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Those Lost to the Gun Community in 2025

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From international competitors and actors who made six-guns forever iconic to pioneering inventors and household names in the firearms industry, here is a look at those lost to us in 2025.

Lubos Adamec– Czech sport shooter who competed at the Summer Olympics in 1988 and 1992 in mixed skeet. He won three silver and a bronze medal at the European Individual Championships, as well as eight medals in team competitions at the World  Championships. He died in September, aged 66.

Joe Don Baker– Iconic Texas-born actor and Army veteran who appeared in at least three different Bond films, “Guns of the Magnificent Seven,” “Walking Tall,” “Mars Attacks!” “Cape Fear,” and others. He passed in May at the age of 89.

Frank R. Brownell III– The only son of Brownells founder Bob and his wife Lois, Frank grew up in Iowa and became involved in both the family business and the American gun industry at an early age, spending six decades with the company, with breaks to serve in the Navy and attend the University of Iowa. He passed in June, just shy of his 86th birthday.

Lino Cerati – The Italian sports shooter known for competing in the 1976 Summer Olympics, died in November, aged 87.

Wiley Clapp – A Virginia Military Institute alum (Class of 57) and Marine officer who saw heavy combat in Vietnam, Clapp went on to spend a career in law enforcement before he started writing for Gun World in 1986. Since then, he penned hundreds of articles in numerous firearms publications as well as at least two books. Ruger produced the special edition Wiley Clapp GP100 revolver with his input, while Colt’s introduced the Wiley Clapp CCO (Concealed Carry Officers) 1911-style pistol. He passed in June at home, aged 90.

Jimmy Cliff – Jamaican reggae and ska legend known for his amazing cover of Guns of Brixton and, notably, for on-screen S&W wielding in the 1986 Robin Williams comedy “Club Paradise.” He died in November at the age of 81.

Trevan Clough – Represented Papua New Guinea in trap at the 1976 and 1984 Summer Olympics. He passed at 82.

Gunther Danne – German sports shooter who represented West Germany in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He passed in October, aged 82.

Philip H. Dater – The New York-born Dater, a radiologist and Vietnam-era U.S. Air Force veteran known as a founding figure in modern firearm suppressor innovation, started designing suppressors in the 1950s, later “dabbling off-hours in his hospital’s machine shop” before going on to found first the Automatic Weapons Company (AWC) and later Gemini Technologies, today’s Gemtech. A true mentor and pioneer in the field of suppressor development, Dr. Dater died in January, aged 87.

Earl Herring – Maryland-born sports shooter who competed on the U.S. team in the skeet event at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He passed in June, aged 93.

John Brewster “JB” Hodgdon — Well-known member of the firearms community and lifelong resident of Kansas, JB was a staple of the Hodgdon Powder Company for five decades and passed in June at the age of 88.

Val Kilmer – The California-born actor was famous to gun nerds everywhere for his roles as Doc Holliday in “Tombstone” and Chris Shiherlis in “Heat,” among dozens of other iconic appearances. He passed in April, aged 65, but his films will live forever.

John Kopec – Noted firearms historian and author who penned several top-shelf books and collector’s magazine articles on 19th-century martial Colt single-actions. He passed in February, aged 97.

William Theodore “Ted” Kotcheff – Canadian-Bulgarian director and producer who brought the movie “First Blood” (1982), the first in the Rambo series, to life. He also directed “Wake in Fright” (1971), “Uncommon Valor” (1983), and “The Shooter” (1995). He passed in April, aged 94.

Andreas Kronthaler – Austrian sports shooter who competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Kronthaler died in March 2025, at the age of 73.

Robert “Bob” Nosler – A Vietnam-era Navy veteran, Nosler joined the family business as its sixth employee and spent four decades leading the now legendary Oregon-based manufacturer of bullets, cartridge cases, ammunition, firearms, and suppressors. The Chairman of the company that bears his family name passed in September, at the age of 79.

Sam Paredes – A formidable defender of the Constitution and 2A legend, Paredes dedicated 40 years of his life to Gun Owners of California– the oldest pro-gun political action committee in the country– and was a longtime board member of Gun Owners of America and the Gun Owners Foundation. He passed in August, aged 68, and was a friend and mentor to many in the fight for gun rights in the country.

Yevgeni Petrov – Perhaps the best known Russian skeet shooter, having earned a Gold in the 1968 Summer Olympics and a Silver in the 1972 games, passed in Moscow in November at the age of 87. He was a six-time world champion and coached the Russian clay team at the 1992 Olympics.

Athos Pisoni – Brazilian sports shooter who won gold in skeet in the 1975 Pan Am Games and represented his country at the 1976 Summer Olympics. He passed in February, aged 87.

Olegario Vázquez Rana – Renowned Spanish-born Mexican competitive shooter who competed in every Olympics from 1964 to 1976 and world championships from 1966 to 1979, setting numerous world records. Among other offices, he served as President of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) for over 30 years. He died in March, aged 89.

Hans Kjeld Rasmussen – Danish sport shooter and Olympic champion who won the gold in skeet at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Rasmussen died in February, aged 70.

Phil Robertson – The professional waterfowler, inventor, and outspoken “Duck Commander” founder passed away in May, aged 79.

Michael Sabbeth – The Denver-based lawyer and lecturer wrote several books as well as numerous articles on hunting and shooting, with his work appearing in “Safari Magazine,” “The Double Gun Journal,” “Sporting Classics,” and “Claying Shooting USA,” among others. His blog, “The Honorable Hunter,” endures. He passed in November, aged 78.

Alan Simpson – The Wyoming politician and longtime Senate Republican Whip and Army veteran also served on the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Board of Trustees for over 50 years and was instrumental in bringing the Winchester Collection to Cody and helping build the Center into the “Smithsonian of the West.” He passed in March, aged 93.

John Taffin – Authored five books and over 500 published articles in the pages of “Guns,” “Gun Digest,” “Sixgunner,” “Shoot!” and “American Handgunner,” going back to 1967, while he clocked in on his day job as a math teacher. The legend, when it came to six-guns and cowboy action shooting, passed in March, aged 85.

Martin Tuason – The President and CEO of Armscor and Rock Island Armory, Tuason passed in November, aged 51, after leading the companies since 2012. Besides expanding the company’s footprint around the globe, he will also be remembered as the “T” in the innovative .22 TCM cartridge.

Ed Williams – After service in the U.S. Navy, Williams spent a career as a speech teacher at LA City College before moving into being a character actor and comedian in the 1980s, starring in “Police Squad!” and the “Naked Gun” franchise, among others. He died in October at the age of 98.

Going past these esteemed members of the firearms community at large, we also note the closing of a number of gun companies, including Anderson Manufacturing, DelTon, Kalashnikov USA, Pioneer Arms, and SCCY.

And so, we remember.

Shaping up the ‘Fish

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How about this great piece of photo-realistic maritime art, depicting an event some 55 years ago today.

“Crew of Greenfish Shape-Up on Deck, December 16, 1970. As USS Halfbeak rests closest to the dock, the crew of USS Greenfish shape up on deck, in the lee and shadows of her black sail.”

Crew of Greenfish Shape-Up on Deck, December 16, 1970. Painting, Acrylic on Paper; by Dante H. Bertoni 88-161-aq

Painting, Acrylic on Paper; by Dante H. Bertoni; 1971; Framed Dimensions 31H X 39W NHHC Accession #: 88-161-AQ

A 311-foot Balao-class fleet boat, USS Greenfish (SS-351), was completed too late for WWII– commissioned 21 December 1945.

Nonetheless, she had a chance to deep-six an enemy submarine, sinking U-234 off Cape Cod in 1947.

Former U-234 is torpedoed by USS Greenfish (SS-542), in a test, on 20 November 1947, 40 miles northeast of Cape Cod.

Former U-234 is torpedoed by USS Greenfish (SS-351), in a test, on 20 November 1947, 40 miles northeast of Cape Cod.

A GUPPY II conversion, Greenfish gave the Navy a solid 28 years of service before being transferred to Brazil as Amazonas (S-16) in 1973, only being decommissioned in 1992, one of the longest-lived WWII subs still in service.

U.S.S. Sub 351 Greenfish Oct. 29, 1964 Photograph by Walter E. Frost City of Vancouver Archives

Olive Drab Bofors (by the Tens of Thousands)

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With all the talk of the 40mm Bofors in naval applications during WWII in last week’s Warship Wednesday (The Dutch Avenger), this image came to mind of the gun in unsung use with a U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery unit in Northwestern France in 1944.

(U.S. Air Force Number 56270AC) National Archives Identifier 204889544

While the Navy used them to shoot down 742.5 enemy aircraft in WWII, the Army bought just an ungodly amount of stripped-down, single-barreled towed models (40mm Automatic Gun M1) with the first specimens delivered in April 1941, a full year before the USN got theirs.

Chrysler alone made 30,095 gun mechanisms and 51,684 gun tubes for the land-based 40mm M1. Keep in mind that the Army had 781 AAA battalions that stood up in WWII, many of which were 40mm units.

Talk about Detroit Muscle.

NOV 08, 1943 – Chrysler Corporation ~ Life Magazine “Boss a Bofors 40mm.”

HK416A8 in Der Haus: German Army Issues First Heckler & Koch G95 Rifles

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The German Bundeswehr recently issued the first of at least 122,000 dirty mustard-toned HK416A8 rifles to army infantrymen– and more guns are on the way.

Heckler & Koch has had a lock on German infantry rifles going back to the 7.62 NATO Gewehr 3 (G3), which was adopted in 1959 and is still in limited service. The newly adopted System Sturmgewehr G95A1 in 5.56 NATO is replacing the futuristic-looking G36 in the same caliber, which in turn has been supplementing the G3 since 1996.

HK416A8, Germany’s new standard issue rifle, type classified as the G95. (Photo: Bundeswehr)

The first of the new rifles was issued at Grafe to troops of Panzergrenadier Battalion 122 (PzGrenBtl 122), a “tip of the spear” unit garrisoned in Oberviechtach, Bavaria, on the Czech border (cue the comic rimshot).

In Grafenwöhr, the Deputy Inspector of the Army, Lieutenant General Heico Hübner (left), together with Vice Admiral Carsten Stawitzki from the Ministry of Defense, presented the first new G95 rifles to the troops. (Photo: Bundeswehr)

It appears that all of the issued rifles recently shown off are the shorter G95KA1 variant, with the “K” being “kurz” or short, as it has a 14-inch barrel. (Photo: Bundeswehr) (Official caption: In Grafenwöhr wurde das neue Sturmgewehr der Bundeswehr, das G95 A1, an das Panzergrenadierbataillon 122 aus Oberviechtach feierlich übergeben am 4. Dezember 2025.)

The G95, adopted in 2021, will be fielded in both the standard 16-inch G95A1 and shorter G95KA1, both of which are lighter and shorter than the G36 they are replacing. The Elcan Specter DR 1-4x is the companion day optic of record. (Photo: Bundeswehr) (Official caption: In Grafenwöhr wurde das neue Sturmgewehr der Bundeswehr, das G95 A1 an das Panzergrenadierbatallion 122 aus Oberviechtach feierlich übergeben am 4. Dezember 2025.)

The G95, as with the HK416 in general, uses a robust, AR-18 style short-stroke gas piston system rather than the more traditional AR-15 direct gas impingement. (Photos: Bundeswehr)

It uses STANAG 4694 rails with M-LOK accessory slots and has an adjustable gas block. Note the full-length top Pic rail

Unlike the G36, the G95, in all Bundeswehr variants, will no longer be black, but greenish-brown, a colorway that has been described by some as “ekelhaftgelb” (disgusting yellow). The reason: black has a higher infrared signature and is therefore easier to detect. (Photo: Bundeswehr)

Das Senfgewehr! (Photo: Bundeswehr)

The Budget Committee of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, last week approved the purchase of more G95 series rifles, complete with optics and lights. The country, with an ever-more aggressive Russia to the East, is looking to up its military spending and is even flirting with the prospect of returning to peacetime conscription.

First selected by the Bundeswehr in 2014 in its A5 variant for use as the G28 designated marksman rifle, the country also fields the HK416A7 as the standard G95 (no A1), which has been in use with Germany’s special operations units since at least 2018.

The above shows a German KSK commando with a “50 Shades of FDE” HK416A7/G95 outfitted with an EoTech XPS HWS system and magnifier. (Photo: Bundeswehr)

The German-based Dexheimer channel earlier this year went on a visit to HK’s factory in Oberndorf to get the tour and a deep dive background on the G95. Even if you don’t speak German, you can auto-dub it in English, although you don’t really need to.

The Icelandic Coast Guard sees you, and they want you to know they see you

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The Icelandic Coast Guard (Landhelgisgæsla Íslands, or LHG) was established in 1926– predating the country’s independence by almost two decades– but has roots that go back to 1859.

And, as we have talked about in the past, they are the Stan “I didn’t hear no bell” Marsh of the racing stripers.

The plucky Icelandic Coast Guard Cutter Tyr chasing off one of HM’s much larger and better armed frigates during the “Cod Wars” in the 1970s.

The closest thing the country of 200,000 has to a uniform military service, the 200-member LHG has a small but well-cared-for collection of cutters and aircraft, and runs the Skógarhlí-based Iceland Air Defence System (Íslenska loftvarnarkerfið) whose four U.S.-established radar installations–formerly run by the country’s Radar Agency (Ratsjárstofnun)– augmented by satellites, provide a full-time surveillance capability of the country’s air and waters, interfacing with NATO and commercial ship tracking services.

The service recently posted that they had 295 active vessels at sea under the watchful eyes of the LHG, and that five Russian fishing vessels were huddled up, just skirting the line of the country’s EEZ.

As noted by the LHG (mechanically translated)

Surveillance and law enforcement with Icelandic jurisdiction is carried out both with remote surveillance and satellites alongside real surveillance carried out with TF-SIF [a Bombardier Dash 8-Q-314 maritime patrol aircraft], Coast Guard cutters Thor and Freyja, as well as Coast Guard helicopters.

Coast Guard ships have been monitoring the eastern part of the country lately and have, among other things, boarded foreign ships that fish herring within the jurisdiction. The journeys of these ships will continue to be closely monitored.

You’re damnned right they are closely monitored.

Skal!

The Frigate Gap meets the Cutter Gap

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If only we kept the OHP FFG-7 line active in the same way the Burke DDG-51s have been, we wouldn’t have this problem and could have saved the whole LCS waking nightmare. I mean, you could see a Flight IIA FFG-7 with a 32-cell VLS instead of the old “one-armed bandit” Mk 13 launcher, C-RAM instead of CIWS, and a 57mm gun along with pocket Aegis sensors, couldn’t you?

Stripped-down white hulled versions could have clocked in with the Coast Guard, saving a lot of heartburn there as well.

Alas, with the Perrys, we never knew what we had til they were gone.

The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate USS Aubrey Fitch (FFG 34) underway in 1982 during Bath trials DN-SC-85-04399

As everyone well knows, the Constellation class FFGs have been canceled after falling years behind schedule and millions over budget, with not much to show for it besides two building ships that will no doubt be tough to maintain by themselves over their lifecycle once they finally hit the fleet sometime in the 2030s.

Now, word comes that the current SECNAV wants a new frigate class to be “in the water” as soon as 2028, returning the type to the Navy List for the first time since USS Simpson (FFG-56) decommissioned in September 2015.

The only way to really do that is to restart a barely dormant program with a grey hull variant of the proven Ingalls-built Legend (Bertholf)-class National Security Cutter, being specifically mentioned by “sources.”

With decent sensors, TACAN, IFF, and Links 11 and 16, the NSCs have often been deployed with the frigate-poor Second Fleet in the Atlantic (roaming as far as the Black Sea) and to the West Pac under Seventh Fleet control since 2019, where their long legs (12,000nm, almost three times that of a Burke) and shallower draft (22 feet compared to a Burke’s 31+) come in handy.

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)

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) transits near the Singapore Straits, Feb. 29, 2024. The Bertholf is a 418-foot National Security Cutter currently deployed to the Indo-Pacific region under the tactical control of U.S. 7th Fleet. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier)

Two F/A-18E Super Hornets, attached to the “Tomcatters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31, fly over the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81), and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) James (WMSL 754), April 2, 2025. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is underway in the Atlantic Ocean, completing integrated naval warfighting training. Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) is the Joint Force’s most complex integrated training event and prepares naval task forces for sustained high-end Joint and combined combat. Integrated naval training provides America’s civilian leaders and commanders with highly capable forces that deter adversaries, underpin American security and economic prosperity, and reassure Allies and partners. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maxwell Orlosky)

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)

The NSCs are frigate-sized, at 4,700 tons and 418 feet oal (the old long hull FFG-7 Perrys were 4,200 tons and 453 feet oal) and are good for 28 knot bursts on a CODAG powerplant. Of course, they are not frigate armed, with just a 57mm Bofors and Block 1B CIWS, as well as some 25mm Mk 38s and .50 cals, but they have weight and space reserved for additional weapons and sensors as well as all the “soft kill” stuff you’d expect from a frigate such as SLQ-32, SRBOC, and Nukla.

The USCG has 10 NSCs with an 11th (the would-be USCGC Friedman) canceled in June, and Long Lead Time Materials funded as an option for a 12th hull– both of which the service could actually use, especially in Alaska. That kinda qualifies as having a “hot” line.

Ingalls has seriously shopped a few different National Security Cutter patrol frigate (FF) variants over the years, with the most aggressive of these being the FF4923.

This FF4923 would be 4,675 tons, have two STIIR 2.4 FC radars, a Captas VDS towed sonar, a KINGKLIP sonar, space for two, maybe four anti-ship missile box launchers, Mk 32 ASW torpedo tubes, a C-RAM rather than CIWS, and 16 MK41 VLS cells. However, it looks like those cells would be limited to tactical-length (no Tomahawk or SM-3) loads.

The model is shown with a 76mm gun, which I like (would prefer a 5 incher), but the NSC sports a 57mm Mk 110 (along the lines of the Connies and the LCSs, as well as the USCG’s 25~ planned Heritage/Argus-class Offshore Patrol Cutters), so let’s be honest, that is what a frigate-ized NSC in U.S. service would carry. This might allow a 32-cell VLS to be shoehorned into the design, which is the same as Connie. If not, the FF4923 would be limited to just 16 SAMs if using SM-2s (with a 90nm published range), or 64 shorter-ranged (27nm) but quad-packed ESSMs, less if ASROC is carried (e.g., maybe 4 SM-2s, 4 VLAs, and 32 ESSMs).

Sure, it is not perfect, but it is a better plan than not having a frigate at all, which is what we are doing now.

Plus, if the FF4923 was greenlit and other yards (Bath and Austal, for instance) got into the build-out, the prospect that the canceled 11th and 12th NSCs could get built is high– which could help the Coast Guard with its delayed Offshore Patrol Cutter program.

Speaking of the struggling OPCs, these 4,500-ton 360-foot OPVs are a bit slow (22 knots) to be thought of as a proper FF but do have a long (10,200nm) range, MH-60 helicopter and small boat facilities, as well as the same soft and hard kill batteries as the larger NSC (sans CIWS), or the LCS classes for that matter, with little weight and space reseved for anything heavier, so they are more of a dark horse candidate for a new frigate design.

“With a range of 10,200 nautical miles at 14 knots and a 60-day endurance period, each OPC will be capable of deploying independently or as part of task groups, serving as a mobile command and control platform for surge operations such as hurricane response, mass migration incidents, and other events. The cutters will also support Arctic objectives by helping regulate and protect emerging commerce and energy exploration in Alaska.”

Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC)/Maritime Security Cutter (MSC)

But at least their line is hot, with the Coast Guard just authenticating the keel for the future USCGC Pickering (WMSM-919) during a ceremony Monday at Austal in Mobile.

Again, better than what the Navy has now, I guess.

Ship sponsor Dr. Meghan Pickering Seymour, fifth-generation granddaughter to Col. Timothy Pickering, and Ravi Khamsourin, Austal USA advanced welder, tig-welded her initials during a keel laying ceremony in Mobile, Alabama, Dec. 8, 2025. The Coast Guard Cutter Pickering (OPC 5) is named for the first USCGC Pickering that launched in 1798. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Grace McBryde)

Ike Angle

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How about this great shot taken a decade ago from a rarely viewed angle on a Nimitz-class super carrier? Note the Screwtop (VAW-123) E-2C, as well as an F-18C and F-18D two-seater,

151212-N-RX777-246: ATLANTIC OCEAN (Dec. 12, 2015) Electronics Technician 3rd Class Timothy Stodden and Electronics Technician 3rd Class Cody Ray conduct maintenance on an STS-46 radar aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Dwight D. Eisenhower and embarked Carrier Air Wing 3 are underway preparing for their upcoming deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Cole Keller/Released

At the time, Ike had just wrapped up a 25-month Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) at Norfolk NSY and was working up with CVW-3 for a 5th Fleet Med deployment, her 21st.

The Batmen

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Some 80 years ago today, 12 December 1945, a window into the future of naval maritime patrol and sea control debuted to the public just after it had been vetted in combat.

Official period captions: “The BAT radar pilotless aircraft under the wing of a Convair PB4Y-2 Privateer at the Philadelphia Ordnance District during development and testing. The Bat was a Mark 9 special weapons ordnance device.” Photographs released December 12, 1945.

80-G-701607

80-G-701606

Note two BATs, one under each arm. 80-G-701605

The 1,700-pound SWOD Mk 9 (Special Weapon Ordnance Device) Bat radar-guided glide bomb has been called “arguably the most advanced of the early guided bombs” of the WWII era, and was even used successfully by Privateers of VPB-109 in combat in early 1945.

BAT Air-to-Surface Guided Missile homes in on a target ship during tests. Photograph released 16 October 1946. National Archives photograph 80-G-703161. launched from PBM

What of the Bat, you ask? Well, some 2,500 of these primitive anti-shipping weapons were built, but very few actually dropped before the end of the war.

The Navy re-designated them the ASM-N-2 post-war and kept Bat in inventory until after Korea, when they were replaced by more efficient air-launched weapons (the ASM-N-7/AGM-12 Bullpup in the late 50s, AGM-45 Shrike in the 1960s, and AGM-65 Maverick in the 1970s before Harpoon came around), then used as AAA targets.

Lucky Fluckey Would be Proud

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I know that, going back to the 688 class of the 1970s, hunter killers have been named after cities in the good old “fish don’t vote” adage of Big Nuke Navy Boss ADM Rickover, but I do miss those old classic fish names for subs.

One is set to return with the future Block V Virginia-class attack submarine USS Barb (SSN 804), which had her keel authenticated at Newport News on Dec. 9.

SSN-804’s sponsor is the spouse of the late RADM Eugene Bennett “Lucky” Fluckey’s grandson.

Fluckey was commanding officer of the storied Barb (SS 220) in World War II. Under Fluckey’s watch, USS Barb became one of the most highly decorated submarines in U.S. naval history, most known for sinking a record number of enemy ships and for a particularly daring mission that destroyed enemy shipping lines. Fluckey received the Medal of Honor for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.” The ship earned four Presidential Unit Citations, a Navy Unit Commendation, and eight Battle Stars for service in World War II and was decommissioned in 1954.

The second Barb, (SSN 596), a Permit-class boat, was active in the Cold War, including two tours off Vietnam, and helped vet sub-launched TLAMs.

The future and third Barb will be the 31st Virginia-class submarine when commissioned, and the third Block V boat.

Of note, when the 688 series USS Helena (SSN-725) was decommissioned in July, the Virginias became the most numerous active submarine class in the world, with 24 active and two (Massachusetts and Idaho) complete pending commissioning in early 2026. They will no doubt hold that title for the next 20+ years, at least for SSNs.

A total of 67 are planned, including a trio of boats (two Block IV second-hand, one new construction Block VII) for Australia.

The Many faces of the Triple Three

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Pre-Mayberry, actor Andy Griffith, exempted from service at age 18 in 1944 due to a herniated disk,  made a couple of military service comedies during the late 1950s: the better-received Korean War-set USAF-based No Time for Sergeants, and the lesser-known Onionhead.

In Onionhead, Griffith portrayed country simple Cook 3rd Class– now known as a Culinary Specialist Third Class (CS3)– Alvin Woods, who signs up for the Coast Guard during World War II and is assigned to the fictional buoy tender USCGC Periwinkle, cue laugh track and burned cinnamon roll hilarity.

Periwinkle somehow sinks an enemy U-boat, and Wood/Griffith ends up with the girl in the end.

Based on a novel by William R. Scott, a native Oklahoman who served in the USCG during “the Big Show,” the movie was filmed at Coast Guard Base Alameda and Yerba Buena Island circa 1958, with at least some footage of the USCGC Yamacraw (WARC-333) making it to the finished, albeit ill-received, movie.

Yamacraw was a very interesting ship.

Constructed during WWII at Point Pleasant, W. Va., by the Marietta Manufacturing Co as Hull 480, a 1,320 ton, 188-foot Coastal Artillery mine planter for the U.S. Army as USAMP Maj. Gen. Arthur Murray (MP-9), she was delivered to the Army on 1 October 1942.

USAMP Maj. Gen. Arthur Murray (MP-9). Records (#742), Special Collections Department, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.

After serving on the East Coast during WWII, once the threat of Axis invasion passed, Randolph transferred to the Navy on 2 January 1945. She was then converted into an auxiliary minelayer by the Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C., and commissioned there on 15 March 1945 as USS Trapper, designated ACM-9, a Chimo-class auxiliary minelayer, Lt. Richard E. Lewis, USNR, in command.

Her armament included one 40mm Bofors mount and four 20mm mounts, and she was fitted with both listening gear and radar.

USS Trapper (ACM-9), ex-USAMP Maj. Gen. Arthur Murray (MP-9), off San Francisco, California, circa 1945.Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, Corte Madera, California, 1973. NH 77370

It was planned that she was to take part in the last push for the Japanese home islands in late 1945/early 1946, but that never materialized, and she only made it as far as Pearl Harbor by the time the Pacific War ended.

Trapper arrived at Kobe on 25 November 1945 and operated out of that port repairing minesweeping gear until 1 February 1946, when she shifted her base of operations to Wakayama for a month. She was then sent back stateside and arrived at San Francisco on 2 May, where she was decommissioned.

Transferred to the USCG on 20 June 1946 for use as a cable layer, USCGC Yamacraw (WARC-333), after a traditional cutter name, ex-Trapper/ex-Murray was struck from the Navy list on 19 July 1946.

She remained in USCG custody until early 1959.

This included filming of Onionhead and a 1957-1958 lease during the International Geophysical Year to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for acoustic studies of the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. In that task, the ship towed a cable that recorded ambient sound in the ocean, plus a thermistor chain for measuring temperature.

The Navy then re-acquired the old Army mine ship on 17 May 1959, painted her haze gray, kept the USCG name, and redesignated her as ARC-5, a cable repair ship.

The difference as told by two Jane’s entries:

USS Yamacraw (ARC-5), port quarter view of cable repair ship USS Yamacraw (ARC-5) anchored in an unidentified location. Previously served as minelayer USS Trapper (ACM-9) and Coast Guard Cutter Yamacraw (WARC-333).NHHC L45-314.01.01

As a Naval auxiliary, she operated from Portsmouth to Bermuda and spent much of her at-sea time conducting research projects for the Office of Naval Research and for the Bell Telephone Laboratories.

On 2 July 1965, Yamacraw was decommissioned by the Navy for a second and final time, transferred to the permanent custody of the Maritime Administration, and struck, again, from the Navy list.

Her final fate is unknown.

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