Monthly Archives: March 2018

How about 35 equipment casualties within the first 19 days at sea?

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170607-N-ZP059-031 PORTLAND Ore., (June 7, 2017) – The medium endurance cutter Alert (WMEC-630) arrives in Portland for Rose Festival Fleet Week. The festival and Portland Fleet Week are a celebration of the sea services with Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guard Members from the U.S. and Canada making the city a port of call. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob G. Sisco/Released)

The Oregon-based U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alert (WMEC 630), a 210-foot Reliance class medium endurance cutter had her keel laid Jan. 5,. 1968, at the Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay,. Md., and the cutter was commissioned Aug. 4, 1969. This puts the old girl at 48 years young– and those years have not been kind to her.

She just had to return home just a third of the way through her latest patrol, proving perhaps more in need of help than anyone she could render assistance to.

From the Coast Guard:

The crew departed Astoria Feb. 5 to conduct a counternarcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific when the ship suffered more than 35 equipment casualties within the first 19 days of their patrol, including malfunctions in the ship’s radar, propulsion and fuel systems.

The ship’s main diesel engine also suffered a crankcase explosion, resulting from a seized bearing on an oil pump, which caused a week-long delay in Panama while the crew inspected the engine. Following the inspection, a decision was made to end the patrol.

“We left on patrol with great hopes and a crew at top performance, thoroughly trained and operationally tested, but one of our main engines broke, sending us home before we got into any operations, which was very disappointing for everyone,” said Cmdr. Tobias Reid, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Alert. “Our engineers did an outstanding job responding to the casualty and put a huge amount of effort into repairing the engine on station, but it requires an extensive overhaul that can only be completed at home.”

The Alert was commissioned in 1969 and is one of 14 remaining 210-foot Reliance-class medium endurance cutters in the Coast Guard’s fleet. Alert is one of three 210-foot cutters stationed on the West Coast – two in Oregon and one in Washington. The cutter supports counter-smuggling missions throughout the Pacific Ocean from the U.S.-Canada border to South America.
The Coast Guard’s fleet of medium endurance cutters is in the process of being replaced by the offshore patrol cutter beginning in fiscal year 2021.

“The offshore patrol cutter will be the backbone of Coast Guard offshore presence and the manifestation of our at-sea authorities,” said Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the Coast Guard. “It is essential to stopping smugglers at sea, for interdicting undocumented migrants, rescuing mariners, enforcing fisheries laws, responding to disasters and protecting our ports.”

Fire mission, 48 years ago

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American gunners of B Bty, 6 Bn, 27th Artillery, fire an M110 8-inch howitzer during a fire support mission at LZ Hong, approx. 12 km northeast of Song Be, South Vietnam. 26 March 1970.

Entering service in 1963, the big M110 with its 203mm gun M201A1 howitzer could lob a host of exotic 8-inch shells including the M426 round– full of Sarin nerve gas– and the M422A1 which held a 40-kt W33 nuclear warhead. These big guns were slowly withdrawn after the Cold War with that last seeing service with the Army Reserve as late as 1994. Demilled, their tubes were turned into GBU-28 bunker-buster bombs capable of penetrating thick reinforced concrete several meters underground.

However, some M110s remain in service with about a dozen allies, including Taiwan who use them as long-range artillery against neighboring Chinese batteries.

As for the 27th Artillery, one battalion (4th) is still on active duty and is based at Fort Bliss as part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1AD, equipped with M109A6 Paladins and towed M777A2 howitzers, both in 155mm.

RIP, Reddit gunboards

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The social news discussion platform ranked among the most visited websites in the world announced a content policy Wednesday that left many popular gun boards banned.

The San Francisco-based site, which is structured around user-created boards termed “subreddits,” updated their community guidelines to bar the use of Reddit “to solicit or facilitate any transaction or gift” that involves a host of items ranging from firearms to drugs, sex work, and stolen goods.

“Reddit is not intended to be used as a marketplace and takes no responsibility for any transactions individual users might decide to undertake in spite of this,” said the company in a posting that saw nearly 3,000 comments, overwhelmingly negative to the change.

Popular subreddits trading ammunition brass, giving tips for good deals on guns for sale by shops and wholesalers and even airsoft trading boards were turned off.

More in my column over at Guns.com as well as the conversation over the looming ban hammer on gun-related content by YouTube here.

Operation Seven Up

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In April 1964, Allied Air Forces Central Europe, (or AAFCE also AIRCENT), was turning 13 and the NATO/OTAN members behind the group held Operation 7-Up, a tactical weapons meet at RAF Wildenrath, West Germany that cumulated with a breathtaking international formation showcasing some of the best tin of the day.

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, the famously dangerous “rocket with a man in it” was obviously the F-16 of its day and the Belgians, Canadians, Dutch, and Germans all showed up with some. Add to this lot the newly-fielded F-105 Thud, RAF Canberras and Gloster Javelins, and French Mirage IIIC’s (the French only withdrew their troops from NATO in 1966), and it is some very sweet period air power. It was an important milestone as, some 19 years after WWII, likely few of the participants had fought in the great conflict and fewer still had cut their teeth in piston-driven fighters, as they were flying what could be considered at least second-generation combat jets.

Participating aircraft lined up on the hardstanding at RAF Wildenrath, Germany during the 1967 AFCENT tactical weapons meet. They are from right to left: An English Electric Canberra B.(I) 8 of No 14 Squadron RAF (Serial number XM264), five Lockheed F104G Starfighters of the German Air Force’s Jagdbombergeschwarder JBG31 (serial numbers DA119, DA106, DA103, DA112, DA237), four Dassault Mirage 3Es of the French Air Force (serial numbers 3-II, 3-IO, 3-IN, 3-JH). On the top-far right can be seen the referee aircraft for this meet a German Air Force Lockheed TF104G Starfighter of JBG32 (serial number DB371). IWM (RAF-T 7398)Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205215094

And this guy

A pilot of the German Air Force seated in the cockpit of his Lockheed F104G Starfighter aircraft. This aircraft (serial number DC 244) was of JBG33 (Jagdbombergeschwader – Fighter bomber) and was participating in the 1967 AFCENT tactical weapons meet at RAF Wildenrath, Germany. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205215093

Early USAF F-105 FH-436; British Gloster Javelin XH771 Netherlands F-104G D-8060 Canadian CF-104 815 Belgian F-104G FX07 German F-104G DA+243 French Mirage IIIC 2-EI Operation Seven-Up an international formation flown to mark the 13th anniversary of Allied Air Forces Central Europe on April 2nd, 1964

More information (and photos) at Flying Zone (Belgian website), 916 Starfighter (German).

And with that being said, here is a classic Bundeswehr clip from 1969 showing German F-104s being stopped via a Hakenfang (arrester hook)

Sisu and the art of good carrier traps

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The Ilmavoimat, or Finnish Air Force, has its roots in the old Imperial Russian Army’s air corps and sprang to life 100 years ago this month at the country’s independence from the failing old Empire, using both inherited Tsarist and donated Swedish crews and aircraft. The small but hearty force has earned a solid reputation fighting first the Reds in 1918 and later the Soviets in the 1939-40 Winter War (using such quaintly obsolete aircraft as Brewster Buffalos, Bristol Bulldogs, Fokker D.XXIs, and Gloster Gladiators) and WWII, which, as they largely just fought the Soviets again, they termed “The Continuation War.”

The Finns, even with a tiny air corps and beat-up planes chalked up nearly 100 aces in WWII, including “Illu” Ilmari Eino Ilmari Juutilainen, the highest (non-German) ace of the war.

Finnish Brewster-239 BW-354 over Lake Tikshozero 1942

The Cold War saw an uneasy peace between the great neighbor to the East with a shared border that kept Treaty-limited Finn aviators at peak readiness while the country was forced to buy from MiGs from Moscow as an act of good faith (augmented by double-delta Drakens from neutral Sweden) rather than Western fighters.

That changed when the Cold War thawed and Finland promptly purchased 64 F-18C/Ds to replace their dated Soviet and Swedish fast movers in 1995 and haven’t looked back. Today, though their Hornets have 20+ years on their airframes, the 55 F-18s still in service with the Ilmavoimat are being constantly updated and the pilots are, in historic Finn fashion, top notch.

Proof being this week when Ilmavoimat Capt. Juha “Stallion” Jrvinen preformed an arrested landing in a borrowed F-18C on the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). The Finn is currently attached to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 101 to become qualified as a pilot instructor. It was the first documented Finnish Air Force carrier trap.

180317-N-FK070-0120 ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 17, 2018) Finnish Air Force Capt. Juha Jarvinen lands an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the Sharpshooters of Marine Strike Fighter Training Squadron (VMFAT) 101 on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). This marks the first time a Finnish pilot has performed an arrested landing aboard an aircraft carrier. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M. Wilbur/Released)

From the Navy:

To successfully land an F/A-18C on an aircraft carrier, pilots must hook on to one of four wires located on the flight deck. The goal is to catch the third wire, giving pilots the best and safest chance to land.

When Jrvinen was asked about his landing aboard Abraham Lincoln, his face lit up as he reflected on this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“It was pretty intense,” said Jrvinen. “I was extremely happy because I knew I actually caught the wire when I felt the sensation of rapidly slowing down, but at the same time I was a little disappointed because I caught the second wire and not the third.”

180317-N-FK070-0221 ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 17, 2018) U.S. Marine Corps. Capt. Michael Humiston congratulates Finnish Air Force Capt. Juha Jarvinen upon completion of an arrested landing of an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the Sharpshooters of Marine Strike Fighter Training Squadron (VMFAT) 101 on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). This marks the first time a Finish pilot has performed and arrested gear landing aboard an aircraft carrier. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M. Wilbur/Released)

Jrvinen is a part of the first pilot exchange between the United States Marine Corps and the Finnish Airforce. He was hand-selected for the program by his superiors for his work ethic. Flying in the Finnish Air Force for 15 years and instructing for the last five, he has earned every qualification available as a Finnish pilot.

For those who wonder about safety issues here, Jrvinen was put through all the same carrier landing practice events that Marine aviators go through and the Finns regularly use tailhooks and arresting gear on their our Hornets– though without a flattop. They have land-based runway fitted with catch wires where pilots practice regularly. Why? Because just in case the balloon goes up and the airstrips are taken out first, the Finns are ready to operate from roadways with a movable container catch wire systems.

Check it out below on an Ilmavoimat F-18D (at about the 1-minute mark)

Others use land arrestors for the F-18 as wel, behold in the Great North:

CF18 Demo Hornet testing out the arrestor cable system at 19 Wing Comox, B.C April 2018

Camp Ethan Allen is no joke

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Ethan Allen, founded in 1938, the National Guard installation in Vermont named for the Revolutionary War Green Mountain Boys leader, has since 1983 been the official site of the Army Mountain Warfare School (AMWS). The job of AMWS is to hold regular class on how to keep yourself alive in the hills, both summer, and winter. The home team, the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) includes three dedicated mountain warfare National Guard battalions drawn from ski towns: 1/102 from Connecticut, 1/157 from Colorado, and 3/172 from New England. However, don’t let the placid outdoor nature of Jericho and Stowe fool you, the place can be deadly.

Last week, on 15 March, An avalanche carried six Army Soldiers several hundred yards down a mountainside near Vermont’s highest peak, 4,300-foot Mount Mansfield. They were undergoing mountain-warfare training. Five were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

75 years ago today: Have a smoke and a smile

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A wounded German POW of the 15th Panzergrenadier Division offers a light to one of his captors; a wounded British Army soldier of the 6th Durham Light Infantry, 50th Infantry Division, XXX Corps. March 23rd, 1943

A wounded German POW of the 15th Panzergrenadier Division offers a light to one of his captors; a wounded British Army soldier of the 6th Durham Light Infantry, 50th Infantry Division, XXX Corps. March 23rd, 1943

Pre-owned RNZN dive ship up for grabs

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HMNZS Manawanui (A09), a 141-foot diving support/mine countermeasures ship was decommissioned 23 February 2018 after 30 years of service to the Kiwi fleet. Prior to that, she had been built in 1979 for commercial service as Star Perseus by Cochrane Shipbuilders Limited, Selby, for the North Sea oil rig service.

HMNZS Manawanui (A09), (Photo: RNZN)

Needing a canceled $14 million overhaul, the New Zealand Navy has put the nearly 40-year old ship on the block and one publication says she would make the perfect fishing vessel:

“It comes with a triple-lock compression chamber and a wet diving bell if you’re keen to go diving for crays. The 13.6-tonne crane means you’ll be able to pull anything on board – and with a range of 5000 nautical miles, trawling for marlin will be no problem,” says Newshub.

The vessel is up for sale “as a going concern, as-is where-is” alongside Devonport Naval Base, Auckland.

RNZN LCDR Muzz Kenneth told The Stuff there has been some interest:

“We’ve already had a guy from Singapore come and have a look, and he wants to take it up to Malaysia and moor it permanently as an accommodation and dive support vessel for dive training,” said Kenneth. “I also know the Mayor of Thames-Coromandel is very keen to get her hands on the ship and sink it as a dive attraction somewhere out in the Hahei reserve.”

Provisioning a warship

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“This drawing gives a splendid idea of the hugeness of the task of keeping a warship fighting trim. It represents the food for the officers and the men only. The food for the guns is, of course, another very big item”

Source: “The Great War” Ed. Wilson/Hammerton (Amalgamated Press, 1918) via Forgotten Infographics https://www.forgotteninfographics.com/new-blog/provisioning-a-warship

Looking at the turret layout, the warships look to be early St Vincent-class or Bellerophon-class dreadnought battleships.

And that is a LOT of prunes…

A second-hand M1, 40 years later

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In March 1978, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon or UNIFIL was authorized and one of the first “blue berets” on the ground in the DMZ were French with Warrant Officer François-Xavier Roch, a military photographer, arriving at Beirut airport before the French contingent deplaned to capture the moment for history. As the area was not exactly secure (over 300 UN peacekeepers have been killed as part of UNIFIL, not counting the horrendous casualties by the U.S. Marines and French paratroopers in 1983), Roch picked up a M1 steel pot he found kicking around and painted it blue, later applying a “Presse” placard to the front like the newsmen of old.

Now, with the “interim” UNIFIL still very much a thing (comprised of 10,500 peacekeepers from 41 countries), Roch presented the helmet to the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, during his visit to Lebanon last week.

Roch retired from the French Army after 20 years at the rank of Captain.

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