Monthly Archives: August 2015

PCS-1 and their Griffins

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The Navy really didn’t like the Cyclone class patrol craft (PC), the 170-foot long coastal patrol boats built for the Naval Special Warfare community in the 1990s to replace the old Mekong Delta style 65-foot PB Mk III boats.

Originally the plan was to order 16 of these craft, then it was cut to 14, then when the Navy got them they quickly gave class leader Cyclone to the Philippines and decommissioned four others, turning them over to the Coast Guard for use as medium endurance cutters, leaving the Big Blue with just 9 ships which they were kinda OK with because they just used them to putter around Little Creek anyway.

150317-N-SF508-627 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 17, 2014) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) leads other coastal patrol ships assigned to Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 (PCRON 1) in formation during a divisional tactics exercise. PCRON-1 is deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released)

150317-N-SF508-627 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 17, 2014) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) leads other coastal patrol ships assigned to Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 (PCRON 1) in formation during a divisional tactics exercise. PCRON-1 is deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released) CLICK TO BIG UP

150317-N-SF508-274 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 17, 2014) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) and other coastal patrol ships assigned to Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 (PCRON 1) transit in formation during a divisional tactics exercise.PCRON 1 is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released)

150317-N-SF508-274 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 17, 2014) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) and other coastal patrol ships assigned to Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 (PCRON 1) transit in formation during a divisional tactics exercise.PCRON 1 is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released) CLICK TO BIG UP

Then came the heightened post-Saddam tensions with Iran in the Persian Gulf and, with the Navy suddenly looking for their small boats again, the Coast Guard was forced to give back their Cyclones and ten of the ships were sent to Manama, Bahrain where they serve as the force that keeps the Straits of Hormuz open as PCRON1 (the other craft are stationed at Mayport).

They are among the smallest ships in the fleet and get rode hard

They have been augmented with the MK-60 Patrol Coastal Griffin Missile System to help defend against Iranian swarm attacks if needed. The system uses the AGM-176 Griffin, a 35-pound four foot long Frankenstein cobbled together from the Javelin and Sidewinder– but it carries a 13 pound blast fragmentation warhead and has a range of 5 miles, which will scratch the paint job of a Boghammar speedboat pretty good while outraging the RPGs, Dhsk guns and unguided rockets typically carried by those asymmetric craft by a bit.

Five coastal patrol ships (PC) and their crews, assigned to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 55, conducted a test and proficiency fire on the Griffin Missile System (GMS) June 26-28. CTF 55 supports maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the 5th fleet area of responsibility. Also available in high definition. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Joshua Bryce Bruns/Released)

The forgotten but still useful revolver speed loader

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Many wheelgun owners have heard of them but never used them, as they are a throwback to yesteryear. We are talking about the humble but very effective speed loader, and once you figure it out, you’ll fall in love.

The first revolver speed loader patented was that of William H Bell in 1879. Bell’s device was a simple metal disk with a rotating locking mechanism that held six revolver rounds. When used with a top-break revolver of the time, such as the Smith and Wesson Lemon squeezer, the speed loader would drop six ready rounds in the cylinder extremely rapidly.

prideaux ad
The Brits used a number of Prideaux and Watson speed loaders during World War I for their Webley topbreaks and, after a thirty year hiatus, by the 1950s Pachmayr of Los Angeles built a rubber-plastic speed loader while Matich and Dade Machine Screw quickly followed in their wake.

By the 1970s, police and security as well as those “in the know” had were using speed loaders and their ugly stepsister, the speed strip, for faster reloads.

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HKS, Safariland, and 5 Star make the most commonly encountered loaders.

First off, there are two types of speed loaders.

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The first, made by companies such as HKS and 5 Star, use a center loading knob that hold 5-6-7-8 cartridges, depending on your revolver choice until you are ready to use them. Turning the knob one way secures loose rounds when you are charging the loader. Turning them, the opposite will drop the rounds. HKS generally makes them with plastic bodies while 5 Star runs flashy aluminum billet jobs that cost a little bit more.

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The second type are made by Safariland and others that, similar to the other style, use a small plastic knob in the center to lock the rounds into place, but use a centerline button on the opposite side that, when popped by the ejector rod dimple on the revolver’s cylinder, set the loader free and drops the rounds into the chambers. These are very fast and often used in competition. Safariland makes three different models of these.

Finally, there are speed strips with the best-known maker of those being Bianchi. With no moving parts, these phenolic strips are very durable and easy to use.

These rapid reloading devices are a little tricky to use, but can cut that dangerous time without a loaded gun very short indeed.

With speed loaders, loading your revolver is a four-step process.

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And to read about that process, head on over to my column at Ruger Talk

HMS Hood, arriving

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hms hood ensign 2015

After more than seven decades, the Royal Navy’s standard ‘flies’ once more on the Mighty Hood.

Two thousand eight hundred and forty-eight meters – 9,330ft, or a mile and three quarters – below the surface of the Denmark Strait, the White Ensign has been placed on the remains of the battlecruiser.

It took the robot submarine which ‘hoisted’ the flag more than two and a half hours to reach the warship’s wreck, the last resting place of 1,415 men killed when the Hood blew up in battle with Hitler’s flagship Bismarck in May 1941.

The ensign was placed close to the shattered bow of the Hood, which was the pride of the Navy and nation between the two world wars.

The ‘raising’ of the Navy’s standard on the wreck formed part of a three-pronged mission led by Microsoft founder and philanthropist Paul G Allen with deep-sea exploration experts Blue Water Recoveries – who found the Hood back in 2001.

Hood is an official war grave protected by the MOD, who gave special permission for Mr Allen to recover Hood’s bell so it can serve as a memorial to the ship’s crew in the Naval Museum in Portsmouth.

As part of the successful recovery of the bell, the underwater specialists promised to place a White Ensign and, if possible, clean a memorial plaque placed on a previous expedition.

The submersible was in the process of moving the plaque so it could be smartened up when bad weather on the surface forced the team to abandon the operation and bring the mini-sub back up.

Picture courtesy of Paul G Allen. Hattip Navy News

Farewell, Edinburgh

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A historic Navy destroyer ­last week left Britain for the last time to be sold for scrap in Turkey after a campaign to turn it into tourist attraction in ­Edinburgh ended in failure.

It had been hoped that HMS Edinburgh (D97), the last of the Royal Navy’s Type 42 destroyers, would find a new home in Leith. But after proposed costs for the venture were deemed too high, the ship was sold to a Turkish scrap merchant, a fate which befell her sister ships, HMS ­Manchester and HMS Liverpool.

The Type 42s, of which the most famous were Falklands veterans Sheffield and Coventry, were small ships, designed to be just 3500-tons standard displacement with a length of 392 feet at the waterline making them more frigate than destroyer. Equipped with the Sea Dart twin surface-to-air missile system, Edinburgh fired the last ever operational Sea Dart missiles in 2012.

HMS Edinburgh conducted the last ever Sea Dart missile firing at the North Western Scottish range of Benbecula. The Ship fired five missiles, three single missiles and a two missile salvo at an Unmanned Drone target. HMS Edinburgh conducted the final Sea Dart Missile firing at the North Western Scottish range of Benbecula. The Ship fired five missiles, three single missiles and a two missile salvo at an Unmanned Drone target. This is the last time the 30 year old missile system will be fired as it is due to be replaced by the Sea Viper system fitted to the latest Type 45 destroyers. (MoD Crown Copyright)

HMS Edinburgh conducted the last ever Sea Dart missile firing at the North Western Scottish range of Benbecula. The Ship fired five missiles, three single missiles and a two missile salvo at an Unmanned Drone target. HMS Edinburgh conducted the final Sea Dart Missile firing at the North Western Scottish range of Benbecula. The Ship fired five missiles, three single missiles and a two missile salvo at an Unmanned Drone target. This is the last time the 30 year old missile system will be fired as it is due to be replaced by the Sea Viper system fitted to the latest Type 45 destroyers. (MoD Crown Copyright)

16 were completed of which 2, ironically, were sold to Argentina and one of these, the 38 year old ARA Hércules (B-52) which has been converted to an APD style vessel capable of transporting 250 Argentine marines, will soon be the last Type 42 afloat.

The wonderful FN Browning 1900, and its many imitators

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John Moses Browning’s first semi-auto handgun was one of the best ever made and, regardless of whether you call it the Browning No.1, the FN Mle. 1900 or the M1900, it has a very interesting (some would say infamous) story to tell.

Why was it born?

When Mr. Browning began to market his low-wall M1885 rifle, firearms giant Winchester stood up and noticed then promptly sent a lawyer to the inventor’s Utah shop with a contract to put him on the payroll with an exclusive contract. Throughout the next decade and change, Browning came up with the idea for some of the best lever action rifles and shotguns that Winchester ever sold, but by 1897 made a break from the company.

This put the Thomas Edison of American small arms into play and he branched out into designing not only lever action and pump action long arms but also semiautomatics, machineguns, and handguns– but needed someone to make them.

Going first to Remington, things didn’t work out, so Browning packed a steamer trunk and headed to the Belgian manufacturing town of Herstal to speak to the good folks at Fabrique Nationale (FN). Formed from the best gun minds in nearby Liege, renowned for firearms manufacture, FN was churning out Mauser bolt-action rifles by the thousands under contract for the Royal Belgian Army but was looking to expand.

Browning brought them his first semi-auto shotgun, which became famous as the Browning Auto 5, and a compact semi-auto pistol, which became best known as the 1900.

fn 1900 joeri-14

Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk

But how was that cheese sammy?

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Lieutenant Ken Giles about commanding a M3 Grant in North AfricaBased on a quote by Lieutenant Ken Giles about commanding a M3 Grant in North Africa from Douglas’ ‘Alamein to Zem Zem’ artwork by Eric Toner

Phillipines Special Forces look like they come from 1975, but do it correct (VIDEO)

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The Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) of the Philippines Army was modeled after the U.S. Green Berets to some extent, and they look pretty tough.

Formed in the 1960s, SF got broke in the hard way by supporting the Filipino contingent fighting in Vietnam but when that war ended, they were just getting warmed up. You see ever since then they have been fighting a hard knocks campaign against guerrillas in the hills from hardlegs like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front,  the Abu Sayyaf Group, Jemaah Islamiyah, and Al Qaeda operating in the southernmost Philippine Island of Mindanao.

Organized in 20 special forces companies (with 5 parent battalions) and deploying in 12 man teams much like our own ODA “A-teams” and spend a lot of time leading local militia forces (much like the old Green Berets did in the Strategic Hamlet Program with CIDGs), the above recruiting commercial shows off a lot of dated (lets call it classic) kit such as M16A2s, M1 Garands, M60s, and old-school training and tactics.

And yes, there is tiger stripe camo cameos!

Hey, if it ain’t broke…

Combat Gallery Sunday: The Purrfict Martial Art of Alexander Zavaliy

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Much as once a week I like to take time off to cover warships (Wednesdays), on Sunday, I like to cover military art and the painters, illustrators, sculptors, and the like that produced them.

Combat Gallery Sunday: The Purrfict Martial Art of Alexander Zavaliy

Born in 27 January 1955 in Vorkuta, a coal-mining town in the Komi Republic (its north of the Arctic Circle and its name means “place teems with bears”), Alexander Zavaliy went to officer school and served in the Red Army, being forward deployed to East Germany and seeing what Afghanistan looks like on the two ruble a day plan.

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Leaving the military, he studied art at Kuban State University in Krasnodar then settled in the warm Black Sea town of Gelendzhik near Novorossiysk and took up painting and drawing. In the past twenty years he has cranked out some 500 works as a professional illustrator and recently came up with the idea of portraying Russo-Soviet military history, with a slight twist.

He uses cats as models, but going beyond the feline factor, uses a lot of military authenticity.

Hussar of the Patriotic War of 1812

Hussar of the Patriotic War of 1812

Tsarist Cossack of the Imperial Konvoy cat with his cavlary shaska on watermelon practise. Note the Austin-Putilov armoured car in the background with its distinctive twin Maxim turrets. Of the 250~ Austins built during WWI, just 33 were Russian made Pulitov models but both kinds were used in against both the Germans and in the famed Armored Car unit in Petrograd during the Revolution, mentioned several times in John Reed's 10 Days That Shook the World.

Tsarist Cossack of the Imperial Konvoy cat with his cavalry shaska on watermelon practice. Note the Austin-Putilov armored car in the background with its distinctive twin Maxim turrets. Of the 250~ Austins built during WWI, just 33 were Russian made Pulitov models but both kinds were used in against both the Germans and in the famed Armored Car unit in Petrograd during the Revolution, mentioned several times in John Reed’s 10 Days That Shook the World.

White Russian army officer cat complete with Tsarist cap insignia and shoulder boards. Note all four orders of the Cross of the Knights of St. George across his blouse and the British Mark V series tank behind him-- 60 of these beasts were used by the Whites in the Ukraine with British assistance and went on to become the first Soviet tanks.

White Russian army officer cat complete with Tsarist cap insignia and shoulder boards. Note all four orders of the Cross of the Knights of St. George across his blouse and the British Mark V series tank behind him– 60 of these beasts were used by the Whites in the Ukraine with British assistance and went on to become the first Soviet tanks.

Black Sea Soviet Naval Infantry

Black Sea Soviet Naval Infantry, WWII. Note the Maxim machinegun belt, and captured Mauser bayonet

Minesweeper

Minesweeper. Dig the M91 Mosin on his back and the E-tool sticking up over the bedrool

Hero sniper inspecting his Mosin rifle, note the Note German Shepherd looking out through the ruins of the Theater Building in Stalingrad

Hero sniper inspecting his Mosin rifle, note the Note German Shepherd looking out through the ruins of the Theater Building in Stalingrad

Which leads to the inevitable surrender of cat versions of Friedrich Paulus, General-Feldmarshal (left) and his aides Col. Wilhelm Adam (right) and Lt.-Gen. Arthur Schmidt (middle)

Which leads to the inevitable surrender of cat versions of Friedrich Paulus, General-Feldmarshal (left) and his aides Col. Wilhelm Adam (right) and Lt.-Gen. Arthur Schmidt (middle)

ADN-ZB/TASS II. Weltkrieg 1939-45 Schlacht um Stalingrad vom Juli 1942 bis Februar 1943 Der kriegsgefangene Generalfeldmarschall Friedrich Paulus (l.), bisher Oberbefehlshaber der faschistischen 6. Armee in Stalingrad, trifft am 31.1.1943 mit seinem Stabschef, Generalleutnant Arthur Schmidt (m.), und seinen Adjutanten, Oberst Wilhelm Adam, beim Stab der sowjetischen 64. Armee in Beketowka ein. Aufnahme Lipskerow

For reference: ADN-ZB/TASS II. Weltkrieg 1939-45 Schlacht um Stalingrad vom Juli 1942 bis Februar 1943 Der kriegsgefangene Generalfeldmarschall Friedrich Paulus (l.), bisher Oberbefehlshaber der faschistischen 6. Armee in Stalingrad, trifft am 31.1.1943 mit seinem Stabschef, Generalleutnant Arthur Schmidt (m.), und seinen Adjutanten, Oberst Wilhelm Adam, beim Stab der sowjetischen 64. Armee in Beketowka ein.
Aufnahme Lipskerow

Russian cats in the German army-- note the Schmisser and the dog collar gorget on the German Feldgendarmerie

Russian cats in the German army– note the Schmisser and the dog collar gorget on the German Feldgendarmerie

A very happy frontovik with his accordian

A very happy frontovik with his accordion

Scout with his PPSH-- complete with tally marks on the buttstock. Very similar to http://laststandonzombieisland.com/2015/07/25/15350/ the Portrait of Soviet Guards Sgt. Alexey G. Frolchenko

Scout with his PPSH– complete with tally marks on the buttstock. Very similar to the Portrait of Soviet Guards Sgt. Alexey G. Frolchenko

Surrender of a Tiger tank. The SS Doberman and Wehrmacht German Shepherd make it

Surrender of a Tiger tank. The SS Doberman doesnt look like he is going to make it, but the Wehrmacht German Shepherd just may. Note the late war PPS-43 and quilted winter uniform

A very Marshal Zhukov like comrade cat at his desk. Note the 100 dog kills medal

A very Marshal Zhukov-like comrade cat at his desk. Note the 100 dog kills medal and the coffee glass filled with cream

And of course, a glorious Red Army airborne forces paratrooper with his AK-74

And of course, a glorious Red Army VDV airborne forces paratrooper with his AK-74 and Guards telnyashka striped shirt

Of course Zavaliy also has a body of more serious work as well.

x_c8c6a099 x_9716749b Alexander Zavaliy

Thank you for your work, sir.

The lost Fast 50s of the Kiowa

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Although the Bell Helicopter OH-58D Kiowa Warriors have been withdrawn (regretfully) from service, the air frame design dates back to Vietnam and had served the Army well for five decades. In its final form the Kiowa packed some serious hardware.

Originally part of the Army’s retired Avenger air defense system, the FN-made M3P .50 caliber heavy machine gun is a thing of beauty. We are talking about a 81-pound 12.7x99mm NATO BMG with a three-foot long barrel. Big deal right? Sounds like the standard M2 Ma Duece, right? Well this bad boy, instead of the M2s sedate and hypnotic 400-ish rounds per minute rate of fire, the M3P runs at up to 1100.

About three times faster…

This made the rapid fire .50, with its effective range on soft targets out to 3,000 meters and lightly armored vehicles at about half that, a sweet option to up-arm Kiowas headed to the sandbox.

In 2004 experiments with the M3P side-mounted on an OH-58 at Rucker were successful, leading to an Operational Needs Statement in 2007.

M3P .50 caliber machine gun on bell jet ranger FN test

M3P .50 caliber machine gun on bell jet ranger FN test

“The Avenger system was being phased out because there is no current air threat,” said Maj. Kirk McCauley, assistant product manager for Kiowa Warrior, PEO for Aviation in 2009. “They were being turned in and some 800 guns were being taken off and put in storage.

“The guns were in various stages of readiness. But they were also government-owned. Instead of developing something new, we decided to take a proven system and adapt it and save money.”

oh 58 with M3P .50 caliber machine gun

Once the machine gun was chosen, it needed a mounting system (platform) that would attach it to the Kiowa helicopter. The MOPP Shop competed with two military contractors in developing a mounting system.

“As work on a firing platform progressed, it became apparent to us that we weren’t so sure that the military contractors would have the platform that was needed for the job,” said Gary Henry, chief of the MOPP Shop’s Sustainment Support Division, Integrated Materiel Management Center.

“Through a combined effort, we came up with a platform to mount the gun on the Kiowa’s universal weapons pylon. Our platform design is solely based on the talents of the guys in our machine shop. Without that platform, our gun would not have been selected.”

OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter systems repairer with Troop D, 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade loading hopper with 50 cal

OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter systems repairer with Troop D, 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade loading hopper with 50 cal

The Kiowa’s M3P system uses the existing Kiowa Warrior ammo can, the Avenger feed chute and a simple, lightweight mount designed by the MOPP shop. The new mount attaches the M3P directly to the Universal Weapons Pylon (UWP) and eliminates a cumbersome gun cage assembly.

Test data from fielding with the 7/17th showed that the MOPP Shop’s mount and gun system was durable, reduced the noise level by 48 percent and dropped the weight of the system by 65 pounds.

OH-58F with M3P .50 caliber machine gun

OH-58F with M3P .50 caliber machine gun

In the end at least 380 M3Ps were fitted to the Kiowa fleet, and fired in excess of 100,000 rounds in theater, helping the Joes at the sharp end go home whole.

Now, the big 50s, like the Kiowa, are history. Hellfire and Griffin-armed UAVs will take their place, but neither of them can drop 750-grain incendiary tracer at 18 rounds per second with eyeballs on target in real-time.

2-6 Cavalry Squadron, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, B Troop flies near Seoul on a hazy day

2-6 Cavalry Squadron, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, B Troop flies near Seoul on a hazy day

Last ride of the Phrog

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Photo: Cpl. Owen Kimbrel | Department of Defense | 141029-M-CJ278-111 CLICK TO BIG UP 2000x1124

Photo: Cpl. Owen Kimbrel | Department of Defense | 141029-M-CJ278-111 CLICK TO BIG UP 2000×1124

After six decades of Marines, the final CH-46E Sea Knight in U.S. service made its last flight and she is beautiful.

Bu. No. 153369 was the flag bearer for the Phrog’s retirement. For this task she picked up“retro” markings, applied by HMM-364 “Purple Foxes,” who operated this aircraft extensively during the Vietnam War.

She is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

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