First of her Breed Headed to the Fight

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Here we see, 80 years ago today, the class-leading fleet carrier USS Essex (CV-9) docked at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, on 8 August 1943.

National Archives 80-G-K-551

And another photo from the same day shot from a different angle.

80-G-K-547

The fourth USS Essex, as shown above, was brand new to the fleet, having just been commissioned on New Year’s Eve 1942 and, following a rushed seven-month shakedown cruise/post-delivery refit period, was in Pearl on her last stop before getting in the war.

By the end of the month, with CVG-9 (VF-9, VB-9, VT-9, and VS-9) embarked, she would be with TF 15 in carrier operations against Japanese-held Marcus Island.

The first of her 24-ship class to see combat, Essex received the Presidential Unit Citation and 13 battle stars for World War II service, then after modernization and reclassification to an attack aircraft carrier (CVA-9), would earn another 4 battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation for Korean war service– with a young LT Neil Armstrong flying F9F-2 Panthers from her deck. Following a second modernization and redesignation to an antisubmarine warfare carrier (CVS-9), she would play a key role in the Cuban Missile Crisis and recover Apollo 7.

Following a busy 26-year career, Essex was decommissioned on 30 June 1969 at Boston Navy Yard and sold for scrapping in 1975.

SilencerCo Goes Titanium with New Scythe Can

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SilencerCo juat week debuted the company’s first all-titanium suppressor, the ultra-lightweight Scythe-Ti. 

The .30 caliber Scythe is ideal for those looking to save weight on their rifle or carbine setup while still looking to greatly tame some muzzle bark. Rated to handle everything from .223/5.56 NATO to .300 RUM, it has no barrel length restrictions. The biggest selling point, garnered from its Grade 5 and Grade 9 titanium materials, is the weight of just 7.3 ounces with the new single-point anchor brake installed.

To get a feel for just how light that is, it’s about the same as an adult hamster, a cup of sugar, or a roll of nickels. 

The Scythe is 6.16 inches long and looks unlike the rest of SiCo’s catalog, sporting a distinctive Type 2 anodizing with an oil-rubbed finish. The weld lines tend to darken while it heats up. The diameter is 1.73 inches. Note the single-point anchor brake end cap, which we really noted helps cut down on recoil. (All photos: Chris Eger)

I got to try out the Scythe at the company’s first annual “Chubbs Peterson Memorial Rifle Golf Tournament,” last week in Utah, getting a feel for the new suppressor on several different builds at ranges from 50 to 1,100 yards.

For backcountry or PRS guys looking to save every ounce possible, the Scythe could be a good fit.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Marine Dets as Oil Tanker Shipriders in Persian Gulf?

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So Iran, or specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, keeps getting increasingly rowdy, something that is cyclical (see Operations Earnest Will and Praying Mantis in 1987-1988 besides more modern incidents).

Most recently, the Aegis destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74), supported by land-based MQ-9 Reaper drones and Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, chased off two back-to-back Iranian attempts at shanghaiing the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss and Bahamian-flagged oil tanker Richmond Voyager in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.

This has seen a surge in assets to the region including an additional destroyer (the newly commissioned USS Thomas Hudner, DDG-116) as well as USAF F-35 and F-16 fighters to help monitor the Strait of Hormuz.

Why no carrier?

Well, of the 11 in the Navy’s inventory, one, USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), has been in a four-year Refueling and Complex Overhaul since 2021, another, the troubled USS George Washington (CVN-73), is just coming back online after her RCOH, and a third, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) is in the middle of a PIA that will take several more months. USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is set to undergo maintenance until December.

Of the remaining seven, four are in port in varying lesser maintenance/workup stages, and just three are underway. These include the Japan-based Reagan CSG in exercises with the America ARG along with the Australians and company in the West Pac, the Vinson CSG working up off the West Coast, and the Ford on her first “real” deployment to the Sixth Fleet where she is increasingly being used in conjunction with the Bataan ARG to apply pressure to the Russians via Syria et. al.

However, the Bataan’s embarked 26th MEU(SOC) has been cross-decking and moving ashore to CENTCOM in “distributed operations” in the region while part of the Marine force will remain on Sixth Fleet orders in European waters aboard USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19). The Marines, along with Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Company Central (FASTCENT), have been training in Bahrain “for potential shipboard roles protecting oil tankers and other commercial ships from Iranian aggression.”

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY BAHRAIN (July 03, 2023) – A U.S. Marine assigned to Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Company Central (FASTCENT) leads a team during close-quarters battle training at the U.S. Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia Maritime Engagement Team training facility aboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain, July 03. FASTCENT provides expeditionary anti-terrorism and security forces to embassies, consulates, and other vital national assets throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Angela Wilcox)

Stars and Stripes confirmed the plans for the shiprider program:

Marines newly deployed to the Middle East already are training for shipboard roles protecting oil tankers and other commercial ships from Iranian aggression, news that comes a day after U.S. officials told some media outlets they were considering the possibility of such a plan.

About 100 Marines have been training in Bahrain for specialized defensive teams that would travel briefly with commercial ships through and near the Strait of Hormuz, said a U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity with Stars and Stripes because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.

This reminds me of the unsung OIF Guardian Mariner shiprider program that protected the civilian mariner-crewed MSC cargo ships in the region back in 2003.

MSC crews owed thanks to the fleet force protection teams and the Guardian Mariner program for defending MSC ships against potential terrorist attacks from small boats. As the buildup for OIF began in January 2003, force protection teams from primarily the Army and Marine Corps provided shipboard protection for MSC ships. The first team was from the First Marine Expeditionary Force and reported aboard USNS Antares in late January. This was an interim solution for force protection until the Guardian Mariner program came into full operation.

Under the Guardian Mariner program, more than 1,300 Army reservists were activated to provide force protection and security aboard MSC ships sailing to and from Southwest Asia. The soldiers, from the Puerto Rico National Guard Unit 92nd Separate Infantry Brigade, were organized into 110, 12-person teams. They began reporting aboard MSC ships on 19 March 2003. In all, around 70 fleet force protection teams and 75 Guardian Mariner teams were used aboard MSC ships during OIF.

Do you own a Garand? Is the SN 283898? You Could be All Shook Up

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Check out the below from the CMP, and be on the lookout should you come across random M1s on your travels.

‘Ole Miss’ at 45

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The third of 11 planned Virginia class nuclear-powered, guided-missile cruisers was ordered from Newport News on 21 January 1972 under the Nixon administration, laid down 22 February 1975, launched as the fourth USS Mississippi (CGN-40) on 31 July 1976, and commissioned 5 August 1978– 45 years ago today.

USS Mississippi (CGN-40) underway in the Atlantic, making a 180-degree turn, August 1978. USN 1172975

“Ole Miss” spent much of her career escorting fast nuclear carriers– her class’s main reason for existing– and saw an NTU upgrade, CIWS and Harpoon fitted, and TLAM armored box launchers installed. The latter proved useful during Desert Storm when Mississippi fired three warshot TLAMs at Iraqi strategic and military targets on 25 January 1991 and two more the following day.

Outclassed by VLS Aegis cruisers despite her long and fast legs, she and the rest of the CGNs were axed early from their designed 38 years of service rather than undergo refueling and conversion to Aegis.

After serving just 18 years in commission, Ole Miss was deactivated on 6 September 1996.

By 1999, all nine of the Navy’s CGNs (four Virginia class, two California class, and the one-offs Bainbridge, Truxtun, and Long Beach) had been retired.  

An aerial bow view of six nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers underway in formation during Exercise READEX 1-81. The ships are, from left to right: USS TEXAS (CGN 39), USS CALIFORNIA (CGN 36), USS SOUTH CAROLINA (CGN 37), USS VIRGINIA (CGN 38), USS ARKANSAS (CGN 41) and USS MISSISSIPPI (CGN 40), background NARA # 6418325 Photo 26 Feb 1981

On her way to retirement, Mississippi stopped by Naval Station Pascagoula on Singing River Island in her namesake state for one final time in February 1996.

I visited her then, with my handy little Kodak in my pocket, and grabbed some snaps.

USS Mississippi (CGN-40) at Naval Station Pascagoula, Feb 1996. Note Ingalls West Bank in the background and an NRF FFG-7 short hull on her alongside. Photo by Chris Eger

USS Mississippi (CGN-40) at Naval Station Pascagoula, Feb 1996. She had her glad rags flying. Also, note the big AN/SPS-48 3D radar array whose antenna weighed 4,500 pounds (but had a 200nm range!) Photo by Chris Eger

USS Mississippi (CGN-40) at Naval Station Pascagoula, Feb 1996. How about those giant MK26 GMLS twin launchers? Mississippi was a “double-ended” cruiser, carrying a set of these bad boys both fore and aft, with 26 missiles forward and 44 in the aft magazine, a mix of ASROC and Standard SM-2MR. Photo by Chris Eger

USS Mississippi (CGN-40) at Naval Station Pascagoula, Feb 1996. Note the big blue ASROC drill missile and three more Perry class NRF frigates (FFG-20, FFG-24, FFG-32). With the Mark 26, two missiles could be on the rails and it could sustain a 9-second firing rate with a one-second salvo delay. Photo by Chris Eger

On the other side of the stern MK26, an SM-2MR GMTR (Guided Missile Training Round) drill missile. Photo by Chris Eger

Recycled, in 2003 Ole Miss’s main mast was installed at the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and remains on guard today.

Had she been refueled and refitted in 1996-99 as planned, she would have only retired in 2018.

CGN-40’s mainmast at Ocean Springs. Photo by Chris Eger

Cruising around Italy with the wind on your face

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80 years ago today: Despatch rider Private Harry McDowell, B/73826, of the 48th Highlanders (Canada) delivering a message to the battalion’s advanced headquarters, Regalbuto, Italy, 4 August 1943.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225482)

His bike looks to be a classic British Norton 16H (WD16H), some 490cc in power, while the piece is an American M1 Thompson submachine gun in .45 ACP. Note what appears to be a piece of cork or canvas in the barrel of his M1, a good idea to keep out dust on the road.

Another great image was snapped of McDowell at Caltagirone the day before while off his bike, mugging for the camera whilst wearing a straw hat to beat the summer heat.

Private Harry McDowell, 48th Highlanders of Canada, Caltagirone, Italy, ca. 2-3 August 1943. Note what appears to be a piece of cork in the barrel of his M1, a good idea to keep out dust on the road. Library and Archives Canada. On behalf of the 48th Highlanders Museum, 73 Simcoe St. Toronto, ON M5J 1W9

The son of Henry McDowell, and of Martha McDowell, of Toronto, then L/Cpl Harry McDowell was killed on 11 December 1944 and is interred at the Ravenna War Cemetery near the village of Piangipane, plot V. G. 25. He died at age 27. 

The 48th Battalion Highlanders were formed on 16 October 1891 in Toronto and redesignated a full regiment in 1900.

Print shows the 48th Highlanders on parade, and was published by the Toronto Globe newspaper on Christmas 1899. CWM

They sent volunteers to fight the Boers with the RCR then marched off to the Great War in three different elements (15th Bn, 92nd Bn, 134th Bn) of the CEF– earning 23 battle honors– before mobilizing for war again in 1939.

The 48th missed out on the Battle of France and then garrisoned Britain until they landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943 as part of the 1st Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Infantry Division. By March 1945, the regiment moved with the remainder of the I Canadian Corps to North-West Europe, where it fought until the end of the war. They picked up another 27 WWII battle honors and more recently added “Afghanistan” to that impressive list.

These days, the 48th in a light infantry battalion in the Primary Reserve, assigned to the 32 Canadian Brigade Group, 4th Canadian Division.

So long, Forceful

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The 121-foot coal-fired steam tug Forceful (288 tons) was built in Govan, Scotland in 1925 for the Queensland Tug Company and spent most of her working life working out of Brisbane.

She also had important WWII service as HMAS Forceful (W126), based at Fremantle and Darwin, surviving several Japanese air attacks at the latter, and rescuing the crew of a ditched American B-26. Besides towing lighters to Marauke in Dutch New Guinea, she also carried out secret missions in support of Z special mission types.

Retired from active use in 1970, she was donated to Brisbane’s Queensland Maritime Museum – one of Australia’s largest maritime museums– who used her in short sightseeing trips until 2006 when she was pulled from the water.

The QMM houses the River-class frigate HMAS Diamantina (K377) safely ashore in the South Brisbane Dry Dock, the historic Commonwealth Lightship 2 (CLS2) Carpentaria, the 116-year-old pearling lugger Penguin which was used by the Americans during WWII, along with the dinghy from General Douglas MacArthur’s motor yacht Shangri-La.

However, nothing lasts forever, and in a museum, especially a maritime museum, there is never enough money

From Capt. Sir Kasper Kuiper R.O.N, Chair, Queensland Maritime Museum Association:

After 30 months of desperately seeking a safe and final resting place for the Forceful, we have been unsuccessful in locating a suitable place for her.

The Chair and Board of Directors came to the realization that the QMMA is not able to keep the ship where she is. In the coming weeks, the Forceful will begin to be deconstructed. We are looking at retaining some artifacts of her to create a fitting tribute for her.

It is very sad that this is the final outcome, but there is no alternative.

I thank you for all the support you have shown for the Forceful.

The post brought dozens of disgruntled comments, but no offers of a solution, with the QMMA replying:

If you have a place for Forceful to go please call Chair Kasper on 38445361. Thanks

A Closer look at the FN 15 Guardian

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For the past couple of months, I’ve been working with FN’s most entry-level AR-15, the Guardian.

It shares a lot of FN’s M4 DNA and has a great barrel– I’m talking a 16-inch nitride-coated specimen made of 4150 chrome-moly-vanadium (CMV) steel. FN tells us it is MIL-B-11595 high-pressure tested and subjected to magnetic particle inspection after proof firing. It runs a 1:7 twist rate, which is one of the most common twists on AR-15s today and great for stabilizing heavier bullets, which have become more popular.

Now, it uses a slick-sided NBS-made billet upper, which does away with the jam enhancer (forward assist), on a forged lower, and carries the same general furniture as seen on the company’s TAC3 series which costs twice as much. Everything else (trigger, charging handle, etc) is mil-spec.

At a $999 asking price – typically much lower with retailers – the FN 15 Guardian delivers a lot of performance for half the price of the company’s $1,889 TAC 3 and likewise comes in at a fraction of the cost of the $2,439 DMR3. In fact, the Guardian is the most affordable FN 15 in the company’s catalog, coming in at a price point lower than the $1,359 Patrol Carbine, its former “budget” offering.

I’ve only got a few hundred rounds through it thus far, but it is holding up well and I haven’t had a single jam even with mixing 14 wildly different loads across four different style mags.

Point Brown, is that you?

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USCGC Point Swift (WPB-82312) likely off Florida in the 1980s, note the 50 cals

The 79 assorted 82-foot Point class patrol boats largely held the line in the Cold War for the Coast Guard, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, with some serving as late as 2003.

A whole batch of 26 served in Market Time operations off Vietnam, fighting it out with NVA armed trawlers and VC sappers.

USCGC Point Grey (WPB-82324) off Vietnam. Note her M2/81mm piggyback forward, at least three M2s over the stern, and nearly a dozen Coasties on deck preparing the away boat

Very few of these craft survive, and there is one, formerly USCGC Point Brown (WPB 82362), that is up for grabs in excellent condition. Plus, she is only $70K and would make a great little museum ship, especially for any of the dozens of coastal towns that based these 82s back in the day.

Via the ad:

Selling a unique vessel, an ex-US coast guard 82’ patrol/ rescue boat. Built in 1967 by the US coast guard as a point class cutter to serve until 1991, research online the history of these great ships. This was formerly WPB82362 Point Brown, after her service she was repurposed as a training ship at a college in RI. In 2000 she was purchased by a former USCG Commander, he bought her and had her for 20 years as a liveaboard, after 9/11 she was put back into Auxiliary CG service and patrolled NY waters.

I bought her in 2020 and my plans for use have changed due to other ships I have. All details would be better discussed to those of serious interest. Do some research, she’s a great ship, in full operation, ole faithful Cummin diesels VT12-900M, twin 2-71 Det gens. Full galley, mess. 2 heads, accommodations. My plans have changed with her, hauled April 2022 for bottom job, docked on Staten Island. Too many details to list. Negotiable open to offers. Thank you

Bulk Buying Burkes

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No less than 6 Spruance class destroyers on the way. DD Module Erection Area 24 June 1976. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi.

I always thought the big bulk buys of the 1970s and 1980s, such as ordering the whole 31-ship Spruance class from Ingalls all at once, was a good idea. It allows the yard to forecast workloads far enough out to literally “grow” craftspeople through apprentice programs, saves time, saves money, win-win for all involved. That’s how you win a Cold War.

Well, the Pentagon just whistled up nine advanced Flight III DDG-51s this week.

A photo I took last year, showing the future Flight IIA Burke USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), front, and PCU USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), rear, at Ingalls’s West Bank, fitting out. Note the differences in their masts. The Flight III upgrade is centered on the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and “incorporates upgrades to the electrical power and cooling capacity plus additional associated changes to provide greatly enhanced warfighting capability to the fleet.”

Via DOD today, emphasis mine:

Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is awarded a fixed-price incentive (firm target) multiyear contract for construction of three DDG 51 class ships – one each in fiscal 2023, 2024, and 2026. This contract includes options for engineering change proposals, design budgeting requirements, and post-delivery availabilities on the awarded firm multiyear ships. This contract also includes options for construction of additional DDG 51 class ships, which may be subject to future competition in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. Therefore, the dollar values associated with the multiyear contract are considered source selection sensitive information and will not be made public at this time (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104). Work will be performed in Bath, Maine (69%); Cincinnati, Ohio (4%); Walpole, Massachusetts (4%); York, Pennsylvania (2 %); South Portland, Maine (1%); Falls Church, Virginia (1%); and other locations below 1% (collectively totaling 19%), and is expected to be completed by December 2033. Fiscal 2022 and 2023 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy funding will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured via a limited competition between Huntington Ingalls Inc., and Bath Iron Works pursuant to U.S. Code 3204 (a) (3) (A) and FAR 6.302-3 (Industrial Mobilization), with two offers received. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-23-C-2305).

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a fixed-price incentive (firm-target) multiyear contract for construction of six DDG 51 class ships – one in fiscal 2023, one in fiscal 2024, two in fiscal 2025, one in fiscal 2026, and one in fiscal 2027. This contract includes options for engineering change proposals, design budgeting requirements, and post-delivery availabilities on the awarded firm multiyear ships. This contract includes options for construction of additional DDG 51 class ships, which may be subject to future competition in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. Therefore, the dollar values associated with the multiyear contract are considered source selection sensitive information and will not be made public at this time (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104). Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi (77%); and other locations below 1 percent (collectively totaling 23%), and is expected to be completed by June 2034. Fiscal 2022 and 2023 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy funding will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured via a limited competition between Huntington Ingalls Inc., and Bath Iron Works pursuant to U.S Code 3204 (a) (3) (A) and FAR 6.302-3 (Industrial Mobilization), with two offers received. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-23-C-2307).

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