Grouped into three battalions each of 963 men and 139 horses/mules plus a K9 platoon, its all-up TOE was just 2,997 officers and men– basically that of an understrength light infantry brigade. Its largest artillery was 81mm mortars.
Code-named “Galahad” and led by Brig. Gen. Frank D. Merrill, they became the larger-than-life “Merrill’s Marauders” as they cut a swath across occupied Burma in 1944, marching 1,000 miles in six months (four of those in combat) from India to seize the Japanese-held airfield in the city of Myitkyina.
Now, the last of the Marauders, Russell Hamler, who began the war as a horse soldier in the 27th Cavalry before he volunteered for what would become the 5307th, has passed at age 99, closing a chapter in military history.
The lineage of the Mauraders passed to the 75th Ranger Regiment, which keeps the memory alive.
Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1, moving about Scandinavia in April 2023, with Norwegian coast guard cutter HNoMS Nordkapp (A531) trailing, preceded by FGS Rottweil (M1061), FS Céphée (M652), HNoMS Otra (M351), BNS Bellis (M916) and EML Sakala (M314). Foto Mediacentrum Defensie
Lots of interesting news coming from the world of sea mines.
First, from the Baltic, comes news that Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One has been very busy over the late summer and fall. In just one recent nine-day operation in Estonian territorial waters, seven minesweepers/hunters covered an area of more than 22 square nautical miles and classified 228 items as “mine-like” objects.
Of those, 16 were positively identified as historical mines left over from WWI and WWII and neutralized.
“The Baltic Sea was heavily mined during the World Wars, however, some areas more densely than others,” Commander, SNMCMG1 Polish Navy Commander Piotr Bartosewicz said. “Estonian waters are one of the most mined areas in the world and provide a valuable opportunity to train and to increase SNMCMG1’s combat readiness.”
Bartosewicz took charge of SNMCMG1 on behalf of the Polish Navy in July 2023. He leads the group from its flagship Polish Navy ORP Czernicki (511) along with an international staff on board. In addition, the group comprises minehunters: Belgian Navy BNS Crocus (M917), German Navy FGS Bad Bevensen (M1063), Royal Netherlands Navy HNLMS Vlaardingen (M863), and two Polish Navy minesweepers ORP Drużno (641) and ORP Hańcza (642). The group was further strengthened by Allied minehunters from Estonia and Lithuania – ENS Ugandi (M315) and LNS Skalvis (M53), respectfully, during the HODOPS.
They were operating from two of Canada’s venerable Kingston class “coastal defense vessels” — HMCS Summerside and HMCS Shawinigan— which are basically offshore patrol assets that can be pressed into service as mine hunters.
MCDV HMCS Shawinigan (MM704) set up for MCM with SNMCMG1 Baltic October 2023. These 181-foot diesel-electric steel-hulled OPVs have done it all since they entered service in the early 1990s. Note the .50 cal M2 in front of her wheelhouse, a weapon not normally mounted. RCN photo
SNMCMG1 rafting in the Baltic in September. The largest ship is the 2,300-ton/242-foot mine defense command ship ORP Kontradmiral Xawery Czernicki (511) in center alongside 540-ton/168-foot Dutch minehunter Zr.Ms. Vlaardingen (M 863), with the Polish 216-ton/126-foot Gardno/207P-class harbor minesweepers ORP Hańcza (642) and ORP Drużno (641) at the top. At the bottom is the 650-ton/178-foot German Frankenthal-Class mine hunter Bad Bevensen (M 1063). The Canadian Kingston class sisters HMCS Summerside and HMCS Shawinigan are sandwiched between Bad Bevensen and Czernicki.
Lacking direct sweep gear, the combination of divers and REMUS ROVs proved a decent substitute on the 30-year-old Kingstons.
Most of the devices encountered so far have been Soviet M1943 MyaM-type shallow water (inshore/river) contact mines of the type licensed to both Iran (SADAF-01 type) and Iraq (Al Mara type) back in the 1980s, typically seen with very fresh Ukrainian naval markings and contact horns covered.
Finally, it should be remembered that the Yemen Houthi have their own domestically made KS-2 Mersad (trans: Ambush), a High-Explosive (HE), moored, contact-initiated, blast seamine, of which lots of images are making their rounds these days.
Courtesy of William H. Davis, 1976. Naval History and Heritage Command Catalog #: NH 84879
Above we see the 542-class tank landing ship USS Meeker County (LST-980) arriving at San Diego, California, on 6 September 1970, capping a four-year stint in Vietnam where she, just a few months before, had survived an attempted mining by a VC dive team. Note that her guns– including WWII-era Bofors– are covered and she is carrying much topside cargo to include vehicles and cranes.
The Normandy veteran was laid down 80 years ago this month, saw lots of service in a few different wars, and was among the very last of her class in U.S. Naval service.
The 542s
A revolutionary concept that, by and large, went a long way to win WWII (and later turn the tables in Korea) was the LST. Designed to beach their bows at the surf line and pull themselves back off via a combination of rear anchor winching and reverse prop work, they were big and slow, earning them the invariable nicknames of “Large Slow Target” or “Last Ship (to) Tokyo.”
While a few early designs were built by the British (the Maracaibo and Boxer classes) it wasn’t until the Royal Navy placed a wish list with the U.S. for 200 LST (2) type vessels that the Americans got into the landing tank ship design in a big way.
This general 1,800-ton, 327-foot vessel, powered (eventually) by two easily maintained GM EMD locomotive diesels, was ultimately built in a whopping 1,052 examples between 1942 and 1945. They could carry around 120 troops, which could be landed by as many as a half-dozen davit-carried Higgins boats, but their main claim to fame was in being able to tote almost 1,500 tons of cargo and vehicles on their tank deck for landing ashore.
Built across three different subclasses (390 LST-1 type, 51 LST-491 type, and 611 LST-542) in nine different yards spread across the country– including five “cornfield shipyards” in the Midwest, then shipped via river to the coast– our humble “gator” was of the latter type.
The 542s, while using the same general hull and engineering plant, were equipped with an enclosed navigation bridge, a large 4,000 gal per day saltwater distilling plant, and a heavier armament (1 3″/50 DP open mount, 2 twin 40mm Bofors w/Mk.51 directors, 4 single Bofors, and 12 20mm Oerlikon) than previous members of the class. This, however, dropped their maximum cargo load from 2,100 tons as carried by previous sisters, down to “only” 1,900.
LST-542 type, cutaway model. Note the extensive 40mm and 20mm gun tubs, six LCVPs in davits, and tank deck. The 542s and some late 491s used a simple ramp rather than an elevator to move vehicles from the topside to the tank deck and vice versa. NMUSN-4950
The first to enter service, LST-542, was commissioned on 29 February 1944, while the last completed was LST-1152, commissioned on 30 June 1945. Now that is production, baby!
Meet LST-980
Laid down on 9 December 1943, at Boston Navy Yard, LST-980 was constructed in just 79 days to be commissioned on 26 February 1944. T
hen came two months of shakedown and post-delivery refits before she left, packed with equipment, bound for England where “the big show” was soon to start.
Touring Beachside France
After leaving Southend on the afternoon of 5 June, on D-Day, LST-980, along with sisters LST-543, 981, 982, and 983, made up Flotilla 17, Group 52, Division 103, under CDR William J. Whiteside as commodore.
The group brought their loads, elements of the British Army, successfully to Juno Beach in the afternoon of the 6th.
Part of L Force, they carried the British 7 Armoured Division and 51 Division along with parts of both I Corps and XXX Corps.
Mitchell Jamieson, “Morning of D-Day from LST” NHHC 88-193-hi
LST in Channel Convoy June 1944 Drawing, Ink and Wash on Paper; by Mitchell Jamieson; 1944; Framed Dimensions 30H X 25W Accession #88-193-HK
After reloading, on 7 June, while carrying elements of the 1st British Army Corps to the No. 102 Beach area on Sword Beach, LST-980 was the subject of several low-level German air attacks, one of which hit the gator with two small (125 pound) (SC50?) bombs, neither of which seemed to have had enough time/distance to arm. The second passed through the main deck and continued into the water. The first, however, likewise passed through the main deck but came to rest in a truck parked on the tank deck.
This problem was carefully addressed by four engineers (LT JHB Monday, SGT H. Charnley, CPL J. McAninly, LCPL F. Crick) of 1 Electrical & Mechanical Section, 282 General Transport Company, who gingerly picked it up, placed it on a field stretcher, carried it to the opened bow doors, and deep-sixed it. While DANFS reports one killed in this incident, other sources note there were no personnel casualties and only minor damage.
Several of her sisters would not be as lucky.
LST-376 was sunk by German E-boats off Normandy on 9 June 1944, LST-499, LST-496, and LST-523 were lost to German mines between 8 June and 19 June; and LST-921 was torpedoed by U-764 on 14 August.
Speaking of August, look at this report from LST-980 filed in September, covering her continued operations on the England to France cross-channel run. Among the more interesting spots are narrowly avoiding German coastal batteries on occupied Gurnsey Island while loaded with artillery shells, shipping 167 U.S. Army vehicles (including 25 tanks and two batteries of field artillery) and 521 soldiers to the Continent while returning to England with 1,106 captured German personnel (guarded at a ratio of 200 EPOWs to 9 MPs) including 30 female nurses.
By February 1945, with the prospect of further amphibious landings in the European Theatre unlikely, LST-980 was sent back to the East Coast to serve as a training ship at Little Creek for troops headed to the Pacific for the ongoing push on Tokyo and the Navy/Coast Guardsmen that would carry them. Our gator was there on VE-Day and VJ-Day.
Naval Gun Factory, Navy Day, October 27 October 1945. Visitors are shown to the U.S. Navy ships at the waterfront. Shown right to left: USS Meeker County (LST 980); USS Dyson (DD 572); USS Claxton (DD 571); USS Converse (DD 509); and USS Charles Ausburne (DD 570). Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph, Navy Subject Files, WNY Box 7, Folder 1.
In April 1949, just three weeks after NATO was formed, LST-980 sailed for a six-month stint with the 6th Fleet in the Med at a time when Europe was still very much in a post-war recovery, with the Cold War dawning.
Records indicate her crew was eligible for a battle star for the Invasion of Normandy from 6 June to 25 June 1944 and later a Navy Occupation Medal for service in Europe from 19 May to 19 September 1949.
When it came to her sisters, no less than 41 were lost during the conflict including six in the so-called West Loch Disaster, two at Slapton Sands to German E-boats during Exercise Tiger, seven to Japanese aircraft and kamikaze, six to Japanese and German submarines, and one (LST-282) to a German glider bomb
Post-war service
In the period immediately following VJ-Day, the Navy rapidly shed their huge LST fleet, giving ships away to allies, selling others on the commercial market (they proved a hit for ferry conversions, as coasters in remote areas, and use in the logging industry), and laying up most of the remainder. More than 100 vessels that were still under contract but not completed were canceled.
By August 1946, only 480 of the 1,011 survivors were still in some sort of active U.S. Navy service with many of those slated for conversion, mothballs, or disposal.
Many had been reclassified to auxiliary roles as diverse as PT-boat tenders (AGP), repair ships (ARL), battle damage repair ships (ARB), self-propelled barracks ships (APB), cargo ships (AKS), electronic parts supply ships (AG), and salvage craft tenders (ARST). Others, like LST-822, were transferred to the civilian mariner-run Military Sea Transportation Service and traded their USS for USNS. Heck, some had even served during the war as mini-aircraft carriers, toting Army Grasshoppers.
Jane’s 1946 listing, covering a thumbnail of the U.S. Navy’s LST classes.
However, LST-980 remained on active service through the Korean conflict, where she was semi-exiled to support the Army and Air Force’s polar basing efforts in Greenland, carrying supplies through the barely thawed Baffin Bay in the summers of 1951, 1952, and 1953, earning a trifecta of Blue Noses for her crew.
USS LST-980 working her way through the Baffin Bay icepack en route to U.S. Air Force Base Thule, Greenland in the summer of 1953. USS LST-980 sailed in August from NAB Little Creek, VA. to Thule Air Force Base, Greenland. LST-980’s load was construction equipment. The ship moved through the icepack behind the Icebreaker USS Northwind (AGB-5). Despite careful sounding of the landing route to the beach at Thule, LST-980 settled on a huge underwater boulder puncturing two of the ship’s fuel tanks and disabling two of the three ship’s generators. After unloading, divers from the seagoing tug in our company patched the punctures and LST-980 proceeded back to Portsmouth, VA. at reduced speed, in the company of the tug. At Portsmouth, the ship was hauled out onto a marine railway for repairs. LST-980 was not able to pump out the damaged fuel tanks, consequently, thousands of gallons of diesel fuel drained into the James River. Repairs were made and LST-980 was back in the fleet in a couple of months. Photo from Alvin Taub, Engineering Officer USS LST-980, via Navsource.
As something of a reward, LST-980 would spend the winters during the same period schlepping Marines around the sunny Caribbean on exercises, typically out of Gtmo and Vieques/Rosy Roads.
LST-980 photographed circa 1950s. Courtesy of William H. Davis, 1976 NH 84878
In July 1955, the 158 LSTs remaining on the Naval List (including the two post-WWII era LST-1153 class and the 54 Korean War-era LST 1156 class vessels) were given county names to go with the hull numbers. Thus, our LST-980 became USS Meeker County, the only ship named in honor of the rural south-central Minnesota county with Litchfield as its seat.
By this time, with over a decade of good service on her hull and most of her class either under a different flag or rusting away in mothballs, the ax came for our girl.
On 16 December 1955, the newly named Meeker County was decommissioned and placed in reserve status, first in Green Cove Springs, Florida, and then in Philly.
Reactivation, and headed to China Beach
With the problems in Southeast Asia suddenly coming to a head in 1965, and the Marines of Battalion Landing Team 3/9 wading ashore at Red Beach Two, north of Da Nang, on 8 March, the Navy suddenly found itself needing more gators.
“Coming Ashore: Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines [BLT 3/9] wade ashore from landing craft at Red Beach 2, just north of Da Nang on March 8, 1965.” From the Jonathan F. Abel Collection (COLL/3611) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division
Several mothballed LSTs were inspected and those found to be in better condition were modernized and reactivated for West Pac service.
The retrofit saw modern (ish) radars and commo gear installed on a new mast to the rear of the wheelhouse, the four forward Higgins boat davits removed while two aft were retained for 36-foot LCVPs, the armament reduced, and a helicopter deck installed on the top deck between Frames 16 and 26.
Observed the changes as shown on sister USS Hamilton County (LST-802) click to big up:
Meeker County was towed to Baltimore, modernized, and recommissioned on 23 September 1966.
A much cleaner Meeker County. Note the helicopter pad and large rear mast but retained 40mm and 20mm guns
Four months later she shipped out for Guam, her official “home port” although she would be bound for semi-permanent service with Landing Ship Squadron Three in Danang. LSRON3 was composed of a dozen modernized WWII LSTs (LST-344, 509, 525, 603, 819, 839, 901, 980, 1077, 1082, 1123, and 1150).
Meeker County, nicknamed at this point “Old Lovely” by her crew, would spend most of the next four years deployed to the South Vietnam littoral, with the gaps between the below periods generally seeing the LST in Subic Bay, Guam, Hong Kong, or Pearl Harbor undergoing maintenance, rotating crewmembers, or getting some much-needed R&R.
In country:
April-June; September-December 1967
February-May; June-October, and December 1968 (including the Tet Offensive)
January; March-April 1969
January-March, June-July 1970
Beautiful color footage exists from this period.
Check out this great two-pager, “Shuttle Run,” covering Meeker County‘s role in moving the Army’s 5th Cavalry Division from Danang to Cua Viet in the I Corps area of Vietnam, just a hair south of the DMZ, by JOC Dick Benjamin in the July 1968 issue of All Hands.
Two snippets:
These are not milk runs. Meeker County and her sister LSTs are often shelled by enemy mortar and artillery fire.
And, as the LST was almost done unloading:
Just a few trailers were left to unload when mortar rounds started coming in, hitting 200 yards from the ship. Before the enemy could correct their range, the unloading was completed and LT [Frank Elwood] Clark backed the ship away. As Meeker County started toward the narrow inlet, heavier artillery rounds began hitting the ramp. More rounds followed the ship as she made her way to the open sea; each succeeding round hit where the ship had been only a few seconds before.
Besides shells and mortar bombs, American ships were subject to repeated attacks by swimmers carrying improvised limpet mines.
At a camp in the jungle, Viet Cong (VC) swimmer sappers raise their right arms in salute at the completion of a briefing for a demolition attack on a bridge in the province. The original photograph was captured from the VC. AWM P01003.010
To counter such attacks, ships inshore would mount extensive topside sentries with grenades and rifles and occasionally spin up their props to scare away sneaky swimmers.
Note this passage from Meeker’s deck log:
Meeker, in a repeat of her Normandy bombing, was once again lucky when the sappers came paddling through.
At 0220 on 28 June 1970, while berthed at the De Long Pier in Vung Tau with 14 feet of muddy water under her keel, a sentry on Meeker Countyspotted a nylon line secured to the pier, and soon after a swimmer was spotted in the area.
Coming to her assistance were EOD divers of the Royal Australian Navy’s Clearance Diving Team 3. LT Ross Blue, Petty Officer John Kershler, and Able Seaman Gerald Kingston.
As described by the Australian War Memorial:
Kershler dove into the water to discover explosives wrapped in black plastic, and four fishing floats secured to the nylon line.
The bundle was drawn clear of the ship and Blue towed it away using a small craft, so it didn’t touch the bottom of the harbour. It was secured to an empty barge a kilometer from the Meeker County and away from the main shipping channel. The plan was to move it to a nearby mud bank at high tide to inspect it more closely.
A few hours before that could occur, the package exploded, shooting water ten metres into the air. Fortunately, no one was near the package at the time, and there were no injuries or damage from the blast.
Meeker County’s deck log for the day:
CDT 3 7th Team 1970: Rear: ABCD Jock Kingston, LSCD John Aldenhoven, (Inset ABCD Bob Wojcik, Killed 21 June 1970). Front: CPOCD Dollar, LT Ross Blue, and POCD John Kershler. Photo via the Military Operations Analysis Team (MOAT) at the University of New South Wales (Canberra)/AWM P01620.003
All told, Meeker County would earn 10 battle stars, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the Navy Unit Commendation for Vietnam service, adding to her WWII battle star from Normandy and her Occupation Medal.
Meeker County was decommissioned, in December 1970, at Bremerton and laid up there. She joined 15 remaining WWII LSTs in U.S. service in mothballs while the last of the type on active duty, USS Pitkin County (LST-1082), was decommissioned the following September.
The 1973 Jane’s listing for what was left of the class, all of which were laid up.
By 1975, with Saigon fallen, the Navy moved to dispose of the last of its WWII LSTs, and they were stricken from the Naval Register. The hulls would be transferred overseas, some scrapped, and others sold on the commercial market. The last to go was USS Duval County (LST-758), sold by MARAD in 1981.
Our Meeker County struck on April Fool’s Day 1975, was sold that December to Max Rouse & Sons, Beverly Hills, and soon was resold to fly a Singapore flag as MV LST 3. By 1978, she was operated by a Panama-owned Greek-flagged firm as MV Petrola 143 (IMO 7629893). Out of service by 1996, she was sold to a breaker in Turkey.
Epilogue
When it comes to enduring relics of our humble LST, little remains.
One curious relic, the simple handmade snorkel that was left behind by Viet Cong saboteurs who tried to blow up Meeker County in 1970 was recovered by the Australian divers of CDT3 and is cataloged as part of the AWM’s collection.
“Improvised snorkel with plastic tube connected to a rubber mouthpiece, made from a tyre. Tied around the tube is a piece of khaki green lanyard, to be worn around the neck. A piece of roughly woven string is also attached to the snorkel. It divides at the other end into two piece of string, to which are attached two small balls for insertion in the nose while in use.” AWM RELAWM40821
As for the Ozzies of CDT 3, in the four years (February 1967 – May 1971) they were in Vietnam, they performed over 7,000 ship inspections and safely removed no less than 78 devices from allied hulls.
When it comes to Meeker County’s vast collection of over 1,000 sisters and near-sisters, 11 remain in some sort of service including Mexico, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines– where one, BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57), ex USS Harnett County (LST-821/AGP-281)/RVNS My Tho (HQ-800,) is famously grounded as an outpost on Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.
Meanwhile, two WWII LSTs, none 542 types, are preserved as museum ships in the States. They are USS LST-325 in Evansville, Indiana, and LST-393 in Muskegon, Michigan. Please visit them if you have a chance.
The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.
With more than 50 years of scholarship, Warship International, the written tome of the INRO, has published hundreds of articles, most of which are unique in their sweep and subject.
PRINT still has its place. If you LOVE warships you should belong.
(Oct. 14, 2023) Chief Fire Controlman (Aegis) Kenneth Krull, from Jacksonville, Florida, assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64), mans the combat systems coordinator console in the combat information center (CIC) during a general quarters drill, October 14, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo 231014-N-GF955-1022 by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau)
While you can expect to see some grey hulls from the USN, RN, and “La Royale,” as well as possibly a random visiting frigate from Canada, Italy, Holland, Spain, and Norway, to be sure the only reason that Bahrain and Seychelles are mentioned are for basing reasons, with the latter being exceptionally sticky as of late.
Notably absent are forces from regional players Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who have very capable Western-style navies that are already in the area. Of course, with sky-high tensions over Palestine right now, that is not surprising.
Also not mentioned is the Chinese Navy whose anti-piracy 37th Naval Escort Task Force has been living at a $600 million base in Djibouti since 2016, or the Japanese who have had a small naval base in the same Horn of Africa country since 2011.
To get a handle on just how many attacks have occurred in the Dab El Mandeb chokepoint in the past two months, note this chart via Damien Symon (Detresfa).
According to DOD, Houthis thus far have conducted over 100 one-way uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and ballistic missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels involving more than 35 different nations.
For a wider view of the dust-up and its already-felt effects on global shipping, check out this really good run down by Sal Mercogliano – maritime historian at Campbell University– below:
If you don’t think the next naval war will be drone-centric, you aren’t paying attention. In fact, we are fighting one right now.
Via CENTCOM (emphasis mine):
In the early morning hours of December 16 (Sanna time) the US Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS CARNEY (DDG 64), operating in the Red Sea, successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems launched as a drone wave from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The UAS were assessed to be one-way attack drones and were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries. Regional Red Sea partners were alerted to the threat.
While not disclosed by CENTCOM, it is well known that the majority of the drones used by the Houthi are locally built (with Iranian help and Chinese/German commercial components) Samad-type, which are felt to be not very technically advanced.
Via TRADOC
However, what if that is the plan in a larger conflict? Smother destroyers and escorts with hundreds of simple yet still dangerous UAVs over the course of several days that empty the tin cans’ missile cells and magazines, then send in the tough and more advanced stuff to finish the job.
The U.S. Navy made no comment on how the swarm against Carney was splashed, whether it was one of the destroyer’s huge (and very expensive) SM-3 ABMs, smaller (but still overkill) SM-1/2 MRs that she carries, her 5″/54 MK45 mount (which has a limited anti-air capability), her 20mm CIWS (which would have meant allowing the drones to get very close) or 25mm chain guns/M2 .50 cals (which would have meant letting them get even closer).
Notably, in 2016, Carney replaced her aft Phalanx CIWS 20mm Vulcan cannon with the SeaRAM 11-cell RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launcher, which stretched the engagement envelope on that mount from 3,000m to 6~ miles.
Carneydid go kinetic during an earlier attack in October, hitting an undisclosed number of Houthi drones and three land-attack missiles headed toward Israel.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG-64) defeats a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in the Red Sea, Oct. 19, 2023. US Navy Photo
The British and French are also getting into the act as well, with each one claiming a drone shot down in the same region recently.
HMS Diamond (D34) is the third of six 9,500-ton Type 45/Daring class AAW destroyers in service with the Royal Navy. She was sent to the Gulf late last month to bolster the RN’s three minesweepers and frigate HMS Lancaster. While in the Red Sea, she splashed a “one-way armed drone targeting merchant shipping” on 15 December.
The RN is citing the incident as its first surface-to-air “kill” since the 1991 Gulf War.
HMS Diamond successfully engaged and shot down an aerial system suspected to have been a one way attack drone, that appears to have originated from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. (Pictures: MOD)
This is the first use of an Aster 30 missile (named PAAMS(S) Sea Viper by the British) in combat by the Royal Navy, although the French Aquitaine-class frigate Languedoc (D653) also fired a smaller Aster 15 missile at a similar target earlier last week. Diamond carries as many as 48 Sea Vipers in her VLS cells while the smaller (6,000 ton) French frigate carries just 16 vells.
The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Ben Key KCB CBE ADC, made the following statement:
A sixth of the world’s commercial shipping passes through the Bab-al-Mandeb and Red Sea. The RN is committed to upholding the right to free use of the oceans and we do not tolerate indiscriminate threats or attacks against those going about their lawful business on the high seas.
“1st Marine Division, Vietnam, December 1969: NVA Chi Goms, M-16 rounds, grenades found in the hooches.”
Photo by LCpl R.L. Pearson, Marine Corps photo A372861, NARA 127-GVB-Vietnam-Marine 002035
Note the improvised shrapnel sleeves on the Chinese Type 67 grenades— minus their “potato masher” wooden handles ala the old German Stielhandgranate— via the use of empty cans of Ace of Diamonds A1 mackerel, likely crammed with rocks, dust, and screws.
The use of the fragmentation jacket sleeve dates back to the old Russian RDG-33 of Stalingrad fame, albeit with a fishier aftertaste.
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL 751)offloaded a little over 9 tons of Colombia’s finest, worth something like $239 million, on Wednesday in San Diego after the conclusion of her latest 89-day East Pac patrol.
The 418-foot cutter– with a Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and aircrew, members from Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 101 and 102, and contractors who flew a Scan Eagle UAV embarked– patrolled more than 19,750 nautical miles conducting law enforcement and search and rescue operations in international waters off Central and South America.
The 9-ton dope haul came from six interdictions at sea– four by Waesche and two by the smaller 210-foot USCGC Active who transferred her impounds to the larger national security cutter to bring in.
The biggest of the interdictions, on 20 November, was from a narco sub, officially a “self-propelled semi-submersible” (SPSS) that was shipping more than 5,500 pounds of blow. Of note, the interdiction of the SPSS was the first (caught) in the Eastern Pacific since 2020.
11th District released many great images from the narco sub-bust, showing just how big it is with the cutter’s 26-foot RHIB as a size reference.
Members of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL-751) law enforcement boarding team inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Nov. 20, 2023. The interdiction of the SPSS yielded more than 5,500 pounds of cocaine. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
Members of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL-751) law enforcement boarding team inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Nov. 20, 2023. The interdiction of the SPSS yielded more than 5,500 pounds of cocaine. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
Members of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL-751) law enforcement boarding team inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Nov. 20, 2023. The interdiction of the SPSS yielded more than 5,500 pounds of cocaine. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
Members of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL-751) law enforcement boarding team inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Nov. 20, 2023. The interdiction of the SPSS yielded more than 5,500 pounds of cocaine. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
Note the MH-65 on her heli deck with her two-door hangar open. The Legend-class cutter can accommodate an MH-65 or MH-60T and two vertical-launch unmanned aerial vehicles (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
Of note when it comes to the WMSL program, the 10th member of the class, the brand new USCGC Calhoun (WMSL 759), departed Pascagoula on 19 November for her homeport in Charleston.
An interesting post from Groton-based Submarine Squadron (COMSUBRON12) Twelve last week shows submariners undergoing counter-UAS training on board Submarine Base New London.
The pictures show the backpack Drone Restricted Access Using Known Electromagnetic Warfare (DRAKE) system at play with some small quadcopters.
Marketed by Northrop Grumman since at least 2016, DRAKE is a “radio-frequency negation system that delivers a non-kinetic, selective electronic attack of Group 1 drones,” with that definition applying to UASs weighing less than 20 pounds, flying lower than 1,200 feet, and flying slower than 100 knots.
You know, the kind of drones that have been extensively seen in Ukraine dropping mortar bombs and grenades down the hatch of Russian tanks in the past couple of years.
While the Navy has been shipping DRAKEs out to the surface fleet since at least 2021 it is nice that the bubbleheads are getting some drone zapping kit for those occasional (and very vulnerable) periods when they are transiting on the surface.
This augments the M249 SAWs and laser dazzlers they have been carrying to warn off small boats and combat swimmers.
APRA HARBOR, Guam (July 8, 2021) Sailors aboard the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Springfield (SSN 761) depart Naval Base Guam after completing a regularly scheduled evolution with the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39). Springfield is capable of supporting various missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Victoria Kinney)
GROTON, Conn. (Dec. 20, 2019) Sailors assigned to the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Minnesota (SSN 783) stand topside as they pull into their homeport at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn., Dec 20, 2019, following a deployment. Minnesota deployed to execute the chief of naval operation’s maritime strategy in supporting national security interests and maritime security operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Steven Hoskins/Released)
Official caption: “A U.S. Marine assigned to Reconnaissance Company, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, rides an MMX motorcycle enroute to a raid site during the ground interoperability exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, July 25, 2023. The ground interoperability training integrates the Reconnaissance Company and supporting elements into a raid force to conduct land-based specialized limited-scale raids in preparation for more complex amphibious and maritime operations.”
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl Joseph Helms. Released 230725-M-YF186-1095
Note the Nods, M4, Salomon X Ultra Pioneers, and M18.
Sure, an e-bike is not as long-term survivable (or even usable) ashore on extended missions, but if it is a short-term raid or recon event, it offers some very interesting advantages over a legacy (loud as hell) offroad dirt bike.
Via the manufacturer:
No exhaust and exceptionally stealthy, the Zero MMX holds unique tactical advantages over traditional internal combustion alternatives. The 100% electric powertrain offers personnel the ability to rapidly move over technical terrain while making virtually no noise and emitting no smell. Perhaps the most covert form of two-wheeled transportation, the motorcycle is completely silent when stopped and can accelerate instantly from 0 rpm.
In a sort of follow-up to the one-day 9 April 1940 invasion that saw an overwhelming German force steamroll the country by lunch, on 29 August 1943– some 80 years ago today– while we covered the actions of the Danish Navy already (see Copenhagen’s Finest), the Hæren made a final attempt to resist their unwanted neighbors to the south when the Germans made a move to stamp out a growing resistance and uprising through an armored fist.
The prelude included the famed Danish “cold shoulder” campaign, no less than 800 sabotage actions in the first eight months of 1943, and a series of strikes and public disorders in Esbjerg (9-11 August), Odense (18-23 August), Aalborg (23-29 August), and Århus (26-29 August), culminated with the Danish government submitting their resignation to the King on 28 August.
This led Gen. Hermann von Hanneken, the supreme commander of the German forces in Denmark, to declare martial law in an “emergency action” (Operation Safari) that led to the Danish military being disarmed and its personnel interned, at least briefly.
Denmark was largely used by the German military during the war as a training ground for its garrison, with many units stationed there long-term filled with older (age 38 was average) men unlikely to do well on more active fronts. Often units were sent to the country– unofficially dubbed the “Whipped Cream Front” due to the widespread availability of dairy products long scarce in Germany– to rest and reform before being shipped out to the Ostfront or elsewhere.
At the time of Safari, the Germans had at their disposal in Denmark three infantry divisions including one Landesschützen (fortress infantry) (416. Inf.Div) and two second-line (160. Res.Div. and 166. Res.Div.), a Luftwaffe Field Division (20. Lw.-Feld Div.) made up of mobilized ground personnel pressed into an infantry role, and a second-line panzer division (233. Res.Pz.Div.) which had just arrived and included a mixed regiment of rebuilt Pz Kpfw IIIs and IVs.
A new infantry division (361. Inf.Div.) was being formed in the country from remnants of the battered 86th, 94th, and 137th Infantry Divisions under the command of Ritterkreuz-adorned GenLt. Siegmund Freiherr von Schleinitz, late of the old 9th Infantry.
Unternehmen Safari: German panzers of 233. Res.Pz.Div. on the move in Copenhagen on the morning of 29 August 1943. FHM-170533
The occupied country’s pre-war left-socialist government had stripped the ostensibly 30,000-man two-division Danish Army by April 1940 to its bare minimum of just 15,000, then furloughing most of them until the force stood at just a 2,000-man cadre and about 6,600 conscripts on month two of their 11-month national service orders.
Even at this, post the German occupation, the Danish Army was paired down even further to just 2,200 men: the battalion-sized Royal Life Guards (Kongelige Livgarde) who were still allowed to protect the King, caretaker forces required for maintenance work at bases, and a small number of reserve officers and NCOs were allowed to train in the Army’s Kornet og løjtnantskole (Cornet and Lieutenant School).
Facing 60,000 panzer- and air-supported German troops, it was a no-win situation.
Still, there was resistance offered and the Danish army suffered about 60 casualties, inflicting roughly half as many on the Germans.
An understrength company-sized unit at the Holbæk Barracks on the island of Zealand took to the street…
Soldiers from Holbæk Barracks prepare for battle, on Aug 29, 1943. Note the Madsen LMG with its distinctive 40-round magazine forward, Krag rifles, and their iconic Danish M23/38 Staalhjelm. FHM-170147
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…Then, with German armor coming up, saw the futility of their actions and managed to turn the resulting hour-long stalemate into an opportunity to scrap their guns.
They even paraded with their broken weapons before stacking them.
Soldiers from the garrison in Holbæk 29 August 1943 parade with broken guns before the arrival of the Germans. FHM-170129
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Several period color images, snapped by Flemming Find Andersen, detailing the Army Officer’s School detachment at the Jægersprislejren training grounds in Horns Herred, about 50 km from Copenhagen, going on alert on 29 August 1943 endure in the collection of the Nationalmuseet.
Drink in that period Danish battle rattle including Krag rifles and a M35 Swedish-Danish 37mm antitank gun the distance. FHM-159177
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At one point in the morning, they loaded up in privately owned trucks and readied to rush off to meet the Germans. Some discussion was made about a trip into the capital to link up with the Life Guards.
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In the end, the prospect of a company or so of officer cadets facing off against a German division proved futile, and they were ordered to lay down their arms.
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They were interned at the Jægersprislejren until 31 October and then paroled, with most of the men going on to join the local resistance movements alongside the Freedom Council and donned their uniforms again during the final days of occupation, girded by both homemade STEN guns and weapons dropped via the SOE and OSS.
Perhaps the most important contribution the Danish Resistance had to the war was to smuggle acclaimed Danish physicist Niels Bohr out of the country to Sweden, where the RAF further extracted him to England and then to the U.S. where he met with Oppenheimer’s crew on the Manhattan Project. While Bohr only made minimal contributions to The Bomb, he did shed light for Opie and the gang on just what German big brain Werner Heisenberg was working on for Hitler– the two had met in Copenhagen in 1941— and importantly that he was doing it wrong– one of the most unsung kernels of strategic intelligence in WWII.
Flash forward to May 1945
The Hæren effectively reformed in the streets and countryside on 4 May 1945, when upwards of 20,000 armed Danes took their country back.
Old helmets and uniforms were taken out of attics, and new guns added to old stocks carefully put away, as “The Day” had come.
Meeting of Danish Resistance fighters in a farm in Rødvore just after the Freedom message aired on the BBC at 20:35 pm on the 4 of May 1945. (DINES BOGØ)
Rally of Danish Resistance fighters (Rødvore company) in the periphery of Copenhagen, days after the Freedom declaration of the 4th of May 1945. (DINES BOGØ)
Danish resistance fighters leading collaborators to the courthouse in Copenhagen, following the liberation of Denmark in May 1945. The resistance fighters are wearing black-painted Danish Army M23/40 Staalhjelms (without the front emblem) and are all armed with 9mm Swedish M37/39 Suomi pattern submachine guns.
Members of the Danish Resistance Movement (den danske modstandsbevægelse) photographed in Kalundborg in 1945. They are armed with Swedish-made 9mm Kpist M37/39 submachine guns (licenced-made variants of the Finnish Suomi KP/-31) and are wearing M23/40 Staalhjelms.
Freedom fighters in Aalborg after the liberation on 5 May 1945 FHM-238616
German soldiers surrendered to Danish Resistance FHM-218347
Danish resistance Frederiksberg Castle. Note the mix of Army, Navy, and police uniforms, helmets, and arms. FHM-320918
Battles in Odense 5 May 1945 FHM-239539
Resistance groups from Kulhuse, Kyndby, and Strandgården reoccupied the Jægersprislejren, on 6 May 1945, two days before VE-Day, and fired a salute on the parade ground as the Dannebrog was raised once again.
Today, the total strength of the Danish Army is approximately 9,000 professional troops, excluding conscripts undergoing basic training which brings total active strength to nearly 23,000, bolstered by some 60,000 reserves. Meanwhile, the Danish Home Guard counts some 40,000 members.
