Monthly Archives: July 2024

Grocery Run

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How about these great images from Commander, Submarine Group 9, showing a commercial contract H225LP Super Puma Mk II assigned to the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14) delivering supplies to the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) via VERTREP “somewhere in the Pacific.”

As modern boomers (and SSNs) are only restricted in how long they remain at sea in terms of how long the groceries last, the capability to fly in chicken wheels and sliders is key in extending patrols in extremis.

PACIFIC OCEAN (June 28, 2024) – An AS-332 Super Puma assigned to the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14) delivers supplies to the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) during a vertical replenishment at sea, June 28, 2024. The presence of the SSBN in the Pacific demonstrates the flexibility, survivability, readiness, and capability of the U.S. Navy submarine forces and complements the many exercises, training, operations, and other military cooperation. U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Andrew McPeek

PACIFIC OCEAN (June 28, 2024) – An AS-332 Super Puma assigned to the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14) delivers supplies to the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) during a vertical replenishment at sea, June 28, 2024. U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Andrew McPeek

PACIFIC OCEAN (June 28, 2024) – An AS-332 Super Puma assigned to the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14) delivers supplies to the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) during a vertical replenishment at sea, June 28, 2024. U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Andrew McPeek

The Puma shown, EC225LP Serial 2785 Register N568AC, is one of several operated by Air Center Helicopters out of Guam on a Navy contract. For sure, a nice money-saving fixture, especially with MSC-crewed ships, but could prove ephemeral once bullets start flying.

Wombat Gun

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Private Peter Fyfe of Midway Point, Tasmania (pop. 2,000), assigned to the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australia Regiment (3RAR) refilling his canteen in a local waterway during operations in Phouc Tuy Province, Republic of Vietnam in April 1971.

Photographer: Philip John Errington. Accession number: AWM PJE/71/0234/VN

Note Fyfe’s camouflaged weapon, the ubiquitous Springfield Armory-designed 40mm M79 grenade launcher. The single-shot break-action breechloader could be fired at ranges anywhere from 30 meters (the minimum distance to arm the grenade) out to 400 meters for indirect fire. It could be surprisingly accurate against bunker/vehicle-sized objectives.

Known by a host of nicknames among American troops in Vietnam including the “Thumper” and the “Blooper” (read “The Phantom Blooper” by Gustav Hasford), Ozzies tended to label it the “Wombat gun” for their own regional reasons.

From 1962 to 1973, more than 60,000 Australians served in the Vietnam War. Some 523 died as a result of the war (including no less than 28 men of 3RAR) and almost 2,400 were wounded

The Agana 5K

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80 years ago this week: “Guam Invasion, 1944. Marine 1st Lieutenant Richard C. Bryson leads troops of the Third Marine Division into Agana City, July 31, 1944.”

Note the cigarette-carrying automatic rifleman with his M1918 BAR at the ready, plenty of extra mags, and the abundance of Mk 2 “pineapple” frag grenades, with those on the LT’s belt likely painted bright yellow-chrome. Behind his right hand is a holstered M1911 and the leather-handled bayonet to his M1 Carbine. The uniform is Marine P-41 HBT fatigues with M1 helmets and camo covers. 

USMC Photo 93582 via the National Archives

LT Bryson and his BARman weren’t the only Devils walking into Agana that day. 

On 21 July 1944, the 3rd Marine Division launched an amphibious assault to liberate and recapture Guam during World War II as part of Devil Dog-heavy III Amphibious Corps, including the Army’s 77th Infantry Division. They faced over 18,000 Japanese defenders during the battle, which lasted until August 10th (although mopping-up operations continued for several months). Of the 7,800 American casualties, some 7,000 were Marines.
 

Landing craft returning to their transports, after landing Marines near Asan Beach, Guam, on 21 July 1944. National Archives 80-G-248260

For some, it would be a homecoming. 

Official Caption: “5 August 1944. Home Again – Col. Merlin F. Schneider (kneeling, left), Commanding Officer of the Marine unit that recaptured the Marine Barracks on Orote Peninsula, Guam, holds the plaque that was removed by the Japanese when they took possession of the barracks and the island nearly three years earlier.”

NHHC Photograph Collection, from the “All Hands” Collection, September 1944.

The three Marines, who located the plaque and presented it to the Colonel, stand behind it. They are (left to right): Privates First Class John C. Brown; Carmen J. Catania; and Corporal Joseph J. Mannino.

Others also got into the act of posing with the recovered sign.

Col. Merlin Schneider – 22 Marine Rgt., Lt. Col. Alan Shapley – 4th Marine Rgt., Brig. Gen. Lemuel Shepherd- 1st Prov Marines, Lt. Gen. Holland McTyeire “Howlin’ Mad” Smith, 

Today, the Guam Barracks plaque is in the collection of the U.S. Marines Museum.

Johnny and Sally

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How about this great original color image, shot 80 years ago this week, 31 July 1944. The RAF’s top-scoring fighter pilot flying in northwest Europe, Wing Commander James Edgar “Johnny” Johnson, is seen below with his pet black lab, Sally.

IWM (TR 2145)

Johnson recorded 38 victories, though at the time of the photograph, his total was 35. He commanded No 127 Wing composed of three Canadian Spitfire squadrons. The decorations on his tunic are a DSO with two Bars and a DFC with one Bar.

Johnnie and Sally Johnson, relaxing in between sorties on the wing of his Spitfire in Normandy, c.June–August 1944. Note the 20mm cannon. 

Born in 1915, Johnson volunteered for the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) as an airman (754750) in August 1939 just weeks before Hitler marched into Poland, and became an officer pilot (83267) in August 1940 with just 55 hours of solo flying on his book.

By 1942, he was the skipper of No. 610 Squadron and by 1944 would move on to commander of first No. 127, then No. 144, and finally No. 124 Wing, flying over 700 sorties during WWII.

Air Vice Marshal James Edgar Johnson, CB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, DFC & Bar, DL, retired from the RAF in 1966.

Bertholfs Hitting it Hard

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The Coast Guard only has 10 Legend (Bertholf) class National Security Cutters to its name.

Ordered starting in 2005 to replace the long-serving Vietnam-era 378-foot Hamilton-class cutters that had almost 50 years on their hulls, the Bertholfs are the largest non-logistics/icebreaker cutters the service has ever had, pushing 418 feet oal with a 4,600-ton displacement.

They have a lot going for them, with an economical CODAG engineering plant that allows for a 12,000nm range when on patrol and bursts of “over 28 knots,” they have extensive helicopter/UAV support facilities and a modest self-defense capability.

When it comes to sensors, while they aren’t in the same category as a true frigate, they have decent air/surface-search radars, IFF/TACAN, a SLQ-32 EW suite, and a sonar that reportedly has mine-hunting capabilities.

While great for busting smugglers and policing duties, the NSCs are armed akin to an LCS…

Importantly, they have all the goodies needed to operate as part of a modern naval task force including Link 11 and Link 16 and underway replenishment gear, allowing them to both tank and transfer from larger vessels and send to smaller ones– which allows them a “mother ship” role to smaller cutters on a deployment.

As some proof in the pudding, three of the service’s Bertholfs were recently underway in three different parts of the world, adding a speck of white to otherwise haze gray formations.

USCGC Midgett (WMSL-757), taking part in RIMPAC ’24 off Hawaii, was captured in a great shot last week conducting a dual transfer with the Italian Thaon di Revel-class offshore patrol vessel ITS Raimondo Montecuccoli (P432) from the Royal Canadian Navy replenishment ship MV Asterix.

Photo by Royal Canadian Navy Sailor First Class Brendan McLoughlin.

Meanwhile, the crew of the USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) returned to their home port in North Charleston last week following a 63-day patrol in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea in support of homeland defense and counterdrug operations.

During her deployment, she steamed in tandem with U.S. Second Fleet and Canadian Joint Task Force-Atlantic maritime forces.

Canadian Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ville de Québec (FFH 332) and U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone (WMSL 758) steam in formation, on June 9, 2024, while underway in the Atlantic Ocean. Stone and Ville de Québec operated in the Atlantic Ocean in the U.S. 2nd Fleet area of operations in support of maritime stability and security in the region. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ensign Alana Kickhoefer)

Likewise, the crew of the USCGC James (WMSL 754) returned to their home port in North Charleston last week after completing a 98-day patrol in the South Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

While down south, James worked along with the George Washington Carrier Group, called in several Latin American ports, conducted a live fire exercise, and steamed alongside ships from Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil.

Legend-class cutter USCGC James (WSML 754), left, and Brazilian navy Niterói-class frigates União (F 45) and Independência (F 44) operate in formation with Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) as part of a bilateral exercise between the U.S. and the Brazilian navy in the Atlantic Ocean, May 18, 2024. Porter is deployed as part of Southern Seas 2024 which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility through joint, multinational, and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David C. Fines)

Besides these three Bertholfs, keep in mind that a fourth member of the class, USCGC Waesche (WMSL-751), is still underway in the Westpac and has been operating in the South China Sea with white hulled partners from South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines.

(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ensign Julia VanLuven)

Going further, a fifth Bertholf, USCGC Kimball (WMSL-756), has been bird-dogging a Chinese task force that was poking around the Aleutians earlier this month.

That’s five very busy hulls out of the ten the Coast Guard has. Talk about punching above its weight class.

Deception? There is a Manual for That

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The Marine Corps recently released the 90-page MCTP 3-32F “Deception” in support of their Force Design 2030 efforts– which includes the concept of shadowy little recon and anti-ship missile batteries quietly operating in the greater littoral of the South China Sea.

“Marines conduct deception activities to achieve military ends—to gain or preserve an advantage linked to their assigned mission. Marines primarily use deception to achieve surprise or maintain security of an operation. These two effects support mission accomplishment by reducing the overall risk of an operation.”

Read the manual here.

The Bells, The Bells

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Trinity Marine recently auctioned off a ton of historic RN ship’s bells, primarily from the 20th Century, from the Ferrers-Walker Royal Navy Collection. These were formally on loan to the RN’s Portsmouth Dockyard museum but never put on display (“Most of his collection was acquired directly from the shipbreakers where most of the WW2 fleet were getting scrapped after the War, notably Thomas Ward in Inverkeithing, after which he continued his hobby buying from auctions and private collections right up to the 1990’s”).

While it is sad that the bells are not preserved in a museum on public display, at least it is good to know that they weren’t scrapped or otherwise deep-sixed and lost to history over the years. Plus, it always opens the possibility that these relics may find their way to museums at one point in the future.

HMS Dumbarton Castle (P265) Patrol Ship bell

HMS Kittiwake 1937 Sloop bell

HMS Sharpshooter 1917 Destroyer bell

HMTB 29 1909 Torpedo Boat bell

HMS Cairo (D87) Cruiser bell

HMS Amphitrite 1899 Cruiser bell

HMS Surf 1943 Submarine bell

HMS Jupiter 1899 Battleship bell

HMS Rinaldo 1901 Sloop bell

HMS Royalist 1915 Cruiser bell

HMS Matchless 1914 Destroyer bell

HMS Minos 1914 Destroyer bell

HMS Scott 1939 Minesweeper bell

HMS G4 1915 Submarine bell

HMS Newfoundland (59) Cruiser bell

HMS Rodney 1927 Battleship bell

HMS Trident 1915 Destroyer bell

HMS Vengeance 1944 Aircraft Carrier bell

HMS Vesper 1918 Destroyer bell

HMS Wild Swan 1919 Destroyer bell

Also hitting the block were a series of treadplates, name boards, gun tompions, screen badges, and ship’s badges. In all, some 160 artifacts were turned back out to the wild.

Army Still Buying Aluminum M4 Mags…

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This week, D&H Industries of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin was awarded a big contract from the Army to supply it with M16 magazines.

The $9,999,990 firm-fixed-price contract came from bids solicited via the Internet with one received. The award, issued Wednesday via the Army Contracting Command located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, has a planned completion date of Aug. 29, 2029.

D&H, a metal stamping and fabrication company with a diverse portfolio in several sectors, dates back to 1937. Before 1997, it was known as LaBelle, and was one of the early magazine producers of M-16 magazines for the US Military and law enforcement agencies.

LaBelles are sought-after by collectors and folks in states with AWBs as, since they were typically made before 1997, are “pre-ban” in most cases

Their current line of mil-spec aluminum magazines, cage-coded Q4TQ4, are laser cut and Teflon coated and are often sold as OEM mags with many standard M4/AR-15 style platforms.

Although the Army is currently moving to field its Next Generation of Squad Weapons in a common new 6.8mm hybrid cartridge to replace the service’s 5.56 NATO small arms in coming years, the new guns will be going to close contact units such as infantry and special ops, leaving the rest of the Joes with legacy hardware. Thus, the M4 series will likely remain in use for generations, and the Soldier hasn’t yet been born that will load the last aluminum-bodied STANAG mag.

Omaha’s Trip Home

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For your approval, a scenic peacetime view some 90 years ago this month, showing the class-leading baby cruiser USS Omaha (CL-4) at anchor in Commencement Bay in Puget Sound at the end of July 1924. “The Omaha had streamed into the Bay on Monday, 28 July for a week’s stay. The 550-foot ‘scout cruiser’ was accompanied by a squadron of six destroyers.”

Northwest Room at The Tacoma Public Library, Marvin D. Boland Collection, B10599

Omaha was built by Todd Dry Dock of Tacoma and launched on 14 December 1920, commissioning in 1923.

Serving a quiet peacetime career, she gave hard if somewhat unsung service in WWII, ranging far and wide and capturing German blockade runners, earning but a single battle star.

Decommissioned on 1 November 1945, Omaha was stricken from the Navy Register on 28 November 1945.  She was scrapped at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard by February 1946.  

Not Your Daddy’s Minesweeper

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Back in the 1970s, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands all needed replacement minesweepers to phase out WWII-era vessels. The answer was to band together to jointly develop a class known to naval history as the Tripartite, of which some 35 were built to close out the Cold War.

Now showing their age, the 600-ton 169-foot Tripartites have been increasingly retired and passed on to second-hand users such as Ukraine, Pakistan, Latvia, and Bulgaria.

Dutch Tripartite-mijnejager Hr Ms Hellevoetsluis (M859, 1987-2011). NIMH N0009330-12

To replace the vessels in Belgian-Dutch service, as well as the 2,000-ton circa 1965 Belgian minesweeper tender Godetia, the two Lowland countries teamed up for a dozen assorted City-class MCMs that run much bigger (2800 tons, 270-foot) than the ships they are replacing, with each country picking up six new ships.

They look like a floating breadbox. 

Note the landing platform for UAVs and davits for USVs

M940 class model as viewed by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, along with Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde

Leaning heavily into unmanned systems including unmanned surface, aerial, and underwater vehicles alongside towed sonars and mine identification and neutralization ROVs, they also carry a 40mm Bofors Mk4 DP gun, soft-kill systems such as an LRAD, and high-pressure water cannon, as well as several mounts for .50 cal remote guns and 7.62mm GPMGs. This allows the City class to clock in as needed for low-threat OPV and constabulary work, such as against pirates off Somalia and migrants in the Med.

The first of the class, the future Belgian minehunter Oostende (M940), began her pre-delivery sea trials earlier this month with a planned commissioning in December.

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