Above is an interesting look at the inner workings of a MK VI patrol boat assigned to Coastal Riverine Group (CRG) 1 Detachment Guam, part of Coastal Riverine Squadron (CRS) 2.
The U.S. Navy Mark VI patrol boat is a very well-armed successor to classic PT boats of WWII (sans torpedoes), Nasty boats of Vietnam, and Cold War-era PB Mk IIIs. The Mk IIIs, a heavily armed 65-foot light gunboat, was replaced by the Mk V SOC (Special Operations Craft), a somewhat lighter armed 82-foot go fast and the 170-foot Cyclone-class patrol ships.
Now the Navy coughed up the idea for the Mk VI back in 2012, and plan on obtaining as many as 48 of these boats and are deployed in two separate strategic areas of operation: Commander, Task Force (CTF) 56 in Bahrain and CTF 75 in Guam.
At $6-million a pop, they are twice as expensive as USCG 87-foot WPBs and with much shorter legs, but they have huge teeth. Notice the 25mm MK38 Mod 2 forward and aft, the M2 RWS mount atop the wheelhouse, and the four crew-served mounts amidships and aft for Dillion mini-guns, M240Gs, MK19 grenade launchers, or other party favors. Of course, these would be toast in a defended environment like the China Sea but are gold for choke points like the Persian Gulf, anti-pirate ops, littoral warfare against asymmetric threats etc.
They also provide a persistent capability to patrol shallow littoral areas for the purpose of force protection for U.S. and coalition forces, as well as safeguarding critical infrastructure.
You know, classic small craft warfare dating back to to the Greeks.
About 20 years ago I filed for my first Type 03 FFL, the humble $30 “Collector of Curios and Relic” license. The easy to get FFL allows you to purchase “C&R” eligible guns from both regular FFLs (shipped right to your door) and private individuals as well as get a discount from some firearms wholesalers (J&G, etc) who specialize in such vintage weaponry. Over the years I’ve used it to expand my collection and about half of the FFLs in the country are C&R licenses. It’s a no-brainer.
And in California, when coupled with a $71 COE, you can get around a few roadblocks, such as still be able to have ammo shipped to your house instead of going to a storefront and paying a processing fee for it.
And it looks like there just popped up another reason to get a “Cruffer”
California’s 3rd District Court of Appeals last Thursday ruled that holders of one are not bound by the state’s once-a-month handgun purchase limit.
The ruling reversed a Sacramento Superior Court decision and held that the California Department of Justice’s interpretation of state law was flawed when it came to those with a C&R type federal firearms license. The $30 three-year license allows collectors to buy some old and rare guns without going into the business of selling firearms. Last week’s ruling holds that those with such a license can purchase more than one non-curio or relic handgun in a 30-day period.
An Emperor penguin poses for a photo in front of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star in McMurdo Sound near Antarctica on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018
The country’s only heavy polar icebreaker has pulled it off again..despite the flooding, engine failure, you know, the regular.
The 42-year-old 399-foot USCGC Polar Star (WAGB-10) last week finished cutting a resupply channel through 15 miles of Antarctic ice in the Ross Sea and escorting supply vessels to the frozen continent to resupply McMurdo Station at the tip of Ross Island, the epicenter of the U.S. Antarctic Program (pop. 1200).
The trip was not without drama for the elderly cutter.
From the USCG:
“Although we had less ice this year than last year, we had several engineering challenges to overcome to get to the point where we could position ourselves to moor in McMurdo,” said Capt. Michael Davanzo, the commanding officer of the Polar Star. “Our arrival was delayed due to these challenges, but the crew and I are certainly excited to be here. It’s a unique opportunity for our crewmembers to visit the most remote continent in the world, and in many respects, it makes the hard work worth it.”
On Jan. 16, Polar Star’s shaft seal failed causing flooding in the cutter’s engine room at a rate of approximately 20-gallons per minute. The crew responded quickly, using an emergency shaft seal to stop the flow of freezing, Antarctic water into the vessel. The crew was able dewater the engineering space and effect more permanent repairs to the seal to ensure the watertight integrity of the vessel. There were no injuries as a result of the malfunction.
Flooding was not the only engineering challenge the crew of Polar Star faced during their trek through the thick ice. On Jan. 11, their progress was slowed after the one of the cutter’s three main gas turbines failed. The crew uses the cutter’s main gas turbine power to breakup thick multi-year ice using its propellers. The crew was able to troubleshoot the turbine finding a programming issue between the engine and the cutter’s 1970s-era electrical system. The crew was able to continue their mission in the current ice conditions without the turbine.
“If the Polar Star were to suffer a catastrophic mechanical failure, the Nation would not be able to support heavy icebreaker missions like Operation Deep Freeze, and our Nation has no vessel capable of rescuing the crew if the icebreakers were to fail in the ice,” said Vice Adm. Fred Midgette, commander, U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area in Alameda, California. “The crewmembers aboard Polar Star not only accomplished their mission, but they did so despite extreme weather and numerous engineering challenges. This is a testament to their dedication and devotion to duty.”
The cutter refueled at McMurdo Station Jan. 18 and continued to develop and maintain the ice channel in preparation for two resupply ships from U.S. Military Sealift Command, Ocean Giant, and Maersk Peary. The crew of Polar Star escorted the vessels to the ice pier at McMurdo Station, an evolution that requires the cutter to travel about 300 yards in front of the supply ships to ensure they safely make it through the narrow ice channel. The crew escorted the Ocean Giant to the ice pier at McMurdo Jan. 27 and conducted their final escort of the Maersk Peary to Antarctica Feb. 2. The crew escorted Maersk Peary safely out of the ice Feb. 6 after supply vessel’s crew transferred their cargo.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune has been sending a drone-equipped camera guy to scout the swamps surrounding the Big Easy for old Civil War-era masonry fortifications. An important strategic key to the country (mouth of the Mississippi, largest city on the Gulf of Mexico, et. al), the city was well-protected by a series of forts, almost all of which (except for Fort Livingston which was swallowed by the river decades ago) are still out there, largely in ruins.
Enjoy.
Fort Jackson, at the mouth of the Mississippi south of the city
Fort Proctor, or Beauregard’s Castle on the shore of Lake Borgne just north of the mouth of Bayou Yscloskey.
Fort Macomb, east of the city on the western shore of Chef Menteur Pass.
Fort Pike. Generations of New Orleanians visited the nearby fort but budget cuts in Baton Rouge have kept it locked up since 2015.
Fort St John (Old Spanish Fort), on Bayou St. John, which dates back to 1704.
While at SHOT, I ran into Ian and Karl and managed to shanghai them into a meeting room to talk about what the mud tests over at InRangeTV and, of course, some Forgotten Weapons…
More than 10,000 Ordnance QF 18-pounder MkI&II field guns were made by Armstrong, Vickers and the Royal Arsenal between 1903 and 1940 until they were phased out by the 25-pounder, though they remained in operation throughout WWII and in far-flung Commonwealth countries as late as the 1970s. The 2,800-pound light gun, with its 84mm 18.5-pound shell, could be fired 20 rounds per minute by a very well-trained crew out to about 6,500-yards and could be towed by a limber and six vanner draft horses.
Each British and Canadian division had 54 guns in 1914, but this one is special.
From the Canadian Army:
The City of Mons, in collaboration with the Government of Belgium, is sending an irreplaceable military artifact back to Canada in a gesture aimed at commemorating Canada’s role in the First World War.
The artifact is an 18-pound field gun which fired the last shots of the First World War in the region of the City of Mons as Canadian troops that liberated that city on 11 November 1918.
The gun is one of two given by Canadians to the City of Mons following the 1918 armistice; the second remains on display at the Mons Memorial Museum.
It is a symbol of the sacrifices and victories of Canadians during the First World War; a legacy that continues today with Canada’s participation in NATO and peace and security in Europe. It will be transported to Ottawa where King Philippe of Belgium will present it to the people of Canada in March during a ceremony at its future home, the Canadian War Museum.
The gun took the first step of its transatlantic journey on Friday, January 26th when it was prepared for transport before departing a local casern.
While negotiating a tense crisis that had grown over a decade of increasingly close Russian involvement in Manchuria and Korea (see Sino-Japanese War in 1894 and Boxer Rebellion in 1900), a Japanese force under Adm. Togo conducted a pre-emptive strike on the Russian fleet at anchor in Port Arthur– without a declaration of war.
Print shows Japanese battleships bombarding Russian battleships in a surprise naval assault on the Russian fleet at Lüshun (Port Arthur); includes cameo portraits, possibly of Admiral Tōgō (left), for the Japanese, and for the Russians (right), Yevgeny Ivanovich Alekseev. (Russian portrait formerly thought to be Admiral Oskar Victorovich Stark or Stepan Osipovich Makarov.) 1904. Attributed to: Kasai Torajiro. Library of Congress.
Using a force of 10 destroyers, the first Japanese torpedos were in the water at 00:28 on the snowy Tuesday morning of 9 February 1904 and the force withdrew from the harbor by 02:00. Of the 16 torps fired, just a few hit their targets, damaging the pre-dreadnoughts Retvizan and the Tsesarevich and the protected cruiser Pallada— all of which were returned to duty in a few weeks.
Slightly more dramatic that what actually happened, but hey, that’s why they call it propaganda
The night engagement and a delusory surface action the next morning likewise was unspectacular, resulting in a total of about 100-150 dead on each side.
Though tactically ineffective, Togo did achieve surprise on the Russian bear and the fleet at Port Arthur never managed to leave the harbor successfully during the resulting war, which proved disastrous for the Tsar.
I give you, DARPA’s robot subchaser, Sea Hunter, testbed of the ACTUV program, which is now part of ONR.
From DARPA:
DARPA has successfully completed its Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program and has officially transferred the technology demonstration vessel, christened Sea Hunter, to the Office of Naval Research (ONR). ONR will continue developing the revolutionary prototype vehicle—the first of what could ultimately become an entirely new class of ocean-going vessel able to traverse thousands of kilometers over the open seas for month at a time, without a single crew member aboard—as the Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV).
The handover marks the culmination of three years of collaboration between DARPA and ONR that started in September 2014. An April 2016 christening ceremony marked the vessel’s formal transition from a DARPA-led design and construction project to a new stage of open-water testing conducted jointly with ONR. That same month, the vessel moved to San Diego, Calif., for open-water testing.
ONR plans to continue the aggressive schedule of at-sea tests to further develop ACTUV/MDUSV technologies, including automation of payload and sensor data processing, rapid development of new mission-specific autonomous behaviors, and exploring coordination of autonomous activities among multiple USVs. Pending the results of those tests, the MDUSV program could transition to U.S. Navy operations by 2018.
Forrest Griffin Johnson was born in Bolivar, WV on May 5, 1895. He attended Storer College and graduated in 1917. He listed farmer as his occupation on his WWI draft registration card. He listed his employer as Standard Lime & Stone Co. of Millville, WV on his WWII draft registration card. His wife Rosella R. Johnson submitted an application for an upright military marble headstone on July 21, 1956, which was the day after Forrest’s death. He was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Bolivar, WV.
107 Storer College grads reportedly served in the Great War.
The historically black college was in operation from 1865 to 1955. The defunct college’s former campus and buildings were acquired by the National Park Service.
One of the interesting things I came across in my travels around SHOT Show last month was that some classic Central European arms makers are still in the business of making classic European arms.
Over at Mauser’s booth, besides offerings in their classic M98 line for $10K+ safari rifles (!) there was the new M18, a $699 bolt-action billed as the “People’s rifle” (Volkswaffe) or “People’s repeater” (Volksrepetierer) by the German rifle maker. It’s a pretty sweet design, complete with a detachable mag, hidden cleaning kit in the butt (hey, it’s a Mauser) and a wide offering of calibers.
As for Steyr, which of course continues to market modern polymer framed pistols, precision rifles to include the giant HS-50 and their iconic AUG line of bullpups, they are bringing back the Zephyr. Now I had a chance to get my hands on a Zephyr .22 that belonged to my great-uncle as a kid and absolutely loved it. The reboot includes a traditional Bavarian cheek piece and fish scale checkering on a walnut stock, and an action so smooth it will make you cry.
