Last of the Cacines

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Here we see the Portuguese Navy Cacine-class coastal patrol vessel patrol craft (patrulha) NRP Zaire (P1146) off the African archipelago nation of Sao Tome e Príncipe, a former colonial possession of Portugal which maintains strong economic and military ties with Lisbon.

Built in 1969 as part of a class of 10 vessels, she has been used in fisheries protection role (SIFICAP) and search and rescue (SAR) roles in addition to defense patrol taskings, the Cacine-class replaced the WWII-era craft used by the Portuguese until the disco era and were built at Estaleiros Navais do Mondego (Figueira da Foz, Portugal) and the Arsenal do Alfeite over a half-decade period.

Some 157-feet long overall, they could float in 7 feet of saltwater. These 300-ton OPVs were powered by a pair of Maybach (later MTU) diesel engines which gave them enough speed (20-knots) to overtake poaching trawlers and illegal coasters landing guns to African rebel groups (Portugal was involved in a series of crazy colonial brush wars when the Cacines were produced). To help with their tasking on Africa patrol, they had a decent range of some 4,500nm.

In the interest of saving cash, the Portuguese used recycled WWII deck guns for these boats and gave each Cacine a 40mm/L60 Bofors single forward and a 20mm/80 Oerlikon over the rear along with a pair of MG3 machine guns.

NRP Cacine (P 1140), with her Bofors, forward.

Bring on the kamikazes! 

Over the past several years, all of the Cacines have been put to pasture, replaced by the new and significantly larger (1,600-ton/272-feet) Viana do Castelo-class OPV

Zaire was the final to go, is decommissioning this month and her crew final crew is being decorated by the Sao Tome government for their efforts at saving lives and stopping poachers.

SMGs are white hot again, in an NFA-compliant format if nothing else

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LWRC International is best known for its high-end AR platforms. That makes their new offering kinda neat divergence from that. I give you, the SMG-45:

LWRCI SMG45 c

David Golladay, LWRCI’s marketing director, told me that the SMG, as its name would imply, originated as a select-fire submachine gun for a military customer, complete with a folding stock. This month’s NFA-compliant release doesn’t need a tax stamp and is pitched to the discerning gun owner as the first installment of a broader pistol caliber carbine series.

It’s got a lot of things going for it, like a folding brace, UMP-style mags, and a compact (15.3-inches with the brace folded) envelope. Plus, chambered in .45ACP, it is subsonic all day and suppressor ready right out of the box.

More in my column at Guns.com

Talisman Sabre ’19

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I just love PHOTOEX shots!

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Anaid Banuelos Rodriguez)

TASMAN SEA (July 11, 2019) The U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), top left, the U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), left, the Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Regina (FFH 334), center, the Royal Australian Navy Canberra-class landing helicopter dock ship HMAS Canberra (L02), top right, and the Legend-class cutter USCGC Stratton (WMSL 752), right, transit by the amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD 20) in a photo exercise (PHOTOEX) during Talisman Sabre 2019. Green Bay, part of the Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group, with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is currently participating in Talisman Sabre 2019 off the coast of Northern Australia. A bilateral, biennial event, Talisman Sabre is designed to improve U.S. and Australian combat training, readiness and interoperability through realistic, relevant training necessary to maintain regional security, peace, and stability.

That TC 3-20.40, though

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You know this target. The necessary evil that is the 25 Meter Alternate Course “C” target:

25 Meter Alternate Course C

Used a lot (especially in the Guard and Reserve) across the Army, the idea is that this bad boy, when shot at 25M, keeps those with M16s/M4s up to date on their rifle qual out to 300M. While it is better than nothing, it is really lackluster as a training tool and gauge of a rifleman’s skill. Its only saving grace is that it can be used on small (pistol) ranges, which are far more common than a nice 300M+ rifle range, with a minimum of range control support, thus giving Joes something better than just holding a FATS/EST trainer and listening to the sound of compressed air.

The good news is that the 25M ACT is headed on its way out the door (to some degree), replaced by the new TC 3-20.40 training strategy for the rifle, carbine, and automatic rifle qualification. A video from Ft. Benning covers the new course, below. While it is a little dry, it is still interesting and a welcome change.

Three greyhounds, fitting out

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While putting my kayak in at the Point in Pascagoula, I saw these three across the way at Ingalls SB’s West Bank.

Three greyhounds, fitting out USS John Basilone (DDG-122) USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119) USS Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG-123) Ingalls Eger July 2019 3000

(Photo by Chris Eger)

PCU USS John Basilone (DDG-122) is afloat and fitting out to the far left, with her bow forward. Meanwhile, PCU USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119) is in the center, showing off her stern and twin helicopter hangar. To the far right, with her bridge visible between the cranes, is PCU USS Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG-123), which is still land-bound and nearing launch.

They are named for the famous Marine machine gun Rembrandt of Henderson Field, the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) and the Superintendent of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps during World War I.

All three are Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, the 72nd, 70th and 73rd such ships, respectively, of that huge tin can family. All are what the Navy calls “technology insertion” ships, containing elements of the Flight III ships, projected to begin with DDG-124.

Flying with guns: What not to do

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Airlines and the TSA are pretty humorless when it comes to flying with guns, no matter how funny you are, but that shouldn’t keep you from flying with one in your checked bag.

As part of my job, I spent a lot of time living out of suitcases. While I prefer to drive, on trips longer than a 500nm radius of Biloxi I wind up having to catch a plane– which I abhor.

As I generally like to carry wherever I am going, something that I have done virtually every day since about 1992, this gave me lots of sour experiences with airlines and, post-9/11, TSA.

My lessons learned in this lengthy article at Guns.com.

What a difference 7 months makes

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This throwback picture from 77 years ago today shows Pearl Harbor on a war footing just over a half-year after its Day That Will Live In Infamy.

It is of the fabled fleet carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6), taken 12 July 1942 off Ford Island. She would leave Pearl just three days after this image was taken to join TF 61 to support the amphibious landings in the Solomon Islands.

NH 83990

Note Grumman F4F Wildcat on barge aft alongside, also extensive anti-torpedo nets and well-camouflaged buildings on Ford Island. The slick shown in the water is likely from the battleships sunk on Dec. 7, 1941, which were being salvaged at the time.

For reference, planes from Enterprise had just a month before at the Battle of Midway attacked and disabled the Japanese carriers, Kaga and Akagi, leaving them ablaze, then followed up by doing the same to the carrier Hiryu and cruiser Mikuma. All three of the flattops had been in the attack on Pearl.

Just hailing a ride on a Narco Sub

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In the bonkers short video below, you see a U.S. Coast Guard Deployable Specialized Forces TACLET guy deployed on the U.S. Coast Guard Legends-class National Security Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) going for a ride on a 31-foot Long Range Interceptor “somewhere in the Eastern Pacific.”

Said Coastie makes a perfect landing on what JIATF-South calls “a self-propelled semi-submersible suspected drug smuggling vessel (SPSS)” but best just known as a Narco-Sub. The below happened June 18, 2019.

This is the SPSS when surfaced, to give a scale at just how much of the hull was below the sea:

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) crew members inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible June 19, 2019, in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. U.S. Coast Guard photo

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) crew members inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible June 19, 2019, in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. U.S. Coast Guard photo

Just two weeks after the above video was shot, crewmembers of the USCGC Mohawk (WMEC 913) and Tactical Law Enforcement Team South interdicted a second SPSS while conducting counter-trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific.

(Coast Guard Photos)

The Coast Guard hasn’t been this busy fighting submarines since the Germans!

Want to fly a historic boat? (As-is-where-is)

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This bad boy is the experimental “hydrofoil sub chaser” USS High Point (PCH-1) out of the water on the West Coast going for a flight with her hull above the water.

NHHC L45-125.04.01

Built by Boeing for the Navy, she was constructed by J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corporation, Tacoma, WA and launched 17 August 1962.

The Navy's first hydrofoil submarine chaser, USS High Point (PCH-1), nears completion at the J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corporation, Tacoma, WA. In this photograph the after foil and starboard nacelle are visible. Accession #: L45 Catalog #: L45-125.04.02

The Navy’s first hydrofoil submarine chaser, USS High Point (PCH-1), nears completion at the J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corporation, Tacoma, WA. In this photograph the after foil and starboard nacelle is visible. Accession #: L45 Catalog #: L45-125.04.02

According to DANFS, the 115-foot craft was named after the North Carolina city and:

High Point is the first of a series of hydrofoil craft designed to evaluate the performance of this kind of propulsion in the modern Navy. She has three submerged foils containing propulsion nacelles and propellers and is also capable of riding on her hull like a more conventional ship. On her foils, High Point is capable of very high-speed operation and can add mobility and flexibility to America’s antisubmarine forces. The craft carried out tests in Puget Sound from 1963 through 1967.

"Flying" above the surface of Puget Sound, the United States Navy's first patrol craft - hydrofoil, USS High Point (PCH-1), demonstrates the lift capability of her wholly submerged, wing-like foils. The submarine chased is designed for speeds in excel of 50 miles an hour (80 km-h) and, with an automatic control system closely akin to an airplane's autopilot, provides a swift and stable platform in seas virtually as high as the length of its foil struts. July 5, 1963. Accession #: L45 Catalog #: L45-125.04.04

“Flying” above the surface of Puget Sound, the United States Navy’s first patrol craft – hydrofoil, USS High Point (PCH-1), demonstrates the lift capability of her wholly submerged, wing-like foils. The submarine chased is designed for speeds in excel of 50 miles an hour (80 km-h) and, with an automatic control system closely akin to an airplane’s autopilot, provides a swift and stable platform in seas virtually as high as the length of its foil struts. July 5, 1963. Accession #: L45 Catalog #: L45-125.04.04

She later was used in testing Harpoons off her stern, which would lead to the Pegasus-class PHMs.

Nanoose, Canada – the hydrofoil submarine chaser, USS High Point (PCH-1), launches an AGM-84A harpoon anti-ship missile during a test to evaluate the prototype canister launching system on a hydrofoil platform. January 1974. Catalog #: KN-21507

The Coast Guard even utilized the vessel, then with a lot of miles on her twin Rolls Royce Proteus gas turbines, in a series of tests that ended up with a blown engine.

428-GX-K108129 Patrol Craft, Hydrofoil, USS High Point (PCH-1) underway during a search and rescue exercise off San Francisco by JOC(AC) Warren Grass, 25 April 1975

(428-GX-K108129) Patrol Craft, Hydrofoil, USS High Point (PCH-1) underway during a search and rescue exercise off San Francisco by JOC(AC) Warren Grass, 25 April 1975

Put in mothballs, she was stricken by the Navy in 1980 (although still used off and on for testing and not sold by MARAD until 1991) and has passed through a series of private owners over the past 40 years. Today, she is available for sale in the Portland region (Tounge Point) for what would seem to be a bargain price ($74,900).

The good news is: she floats.

The bad news is: she is an almost 60-year-old experimental craft that hasn’t operated as she was designed for most of that. While she still has her auxiliary 12V-71 450hp Detriot Diesel still installed for propulsion, it is not in working order. Also, the years have not been kind to her.

Still, if you have the dough to buy her and refurb her, she could be the world’s coolest live-aboard yacht. I would pick her up for LSOZI’s West Coast office if I had that kind of cash.

Anyway, full details at POP Yachts. 

From soldier’s souvenir to soldier’s arm

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This very early Lee-Enfield India Pattern Mk 1 .303-caliber bolt action cavalry carbine was issued to Indian Volunteer Force mounted units of the era.

Lee-Enfield India Pattern Mk 1 .303 inch bolt action cavalry carbine issued to Assam Valley Light Horse, 1905 reissued for Home Guard WWII

NAM. 1973-09-20-1

This particular specimen was produced at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield and issued to the Assam Valley Light Horse Regiment. With its headquarters at Dibrugarh in the state of Assam, the AVLH was formed in 1891, largely from local Europeans amalgamated from four previously raised troop-sized dragoon units (the Sibsager Mounted Rifles, Darrang Mounted Rifles, Lakhimpur Mounted Rifles, and Newgong Mounted Rifles.) Some members of the unit served in the Boer Wars as part of Lumsden’s Horse.

The rifle was presented to Lt.Col. James Stenhouse Elliot, VD, in 1905 on the occasion of his retirement from the Indian forces (he is listed on the Indian Army’s reserve list with an 1879 rank date).

Lee-Enfield India Pattern Mk 1 .303 inch bolt action cavalry carbine issued to Assam Valley Light Horse, 1905 reissued for Home Guard WWII

The good Lt.Col. Stenhouse Elliot likely took the rifle back to England with him, where it was pressed into service during WWII with the Britsh Home Guard and, in the initial stages of the formation of “Dad’s Army” it was likely one of the most modern weapons in the armory.

The first muster from the fictional Dad’s Army, which was based on the very real story of the British Home Guard

It is now in the collection of the National Army Museum. 

As for the AVLH, they were part of the British Indian Army’s cavalry reserve and never deployed as a unit, although members did volunteer for service in both World Wars and against the Abors in 1911-12. They were disbanded after India’s independence in 1947.

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