Strange Happenings with the LCS program

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And in more oddball installments from the world of the U.S. Navy’s troubled Littoral Combat Ship fiasco, I bring you a trio of recent bullet points.

Bye Bye, Milwaukee

The fifth ship to carry the name, the Freedom-variant (mono-hull Marinette Marine-built) littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5), was decommissioned at Naval Station Mayport on Sept. 8, the third of the class retired. She had been commissioned on 21 November 2015, leaving her entire career to span just 7 years, 9 months, and 18 days. Much of that was spent in repair and, when she did get operational, it was always on short 4th Fleet orders close to home– the ship never made it to her previously planned homeport of San Diego.

U.S. Navy photos by MC1(NAC/AW) Brandon J. Vinson

U.S. Navy photos by MC1(NAC/AW) Brandon J. Vinson

From her short history:

Milwaukee and its Sailors contributed a tremendous amount of work and time to ensure success of the LCS program during the ship’s time in naval service. Milwaukee completed two successful deployments in April 2022 and June 2023. The ship deployed to U.S. Fourth Fleet and integrated with the embarked US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), other US warships, Department of Defense, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and SOUTHCOM/JIATF-S. During their second deployment, Milwaukee and her embarked LEDETs, seized an estimated $30 million in suspected cocaine, and three detainees during interdictions as sea, preventing 954kgs of cocaine from entering the United States. She also transported six detainees and case packages on behalf of USCGC BEAR in support of the counter-narcotic/interdiction mission. While deployed, Milwaukee provided maritime security presence enabling the free flow of commerce in key corridors of trade.

An excellent recent Pro Publica piece, titled “A Deep Dive Into US Navy’s Epic Shipbuilding Failure” speaks of Milwaukee in the following terms:

On the morning of Nov. 23, 2015, the USS Milwaukee set out across the frigid waters of the Great Lakes for its maiden voyage. The cost overruns had made headlines, but with the fifth ship in the water, Navy officials were hoping the vessel’s performance would lessen the growing doubts about the project.

The Navy planned to sail the Milwaukee from the shipyard on the shores of Lake Michigan in Marinette, Wisconsin, to its new home port of San Diego. From there, it would eventually join its sister ship, the USS Fort Worth, in helping to counter the Chinese navy’s expanding presence in the Western Pacific.

In a press tour days before the launch, Cmdr. Kendall Bridgewater evinced confidence, proclaiming that the enemy “would be hard-pressed to find a vessel that could come up against us.”

But the ship wouldn’t need a fight to suffer its first defeat. Its worst enemy would be its own engine.

On Dec. 11, about three weeks into the two-month journey, a software failure severely damaged the Milwaukee’s combining gear — a complex mechanism that connects the ship’s diesel engines and its gas turbines to the propulsion shafts, producing the power necessary for it to reach top speeds.

A Navy salvage ship had to tow it some 40 miles for repairs at a base near Norfolk, Virginia. The ship hadn’t made it halfway down the East Coast — let alone to the South China Sea — before breaking down. If the Milwaukee were a brand-new car, this would be the equivalent of stalling on its way out of the dealership.

Some former officers look back on the breakdown and those that followed as a clear violation of a cardinal principle in Navy shipbuilding: to “buy a few and test a lot.” But with the LCS, the Navy was doing the opposite. Commanders were learning about the flaws of the ships as they were being deployed.

“This is a totally foreseeable outcome,” said Jay Bynum, a former rear admiral who served as an assistant to the vice chief of naval operations as the ships were entering the fleet. “Just think about it, Toyota checks out all of this before the car hits the showroom floor. What if the engineering guys there said, ‘Well, we think this is how the engine will work, but let’s just start selling them.’

But, as one Freedom-variant littoral combat ship leaves after just a third of her expected life span was completed– none of it in “real world” overseas taskings– another new one appeared as if by magic.

Welcome Marinette

The USS Marinette (LCS 25) commissioned Saturday, Sept. 16, in Menominee, Michigan, the “Lucky” 13th Freedom-variant LCS.

Menominee, Michigan (Sept. 15, 2023) – The U.S. Navy’s newest littoral combat ship, USS Marinette (LCS 25), is pierside on the Menominee River prior to its commissioning in Menominee, Michigan on Sept. 16. USS Marinette is the first U.S. Navy warship to honor Marinette, Wisconsin. (Courtesy photo by Shawn Katzbeck)

As noted by the Navy in the straightfaced release:

She is the first naval warship to bear the name of Marinette, Michigan, and the third naval vessel. Marinette (YTB-791) and Marinette County (LST 953) were previously named for the community. Marinette received its name on Sept. 22, 2016. The name recognizes the contributions of her namesake town and the great shipbuilders who bring these ships to life, ensuring they are ready to accomplish mission tasking in support our nation’s maritime strategy.

Marinette Marine has three final Freedom-class LCS fitting out, to be delivered at some future date: PCUs USS Nantucket (LCS-27), Beloit (LCS-29), and Cleveland (LCS-31).

MK 70?

Meanwhile, in San Diego, USS Savannah (LCS-28) (a recently-commissioned Austal USA-built trimaran-hulled Independence-variant littoral combat ship) was spotted last week with a Lockheed Martin MK 70 Typhoon containerized vertical launching system on her large deck.

Capable of firing either a Standard Missile 6 or a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, that could be a very interesting development, especially if the systems are mounted in numbers.

When asked by USNI News, the Navy acknowledged the veracity of the photographs but did not provide additional details.

“USS Savannah (LCS-28) will participate in a live-fire demonstration during the fourth quarter of 2023 that will include a containerized launching system. More information will be provided after the evolution is complete,” Naval Surface Forces spokesperson CDR Arlo Abrahamson said in a statement.

It increasingly seems that the Indy class LCS has some merit while the Freedoms may, well, not.

Time will tell.

FN 15 Guardian, after 500 rounds…

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Light, affordable, and ready for the range or field, the new FN 15 Guardian offers one of the iconic company’s most obtainable 5.56 caliber rifles.

Billed as a light, fast-handling carbine, the Guardian complements the rest of FN’s AR (FN 15) line of rifles in the respect that it is priced at a more entry-level (MSRP $999, more like $899 at retailers) rung on the ladder than some of the company’s other offerings, which have an ask of $1,350 (FN 15 Patrol Carbine) to $2,350 (FN 15 DMR3). Thus, according to the marketing materials, the new addition is “making FN quality accessible to all home defenders and sport shooters.”

The FN 15 Guardian has a retail price of $999, which is typically lower at the point of sale.

In a nutshell, the FN 15 Guardian is a carbine-sized (16-inch, 1:7 twist barrel) direct gas impingement action AR with a mid-length gas system that has a flattop, smooth-sided (no forward assist) upper, a 15-inch aluminum handguard with a couple dozen M-LOK slots, and a lot of mil-spec parts. This keeps it light, at just 6.6 pounds, and with a streamlined aesthetic.

The all-up weight of the Guardian as shown below, well outfitted with a Magpul PMAG loaded with 30 rounds of M855, an Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic red dot reflex sight on a QRP2 mount, a full-length direct-thread SilencerCo Omega 36M can, and a field expedient Israeli-style sling, is just a hair over 9 pounds.

You could shave off a bit of weight by going with a set of irons or a smaller red dot, or reducing the baffle stack on the suppressor, and still have a lot of capability.

So far, I have put it through a bit over 500 rounds, a quarter of that while suppressed, from across at least 15 different brass-cased loads I had around the house, including German, Malaysian, and South Korean military surplus, Federal XM855 Green Tip, Winchester NATO-marked overruns, Winchester black box BTHP Match, and bulk pack Wolf M193 NATO, all running the gamut from 55-grain to 77-grain in weight.

And have few complaints other than the funky furniture.

Full review over after the jump to Guns.com.

C-130J Invasion Stripes

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Invasion stripes on C-47 SN 43-30652, circa September 1944, of the 36th Troop Carrier Squadron during Operation Market Garden

First off: Happy 76th Birthday, USAF.

Now, the news.

A half-dozen advanced C-130J Super Hercules aircraft of the “Blue Tail Flies” of the historic 37th Airlift Squadron, based at Germany’s Ramstein Air Base recently received a special paint job and decals that the unit plans to show off over the beaches of Normandy, France, on the 80th anniversary of the Operation Overlord D-Day landings next June.

Maintainers of the 86th Maintenance Squadron painted black-and-white “Invasion stripes” on the C-130s as a throwback to those sported by Allied aircraft during the landings.

Importantly, the first Allied aircraft to cross the line on D-Day, carrying personnel of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 456th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion to a drop zone near Sainte-Mère-Église in occupied France, was Douglas C-47 Skytrain 43-30652, dubbed “Whiskey Seven” (W7), of the 37th Troop Carrier Squadron, now the 37th Airlift, so the historical tie is solid.

U.S. Air Force Airman Quinten Cooper, 86th Maintenance Squadron Aircraft Structural Maintenance apprentice, paints a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Aug. 1, 2023. The 86th MXS ASM flight painted stripes on six of the 37th Airlift Squadrons C-130s as a way to pay homage to the C-47 Skytrain aircraft that flew over Normandy during the Invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Thomas Karol)

Down Courageous

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A stirring depiction of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier, HMS Courageous (50), after being torpedoed by German submarine KMS U-29 under Kptlt. Otto Schuhart, on 17 September 1939, some 84 years ago today. Schuhart had stalked the carrier for hours before gaining the right range and angle to launch his fish.

Artwork by Adolf Bock, published by Verlag Erich Klinghammer, Berlin, Germany, 1949. LOC LC-DIG-PPMSCA-18356

Launched on 4th February 1916 Courageous was completed in January 1917 as a 22,500-ton battlecruiser with BL 15-inch guns and served in the Great War, only converting to a flattop in 1924 as a result of the London Naval Treaty. She was the first major Royal Navy warship lost in WWII.

Some 518 lives were lost including many Reservists and Pensioners. Some survivors were rescued by HM Destroyer Echo.

As a consequence of this loss and an unsuccessful U-boat torpedo attack on HM Aircraft Carrier Ark Royal on 14th September, the policy of using aircraft carriers for ASW search and destroy patrols was abandoned by the Royal Navy until new American-made escort carriers became available after late 1942.

Meanwhile, in Germany, the Courageous was the first high-value sinking credited to the U-boat arm, and the whole crew of U-29 received the EK II (Iron Cross) while as commander, Schuhart received both the EK I and the EK II then, in May 1940 after growing his record, the Ritterkreuz.

As for U-29, the Type VIIA U-boat became a training submarine in 1941 and was scuttled in May 1945 at Kupfermuhle Bay, near the Danish-German border.

Her skipper, the lucky Kptlt. Schuhart, would leave U-29 after 7 patrols in January 1941 and with some 90,000 tons of shipping on his tally sheet to ride a desk for the rest of the war as an instructor in the 1st ULD (Unterseeboots-Lehr-Division) then later as commander of the 21st Training Flotilla. He joined the reformed West German Bundesmarine in 1955, retiring in 1967 with the rank of Kapitän zur See. He passed in 1990, aged 80.

U-Boat, Cheap, As-is, Where-is

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Some 80 years ago today, the Kriegsmarine delivered a scratch-and-dent high-mileage Type IXC U-boat, in an example of East-West Axis solidarity against the Allies, to the custody of the Imperial Japanese Navy at Kure. The former U-511 thus became the Emperor’s new (to him) Ro-500 on 16 September 1943.

Photos were dutifully snapped of the warm exchange, with the outgoing U-511’s crew mingling with that of the oncoming Ro-500.

The amount paid for on U-511 is up for debate, with Combined Fleet noting:

Axis propaganda asserted U-511 was a “gift” from Hitler to Emperor Hirohito. Actually, the Germans treated U-511 as a partial payment for Japanese supplies (raw rubber and torpedoes in particular) already delivered by surface blockade runners. The Japanese and Germans always dealt on a strictly hard currency (or gold) basis.

The short version of U-511’s background was that she was built by Deutsche Werft AG, laid down on 20 October 1939, and commissioned on 8 December 1941– ironically, the day of the Japanese strike on Pearl Harbor as recorded in Tokyo.

The boat conducted four combat patrols, all with 10. Flottille, first under Kptlt. Friedrich Steinhoff and then under Kptlt. Fritz Schneewind, the latter a recipient of the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold, which ranked between the EK1 and below the Ritterkreuz.

She was notable for trialing the deck-mounted Wurfkörper 42 rocket system in the Baltic in May 1942, one of the first experiments in submerged rocket/missile launching.

Underwater launch of a 300mm Wurfkörper 42 Spreng from Type XIC U-Boat U-511 during trials in the Summer of 1942. The reason U-511 was chosen was due to the fact that her skipper at the time, Kptlt. Friedrich Steinhoff, was the brother of scientist Dr. Ernest A. Steinhoff, the latter “Paperclipped” to the U.S. Army after the war. Doc Steinhoof passed at Alamogordo, New Mexico after a long career in rocket development for the Air Force. A park on Holloman AFB is named after him.

Her war record included a patrol in the Caribbean under Steinhoff in the late summer of 1942, which tallied with sinking two large tankers and damaging a third. Schneewind would take over for her second (unsuccessful) patrol, her third (which netted a 5,000-ton British freighter), and her fourth, the trip to Japan via the Indian Ocean, sinking a pair of 7,000-ton American Liberty ships along the way.

On her trip to Kure, U-511 carried a number of East-bound dignitaries including Ernst Woermann, the German ambassador to Japanese-puppet Chūka Minkoku China; VADM Naokuni Nomura, the Japanese naval attaché in Berlin who hadn’t been to sea since her commanded the aircraft carrier Kaga a decade prior; and assorted German scientists and engineers. Among the cargo was a set of Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet blueprints later used by Mitsubishi to develop the J8MI Shusui (“Sword Stroke”) rocket-powered interceptor.

Anyway, once the transfer was affected on 16 September 1943, the Germans remained around to train the new owners for six weeks until leaving for Japanese-occupied Singapore aboard the Italian freighter Osorno in November, later making their way to Penang to fill in as replacement crews for Gruppe Monsun U-boats on the Indian Ocean/Pacific beat.

For instance, former U-511 skipper Schneewind took command of U-183 (another Type IXC, painted in Japanese colors) at Singapore and completed four patrols in her, sinking a British merchantman and damaging two others. He came across USS Besugo (SS-321) on 23 April 1945, with the American Balao-class boat sending U-183, Schneewind, and all but one of his crew, to the bottom of the Java Sea.

Fritz Schneewind, the image on the right while he was on U-183

As for U-511/Ro-500’s service with the Combined Fleet, it was non-spectacular. She was used primarily for testing and training purposes, typically as an ASW OPFOR to simulate U.S. submarines for subchaser/kaibokan crews.

In August 1945, she made a brief (daylong) sortie to attack the Soviets in Sakhalin waters before returning to port.

Surrendered to the Allies post VJ-Day, the interesting boat was scuttled by the U.S. Navy off Kanmuri Jima, Wakasa Bay alongside I-121 and RO-68. The trio was located in 2008 by a team at 290 feet.

Brit Bent Wings over Brunswick

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80 Years Ago: Early Vought “Corsair Mk I” fighters, of the British Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm fly in formation, during training for their pilots in the United States, September 1943. Planes are operating out of Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine.

Photograph by Lieutenant Charles Fenno Jacobs. National Archives Catalog #: 80-G-473440

Same as the above, 80-G-473438

While everyone remembers the Spitfire, Hurricane, Seafire, and Sea Fury, lots of people forget the FAA picked up a whopping 2,012 Corsairs for use in World War II, actually rushing them into use as carrier birds much faster than the U.S. Navy, as the latter was thought too unsafe for flattop operations. The RN pilots had a tough respect for the “wicked-looking bastard.”

The FAA used both the Vought F4U-1 and the F4U-1A/D, type classified as Corsair Mk I and Corsair Mk II, respectively, as well as the Brewster-made F3A-1D (Corsair Mk III) and the Goodyear-produced FG-1D (Corsair Mk IV), with the Goodyear bird making up almost half of the RN’s inventory.

The Brits proved their worth on carriers, using them both in Europe (they were in on attacks against Tirpitz!) and going on to see much action against the Japanese in 1944-45.

British Royal Navy Vought “Corsair Mk II” (F4U-1A/D) fighters at Naval Air Station (NAS) Squantum, Massachusetts in 1943. Note fleet air arm personnel standing by the planes, and temporary numbers crudely marked on their cowlings. 80-G-K-15126

Corsairs and Barracudas of the British carrier HMS Formidable in July 1944, on their way to attack the Germán battleship Tirpitz

British FAA Corsair MkI of 1830 NAS – Red 7C JT108 (BuNo 18130) with Red 7A in the background, 1943.

WITH THE BRITISH NAVY IN THE EAST. MARCH TO MAY 1945, AT ROYAL NAVAL AIR STATION COLOMBO, ON BOARD THE ESCORT CARRIER HMS EMPRESS, ETC. (A 29080) Looking down from a Naval aircraft on the Chance-Vought Corsair and Fairey Barracuda packed flight deck of the British Aircraft Carrier HMS INDOMITABLE. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205016199

Rabaul, Corsairs on the British carrier HMS Glory, 6 Oct 1945. AWM image

“No place to land” by Michael Turner. Royal Navy Corsairs return to their carrier HMS Illustrious to find a blazing flight deck following a Kamikaze attack in the South West Pacific, during the BPF deployment against the Japanese 1945. The print is widely available https://www.studio88.co.uk/acatalog/No_Place_to_Land.html

FAA Corsairs of 1834 and 1836 Squadrons aboard HMS Victorious spinning up to sortie in an attack against Sigli, Sumatra, in September 1944.

Perhaps one of the best books on FAA Corsair jocks is The Kamikaze Hunters: Fighting for the Pacific, 1945 by Will Iredale.

I reviewed Kamikaze Hunters back in 2015 and loved it!

Armoured Carriers has a great 20-minute take on the Corsair in British service, including interviews with a number of FAA pilots, below.

End of a black rifle era

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Back in the early 1970s, there was really nobody in what is now known as the “black rifle” space other than Colt with its R6000 series rifles and carbines (the now extremely collectible “SP-1” AR-15 with no forward assist) and the hard-to-find (and often out of production) Armalite AR-180. Every now and then, an importer would bring over a few FALs, Valmets, or HKs, but that was it.

Sure, you could get a wood-stocked M1 carbine, a couple of different semi-auto M14 variants, or the Ruger Mini-14, but if you wanted an AR, you basically had to call Colt.

Then came Capt. Mack Gwinn, who started what was first Gwinn Firearms, located in Winston-Salem, NC, and then Quality Parts, and finally Bushmaster, after the name of their first marketable firearm, the AR-ish Bushmaster “Armpistol.”

Bushmaster Armpistol ads started popping up in the early-1970s

The company also marketed what was called the “Bushmaster Assault Rifle” for a time, with a pedigree that was very Stoner while steering clear of Colt’s patents

After Gwinn left the company, Bushmaster eventually began making legit Stoner/Sullivan-style AR clones in the early 1980s, along with Olympic Arms, which were basically the first two non-Colt names in that space.

Under Richard Dyke, the company moved to Windham, Maine, and kept at it until 2006, when he sold the firm to a holding company that eventually became the terribly-run Remington Outdoors. Fast forward to 2011 and “Big Green” had made the decision to move the concern “lock, stock, and barrel” out of Maine to its factory in Ilion, New York, leaving behind many of the old workers and the factory in Windham.

Dyke, only days out of his non-compete agreement, rebooted the old Windam factory (which he had the title to) as Windam Weaponry staffed it with experienced former Bushmaster employees looking for jobs, and just three months later was in production, making WW-branded ARs.

Windham Weaponry did a great job with “retro” builds such as these 20-inch A1s

This kept on trucking for 12 years, until Dyke passed away in March. Now, Windam says everything has basically gone south and the company has closed its doors, headed for “a full liquidation which should happen within the next month or so.”

Of course, Bushmaster has since died out and then been rebooted in Carson City, Nevada as a subsidiary of Franklin Armory, but, with AR production ending in Windam after 30 years, it just seems like the end of an era.

Plus, it leaves Maine without a major gunmaker for the first time in a very long time. The state had 21 other Type 7 FFLs – firearm manufacturers – on record in 2021, the most recent figures available, but none produced more than 100 guns, and most made under a dozen guns.

Beretta out-MCXs the SIG MCX?

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In London this week, Beretta took the curtain off its newest rifle design, which may look familiar.

Dubbed the NARP for “New Assault Rifle Platform” – keep in mind that “assault rifles” are real and “assault weapons” are made up here, guys – the latest Beretta debuted at the 2023 Defence & Security Equipment International show on Tuesday. Offered in three different barrel length configurations (11.5. 14.5, and 16-inch) at introduction, the 5.56 NATO platform has a layout similar to a number of popular modular short-stroke gas-piston platforms on the market, such as the CZ BREN M2, FN SCAR, HK 416, IWI Carmel, and SIG Sauer MCX and sports AR-style controls.

The new Beretta NARP has fully ambidextrous controls and can use a range of telescopic, foldable, and collapsible stocks as it is an adjustable piston gun and doesn’t have a standard AR-style recoil buffer and DI gas system. (Photos: Beretta)

Other standard features are common MIL-STD-1913, STANAG 4640, and M-LOK interfaces, meaning optics will mount, AR/M4 mags will work (it is shown with Lancer L5 AWM mags), and all those groovy accessories will fit. (Photos: Beretta)

Among the variants shown off, clad in assorted optics from Beretta-owned Steiner, are an 11.5-inch CQB-style carbine and a more standard model with a 14.5-inch barrel. Importantly, Beretta stresses that the NARP is meant to run suppressed full-time if needed and the company has also introduced the new Beretta-made B-Silent sound suppressor to use with it. (Photos: Beretta)

Beretta stresses the developmental process behind the NARP is rigorous, with the platform vetted under extreme conditions. (Photos: Beretta)

As for what this means for the company’s futuristic ARX short-stroke piston rifles and carbines, which were introduced in 2008 and later offered as semi-auto sporter variants to the commercial market, it is unclear. With so many countries opting for assorted M4-looking platforms and the ARX more or less stalled with adoption by only a handful of Mil/LE users outside of Italy, it could be that Beretta is opting to go a little more contemporary and see who bites.

Will the NARP ever appear in the U.S. as a commercial sporter variant? Our bet is probably, but probably not with that name.

If so, will fans of House Beretta buy one to go with their 92F, PX4, and 1301? That’s a sure thing.

Of the Tugs Navajo

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The name “Navajo,” referencing the Diné people, has been used by the U.S. Navy six times, five of these for hard-working and unsung tugs who, going beyond the title, typically served as rescue and salvage ships.

The first, the 800-ton USS Navajo (AT-52), was in commissioned service from 1908 to 1937 and in non-commissioned service as IX-56 (ex-Navajo) from 1942 to 1946. She spent her entire career in the Hawaiian Islands and was key in the salvage of Battleship Row, helping to return the sunken battleships USS California and West Virginia to service. 

Salvage of USS F-4 (SS-23), April-August 1915. Description: All salvage pontoons on the surface, off Honolulu, Hawaii, circa 29 August 1915, with preparations underway to tow the sunken submarine into Honolulu Harbor. The salvage equipment was devised by Naval Constructor Julius A. Furer. Halftone photograph, copied from Transactions of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, Volume 24, 1916, Figure 13. The tug in the center is probably USS Navajo (AT-52). NH 43499

The second USS Navajo (AT-64), was the lead ship of a new 1,300-ton class of seagoing tugs commissioned in 1940.

USS Navajo (AT-64), starboard bow view.

She was on duty on December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor and was one of the first on rescue duty after the attack.

USS Arizona (BB-39) sunk at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, after her fires were out, on 9 December 1941. She was destroyed during the Japanese raid of 7 December 1941. USS Navajo (AT-64) and USS Tern (AM-31) are alongside, spraying water to cool her burned-out forward superstructure and midship area. In the left center distance are the masts of USS West Virginia (BB-48) and USS Tennessee (BB-43). NH 83064

Navajo later went forward with the fleet to the New Hebrides and, in the words of DANFS, “supported operations there with repair and salvage work at Espíritu Santo in the New Hebrides, Nouméa at New Caledonia, Tongatabu, Tonga, and Suva in the Fiji Islands, as well as under battle conditions at Tulagi, Guadalcanal, and Rennell in the Solomons.”

She was influential in recovering the battle-damaged USS Saratoga (CV-3) after the precious carrier was hit by a torpedo from the Japanese submarine I-26 in September 1942, then helped rescue the bulk of the crew of the lost cruiser USS Chicago (CA-29) the following January in the aftermath of the Battle of Rennell Island.

Caricature drawing by AOM2c M.O. Martindale (on board USS Saratoga 11 September 1942) of tug Navajo pulling Saratoga (CV-3) with the caption, “rest easy Saratoga, we have you in tow!” Courtesy of Fleet Admiral Nimitz. NH 58336

Sadly, the heroic tug was lost at sea 80 years ago this week while towing the loaded 6,600-ton gasoline barge YOG-42 from Samoa to Espíritu Santo, when the barge suddenly exploded. It was estimated the whole tragedy was over within two minutes before both vessels sank, taking 17 of Navajo’s crew to the bottom. The culprit: a single torpedo from the Japanese submarine I-39.

The third USS Navajo (ATA-211) was an 800-ton Sotoyomo-class rescue tug in commission from 1945 to 1962. A hearty vessel, she worked in the Gulf oil field industry for decades afterward and is still around, currently operating from Flordia as the Honduran-flagged tug Hyperion.

USS Navajo (ATA-211), seen in the late 1940s in Key West. NH 83829

The fourth, USNS Navajo (T-ATF-169), was a Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug in service with Military Sealift Command from 1980 to 2016. She is still in Navy custody, mothballed in Pearl Harbor.

USNS Navajo (T-ATF-169) tows the decommissioned USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3) from the pier side in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 10 July 2006, out to open waters for an upcoming sink exercise (SINKEX) as part of exercise Rim of the Pacific 2006. US Navy photo # 060710-N-9288T-048 by MC2 Brandon A. Teeples.

This brings us to the fifth tug, the future USNS Navajo (T-ATS-6), the lead ship of the 9-vessel Navajo class of rescue and salvage ships, currently under construction at Bollinger. She was christened at Houma, Louisiana late last month and has been in the water since May.

The Rockets Red Glare…

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On the morning of 14 September 1814, it became obvious to Admiral of the Blue, Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane, Commander-in-Chief, North American Station, that the failed 25-hour bombardment of Fort McHenry would force the British to abandon their assault on the port city of Baltimore.

A view of the bombardment of Fort McHenry, during the War of 1812, near Baltimore, by the British fleet, taken from the observatory under the command of Admirals Cochrane & Cockburn on the morning of the 13th of Sepr. 1814 which lasted 25 hours, & thrown from 1,500 to 1,800 shells in the night attempted to land by forcing a passage up the ferry branch but were repulsed with great loss. Engraving by John Bower. LOC print. LC-DIG-ppmsca-35544

That morning, aboard an American truce sloop near the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Tonnant was lawyer, author, and amateur poet Francis Scott Key, aged 35, whose subsequent poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry” was the next day penned at the Indian Queen Tavern in Baltimore.

In honor of those rockets and mortars launched from the fireships HMS Erebus and HMS Meteor, along with four other British bomb vessels, against McHenry, here is an October 1981 montage of seven views showing parts of the test launching of a Trident I C-4 missile from the submerged Benjamin Franklin-class Fleet Ballistic Missile submarine USS Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657) and the Trident’s inert re-entry bodies as they plunge into the earth’s atmosphere and then into the Atlantic Ocean.

Via the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, 330-CFD-DN-SC-82-00005

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