Category Archives: US Navy

So I went to Sail 250 in New Orleans

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Unless you have been under a rock, Sail 250, a tall ship parade joined with U.S. and allied warships, is rolling this summer from New Orleans (last week), to Norfolk/Hampton Roads (June 19 to 23), and thence to Baltimore (25 June to 1 July), NYC (for the July 4 week), and Boston (July 11-16).

The tall ships involved are mostly national training vessels and will eventually grow to 41 ships as diverse as Portugal’s NRP Sagres and Romania’s Mircea, augmented by such classic windjammers as the Elissa, Bowdoin, and Milwaukee’s Denis Sullivan.

The New Orleans leg was admittedly the smallest, with just seven tall ships (USCGC Eagle, Peru’s BAP Union, the Swedish HSwMS Gladan, the Uruguayan Navy’s ROU Capitán Miranda, the Colombian ARC Gloria, Argentine ARA Libertad, and Chilean CNS Esmeralda)

The Navy also sent USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) and Farragut (DDG 99) from Norfolk and Mayport, respectively, while the Coasties sent the 270-foot Bear-class cutter USCGC Mohawk (WMEC 913) up from Key West for tours. These warships were joined by the RN’s West Indies Station Ship, the Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel HMS Trent (P224), and her Dutch counterpart, HNLMS Friesland (P842).

The USCG was also present on the water, providing security along the 12 tour ships, with the 87-footers USCGC Yellowfin (WPB-87319) and Sawfin (WPB-87357), and details surged from MSST Houston, MSST New York, and MSST Kings Bay.

The international tall ships were arrayed in front of the Audubon Aquarium adjacent to the French Quarter and at the end of Canal.

Farragut and Friesland were hidden in the Bywater off the Poland Street Wharf, which the crews probably loved.

Kearsarge and Eagle were in the thick of it, located off the Riverwalk Mall at the Julia Street Wharf.

The Trent, at 297 feet oal and 2,000 tons, was a good mate for Mohawk, some 270-feet and 1,830 tons, with the cutter moored outboard of the Brit. They were tucked under the twin span bridges by the cruise ship terminal.

The crowds were bonkers.

Two different friend groups of ours went for the tall ship cluster by the Aquarium and could only ever get pier-close.

Two other sets of friends went for the mighty Kearsarge, along with several thousand others. One set threw in the soggy (rain and 99 percent humidity, 100-degree “feels like” heat index) towel after two hours in line, while the others only got on LHD-3 after a 3.5-hour wait.

I managed some shots from the Riverwalk of the flattop and her consort, Eagle (ex-Horst Wessel), after the tours ended and the crowds dissipated. As I had worked at Ingalls on her sister USS Boxer (LHD-4) and had gone on sea trials and tiger cruises on the latter back in the day, I was good with just getting that close to Kearsarge and had visited Eagle several times in the past.

We chose to trek on down to the cruise ship terminal and visit Trent and Mohawk, which had no lines, no waiting.

Both ships were filled with courteous professionals, and I must say that Trent, which has been hard used since she entered the hull-strapped RN in August 2020, and has been on the Caribbean “beat” since October 2025, was very well maintained, considering.

The gently larger Trent is all but blocking the Mohawk moored alongside under the spans. Note Mohawk’s white helicopter hangar and stack.

Trent’s stomping ground is the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, along with the dozen Commonwealth states in the region, such as the Bahamas, Belize, Jamaica, Trinidad, etc.

Her Marlin-capable flight deck was quite cluttered with 20-foot ISO containers and spare RHIBs. Keep in mind, she can carry a platoon of RM Commandos if needed.

Note the eight “snowflake” seizures credited on her focsle. She notably set a (British) record for the amount of coke seized at sea, bagging 6,995 keys in her 2024 deployment alone.

That 30mm DS30B Mark 2 gun, though. Trent’s main battery, which is gyro-stabilized, has all the FLIR and remote FCS goodies and uses a 30mm Bushmaster cannon capable of reaching out to 5,100m. The new U.S. Mk 38 Mod 4 MGS is very similar, using the same gun with an optional 12.7 mm coaxial to boot.

The SA80 is at the ready on the quarterdeck. After having fired one of these in the past, I can agree with the trope that this is one of the worst bullpups ever made, but it has soldiered on for the past 40 years. As the Brits say with resignation, “it can’t be helped.”

One of Trent’s well-equipped minigun mounts. She formerly carried two, but these were replaced with more practical M2 Brownings and 7.62 GPMGs, carrying four of the former and two of the latter.

Trent’s blue stag on her stack represents the historic River Trent, her namesake. She is at least the seventh HMS Trent on the Admiralty’s lists going back to 1757, with the sixth being a WWII River-class frigate (K243) that went on to serve with the Indian Navy.

Mohawk as seen from Trent with her glad rags flying. Note Trent’s Western Approaches style camouflage, calling back to WWII. 

A rare sight for a 270: her hangar, empty and open.

My advice if attending Sail 250: enjoy the initial sail in from a high vantage point, then pick your vessel and time, keeping crowds in mind.

Enjoy!

Uncle Chester makes final (scheduled) overseas portcall

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Nimitz off Jamaica with local dignitaries aboard, a VF-137 F-18E blisters by in the background (U.S. Navy photo)

The oldest operational aircraft carrier in the world, USS Nimitz (CVN 68), along with her the embarked Carrier Air Wing 17 (CVW-17), escorting tin can USS Gridley (DDG 101), and the MSC-manned replenishment oiler USNS Patuxent (T-AO 201), left Bremerton as CSG-11 on the morning of 7 March, bound for Norfolk where the flattop will begin her long decommissioning evolution which is set for March 2027.

Nimitz’s past three months have been busy with just about every maritime force in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of the 11th iteration of Operation South Seas, one of the few times that 4th Fleet has had a CVSG on the payroll for more than a couple of weeks.

Nimitz is set to call at Kingston for the next five days, leaving on 5 June for Norfolk.

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101) pulls alongside Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a sea power demo in the Atlantic Ocean, May 23, 2026. Gridley is deployed with Nimitz Carrier Strike Group as part of Southern Seas 2026, which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational, and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Frankie M. Guage)

Traveling light

For the record, Nimitz’s final carrier wing, CVW-17, includes the MH-60R/S Sea Hawks of Helicopter Maritime Squadron (HSM) 73 “Battlecats” and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6 “Indians,” a C-2A Greyhound det of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40, two squadrons of F -18E/F Super Hornets (Fighting Redcocks of VFA-22 and the Kestrels of VFA-137), and the EA-18G Growlers of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 139 “Cougars.”

She is traveling light and is missing her typical third and fourth Rhino squadrons (VFA-94 and VFA-146) as well as her E-2C Hawkeye AEW det of VAW-121 and CV-22 det of VRM-30, all left behind in California at NAS Lemoore.

What about Cuba?

However, if the Cuban question arises, and, if tasked, even just her two squadrons of Rhinos, with the road cleared by the Growlers, would be more than a match for the Defensa Anti-Aérea y Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria’s 50~ MiG-29UB/A, MiG-23ML/UB, and MiG-21MF/bis fighters, most of which are considered non-operational, while the country’s air defense is via 1970s-era S-125M/M1 Pechora/SA-3 Goa SAMs.

What could prove more of a pucker factor for CVSG-11 is Cuba’s rumored 300 Iranian and Russian drones.   

Plus, the 24th MEU, operating under the designation of Littoral Combat Force-24, has just “officially assumed the mission as the premier tactical force-in-readiness within the U.S. Southern Command Area of Responsibility,” in support of Operation Southern Spear, based out of Rosie Roads. While without a big-deck LHD/A to call home, they do have the 25,000-ton USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) at their disposal.

Plus, the extra room on the Nimitz flight deck could be used to help airmail the 24th MEU to GTMO if needed. It’s been done before. USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) in 1993 worked up with (most) of her airwing and an SPMAGTF consisting of a Marine rifle company, a command staff, and various detachments, including an 18-man reconnaissance platoon; and a heavy helicopter squadron with a component from a utility and at­tack helicopter squadron, totaling 538 Marines, including 227 aviation personnel.

Not wishing things would turn hot in the Caribbean.

Just saying.

Probably just gunboat diplomacy, which is really what every MEU and CVSG is all about, anyway, right?

I mean, they even put Cuba on the patch.

The official logo for Southern Seas 2026. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) will deploy to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility as part of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet’s Southern Seas 2026 deployment. Southern Seas aims to enhance regional maritime partnerships, interoperability, and security throughout the Caribbean, Central, and South America. (U.S. Navy graphic illustration by Ensign Paul Archer)

Looking back at Sandy and the 602nd

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Below, we see Sandy at work, just 60 years ago.

U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1G (AD-5N) four-seat night attack Skyraider (ex-Navy BuNo 132619) nicknamed “Carolyn’s Folly” from the 602nd Fighter Squadron (Commando), call sign Firefly, flying out of Bien Hoa AB, South Vietnam, seen escorting an HH-3C Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopter during a Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission in 1966.

Note the ‘Raiders” jolly roger. VIRIN: 100426-F-1234S-004

This circa 1952 aircraft began service in the Navy and was noted aboard USS Hancock (CV-19) on 21 August 1958 with VA(AW)-35 Det. D before transfer to the USAF. Struck off charge at NAS Alameda on 29 October 1964 after a 12 year Navy career, 132619 was transferred to the USAF– one of 330 Skyraiders to the Air Force including the A-1E, G, H, and J models. After flying with the 602nd and later the 1st ACS/SOS, 132619 was transferred to the South Vietnamese Air Force’s 516th Squadron in February 1971 when the USAF divested themselves of the type.

She was one of the rare ex-USN Raiders that survived USAF service in Southeast Asia, with more than 200 lost across 90,000 combat sorties in their nine-year (1963-72) stint

The aircraft is available as a Scalemates decal set.

The 602nd (designated a Special Operations Squadron in 1968) alone amazingly had 140 different AH-1E/G/H/J Skyraiders pass through their hands during Vietnam between 1964 and December 1970.

Here are a few.

USAF A-1E Skyraider (s/n 52-133885) of the 602nd Air Commando Squadron flies over a fortified hamlet in Vietnam, in 1964. In 1964-1965, USAF aircraft in Vietnam often flew with Vietnamese markings due to political reasons. This aircraft was shot down over Laos on 15 February 1966. U.S. Air Force photo scanned from Dana Bell: Air War over Vietnam. Volume IV. (Warbirds Illustrated 26). Arms and Armour Press, London 1984, p. 38, ISBN 0853686351.

USAF A-1E Skyraider (s/n 52-132423) of the 602nd Air Commando Squadron escorts a Sikorsky HH-3C Jolly Green Giant, in 1966. 132423 was shot down by small arms fire 40km north-west of Sam Neua, Houaphan Province, Laos on 6 July 1966. The pilot, Capt. J.R. Crane was able to fly about 30km north of Udorn, Thailand, and bailed out. He was rescued by a USAF helicopter. USAF Museum Photo  101117-F-1234S-104

USAF A-1E Skyraider (s/n 52-132425) of the 602nd Air Commando Squadron in South Vietnam, January 1966. Note the Douglas C-47 and the Grumman HU-16 Albatross in the background. 132425 was shot down by ground fire near Na Pho, Khammouan Province, Laos, on 19 April 1966. The pilot, Capt. Richard J. Robbins, was killed. National Museum of the U.S. Air Force photo 051123-F-1234P-016

U.S. Air Force “Tropic Moon I” Douglas A-1E Skyraider (s/n 52-135195) of the 602nd Special Operations Squadron in flight with a Low-Light-Level-Televison (LLLTV) pod on the left wing, 1 June 1968. This aircraft was later shot down on 11 February 1970 while in service with the 22nd SOS. The pilot, Colonel William L. Kieffer, was killed.

A U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1H Skyraider (s/n 52-134555) of the 602nd Special Operations Squadron sits on the ramp at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base (“NKP”), Thailand, circa in 1968. This was the first USAF A-1H to be named “The Proud American”. 134555 was operated by the U.S. Navy until 9 January 1968. It was then transferred to the USAF, where it operated with the 602nd, 22nd, and 1st SOS before being transferred to the Vietnam Air Force. Here it operated with the 515th and 518th Fighter Squadrons until it was lost on 3 April 1972. 221109-F-IO108-002

U.S. Air Force “Tropic Moon I” officers and airmen of the 602nd Special Operations Squadron at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base on 1 June 1968, showing the Low-Light-Level-Televison (LLLTV) pod on the wing of one of the four Douglas A-1E Skyraiders that made up the unit (s/n 52-135177, -135187, -135195, -135211).

USAF HC-130P Combat King recovery aircraft refuels a Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant of the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron in flight near Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, between 10 and 23 February 1969. Visible are another HH-3E and two Douglas A-1 Skyraider (A-1H 135314, A-1J 142023) of the 602nd Special Operations Squadron. The A-1H 135314 was later shot down by ground fire near Ban Na, Laos, on 18 June 1971 while in service with the 1st SOS. The pilot was killed. The A-1J 142023 was shot down by ground fire over Laos on 1 March 1969. The pilot was killed. 342-C-KE-60922

USAF A-1H Skyraider (s/n 52-139778, “Bubbles’n Bust”) of the 602nd Special Operations Squadron on final approach before landing at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, 15 March 1970. NARA 176246880

The Air Force lost 102 pilots, killed, while flying A-1s in combat with USAF Skyraider drivers earning two Medals of Honor, 14 Air Force Crosses, and many other awards for valor.

The two Skyraiders in the collection the National Museum of the Air Force, Bu Nos. 132649 and 134600 are both former Navy planes that served with the 1st Special Operations Squadron during Vietnam.

Of note, 649 was the aircraft that Major Bernard Fisher earned his MoH in in 1966, having rescued a fellow pilot shot down over South Vietnam by landing in enemy territory under heavy fire and personally flying him to safety.

Douglas A-1E Skyraider Bu No. 132649 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. A 1952 Navy plane, she was struck off at Alameda in April 1964 and transferred to the USAF, serving with the 1st ACS in Vietnam. (U.S. Air Force photo 071030-F-1234S-020)

The aircraft on display represents Captain Ronald Smith’s A-1H The Proud American (Serial Number 52-139738) as it appeared during his SAR mission in June 1972 as part of the 1st Special Operations Squadron, Nakhon Phanom (NKP) Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. Captain Smith was awarded the Air Force Cross for the rescue of a downed F-4 Phantom crewman near a North Vietnamese airfield. The Proud American had a long and storied record in Southeast Asia. Although many pilots flew the plane, it is renowned for three separate episodes: Lt Col William Jones’ Medal of Honor mission in 1968, Capt Ronald Smith’s Air Force Cross mission in June 1972, and for being the last US Air Force A-1 lost in combat in Southeast Asia in September 1972. This aircraft (U.S. Navy BuNo 134600) was modified and painted by the Museum’s Restoration Division to represent Capt Smith’s Air Force Cross aircraft and placed on display at the National Museum of the Air Force in 2022. It was part of OPERATION FARM GATE and flown by the South Vietnamese Air Force from 1965 to 1975. (U.S. Air Force photo 221114-F-AU145-1305 by Ty Greenlees)

Beautiful Cincy

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A period photograph of USS Cincinnati (Cruiser Number 7), which served between 1894 and 1921. The image, showing the graceful 3,200-ton cruiser in gleaming white with her original ornate bow crest, would likely have been taken before 1911 when she picked up a more 20th-century haze gray.

Courtesy of Mr. H.L. Chapelle, Smithsonian Institution. NHHC Photograph Collection. NR&L (OLD) 20432-A

If you note, the photo is signed by Admiral Raymond Ames Spruance (USNA 1906), who served on board between 1911 and 1913 as a lieutenant J.G, holding down an engineering officer post while deployed on the Asiatic Station.

Cincinnati, who fought in the Spanish American War and served as flagship of the American Patrol Detachment, Atlantic Fleet from 1 February 1918 to 28 March 1919 on convoy duty around the Caribbean, carried single 6-inch gun, 10 5″/, eight 6-pounders, 2 1-pounders, and four 18-inch torpedo tubes as built.

USS Cincinnati (C-7) unofficial plans, published in the Transactions of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, 1893. NH 70107

Following her 25-year career, she was decommissioned at New Orleans on 20 April 1919 and sold on 4 August 1921 for scrap so that her tonnage wouldn’t count against the U.S. in naval treaty allowances.

The Whisper of, ‘Remember’

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Remember your friends, relatives, and those who gave their last full measure today, gents. It’s not about saving 25 percent on bedding.

Official caption: “USS Saratoga (CV-3), 5 November 1943, during the raid on Rabaul, New Britain. The gunner in this Navy bomber was killed by a Japanese 20mm shell from a Japanese “Zero” [Mitsubishi A6M2] during the raid from Rabaul. Upon the plane’s return to the carrier, the dead gunner’s finger was still clasped on the trigger of his 50 cal. machine gun. Saratoga also participated in the second Navy raid on Rabaul on November 11, 1943, and saw action in the bloody taking of Tarawa.”

Official U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. 80-G-44094

No more posts today.

The Snuff Film of the Emperor’s Final Submarines

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Some 80 years ago this week, Operation Road’s End saw the U.S. Navy deep-six no less than five large, captured Imperial Japanese Navy submarines off Hawaii.

These included I-203, sunk by USS Caiman (SS-323) on 21 May; I-201 by USS Queenfish (SS-393) on 23 May; I-14 by USS Bugara (SS-331) on 28 May; I-401 by USS Cabezon (SS-334) on 31 May, and I-400 by USS Trumpetfish (SS-425).

An amazing color film exists of this operation.

Video description via NARA:

Sinking of Japanese sub I 201, 5/23/46, by USS Queenfish: 1) MS Japanese submarine exploding on surface after being hit by torpedoes from USS Queenfish, large column of smoke and water rising into air. 2) LS GV periscope shot showing Japanese submarine on surface, torpedo track in foreground. Japanese submarine exploding after being hit by a torpedo. MV. 3) MCU DA bow of US submarine, torpedo track in background, Japanese sub exploding in background. 4) LS DA AV Japanese submarine on the surface of the water exploding, a large column of water and smoke rising into the air after the Japanese sub has been hit by a torpedo from a US submarine. 5) LS DA AV large oil slick.

Sinking of Japanese sub I-14, 5/28/46, by USS Bugara: 1) MCU DA stern of US sub. 2) LS Japanese sub exploding, a large column of water and black smoke rising into the air. 3) MCU DA stern of US sub, torpedo track in background, large column of water and smoke rising into air, US flag in foreground. MV. 4) LS DA AV Japanese sub on surface. 5) LS DAAV Japanese sub exploding after being hit by a torpedo from a US sub. A large column of water and smoke rising into the air, a Japanese submarine sinking, leaving a large oil slick on the water. MV.

Sinking of Japanese sub I-401, 5/31/46, by USS Cabezon, SS 334: 1) LS Japanese sub on surface. 2) MCU DA stern of US sub as it fires torpedo, follow through of track to Japanese sub showing sub exploding, large column of water rising into air. MV. 3) LS DA AV Japanese sub on surface exploding, white spray and smoke rising from surface after Japanese sub has been hit by a torpedo from a US sub. 4) LS DA AV Japanese sub sinking, leaving a large oil slick on the water.

Sinking of Japanese submarine I-441, 5/31/46, by US submarine: 1) LS Japanese sub exploding after being hit by a torpedo from a US sub. MV. 2) LS DA AV Japanese sub on surface exploding after being hit by a torpedo from a US sub. MV.

Sinking of Japanese sub I-400 by USS Trumpet Fish: 1) LS Japanese sub exploding after being hit by a torpedo fired from US sub; exploding. MV. 2) LS DA AV torpedo tracks showing same hitting Japanese sub, the Japanese sub exploding after being hit by torpedoes from a US sub. MV. 3) NCY DA Stern of US submarine after firing torpedoes at Japanese sub, Japanese sub exploding after being hit by torpedoes from US sub. MV. 4) LS DA AV large slicks on water about sub after being hit; also, large explosions. 5) MCU DA stern of US submarine; Japanese submarine exploding in the background.

This followed up on the sinking of 24 captured IJN boats still capable of sailing on their own power assembled at “Point Deep Six” in Japan in April 1946 by demo charges and gunfire from the sub tender USS Nereus (AS-17) and the destroyer USS Everette F. Larson (DD-830). Those boats were I-36, I-47, I-53, I-58, I-156, I-157, I-158, I-159, I-162, I-366, I-367, I-402, RO-50, HA-103, HA-105, HA-106, HA-107, HA-108, HA-109, HA-111, HA-201, HA-202, HA-203 and HA-208.

As further detailed by Combined Fleet:

General MacArthur’s Report recorded by October 1946, all captured Japanese submarines (a total of 15,1) had been disposed of. The Report quotes a June 1949 in the Tokyo “Pacific Stars and Stripes” newspaarticle per article dated that when the IJN disposal task was, stating 42 submarines had been scrapped, and a further 104 had been sunk. Thus, in addition to the disposal of the 49 IJN submarines that surrendered, some 100 other submarines were subjected to the disposal process as outlined in the Potsdam Protocol.

That Rich Flattop Shellback Tradition

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As the grand old carrier Nimitz is on the tail end of her final cruise, drawing an epic 51-year career to a close, she held court for one last group of Shellbacks upon Crossing the Line (equator).

Neptunus Rex, the Royal Barbers, and company held sway once again, with Poseidon, the ship’s Expeditionary Facility Dog, included. Knot work and baptisms for all.

It should be noted that the Shellback ceremony on Nimitz comes roughly 90 years to the day that USS Lexington (CV-2) held her 1936 line crossing ceremony.

From the latter’s cruise book:

Embrace that tradition, swabs.

The Ark

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Check out this amazing crew shot of USS Arkansas (Battleship No. 33) assembled on deck, circa April-Sept 1914.

Note the sweeping collection of mascots (monkey, dogs, cats, a goat, and birds), as well as the ship’s baseball championship pennant flying, among other awards and trophies.

(Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph NH 96594)

Inset of the above. I count a retriever, a goat, and at least seven parrots in this one sample.

Plus a monkey and a mouser.

The third U.S. Navy ship to bear the name of the Diamond State, Arkansas was laid down on 25 January 1910 at Camden, launched just a year later on 14 January 1911, and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 17 September 1912, Capt. Roy Campbell Smith (USNA 1876) in command.

Smith is surely the skipper shown in the image, as he remained the proverbial Noah on “The Ark” until October 1915.

A closer look at Smith. Note the parrot and Ark’s accumulation of trophies and loving cups. At the time, she carried the fleet’s coaling record, having taken on 687 tons from USS Cyclops in an hour. Smith, born in Texas in 1858 to Charles Henry Smith, an assistant surgeon general of the United States, fought at Santiago on USS Indiana, earned a Navy Cross, and later married Admiral Sampson’s daughter. Before Arkansas, he served as naval attaché in Paris and commanded the cruiser USS Chattanooga. After leaving Arkansas, he was governor general of Guam, supervisor of New York harbor, and on the board of the Naval War College before retiring in 1921 after 51 years of service.

Caption: Arkansas churns through the waves with the traditional “bone in her teeth,” most likely during her sea trials, 1912, in an image captured by the noted maritime and naval photographer Nathaniel Livermore Stebbins (1847–1922). (Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph NH 96594)

After extensive antebellum cruising, including a European tour, service in Mexico (Veracruz) in 1914, Arkansas joined the other American battleships in Rosyth, as part of the British Grand Fleet’s Sixth Battle Squadron during the final year of the Great War.

Rebuilt 1925-26 to upgrade her coal plant to an oil-fired one, along with a host of other modernizations, Arkansas was a fixture of interbellum Fleet Exercises and midshipmen’s summer training cruises.

Much active WWII service in the Atlantic and then in the Pacific earned the aging dreadnought four battle stars.

From her War History:

Sadly, the Ark met the sun during the Bikini atomic bomb tests, with the uncrewed battlewagon just 250 yards from the epicenter of the Baker shot on 25 July 1946, “sinking of Arkansas by hammering it more or less straight down into the lagoon bottom.”

Arkansas, broken and lost, was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 August 1946.

NOAA: USV Powerhouse?

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NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey (OCS) is currently utilizing fully uncrewed contract USVs for an offshore hydrographic survey mission along the Florida Gulf Coast.

Operated by Woolpert, the mission is being conducted by Chance Maritime’s Chance MC29 and larger MC40 platforms.

The Chance MC40

Chance MC40

Over the multi-month project, Woolpert will survey approximately 11,000 linear nautical miles. Woolpert hydrographers, positioned across multiple time zones, will remotely conduct hydrographic surveys around the clock. Survey data is uploaded to a cloud server via Starlink satellite communications, where it is ingested into Woolpert’s Automatic Survey Production Environment (ASPEN) and made ready for further postprocessing by Woolpert’s hydrographic processing team.

In an expansion of the concept, NOAA just awarded Chance a $21.6 million contract for up to eight Chance LR30 platforms, equipping NOAA with a fleet of long-endurance USVs purpose-built for hydrographic and fisheries surveys.

Coupled with what the USCG is doing with Saildrones, this is all some very good vetting of programs with some serious 21st-century military applications, without which Big Navy can surely piggyback off of.

I hope people are paying attention.

Chance LR30 Uncrewed Surface Vessel

Chance LR30 Uncrewed Surface Vessel

Meanwhile, CTF 66 and CTF 68 are operating robotic and autonomous systems alongside our Norwegian Allies to strengthen our collective ability to conduct operations in the Arctic. (Photos by MC1 Brandie Nuzzi).

RAMSUND, Norway (May 12, 2026) — A Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft and Lightfish Unmanned Surface Vessel, attached to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 66, operate in Breivika Bay during Arctic Sentry 2026. Launched in February 2026, Arctic Sentry reflects Allies’ collective understanding that NATO must do even more as an alliance to ensure security in the Arctic and the High North, and to further strengthen its ability to operate in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Cla

RAMSUND, Norway (May 12, 2026) — A Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft and Lightfish Unmanned Surface Vessel, attached to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 66, operate in Breivika Bay during Arctic Sentry 2026. Launched in February 2026, Arctic Sentry reflects Allies’ collective understanding that NATO must do even more as an alliance to ensure security in the Arctic and the High North, and to further strengthen its ability to operate in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Cla

RAMSUND, Norway (May 12, 2026) — A Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft, attached to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 66, operates in Breivika Bay during Arctic Sentry 2026. Launched in February 2026, Arctic Sentry reflects Allies’ collective understanding that NATO must do even more as an alliance to ensure security in the Arctic and the High North, and to further strengthen its ability to operate in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brandie Nuzzi)

RAMSUND, Norway (May 12, 2026) — Commander, Task Force (CTF) 66, Unmanned Surface Vessel Squadron Three (USVRON 3) Division 32, Black Sea and technical support personnel pose for a photo during Arctic Sentry 2026. Launched in February 2026, Arctic Sentry reflects Allies’ collective understanding that NATO must do even more as an alliance to ensure security in the Arctic and the High North, and to further strengthen its ability to operate in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1

Ford is Finally Back (and will be offline for longer than she was deployed)

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USS Gerald R. Ford and her two companion destroyers, USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) and USS Mahan (DDG 72), left port on 24 June 2025 for six months of scheduled deployment and exercises.

They arrived back home last week, some 322 days later.

The unofficial tally:

Ford and company bested every post-Vietnam carrier deployment record, saw combat and combat support operations under both 4th and 5th Fleet, surviving a fire at sea and a myriad of persistent teething issues, earning a Presidential Unit Citation in the process, the first time a carrier did so since 1973 when USS Midway picked up one after a 332-day Vietnam tour.

Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) arrives to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, May 16, 2026. The Ford carrier strike group recently concluded a historic deployment, providing maritime security across four areas of operation, solidifying the Ford-class carrier’s role as the premier centerpiece of American naval power and global stability. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John Bellino)

From left to right, Congressman John McGuire, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Carrier Strike Group 12 Commander Rear Adm. David Duff, Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Capt. David Skarosi and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle pose for a photo with the Presidential Unit Citation award and pennant aboard the Ford on Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, May 16, 2026. 

Quite an accomplishment.

Especially for the DDGs.

A supercarrier is a floating city, and you would be hard pressed to visit every compartment aboard on a cruise, even one of 322 days. On the other hand, a DDG, even a big one like a Burke, is more like a floating apartment building with guns on the roof. Those tin can guys earned their sea pay on this one, for sure.

During their historic deployment across four fleets, the crew of Mahan alone conducted 19 replenishments-at-sea and executed 25 sea and anchor details during a historic 11-month deployment to U.S. 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Fleets as part of the GRF Carrier Strike Group.

NORFOLK, Va. (May 16, 2026) – Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72) returns to Naval Station Norfolk, May 16, 2026, following a historic 11-month deployment to U.S. 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Fleets as part of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group. During their historic deployment across four fleets, the crew of Mahan conducted 19 replenishments-at-sea and executed 25 sea and anchor details. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist David Smalls, III)

What next?

Ford is now set to begin at least a 12-month Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) that, with repairs to her berthing areas and her undoubtably huge maintenance backlog from her 322 days underway, may stretch to 24 months as there could be some serious rebuilding to be done.

Speaking of the rest of the other 10 carriers in commission:

Nimitz (CVN-68) is underway, completing her final cruise, and is scheduled to begin deactivation as soon as she arrives in Norfolk. While her official decommissioning date is March 2027, don’t count on seeing her underway on her own power again once this current Latin American hearts and minds cruise is over.

Stennis (CVN-74) has been on her four-year mid-life ROCH since May 2021 and won’t emerge until at least October 2026, and will then require months of availability and shakedowns to be ready to deploy.

Truman (CVN-75) is set to begin her four-year RCOH in June 2026– if Stennis gets out of Dry Dock 12 in time for that start date. Once the overhaul is started, Truman will not deploy again until 2031 at the earliest.

Reagan (CVN-76) has been in a DPIA overhaul since August 2024 and isn’t set to emerge until at least August 2026.

That gives the fleet six carriers that are actually able to get underway– and most of them are.

Lincoln and Bush are deployed to the Arabian Sea. The venerable, nearly half-century-old Eisenhower is being rumored to be rushed overseas after emerging from her 15-month overhaul (supposedly her last) to backfill Ford. Vinson is in San Diego, still getting over an extended nine-month deployment that ended last August. Washington is forward deployed to Japan (yes, just a single carrier in the West Pac) while TR is in the East Pac on workups.

That’s it.

JFK (CVN-79) isn’t set to deliver until May 2027 (replacing Nimitz) for her first deployment, not likely until 2029. Enterprise (CVN-80) is supposed to come online in 2029 to replace Eisenhower. Et. al.

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