettish (Latvian) and Russian Legions emerged from the REF’s ashes in 1918 and continued to fight until the Armistice. The two-battalion Russian Legion of Honor (Légion d’Honneur Russe) was notably folded into the colonial troops of the Moroccan Division (Division marocaine, 1re D.M), and provided notable service and ended the war on occupation duty in Worms, Germany, in 1919.
Some 9,000 who elected in March 1918 to continue fighting as their country had signed the peace with the Central Powers at Brest-Litovsk, were sent to North Africa to perform hard labor in construction projects under the watchful eyes of the French Foreign Legion. As the war continued, nearly 1,000 of these later requested to go back to the front!
Sent back home in waves via French ships, the trio of legions would form key parts of the Latvian, Polish, and White Russian armies in early 1919. By 1920, those left in North Africa were repatriated home, or given the option to join White Russian exiles then streaming into Europe.
Of the six brigade and division commanders of the REF that remained with the force to Armistice, all went back to Russia and fought with the Whites, then fled in exile after the Bolshevik Reds won the Civil War. Four, Lokhvitsky, Zankevich, Leontiev (4th Brigade Cdr), and Taranovsky, all settled in France, with Leontiev later opening a nightclub on the Riviera and retiring to Tahiti.
Today, more than 900 Russian war dead are interred at Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand Cemetery near Mourmelon, outside of Reims, while numerous monuments exist around France to the Adrian-helmeted troops of the Tsar that arrived to die for the Republic some 110 years ago this week.
