While the Royal Danish Navy was tasked with policing and defending the far-flung colony of Iceland, and, generally, a station ship or patrol boat of some sort was on location since 1859, the locals knew the score.
Denmark was 1,300 miles away and, during the Great War, with the country sandwiched between the Brits and the Germans, only one ship could be spared from the neutrality patrol to police both Iceland and the Faeroes, the 730-ton cutter (Inspektionsskib) Islands Falk (Icelandic Falcon), a humble 13-knotter with a pair of 6-pounders and another pair of 3-pounders.
The Danish Navy’s Helsingør-built Inspektionsskib Islands Falk, all 183 feet of her. Completed in 1907 specifically for colonial service off Iceland, Greenland and the Faeroes, in 1928 she was replaced by the larger “fisheries cruiser” Fylla, the former sloop HMS Asphodel, and reassigned to metropolitan Denmark, where she was captured by the Germans in WWII.
After Iceland gained a measure of self-autonomy in December 1918, Falk (which fired the first 21-shot salute to the new country’s first official flag while tied up at Reykjavik) began spending more time in Greenland and the Faeroes.
Plans were already afoot to get something more local.
In conjunction with local Icelandic philanthropists and the Iceland Fishing Boat Association (Fiskifélag Íslands), the Björgunarfélag Vestmannaeyja, a volunteer uniformed search-and-rescue/salvage organization, was founded in August 1918 and later morphed into ICE-SAR, the national lifesaving organization.
The BV soon set about looking for a blue water vessel to use for local fisheries patrol and as an offshore rescue ship (Björgunarskipið). By August 1919, they had cobbled together enough money (292,385 kroner, mainly from donations and grants from the Icelandic parliament, the Althing) to purchase an aging 190-ton, 115-foot British-built (Edwards Bros) trawler, Thor, which the Danish Navy had used as a survey ship and patrol boat.
Thor in Danish service. She was a steam trawler, built in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1899 and used for oceanographic research in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Oceans between 1903-1914, then as a patrol boat for the Danish Navy during the Great War. Ukendt. Angivet “Efter J. Schmidt”. – Affotografering fra Wolff (1967): Danske ekspeditioner på verdenshavene
With her name retained but Icelandized (Þór) and flying an early Icelandic pennant, she was eventually armed with two surplus M/96 57mm guns obtained from the Danes.
Her crew was volunteers from the BV, with Jóhann P. Jónsson, who had been a wartime officer in the Danish navy, appointed captain.
By late March 1920, Thor was underway and protecting local herring and cod grounds, chasing off her first foreign vessel, a British trawler, two days into her inaugural patrol.
Rescue ship/patrol boat Thor (Þór) in her time with the Björgunarfélag Vestmannaeyja,
She was effective, venturing out for the annual three-month winter season then spending the rest of the year working as a coaster, hauling passengers, goods, and mail around the island in an attempt to offset her costs.
In 1922, she captured 12 Norwegian ships for illegal fishing, to which the local government duly issued fines.
In 1924, she took eight foreign trawlers and a herring ship.
In 1925, two Norwegian herring ships, four Danish draggers, and 10 British trawlers.
Slowly, the Althing was forced to vote for more and more money for Thor, as even a shoestring operation needed, well, shoestrings. By 1926, a resolution was passed to purchase Thor for the token fee of 80,000 kroner, and put her to work in a more official capacity.
Thor’s service led to the formation of a dedicated local force, the Landhelgisgæslan, or Coast Guard, on 1 July 1926. That year, with a crew of her first “regulars,” Thor took 26 illegal fishing boats and raked in 270,000 kroner for the budding country’s coffers.
Thor, between 1926 and 1929, as the first Icelandic cutter. Note her deck guns
Between 1922 and 1926, Thor took a total of 131 ships in territorial waters and was responsible for fines of one million kroner. She searched for lost boats 80 times during this period and towed 40 ships to shore. She also transported passengers, goods, and mail on 73 coastal trips.
While Thor was wrecked in 1929, by that time the LHG had two other purpose-built cutters in operation, the smaller Odin (70-foot, 240hp diesel, one 47mm gun) and the larger Aegir (170-foot, with a 1,800shp diesel and two 75mm guns).
Further, the service has had three different Thors since then, with the current one being the LHG’s flagship.
The second LHG Thor. Built in Stettin, Germany, in 1922 as Senator Schäfer. Arrived in Iceland in 1930 and served with the Coast Guard until 1939. Note the national flash on her bow.
The third Coast Guard ship to bear the name, this Thor was purpose-built for the LHG in 1951, was the flagship of the fleet, and served in all three Cod Wars. She was sold in 1982
The current Icelandic Coast Guard UT 512L-type offshore patrol vessel ICGV Thor (Þór), walking the beat. Note her 40mm Bofors forward. Delivered in 2009, she runs 4,000 tons and is 307 feet in oal.
A great 3~ minute sizzle reel showing some of the LHG’s greatest hits:
Exercise Valiant Shield 2026 (VS26) concluded on 1 July, stretching across the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Japan, and at sea around the Mariana Islands Range Complex.
It was an impressive assemblage of vessels, built around the GW and Kaga carrier groups with support from other Pacific allies.
Think of it as a warm-up for RIMPAC, which is just warming up.
U.S. Navy aircraft, attached to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, and U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning IIs fly over U.S. Navy George Washington Carrier Strike Group as it sails in formation with Japan Maritime Self- Defense Force as part of Valiant Shield 2026 while underway in the Philippine Sea, June 21, 2026. U.S. Navy participants include Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62), Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Shoup (DDG 86) and USS Benfold (DDG 65), and Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Minnesota (SSN 783). Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force participants include JS Kaga (DDH 184), JS Fuyuzuki (DD 118), and JS Jingei (SS 515). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tyler Crowley)
The big culmination of VS26 was a SINKEX of a large combatant some 200nm from Guam, in this case the retired Austin-class ‘phib ex-USS Juneau (LPD-10), which had a storied career over nearly 40 years from Vietnam to Desert Storm and has been on red lead row since 2008.
The old girl took one hell of a beating. One that the Navy, probably in some advertising to China, isn’t afraid to share.
First up was a Guam-deployed B-2 Spirit bomber hitting her with a 2,700-pound LRASM in an ode to Billy Mitchell. While the effect isn’t seen in real time, its half-ton warhead left the 17,000-ton LPD listing and with a flooded well deck.
A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing, deploys an AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) to support a live-fire sinking exercise as part of Valiant Shield 2026 over the Philippine Sea, June 27, 2026. This maritime strike in the Pacific showcased the Joint Force’s capacity for simultaneous global operations while underscoring U.S. commitment to regional security and cooperation. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Thomas Barley)
Juneau then caught two Australian-owned AGM-84 Harpoons from an RNZAF P-8A Poseidon of No. 5 Squadron, with the Kiwis assisted by an RAAF Poseidon and two from the U.S. Navy.
This is the first time an RNZAF Poseidon has taken part in Valiant Shield, which started in 2006 and is in its 11th iteration this year, and the first time they have used anti-ship ordnance, which were loaded at Anderson AFB in Guam.
Then came the coup de grace delivered by an unnamed Japanese submarine (likely JS Jingei, SS 515). A bit of a tragic twist of fate when you consider the loss of a previous USS Juneau (CL-52), which was lost to a Japanese submarine in 1942 and carried almost all of her crew, including the five Sullivan brothers, to the bottom.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine fires a torpedo at the decommissioned USS Juneau in support of a live-fire sinking exercise (SINKEX) as part of Valiant Shield 2026 while underway in the Philippine Sea, June 27, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anthony Vilardi)
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine fires a torpedo at the decommissioned USS Juneau in support of a live-fire sinking exercise (SINKEX) as part of Valiant Shield 2026 while underway in the Philippine Sea, June 27, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anthony Vilardi)
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine fires a torpedo at the decommissioned USS Juneau in support of a live-fire sinking exercise (SINKEX) as part of Valiant Shield 2026 while underway in the Philippine Sea, June 27, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anthony Vilardi)
The Jolly J now lies with the fishes. A hard-earned rest.
Ukraine’s ground war with Russia is a charnel house that requires something like 30,000 new/returning recruits every month to keep the trenches semi-full. It is a war that has always been a numbers game.
An innovative method that the troop-poor country is turning to is the old enlisting prisoners bit, be it from among civilian or military inmate populations.
You know, the whole Dirty Dozen thing.
It is something that is actually pretty common in Soviet military history, with the Shtrafbat Penal Units of the Great Patriotic War being infamous. During that conflict, no less than 65 independent criminal battalions and 1,028 penal companies were established; however, pardons generally only came after being too wounded to fight any more, with the bonus of being sent to a regular infantry unit on the front once/if you healed, so there is that. Of the more than 427,000 who served in Soviet punishment units during the war, very few were still standing in 1946, and even those lucky bastards usually got a post-war ticket to the gulag for their service.
However, the difference with Ukraine is that they are actively recruiting in women’s prisons.
It makes sense on a modern battlefield when you need things like drone makers and operators and lots of EW/SIGINT folks.
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 1 July 2026: The Klinker Dinker
Above we see a great period Kodachrome of the well-armed Crosley-class high-speed transport USS Kleinsmith (APD-134)moored next to the Chicago Sun Times building in July 1959 during the celebration of the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Laid down in WWII as a destroyer escort but completed as a frogman delivery vehicle, she starred in an iconic movie released some 75 years ago this week on Uncle Sam’s “fin-footed, goggle-eyed, beach-blasting heroes,” before heading off to hold the line in the South China Sea for another 30 years.
The Crosley class
During the early days of WWII, with a dire need for small and fast amphibious warfare vessels, especially in the South Pacific, the Navy quickly converted 32 old flush-deck destroyers left over from the Great War.
Dubbed “Green Dragons,” such conversions meant landing their 4-inch guns, which went on to equip armed merchant ships, as well as their torpedo tubes. Also left behind were half of their boilers, which dropped their speed down to 25 knots. These high-speed transports (APDs) were given a trio of newer high-angle 3-inch/50 guns, one 40 mm AA gun, and five 20 mm AA guns, and the capability to carry up to 300 Marines or soldiers for a brief period. Where torpedo tubes once were, they now carried four 36-foot LCVP landing craft on large davits.
USS Colhoun (APD-2) February 1942. In her Green Dragon configuration 80-G-464374
These converted flush-deckers saw very hard service, with one three out of the four Dragons of TransDiv 12, USS Colhoun (DD-85/APD-2), Gregory (DD-82/APD-3), and Little (DD-79/APD-4), all lost in the Guadalcanal Campaign within a week of each other. The surviving fourth, USS McKean (DD-90/APD-5), was later sunk by a Japanese bomber.
With the concept of destroyer-sized transports vetted and with replacements needed, the Navy soon ordered 99 Buckley– and Rudderow-class destroyer escorts converted as APDs (though five were canceled).
Just under 1,800 tons and 306 feet long, the Rudderows were hardy 23-knot ships that would be classified as sloops or corvettes in other navies, but the term destroyer escort seemed a better fit for the USN and their pair of 5 inch /38 dual purpose mounts, four 40 mm Bofors, ten 20 mm single mount Oerlikons, torpedo tubes and depth charges allowed them to punch out of their weight class. Plus, they could float in just 11 feet of seawater, which meant they could get pretty close into old Hirohito’s backyard.
To maximize their usefulness, these ships were redesigned from the stack back, with the aft 5-incher and torpedo tubes never fitted. This left them with six Bofors in a 3×2 arrangement and six single 20mm mounts along with two stern racks for depth charges. Surface search radar (SA, SF, SL or SU) and a QGA sonar set were standard.
The first Rudderrow APD conversion was USS Crosley (APD-87, ex-DE226) which entered service in October 1944, the leader of what would become a 51-vessel class.
Drink in these images of Crosley-class member USS Joseph M. Auman (APD-117).
Auman carried UDT-7 to the Pacific in late 1945, then was laid up in 1946. In 1963, she was transferred to the Mexican Navy and served as ARM Tehuantupec (H05) until 1989
Their reason for existing was to carry a company-sized element of Marines, UDT teams, Army Rangers, etc., and bring them to the three-fathom line out from the surf, where landing craft would take over and do the rest of the job to get them over-the-beach.
To get their Marines in the water, the Crosleys had four 36-foot LCVP landing craft, each capable of holding 36 men in marching order, able to theoretically land 144 men in a single lift.
A 26-foot whale boat was shoe-horned in to serve as a gig/control vessel. Six 25-man floater nets and eight 25-man balsa wood floats provided emergency accommodations for 350 men should the APD have to be vacated in an emergency, and the boats were not available.
Ship’s crew included a skipper and 10 wardroom officers, 15 CPOs, and 164 crew, all with their own personal gear lockers. Less than luxurious accommodations were provided for 12 “greenside” officers and 150 enlisted, without the aforementioned lockers, as they were supposed to be short-term riders. Total berthing was for 346 souls (24 in officers’ country and 322 assorted enlisted), leaving only six to hot bunk if all the billets were full.
There was also a series of small storage compartments and allotted deck space, designed to carry six 1/4 ton trucks (jeep/GPW equivalent), two M-2-4 1 ton trucks, four ammunition carts, four 75mm M1 pack howitzers, 6,000 cu. ft. of ammo, 3,500 cu. ft. of general cargo (C-rats, etc.), as well as bunker space for 7,000 gallons of mo-gas. With no vehicle deck to speak of and her landing craft in davits, the only way to load these was via the crane on the stern once the Higgins boats were in the water.
The Bethlehem-built Crosley-class high-speed transport USS Scribner (APD-122) underway off Boston on 20 October 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 31, Design 20L. U.S. National Archives photo BS 76150
Crosley-class high-speed transport USS Scribner (APD-122) underway. She earned a single battle star running UDT divers during the Okinawa campaign, was laid up in 1946, then sold for scrap in 1966. NHHC 19-N-76151
Meet Kleinsmith
Our subject was named after Water Tender First Class Charles Kleinsmith (NSN: 2428775), a regular who enlisted in the Navy just after his 18th birthday in 1922. After service as an engineering rate on the battleships USS Wyoming (BB-32) and Maryland (BB-46), cruisers Milwaukee (CL-5), Cincinnati (CL-6), Portland (CA-33), and Honolulu (CL-48), and the carrier Saratoga (CV-3), he transferred to the new flattop Yorktown (CV-5) on Halloween 1940.
He earned a Navy Cross, the kind they give your family after, during the Battle of Midway aboard Yorktown, giving his last to fight a fire in Boiler Room No. 1 and assisted in keeping the boiler under steam to keep the ship’s auxiliary power in operation after a Japanese attack that “enabled the fighting carrier to attain the speed necessary for launching planes to oppose a Japanese aerial attack.” Lost in the battle, he is still listed as missing, presumed dead, promoted to Chief Water Tender, posthumously.
Watertender First Class Charles Kleinsmith
The 25th of the 37 destroyer escorts (Yard Nos. 266-303) ordered from the Defoe Shipbuilding Co of Bay City, Michigan, starting in October 1942, the future USS Kleinsmith was laid down as Defoe Hull No. 291 on 30 August 1944, a Rudderow-class destroyer escort (DE-718).
She was launched 27 January 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Mary Agnes Kleinsmith, Charles’s widow.
Note the fella holding on to the bow!
Towed down the Mississippi to New Orleans via the Illinois River and Lakes Michigan and Huron, she finished outfitting there and was commissioned as USS Crosley (APD-87), 12 June 1945, just before what would have been her namesake’s 41st birthday.
The future USS Kleinsmith (APD-134) in the tow of tug John W. Weeks passing downstream on the Illinois River under the Morris Highway Bridge, 23 May 1945. Kleinsmith was in tow down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans for commissioning. War Department US Engineers Office, Chicago, IL. Photo #556 from the collections of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Home of the SS Cobia. Via Navsource
Making future Kleinsmith (APD-134) fast to the Towboat John W. Weeks at the Marseilles Lock on the Illinois River, 23 May 1945. Kleinsmith was in tow down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans for commissioning. War Department US Engineers Office, Chicago, IL. Photo #564 from the collections of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Home of the SS Cobia. Via Navsource
Her plankowner c/o was LCDR Alden James “Doc” Laborde (USNA 1938). It was the young Louisianan’s third command after being called back from the reserve list in 1942, having been skipper of USS PC-560 and USS Blair (DE 147) on Atlantic duty.
Of note, just two other tin cans were completed by Defoe past Kleinsmith, Hull 292 USS Weiss (DE 719/APD 135) and Hull 293 Carpellotti (DE 720/APD 136), with Hull Nos. 294-303 canceled by the Navy.
War!
Commissioned in the twilight period between VE-Day and VJ-Day, Kleinsmith’s war was short but she still served.
Leaving New Orleans for a shakedown cruise to Guantanamo Bay and post-shakedown availability at Norfolk, she departed the East Coast on 4 August 1945 for the Pacific via the Panama Canal. In post-war interviews with Laborde, he was advised the little APD would be used as a UDT ship for the Operation Olympic Landings in Southern Japan in November, but VJ-Day scrubbed that plan.
After calls at San Diego and Pearl Harbor, she reached Buckner Bay, Okinawa on 1 October and spent the next five months on Occupation duty in Japanese and Chinese waters with Task Group 59.2.
Leaving Sasebo on 21 February 1946, she arrived at San Francisco six weeks later with 118 returning veterans embarked.
With a one-page War History, her crew was eligible for the Navy Occupation Service Medal and China Service Medal (for period 28 September 1945 to 22 February 1946), but Kleinsmith did not rate any battle stars.
None of the 51 Crosley-class APDs were lost in the war, with 34 mothballed in gently used condition by 1947.
One of just 17 Crosleys retained on active duty post-war, Kleinsmith departed the West Coast on 10 April 1946 for the East Coast via the Panama Canal, arriving in Norfolk on 1 May, where she would call home for the rest of her U.S. Navy career.
The 1954 Jane’s entry for the 92 remaining DE-APD conversions still in the U.S. fleet, with the Crosleys (converted Rudderows) lumped in with the Lawrences (converted Buckleys). Most of the ships in both classes were in mothballs at this time:
Cold War
Operating with the UDT frogmen out of Little Creek and assorted East Coast Marine units, Kleinsmith spent the next 14 years on a series of exercises ranging from Puerto Rico (amphibious training at Vieques Island) to Maine (submarine shakedown support), with ship-to-shore, gunfire support, ASW, and antiaircraft drills alternating with seven very real deployments to the Mediterranean during an era where the Soviets were always over the horizon.
USS Kleinsmith (APD-134) during the 1950s with her boats launched. NHHC L45-158.05.02
It was while in the Caribbean on one such exercise that Kleinsmith was tasked with what would be referred to these days as a Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) on 24 October 1958 when she rescued 56 U.S. citizens and 3 foreign nationals at Nicaro, Cuba, where they were endangered by military operations ashore between Batista’s Army and Castro’s rebels.
In the summer of 1959 (27 May to 3 August), Kleinsmith became one of the few active duty U.S. warships in modern history to conduct an extended operation on the Great Lakes, transiting the newly opened St. Lawrence Seaway.
In doing so, she was the first naval vessel in several Lake ports in a century or more.
USS Kleinsmith (APD-134) first warship in Ashtabula since 1812. Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 25, 1959
Several images exist of her in Chicago that summer.
USS Kleinsmith (APD-134) moored next to the Sun Time Building at Chicago in July 1959. Kleinsmith was part of the task force that was in Chicago for the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Same as the above
Movie Star
For three weeks in 1951 (15 January to 6 February) the old “Klinker Dinker” stood by at Naval Station Key West to serve as a floating movie set for the Richard Widmark vehicle, The Frogmen.
Highlighting the efforts of Navy UDT men during WWII, many of the extras on the “set” were real UDT men, brought down by Kleinsmith from Little Creek for the occasion, and the film shows some very realistic depictions of period tactics and methods used by these men.
Our little APD shows up in scene after scene.
The film was a major box-office success, ranking 37th among that year’s top earners.
Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it became a cultural phenomenon and is still widely recognized for bringing scuba diving and underwater action to mainstream audiences, clearing the way for a generation of follow-on “dive suit” movies and no doubt driving eager volunteers to The Teams for decades.
The film also enjoyed a wide overseas release.
Under a New Ensign
Several of the Crosleys that had been laid up in 1946 were held in mothballs for 15 years, then transferred aboard to overseas allies looking for a cheap-to-run escort with low mileage.
Crosley herself was stricken from the Naval Register on 1 June 1960, pulled from her rusty berth at Green Cove Springs, and transferred to Ecuador. Likewise, ex-USS Brock, Tollberg, and Ruchamkin were transferred to Colombia in the 1960s. Ex-USS Rednour went to Mexico in 1969 along with Auman. Four others went to South Korea.
In that vein, Kleinsmith was tapped in late 1959 for transfer to the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the Military Assistance Program.
To support the handover, in early 1960, the ROCN sent a 20-person team led by LCDR Chen Zhenmin to San Diego or on-board training. Subsequently, her hybrid U.S./ROCN crew sailed the ship to Taiwan in March, arriving at Tsoying on 16 May for a combined decommissioning/handover/commissioning ceremony.
She was named ROCS Tien Shan, which translates to “Heavenly Mountain,” and given pennant APD-815. Assigned to the 212th Destroyer Squadron, she engaged in regular patrol and amphibious warfare exercises for the next seven years.
The 1960 Jane’s entry:
By 1967, the ROCN had seven active ex-USN APDs, all dubbed the Mountain class after Tien Shah (Kleinsmith).
Jane’s for that year:
Others left unclaimed in U.S. service were soon scrapped, while a handful were given an extension to continue to serve a few more years, reclassified as LPRs (amphibious transport, small).
In May 1967, Tien Shah (Kleinsmith) was sent on the fourth Dunmu (Goodwill) voyage under RADM Guo Xunjing. Carrying 4th year naval cadets, she steamed to South Korea, Guam, Okinawa, and the Philippines, returning in August. It was the longest and best-traveled of the ROCN’s Dunmu cruises at the time.
In December 1967, Tien Shah had her pennant changed to APD-215, and she was assigned to the amphibious fleet.
Before 1974, she and most of her sisters picked up a second 5″/38 Mk 12 mount on their stern, taken from a similarly modernized Fletcher-class destroyer which had been given other armament, as well as six 324mm ASW torpedo tubes.
As described in that year’s Jane’s:
She was also later given some modern AA defenses in the form of a RIM-72C Sea Chaparral launcher.
By April 1978, pushing 33 years old, Tien Shah was then reclassed as a patrol frigate (PF-615, later PF-815) and transferred to the 131st Fleet, a coastal defense force tasked with counter-smuggling and fisheries protection.
That saw her armament reduced to just her forward twin 40mm Bofors.
Late in her career as an OPV, with just her forward Bofors.
She would soldier on for another 14 years, carrying pennant LPR-815 for most of that era, and still using the same checkerboard and seahorse crest as Kleinsmith, kept for good luck.
Via Baker, circa 1995 on the class:
Her final skipper passed on an extensive video in English to the APD Association/Kleinsmith Association in 1995 on the occasion of the tin can’s 50th anniversary reunion, including a walk-through of how the vessel looked at the time.
Decommissioned in October 1995 after 50 years of service, she was sold for scrap.
The ROCN ultimately operated 13 Mountain-class frigates/transports, and the last in service, ROCS Shou Shan (PF-837), the ex-Crosley-class USS Kline (APD-120), was put to pasture in May 1997. She was sunk as a target three years later.
Epilogue
Our subject had a remarkable 36 skippers, 25 of those Taiwanese.
Perhaps the most famous of Kleinsmith’s American captains was “Doc” Laborde, her plankowner wartime commander. After leaving the Navy, he designed and built the first submersible offshore drilling rig, Murphy Oil’s Mr. Charlie. He also founded ODECO, Tidewater Marine, Gulf Island Fabrication, and the Almar Foundation. A well-known mover and shaker in Gulf drilling for decades, Laborde passed in New Orleans in 2014, aged 98, and left behind five children, 18 grandchildren, and 35 great-grandchildren.
Tien Shah’s best-known skipper was ROCN VADM Lan Ningli, who has served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Naval Headquarters, Commander of the 124th Naval Fleet, Director of the Intelligence Division of the General Staff Headquarters, Chief of Staff of the Naval Anti-Submarine Warfare Command, and Director of the Naval Headquarters Intelligence Agency. Retired in 2017 after 40 years of service, he is a noted wargamer and naval pundit.
As for the APD/LPRs left on the U.S. Navy List, there were still at least 23 Buckley (Lawrence) and Crosley-class vessels still around in 1967, with some of the survivors given FRAM updates and others given limited conversions to serve as flagships.
Jane’s for that year, including a good list of disposals and transfers:
However, that would soon come to an end.
In November 1969, USS Beverly W. Reid (APD-119/LPR-119) was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Orange, where she remained inactive, for almost five years before her sale for scrap. She was the last Crosley in U.S. service.
Today, only one Crosley exists, the Colombian Navy’s ARC Cordoba (DT-15), formerly USS Ruchamkin (APD-89). Most of her has been serving as a museum ship at Jaime Duque Park since the 1980s.
USS Ruchamkin (APD-89) ( ARC Córdoba (DT-15)) on display in the Jaime Duque Park, Tocancipá, Colombia. Via Wikicommons.
The ROCN still conducts Dunmu goodwill training cruises, with the latest one seeing three ships crossing the Pacific Ocean and entering the Panama Canal and the Caribbean Sea, sailing 20,000 miles and calling at ports as diverse and far-flung (to Taiwan) as Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, and Guatemala.
The photo shows three ships of the ROCN Dunmu Goodwill Fleet: from left to right, the Cheng Kung-class guided-missile frigate ROCS Yueh Fei (PFG-1106), the oiler and ammunition supply ship Pan Shih (AOE-532), and the Kang Ding-class guided-missile frigate Di Hua (PFG-1206), docked at the Port Zante pier in St. Kitts and Nevis, April 2026.
Thanks for reading!
Meminisse est ad Vivificandum – To Remember is to Keep Alive
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Alabama-based Kimber went double-stack 1911 in 2024 after at least a 30-year run in the field of making single-stacks. We have reviewed a couple of these excellent pistols since then and are past the 3K round mark on our original test gun with zero (0) hiccups to report, leaving us feeling good headed into the new Comp series.
Released in January at the SHOT Show in either stainless (SST) or black in both 5-inch full-sized (Government) and 4.25-inch Pro (Commander) sizes, with flush-fit 20- and 19-round magazines, respectively, as the name would imply, the Comp models all sport a compensated barrel and slide.
The 4.25 model has an overall length of 7.79 inches. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Weight is 33.4 ounces, even with a full-length rail on the frame’s dustcover.
This gun was a dream to shoot on the range. Full stop.
We ran a bit over 1,000 rounds through it and should probably talk about how we ran them. Coming after our trouble-free 3,000-round review of the full-length 2K11, we had a feeling the 2K11 Pro Comp would be able to comfortably digest just about any commercial load we could throw at it.
So that’s what we did.
A typical range box for our Pro Comp field trip:
Note the mix of rounds. About the only thing that unites them is that they are factory 9×19 Luger/Para loads. We’ve got some Speer, Hornady, and Federal JHP in there, Federal Syntech in a few different loads (the colorful rounds), Remington bulk pack 115 FMJs, CCI Blazer Brass 115s, some Winchester 124 NATO loads, et. al. We would typically try to mix up the rounds in each magazine to include everything from 115s to 150s from numerous loads. No issues.
If you prioritize a gun that looks great, shoots better than it looks, and gives you minimal heartburn while still being carryable in a pinch, the Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp is a “cry once, buy once” option.
It ran so well on the range and felt good in the hand that finding things to complain about is a chore.
Holsters for double-stack 1911-style railguns with a commander-length slide are a bit tough to find. The nose of the 2K11 Pro makes it even harder. Luckily, Kimber has gone the extra mile and stocks a variety of 2K11-specific OWB and competition holsters on their site from Blackpoint, Ghost Hydra, and Red Hill Tactical. Still, we’d love to see folks like Galco, DeSantis, Falco, Philster, Safariland, and Tenicor cranking them out as well, especially in an IWB format because this shorter 2K11 could make a great carry gun, giving the Staccato CS or HD C4X some serious competition.
Other than that, about the only sticking points that got under our skin were the fact that you had to leave the excellent rear sight at home when you opt for a red/green dot. Further, the mag release and safety lever were stiff right out of the box but wore in over time.
Some 50 years ago today. A full half-century, “an old ship with a young crew” calls at a lost colony, “all’s forgiven.”
The pride of the Royal Navy, the Audacious-class aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (R09)entering Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 30 June 1976, with the crew eager to commemorate the Bicentennial of the United States. The historic ship’s visit and life aboard were featured in the popular 1976 BBC documentary series “Sailor.”
Arrayed aboard are FG.1 Phantoms of 892 NAS, Buccaneers of 809 NAS, Gannets of 849B NAS, Sea Kings of 824 NAS. A Wessex SAR from the Ships Flight is also on deck.
Shipping back to Plymouth, her Bicentennial deployment logged some 37,850nm and became the cover of her crew book.
All would be gone just three years later when Ark Royal decommissioned, the last full-sized British carrier to “cat and trap” conventional aircraft.
The 13th U.S. Cavalry Regiment is seen returning to garrison from its last march as a horse cavalry outfit before shipping off their mounts, trading horse shoes and oats for tires and tracks. The regiment’s colonel at the time was Charles “Lutie” Lewis Scott (USMA 1905), a noted horseman, prominent in the Cavalry Branch as a across an array of organized horse shows, polo matches, fox hunting, and endurance races.
Note, they are outfitted in marching order, complete with gun belts and M1911s. U.S. Signal Corps Photo 111-SC-108064, National Archives Identifier 523751061
The 13th Cavalry Regiment was first constituted on Groundhog’s Day 1901 with its first unit, Troop K, standing up at Fort Meade, South Dakota, on 26 July of the same year.
Spending much of its early years in the Philippines on counter-insurgency operations, the 13th Horse then shifted gears to police the border with Mexico from 1911 through 1916, which included pursuing Mexican outlaw Pascual Orozco.
With about 350 men (four Troops and the MG Troop) already stationed at “Cavalry Camp” in Columbus, New Mexico, they were on hand to repulse Pancho Villa’s raid on the border town that left the unit with 14 casualties versus 100~ suffered by the Villaristas in a 90-minute firefight, which led to Blackjack Pershing’s Punitive Expedition to chase old Panch into the Chihuahua desert.
Mexican Punitive Expedition, 13th Cavalry marching out of El Valle, 1916 111-SC-93333
Retiring from the border in 1921 after missing out on going “Over There,” with the rest of the Doughboys to France in the Great War, the horse soldiers helped film several early western movies, including “The Pony Express” in 1925 and “His First Command” in 1929.
They also notably conducted a 625-mile march from Fort D.A. Russell (now Francis E. Warren AFB, west of Cheyanne, Wyoming) to Fort Riley in good order over 30 days, carrying all their own supplies and bivouacking in the field long before there were interstates and rest stops.
13th Cavalry marched 625 miles to Fort Riley, Summer 1927 111-SC-91997
The regulars of the 13th started to receive their first trucks and motorcycles in 1927, in the slow decade-long transition to becoming a mechanized unit.
Leaving Ft Riley, they were assigned to the 7th Cavalry Brigade (Mechanized) at Fort Knox and began to receive the brand-new M1 Combat Car in 1937.
13th Cavalry M1 Combat Car operating cross-country. Fort Knox, Kentucky. August 1938 111-SC-108927
Thompson submachine gun mounted on a Harley flathead motorcycle of the HHC Troop, 13th Cavalry Regiment, August 1938, at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Note the early round “Old Ironsides” sleeve patch and the riding boots. 111-SC-108934
By 1940, re-badged as the 13th Armored Regiment (Light), they had an allowance for 82 M3 Scout Cars and 136 M3 Stuart Light Tanks, tasked with armored recon, and would soon be receiving M3 (Lee) medium tanks.
Shipping out with the “Old Ironsides” of the 1st Armored Division, the 13th landed in North Africa for Torch in November 1942, went on to lock horns and learn from the Afrika Korps the hard way in Tunisia. They saw their first major combat since 1916 at the Battle of Kasserine Pass, which was one tough proving ground for American armor.
M3 medium tank crew from Company F, 13th Armored Regiment, displays assorted 75mm ammunition. North Africa, 1942-43. Rounds from left to right are 75mm APCBC-HE-Ta shell M61, 75mm AP-T shot M72, and 75mm HE shell M48. Signal Corps 167328 via NARA.
The unit then traded its M3 Stuarts for M5s and M3 Lees for M4 Shermans to land in Europe for the invasion of Italy in November 1943. They pushed all the way up the Italian “boot,” ending the war nearly at the Swiss border, and earned seven battle streamers: Algeria-French Morocco (with arrowhead), Tunisia, Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rome-Arno, North Apennines, and Po Valley.
Then came occupation duty as the 13th Constabulary Squadron (which ironically included some horses), Cold War reorganization, activation, and inactivation until the 1st Battalion, 13th Armor (1-13 Armor), was stood back up on 16 February 1996 at Fort Riley, Kansas, and assigned once again to the 1st Armored Division. Of note, it had been nearly 60 years on the nose since the unit had hung up its horses at that very base to switch to tracks.
Since then, they have been overseas again to South Korea, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and today the only active Squadron, 2-13 Armor, is the armored recon unit for Old Ironsides’ 3rd Brigade, and is based at Fort Bliss. They ride Bradleys and Abrams.
Their motto is “It Shall Be Done,” and they are still nicknamed the 13th Horse.
Twenty-six ships from 13 partner and allied nations last week steamed in formation with the most grand of Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, USS Nimitz (CVN-68) herself, in Fleet Exercise (FLEETEX) 250 under the aegis of U.S. Second Fleet. The ships assembled the week of the 16th for preplanning and briefings with the At-Sea Execution (June 22-29) for a series of training serials, a fleet formation photoex, and a final free-play battle problem.
We have covered Nimitz’s final cruise with attention and a bit of wistfulness, as she is seemingly ageless and still reflects power, prestige, and potential.
Here are some great images of the photoex, captured by Mass Communication Specialists Frankie M. Guage, Julian Jaime, and Johnathan McCune.
Twenty-six ships from 13 partner and allied nations steam in formation with Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) as part of Fleet Exercise (FLEETEX) 250 in the Atlantic Ocean, June 25, 2026. Nimitz is underway taking part in Fleet Exercise (FLEETEX) 250, a series of structured multilateral training events at-sea, aimed at building cohesiveness, validating tactical procedures, and strengthening the interoperability of participating units—which include warships, aircraft, and crews from the U.S. and 13 partner and allied nations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Frankie M. Guage)
Twenty-six ships from 13 partner and allied nations steam in formation with Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) as part of Fleet Exercise (FLEETEX) 250 in the Atlantic Ocean, June 25, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Julian Jaime)
Twenty-six ships from 13 partner and allied nations steam in formation with Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a multinational maritime exercise as part of Fleet Exercise (FLEETEX) 250 in the Atlantic Ocean, June 25, 2026.
Twenty-six ships from 13 partner and allied nations steam in formation with Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a multinational maritime exercise as part of Fleet Exercise (FLEETEX) 250 in the Atlantic Ocean, June 25, 2026.
Participating nations in FLEETEX 250 include Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
You didn’t even have to bring your own ship to join the jointness, as USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) welcomed 10 naval ship riders from both the navies of Ghana and the Côte d’Ivoire, flown in for the event. At the same time, other vessels embarked guests from Cyprus, Cameroon, Morocco, and Senegal.
USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) welcomed 10 naval ship riders from both the Ghana Navy and the Côte d’Ivoire Navy for FLEETEX 250 (USCG photo)
USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) welcomed 10 naval ship riders from both the Ghana Navy and the Côte d’Ivoire Navy for FLEETEX 250 (USCG photo)
Stingray spotted
Photographed aboard Nimitz was a Boeing MQ-25A Stingray on her No. 3 Cat with two Rhinos behind the big UAV. It really gives a sense of scale to the U.S. Navy’s first operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft, which boasts a 75-foot wingspan (31 folded) compared to the F-18E/F’s 44-foot span.
The Stingray has already been vetted for refueling F-18s, F-35s, and E-2s in operational testing and, once integrated into airwings as the KQ-25 in two squadrons (VUQ-11 and VUQ-12) with 76 airframes planned, could be a game changer for strike operations.
Plus, and nobody really talks much about this, Stingray has two underwing hardpoints, which will likely be used most of the time for extra fuel tanks, but can also be used for things like LRASM and, with a gigantic internal fuel capacity, could be a dark horse strike asset in its own right.
Greyhound’s Final Race
The last ever arrested landing and later final catapult launch of a C-2A Greyhound from a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier happened last week, on Nimitz during FLEETEX250. The aircraft carried VADM Doug Perry, commander of both the Joint Force Command Norfolk and the 2nd Fleet, for a visit to CVN-68.
The aircraft involved was C-2A(R) BuNo 162159 (Modex 40), which was built during the Greyhound’s second run in the mid-1980s. Two other VRC-40 ‘Hounds (BuNos 162149 and 162157) operated from Nimitz the same day as well, but 159, flown by the Rawhide’s LT Nik “Boody” Fagen, was the last to both trap and cat, capping a 60-year run for the type.
A C-2A Greyhound, attached to the “Rawhides” of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40, lands on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), the last ever arrested landing of a Greyhound on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, in the Atlantic Ocean, June 25, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Alyssa J. Boling)
A C-2A Greyhound, attached to the “Rawhides” of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40, takes off from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), making the last ever catapult launch of a Greyhound from a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, in the Atlantic Ocean, June 25, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Peter K. McHaddad)
First flown in 1964, the mighty Greyhound, capable of carrying 10,000 pounds of cargo, including an entire engine for any carrier-based aircraft in its hold, is being replaced by the new “mailman of the fleet,” the CMV-22B Osprey, which can carry 6,000 pounds of cargo, including the F414 (used in the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet/EA-18G Growler).
As noted by the C-2A Greyhound Facebook page, since Osprey doesn’t trap or cat, this brings a close to another chapter in naval history:
For generations, enlisted Sailors had the unique opportunity to become Tailhookers, sharing the same catapult launches and arrested landings as Naval Aviators while serving aboard the Greyhound. With the retirement of the C-2A, that opportunity has also come to an end. It is a loss that will be deeply felt throughout the Fleet Logistics Support community, as well as by organizations such as the VAW/VRC/VUQ Foundation and the Tailhook Association.
The Last Greyhound
One final salute to steam and sea, One final launch from the carrier’s knee. The shuttle caught, the holdback broke, A roar of power, a plume of smoke. She rose where countless others flew, Through salted skies of endless blue. With mail and hope, with parts and men, She always found her way again. Not built for glory’s loud parade, But for the promises she made— To bridge the miles, to span the foam, To carry pieces of home. One final trap upon the deck, A wire caught with practiced check. The hook released, the engines sighed, As history stood alongside. The flight deck paused—a fleeting grace— Old hands remembered every face. The shirts of every color knew The faithful work the Greyhound drew. Now newer wings inherit the call, To serve the fleet and answer all. Yet echoes linger in the wind, Where steel and ocean have long been friends. For every launch must someday cease, And every landing comes in peace. But legends never fade away— They sail with every carrier day. Fair winds, faithful Greyhound. Your final catapult was not an ending, but the last line in a logbook written across nearly sixty years of sea and sky.
Besides the last lap of the ‘Hound, Nimitz had another blast from the past recently when working with the Argentine Navy, and two visiting Armada S-61D-4 (SH-3A) Sea Kings of EAH2 conducted ops from her deck.
An Argentine Navy SH-3 Sea King, attached to 2da Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Helicopteros (EAH) 2, lands on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) for a subject matter expert knowledge exchange and embark between U.S. and Argentine service members held onboard the Nimitz while the ship is underway in the Atlantic Ocean, April 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jaron Wills)
What next?
Following the exercise, many participating units – joined by the historic tall ships – will sail to New York City to take part in the seventh International Naval Review 250 from July 3-8.
Nimitz will be in the Big Apple as well.
“Adding USS Nimitz to the International Naval Review 250 roster brings a legendary piece of American naval history and maritime dominance directly to the heart of this celebration,” said Vice Adm. Doug Perry, commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet. “For five decades, the Sailors aboard Nimitz have stood the watch, defending freedom and ensuring global maritime security. Having this iconic warship anchor in New York Harbor alongside our international partners will be a breathtaking tribute to our nation’s 250th anniversary and a powerful demonstration of American resolve.”
Sometime after that, Nimitz arrives in Norfolk. Cruising over. One last party to schedule.
The USCG, which is increasingly being tapped for Navy-adjacent blue water ops far away from any American coastline, is getting its first vessel “contracted in a new initiative using commercial vessels to transport supplies, equipment, and personnel to Coast Guard cutters” operating at sea.
The new (to them) vessel is the blue-hulled Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean (HSC-Ocean), a long-term charter from Louisiana-based Bordelon Marine.
Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean is moored at U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Florida, June 26, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Reese Hindmarsh)
Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean is moored at U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Florida, June 26, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Reese Hindmarsh)
The HSC-Ocean initiative will rapidly deploy this leased commercial asset to augment the Coast Guard’s existing fleet, enhancing the Service’s ability to control, secure, and defend U.S. borders and maritime approaches. The initiative is designed to provide a rapid, adaptable, and effective way to deliver logistics support to high-demand, multi-mission cutters, such as the Fast Response Cutter fleet. By delivering supplies and personnel directly to cutters underway, the vessel will help keep Coast Guard assets on station longer and focused on mission execution.
In short, a rented patrol boat tender with civilian mariners “driving the bus” and embarked Coasties calling the shots.
HSC Ocean started as the M/V Connor Bordelon, a 257-foot/3,285 LT “Ultralight subsea intervention vessel” with a 60-ton AHC crane and 17m USCG/ABS Certified D Value helideck capable of supporting up to an AW189 (8 ton class) aircraft (the Coast Guard’s MH-65 weighs half that).
Connor Bordelon is fairly new, just completed in 2013, is rigged to support diving and multiple ROVs, has a work deck big enough to burn doughnuts on, and has room for 60 berths, including 24 showers and eight stacked laundry units. When it comes to support, she can carry nearly 70,000 gallons of potable water, produce another 3,100 a day via a Neptune system, and carry 122,000 gallons of diesel.
Under the contract, Bordelon Marine will provide a fully crewed commercial vessel operated by civilian mariners, under the direction of a Coast Guard crew. The vessel will transport supplies, equipment, and mission-essential personnel in support of Coast Guard operations. The contractor will be responsible for vessel operations and maintenance, while embarked Coast Guard personnel will coordinate logistics and support mission execution.
