Battle of the (Hi-Power) Clones

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I’ve been kicking around a pair of 21st-century Hi-Power clones with two different origin stories, and we have a few things to talk about.

John Browning’s GP design, as delivered to the firearms world in 1935 via Fabrique Nationale’s resident gun genius Dieudonne Saive, was given its gold watch by FN in early 2018, and BHP fans the world over wept. While Turkish gunmaker Tisas briefly sent their Regent BR9 clone over here, other one-time Hi-Power clones such as Israeli-made Kareens and imports of the same branded by Charles Daly, Dan Wesson, and Magnum Research were history.

Then came 2021.

In September of that year, EAA announced they were on the cusp of bringing in the Girsan-made MCP35 from Turkey while Springfield Armory in October started hinting around at the gun they would soon introduce as the SA-35. Both were different takes on the classic Hi-Power of old, offering new ways to satisfy that eager fan base that was left with separation anxiety after FN exited the BHP biz.

Since then, I’ve given each of these newcomers a series of tests and evaluations, including putting over 1,000 rounds through each model. With that, let’s see how they stack up against each other – and the ghosts of Hi-Powers past with which they must contend.

At the end of the day, it boils down to why you want a Hi-Power in the first place. Both guns are better clones than I have seen in some past efforts under other banners (see the FEG, PJK, and the Bulgarian Arcus 94). Heck, even when stacked against late-model FN MK IIIs assembled in Portugal in the 2000s, there is little to grouse about. This is firmly an apples-to-apples comparison.

More on said apples in my column at Guns.com.

Warship Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022: Albacore Pancakes

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Here at LSOZI, we take off every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1833-1954 time period and will profile a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale all their own, which sometimes takes them to the strangest places.- Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022: Albacore Pancakes

Note: on the road again this week enjoying some quiet time at a suppressed AR course at Gunsite, so our Warship Wednesday is a little abbreviated. Will be back to full-length WWs next week!

(All photos: Chris Eger)

Above we see the one-of-a-kind research submarine USS Albacore (AGSS-569) as I found her three weeks ago in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, landlocked as she has been in a custom-made display cradle along Market Street since 1985. While not an armed warship, Albacore was the bridge between all of the WWII-era fleet boats turned GUPPY just after the war as a result of lessons learned from advanced German U-boats, and today’s nuclear hunter-killers and boomers.

The third U.S. Navy ship to carry the name, as noted by DANFS:

The effectiveness of submarines in World War II convinced the Navy that undersea warfare would play an even more important role in comping conflicts and dictated the development of superior submarines. The effectiveness of submarines in World War II convinced the Navy that undersea warfare would play an even more important role in coming conflicts and dictated the development of superior submarines. The advent of nuclear power nourished the hope that such warships could be produced. The effort to achieve this goal involved the development of a nuclear propulsion system and the design of a streamlined submarine hull capable of optimum submerged performance.

Late in World War II a committee studied postwar uses of atomic energy and recommended the development of nuclear propulsion for ships.

Since nuclear power plants would operate without the oxygen supply needed by conventional machinery, and since techniques were available for converting carbon dioxide back to oxygen, the Navy’s submarine designers turned their attention to vessels that could operate for long periods without breaking the surface. Veteran submariners visualized a new type of submarine in which surface performance characteristics would be completely subordinated to high submerged speed and agility. In 1949 a special committee began a series of hydrodynamic studies which led to a program within the Bureau of Ships to determine what hull form would be best for submerged operation. The David Taylor Model Basin tested a series of proposed designs. The best two, one with a single propeller and the other with dual screws, were then tested in a wind tunnel at Langley Air Force Base, Va. The single-screw version was adopted, and the construction of an experimental submarine to this design was authorized on 25 November 1950.

Commissioned 6 December 1953 after three years of construction at Portsmouth NSY, her motto was Praenuntius Futuri (“Forerunner of the Future”) and she endured in the fleet until 1972 when she retired.

She is very well preserved, including her innovative control room.

I also found her extremely cramped, even more so than the 311-foot fleet boats that I have toured.

Her great handicap across her career was her GE GM EMD 16-338 “pancake” diesel engines, which stood some 13.5-feet tall and were about as wide as a refrigerator.

Cranky, they were also used on the six postwar Tang-class (SS-563) submarines until they were replaced with more reliable ten-cylinder Fairbanks-Morse opposed-piston 38D 8-1/8 diesels, leaving Albacore to languish with her cakes until she had exhausted all her spares.

Still, Albacore was a pioneer when it came to American sub tech, and the three boats of the follow-on Barbel-class– the last diesel-electric propelled attack submarines built by the U.S. Navy– were only a few feet longer than the test sub. Powered by Fairbanks-Morse diesels, the Barbels remained in fleet service as late as 1990.

Not to mention her features used on SSNs and SSBNs.

If you are in Portsmouth, please swing by the Albacore and pay her a visit.

If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO), Publishers of Warship International

They are possibly one of the best sources of naval study, images, and fellowship you can find. http://www.warship.org/membership.htm

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.

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Contract tea leaves

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Last Friday had a bunch of interesting contract announcements including $450M from the Army to General Atomics for a kind of undetailed drone award (Predator, Gray Eagle, or something better?), while the Navy dropped over $70 million split between Ingalls, Lockheed, Martin-Marietta, Bollinger, Austal, Gibbs, and Hadal to keep working on drone boats. Interesting, the latter of these is specifically for “using spiral winding technology to lower the cost of high-quality carbon fiber composite unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) hulls.”

This comes after at least four large unmanned surface vessels were used in the latest RIMPAC exercises this summer and the Royal Navy just welcomed a similar vessel– XV Patrick Blackett— into their fleet.

USV Sea Hunter at RIMPAC 2022

The announcements, should you be curious:

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, was awarded a $456,246,389 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering and technical services required to accomplish research, development, integration, test, sustainment and operation for unmanned aircraft systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 27, 2027. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-22-D-0025).

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a $13,071,106 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6319 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $ 15,071,106. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,998 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded an $11,320,904 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6320 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $15,070,904. Work will be performed in Moorestown New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,941 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, Wisconsin, is awarded a $10,212,620 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6317 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. Work will be performed in Marinette, Wisconsin, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,841 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC, Lockport, Louisiana, is awarded a $9,428,770 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6316 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $13,958,770. Work will be performed in Lockport, Louisiana, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,933 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Austal USA LLC, Mobile, Alabama, is awarded a $9,115,310 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6315 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $13,285,309. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September, 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,878 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Gibbs & Cox Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is awarded an $8,981,231 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6318 for continued studies of a large unmanned surface vessel. This contract modification includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract modification to $15,071,231. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $149,899 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Hadal Inc.,* Oakland, California, is awarded an $8,222,536 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Low Cost Spiral Wound Hull that supports multiple payloads. This contract provides for using spiral winding technology to lower the cost of high-quality carbon fiber composite unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) hulls. The contractor shall develop UUV hull designs and components suitable for spiral winding. In the base effort, the contractor shall develop and prototype the first generation spiral wound hulls, associated internal housings and payload deployment systems to assess the technology maturity. The contract also contains three unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $23,604,065. Work will be performed in Oakland, California, and is expected to be completed by July 28, 2026. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,222,536 are obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under N00014-22-S-B001 long range broad agency announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology dated Oct. 1, 2021. Since proposals are received throughout the year under the long range BAA, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-22-C-2023).

Outfitting the Angels

Also, with the 11th “Arctic Angels” Airborne Division being stood up in Alaska, there is lots of cold weather kit being ordered, which would seem to point to the U.S. Army getting serious about fighting in polar regions. This included $10M for CTAPS suits and another $9M for canteens that won’t freeze. Of note, the completion date on both is in next year rather than the more traditional five years. Take what you will from that:

SourceAmerica, Vienna, Virginia, was awarded a $10,622,966 firm-fixed-price contract for Cold Temperature and Arctic Protection System extreme cold weather suits. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Vienna, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of April 28, 2023. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $10,622,966 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911QY-22-C-0038).

SourceAmerica, Vienna, Virginia, was awarded a $9,099,930 firm-fixed-price contract for cold weather canteens. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Vienna, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $9,099,930 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911QY-22-C-0036).

Sprucan Desert Shield Watercolors

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While assigned to the Middle East Force from September to December 1990, the Pascagoula-built Spruance-class destroyer USS O’Brien (DD-975) participated in maritime interdiction as part of Operation Desert Shield. Conducting Persian Gulf patrols in support of the United Nations embargo on Saddam’s Iraq, O’Brien investigated over 400 vessels.

Aboard for part of that cruise was naval artist John Charles Roach who chronicled some of the work.

“50-Caliber Watch,” oil on canvas board, John Charles Roach, 1991. Two armed sailors in protective gear stand watch near a .50-caliber machine gun on board USS O’Brien (DD-975) in the Persian Gulf (91-049-D). “On the bridge wing of USS O’Brian (DD 975), two crewmen man the 50-caliber machine gun. They will fire cover during boarding for ship identification or a threat of small boat attack to the ship during the enforcement of sanctions against Iraq.”

“Interdiction and Confirmation,” watercolor by John Charles Roach, 1991. Maritime interdiction operations (MIO) in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield (99-049-C). “USS O’Brien (DD-975), is moving in close to the Star of South America. Only by a close look can USS O’Brien inspect the weld marks of the ship. Weld marks are as unique as a fingerprint in identifying a ship. USS O’Brien is looking to see if the name on the ship’s transom matches its welds, or if it has been altered recently in an attempt to disguise the ship.”

“Flight to Baghdad,” watching TLAMs head in at the beginning of Desert Storm. Watercolor on Paper; by John Charles Roach; 1991

“Up Romeo” Painting, Watercolor on Paper; by John Charles Roach; 1991

Decommissioned while still in her prime on 24 September 2004 with only 27 years on the Navy List, O’Brien was sunk as a target off Hawaii by USS Lake Erie (CG-70), HMCS Vancouver, and USN aircraft, on 9 February 2006.

A Night Raid

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“In this charcoal sketch by H.J. Mowat, six Canadians leave the trenches to go on a raid. Given the apparent absence of sandbags, they are possibly exiting from an advanced listening post. Under the moonlight, they will thread through their own wire and into No Man’s Land before slipping through the enemy’s wire and launching their attack. Raids could involve only a few soldiers sneaking quietly forward, like the one depicted here, or several hundred attacking with coordinated support from the artillery, mortars, and machine guns.”

Sketch by H.J. Mowat. Beaverbrook Collection of War Art. CWM 19710261-0431

Navy Turns to Charters to fill ATF/ARS/ATS roles

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Back in the day, the Navy ran its own salvage ships (ATS), salvage rescue ships (ARS), submarine rescue ships (ASR), and fleet tugs (ATF), amassing a giant fleet of such hard-working niche auxiliaries in the 1940s. However, in the general rush to save dollars after the end of the Cold War, the Navy transferred all the above to the civilian mariner-manned Military Sealift Command, thus removing any armament and converting them from commissioned ships on the NVR to cheaper-to-run non-commissioned naval ships, i.e., the USS Safeguard (ARS-50) became USNS Safeguard (T-ARS-50). Still haze gray, still underway, just with civilian crews on contract to MSC. Plus, it was thought the U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage could fly out equipment to commercial vessels as needed, because that is a valid line of thinking when the bullets start flying.

Of course, we’re not getting into the risk to civilian mariners manning such vessels in time of war, but nonetheless, the Navy has slowly allowed even this aging salvage, rescue, and tug force to wither away. Today, the MSC only has 14 of these Service Support (PM4) category ships, two of which are the hospital ships USNS Comfort and Mercy.

When it comes to tugs, there are the last two (of seven built in the 1970s-80s) Powhatan-class: USNS Catawba (T-ATF 168) and USNS Apache (T-ATF 172), with the latter recently retired but not disposed of yet. This is fleshed out by the 4,066-ton/276-foot MV Gary Chouest, manned on a long-term lease.

Submarine and SPECWAR support vessels include the leased MV Kellie Chouest, MV HOS Dominator, MV Malama, and the government-owned USNS Black Powder (T-AGSE 1), USNS Westwind (T-AGSE 2), USNS Eagleview (T-AGSE 3), and USNS Arrowhead (T-AGSE 4), all generally oil field supply boats purchased or leased from operators in the Gulf.

USNS Eagleview (T-AGSE 3) in her commercial guise as MV HOS Eagleview, an oilfield supply boat owned and operated by Hornbeck Offshore. 200819-N-IS698-0007

The only two salvage and rescue ships left are the two final 3,336-ton/255-foot Safeguard-class vessels USNS Grasp (T-ARS 51) and USNS Salvor (T-ARS 52). Commissioned in the mid-1980s, they were decommissioned and transferred to the MSC in 2006.

Sailors assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1, Company 1-6, embarked aboard the Military Sealift Command rescue and salvage ship USNS Salvor (T-ARS 52) work to complete a heavy lift of a 30-ton wrecked Korean vessel as part of Salvage Exercise (SALVEX) 2015. (U.S. Navy photo by Navy Diver 2nd Class Blake Florhe/Released)

With that, we have the following contract announcements made in the past week, specifically running the above-mentioned MV Gary Chouest and adding the MV HOS Rosebud from Hornbeck Offshore to the game:

Alpha Marine Services LLC, Cut Off, Louisiana, is awarded a $12,656,010 firm-fixed-price option (P00005) with reimbursable elements contract N3220521C4030 for the long-term charter of one U.S.-flagged Jones Act offshore supply vessel, MV Gary Chouest, to support Navy fleet requirements for towing, diving and salvage operations, submarine rescue, and training exercises. This contract includes a 12-month base period with two 12-month option periods, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $38,008,507. Work will be performed primarily in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to be completed, if all options are exercised, by July 29, 2024. Fiscal 2022 working capital (Navy) funds in the amount of $12,656,010 are obligated for the option period and will not expire. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website and two offers were received. The Navy’s Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220521C4030).

And:

Hornbeck Offshore Operators LLC, Covington, Louisiana, was awarded an $8,766,200 firm-fixed-price contract (N3220522C3102) for the operation and crewing of one Jones Act-qualified, U.S.-flagged vessel to support the Navy’s submarine fleet operational and rescue requirements. This contract includes one 182-day base period, one 182-day option period, and one 120-day option period, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $19,336,200. The vessel, HOS Rosebud, will provide support for Navy operations in the Atlantic Ocean. Working capital funds (Transportation) in the amount of $8,766,200 are obligated for fiscal 2022, and will expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the System for Award Management website, and one offer was received. The Navy’s Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220522C3102). (Awarded July 20, 2022)

The plan is to finally put much of the above out to pasture with the eight planned new Navajo-class rescue and salvage ships building at Bollinger and Austal.

At 5,100 tons they will be a much-needed shot in the arm for such neglected yet vital work, although they will still be MCS vessels.

190215-N-DM308-003 WASHINGTON (Jan. 29, 2019) An artist rendering of the future USNS Navajo (T-ATS 6). (U.S. Navy photo illustration/Released)

 

Museum ship adding to real-world training

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In the Western Pacific, both Australia and Japan could see an increase in American flattops crowding their ports in a time of heightened tensions. The thing is, likely opponents in the region who carriers and LHD/LHAs would be arrayed against field well-trained and likely very dedicated frogman forces who can use some decidedly old-school methods to keep such vessels sidelined.

So how do you train for that?

Well, Clearance Divers from the Royal Australian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force recently conducted a combined training activity, involving the clearance and removal of limpet mines, on the USS Midway Museum Ship in San Diego, California during the current Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022 exercises. Ex-USS Midway (CVB/CVA/CV-41) provides a great static training installation as the 1,000-foot long, 65,000-ton warship is the only supercarrier in the world that is preserved as a museum. 

Now that makes a lot of sense.

For those who always wanted a Bull Shark Gray S&W

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Smith & Wesson just dropped a new M&P Spec Series gun, an M2.0 Compact, that runs a factory threaded barrel, is red dot-ready, has 23-round mags, and uses a “Bull Shark Gray” scheme.

All this is very anti-S&W-like, and the 9mm doesn’t look that bad.

The M&P Spec Series kit includes an M&P knife that features a 4-inch Tanto-style blade, window breaker, and seat belt cutter. The folder has an overall length of 9 inches. Plus, you get a die-struck M&P Spec Series Challenge Coin. It all comes in a custom-fit case. Oh yes, there’s also the two 23-round 9mm magazines and one flush-fit 15-round magazine as well. (Photo: S&W)

The MSRP on the limited-edition Spec Series Pistol Kit is $799, which is almost double the amount of a standard M&P9 M2.0 Compact, but you don’t get the threads, the shark, the coin, the optics cut (chicks dig optics cuts), the extendos, or the blade for that price.

More details in my column at Guns.com.

Still Clocking in: Springfield 1903

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You know I gotta signal boost M1903s still on the front lines. As the last one was assembled in 1945, it always gives me a grin when I see one still at work, even if it is as a “bucket gun.”

Bonus as the receiver is the 110-foot Island-class patrol boat USCGC Tybee (WPB-1330) which, commissioned in 1989, only has a couple of seasons left in her before she shuffles off to some Third World partner for a second career under a different flag.

22 July 2022. Petty Officer 3rd Class Vincent Isaiah Pangelinan, a Gunner’s Mate aboard Coast Guard Cutter Seneca, fires the messenger line to pass the towing line to CGC Tybee during a towing evolution off the coast of Massachusetts. A messenger line is used to assist in heaving the mooring to the shore or to another ship. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Miller) VRIN 220722-G-ZZ999-001

Bill Wilson: 45 years of 1911 Goodness

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Founded in the back of his family’s jewelry store in 1977 to help support his competition pistol habit, Bill Wilson’s little custom gun shop has grown to become a household name and employs over 200 professionals in three states working with no less than five brands.

Bill Wilson was one of the original custom M1911 competitors back in the days when Chip McCormick was on the circuit and a Mickey Fowler was on the cover of American Handgunner beside a young Rob Leatham. 

Wilson, getting it done through the power of the John Holmes stache and ringer tee back in the days when bowling pins ran wild. (Photo: Wilson Combat)

Beginning with basic gunsmithing and parts, Wilson’s one-man operation grew quickly, and many of the world’s top pistol shooters were soon carrying guns with some of his ingredients. To this day, the Wilson Combat’s legendary 1911 magazines are the go-to for many and often ship as O.E. with some of the better .45s on the market today outside of WC’s own creations.

Today, Wilson Combat has grown a lot from that 10’x20′ area in the back his dad’s jewelry store, but they still like nice 1911s.

More in my column at Guns.com.

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