One part of Louisiana is always Chennault’s

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The University of Louisiana Monroe has released an updated Brand Guide, which focuses on realigning the ULM brand with the story of the P-40 Warhawk aircraft, and in particular, those flown by the AVG and its later 23rd Fighter Group in WWII.

Of note, the U.S. military has granted ULM special permission to use a variation of the circa 1941 “meatball” roundel in ULM colors in perpetuity.

As noted by the school:

The new edition of the ULM Brand Guide introduces several new visual assets inspired by the P-40 Warhawk, the plane flown by General Claire Lee Chennault’s Flying Tigers of the American Volunteer Group in the Second Sino-Japanese War in China prior to WWII. Chennault is a Northeast Louisiana native whose connection to the area was a contributing factor to ULM selecting “Warhawks” as its new mascot in 2006.

Suitably, the Tigers of the AVG, though they flew for Chiang Kai-shek’s KMT, which lost its mainland China privileges in 1949, are still celebrated there, where the Liuzhou Military Museum has on exhibition more than 1,000 artifacts, from flight suits and arm patches to letters and diaries, honoring those men.

Fitting that Chennault said later in life:

It is my fondest hope that the sign of the Flying Tiger will remain aloft just as long as it is needed and that it will always be remembered on both shores of the Pacific as the symbol of two great peoples working toward a common goal in war and peace.

Claire Chennault, “Flying Tiger” P-40B Warhawk, Artist: Darrell Lum. USAF DF-SC-84-04112

Strongpoint

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Talk about pucker factor. It happened 75 years ago. 15 September 1950, “Somewhere in Korea,” but we know now it is in the newly established Inchon enclave.

Original Caption: “Marines with a bazooka and a protecting machine gun set up a security post against a possible tank counter-attack. 1st MarDiv. Korea.”

Photog: Sgt. Frank Kerr. 127-N-A2747. National Archives Identifier 5891325

Note the M20 3.5-inch “Super Bazooka” with a rocket loaded and at least four more on standby, as well as the M1919 air-cooled Browning .30 cal with three cans of belted ammo ready to go. All in all, at least a few minutes’ worth of “tough resistance” before these Devils had to be reinforced or fall back. Their jute bag protection, however, is more concealment than cover.

Rushed to Korea in July 1950, the Marines quickly fell in love with the new Super Bazooka, which replaced their smaller and much less effective 2.36-inch M9 Bazookas. Besides putting the T-34 on the menu, at least at close range, it proved useful in knocking out enemy bunkers and clumps of positions.

“Marine riflemen in the background stand by while their 3.5 bazooka man puts a round into a Communist position down the hill. This action took place in mopping-up operations in Korea.” 18 September 1950. From the Photograph Collection (COLL/3948), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections

Remembering, Hannah

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We are amid the 250th anniversary of the service of one of the most criminally forgotten naval vessels in history, with a family tree that gives it the roots of the U.S. Navy.

The 104-foot 78-ton schooner, Hannah, was the first armed vessel to sail under Continental pay and control.

Acquired on August 24, 1775, she was originally owned by patriot merchant John Glover of Marblehead and named after his wife.

Her first skipper was Nicholson Broughton, a captain in the Army, while her 42-man crew was recruited from Glover’s Marblehead Regiment, which later became the 21st Massachusetts Regiment and the 14th Continental Regiment. These Marblehead men, sailors all, were described as “soldiers who have been bred to the sea.”

Her armament was just four four-pounders, as the Continental Army was cannon-poor in 1775.

She was utilized to aid General Washington in his siege of Boston by capturing British provision ships making for the harbor from British ports.

The incentive, in Washington’s orders to Broughton, was prize pay:

For your own Encouragement & that of the other Officers & Men to Activity & Courage in this Service, over & above your Pay in the continental Army you shall be entitled to one third Part of the Cargo of every Vessel by you taken & sent into Port (military & naval Stores only excepted, which with Vessels & apparel are reserved for the publick Service)—which sd third Part is to be divided among the Officers & Men in the followg Proportions:
  • Captain 6 Shares
  • 1st Lieutt 5 Do
  • 2d Lieutt 4 Do1
  • Ship’s master 3 Do
  • Steward 2 Do
  • Mate 1½
  • Gunner 1½
  • Boatswain 1½
  • Gunner’s Mate & Sergt 1½
  • Privates 1 Share each

Schooner Hannah. Caption: Painting by John F. Leavitt. The original painting was donated by Mr. Reynolds Girdler to USS Glover (AGDE 1). John Glover of Marblehead, Massachusetts, was the owner of Hannah, and she was “the first armed vessel fitted out in the service of the United States, 5-7 September 1775.” NH 51097-KN

Model of the schooner Hannah, the first ship commissioned by the authority of the Continental Congress, September 1775. NH 51098

She outran two British ships in a short action on 5 September, the chief of which was the 20-gun post ship HMS Lively.

“Continental Navy Schooner Hannah Evades British Ships” Caption: Depicting action off Cape Ann, Massachusetts on 5 September 1775, in which the Continental Navy schooner Hannah evaded two British ships of war. The Hannah, under the command of Captain Nicholson Broughton, was one of the three schooners built by General George Washington for the purpose of intercepting ships with British supplies headed for Boston. Published in Origin of the American Navy by Henry E. White. NH 56403

Her sole success was on 7 September, when Hannah captured the hoy (sail-powered barge) HMS Unity with a cargo of naval stores and provisions.

“Capture of British Supply Ship Unity” depicts the action off Cape Ann, Massachusetts, on 7 September 1775, in which the Continental Navy schooner Hannah, under the command of Captain Nicholson Broughton, captured the British supply ship Unity. It was the first capture made by a Continental Navy vessel. NH 56405

While sailing on a similar mission, she ran ashore on 10 October by the sloop HMS Nautilus near Beverly. Her charter rate had been $1.00 per ton per month, and she was in service for two months and 21 days, at a total cost of $208.06.

Saved from destruction and capture, Hannah was “soon decommissioned as Washington found more suitable ships for his cruisers,” notes DANFS.

Washington’s fleet would grow to six cruisers, and fly the famous, Appeal to Heaven “pine tree flag. Beverly would prove the site for outfitting the second, third, fourth, sixth, and eighth vessels in Washington’s fleet, several of which were outfitted by Glover.

Meanwhile, Capt. Broughton later became regarded as the first commodore of the United States Navy when he led two armed schooners, Hancock (sometimes seen incorrectly as Lynch) and Franklin, on a not very successful raid along the Nova Scotia coast in October 1775.

And of course, all this before the recognized birthday of the Navy, which is 13 October 1775, with the authorization by Congress of the Continental Navy.

Australia Goes $1.12B Hard in the Remote Minisub Paint

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Palmer Luckey’s California-based Anduril Industries has developed its Ghost Shark XLAUV (Extra-Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) autonomous submarine from rough draft to finished product in three years.

Scalable, it can be anywhere from 20 feet to 98 feet oal with the sweet spot being the 39-ish foot variant, with a square cross-section that can carry and deploy “dozens” of Copperhead-100 class UUVs (or Copperhead-100M loitering munitions) and “multiple” Copperhead-500 class UUVs (or Copperhead-500M loitering munitions), also developed by Anduril.

The Australian government spent A$140M on the program in 2022, and Anduril has invested another $60M in a “sophisticated, robotic XL-AUV manufacturing facility in Australia, where employees are at work to produce entirely sovereign autonomous maritime platforms.”

Now, the Australian MoD has announced an A$1.7B (US$1.12B) Program of Record to deliver a fleet of Ghost Sharks, with production already underway. The five-year contract will support around 120 existing jobs and create more than 150 new jobs at Anduril Australia.

As noted by the company:

The reason for the magnitude of risk-taking in this enterprise is clear: the Ghost Shark’s entry into full-rate production marks the start of a new era of seapower through maritime autonomy. For years, Australia has faced the persistent and threatening presence of Chinese naval assets in its home waters. Ghost Shark is the instantiation of a Program of Record for AUVs that can directly address this challenge through coastal defense patrols and area-wide domain awareness powered by artificial intelligence at scale. Success in this effort would be a landmark opportunity to demonstrate the potential of autonomous seapower to address clear and urgent national security problems.

Ghost Shark can fit inside a 40-foot shipping container, which in turn can fly out on a C-17 or similar. The RAAF flew a prototype to Hawaii for last year’s RIMPAC.

The following is from Anduril on how the Copperhead/Ghost Shark combo can draw a “line in the sea,” so to speak.

Sea denial, 21st Century style.

Vale, McLane

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The fourth cutter to bear the name McLane (after vessels commissioned in 1832, 1845, and 1865) was commissioned in 1927 as WSC-146 (later WMEC-146).

A 125-foot “Buck and a Quarter,” she was built to take on rumrunners during Prohibition.

Five 125-foot cutters at Charleston Navy Yard, Boston, late 1920s. Boston Public Library Leslie Jones Collection.

Five 125-foot cutters at the Charleston Navy Yard, Boston, in the late 1920s, including, from the outside, the USCGC Fredrick Lee, General Green, and Jackson. Boston Public Library Leslie Jones Collection.

Painted haze grey and with her armament significantly stepped up, she served on the Bering Sea Patrol during WWII.

Heavily occupied with convoy escort work, anti-submarine patrols, screening duties, and rescuing both vessels and aircraft in distress, the McLane and her crew are often credited with sinking the Japanese submarine Ro-32 (or possibly the Soviet sub Shch-138!) in July 1942 and a multiple-person rescue of a downed Lockheed Electra in February 1943, among several other notable actions.

Original caption: Coast Guard Lieut. Ralph Burns (right) of Ketchikan, Alaska, is presented the Legion of Merit Medal by Coast Guard Capt. F.A. Zeusler (left), commanding officer of the Alaskan Coast Guard District, in ceremonies at Ketchikan. Coast Guard Commander G.F. Hicks (center), Ketchikan base commander, witnessed the presentation. The award was made by Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox on behalf of the President. The medal was awarded for “exceptionally meritorious conduct” during an action in North Pacific waters in which the U.S. Coast Guard cutter McLane, with Lieutenant Burns in command, eliminated a Japanese submarine with depth charges. It was the first Japanese sub sunk in Alaskan waters.” National Archives Identifier 205588237

McLane was awarded one Battle Star for her World War II service.

125 ft. Active-class “Buck and a Quarters,” via 1946 Janes

Switching back to her white and buff scheme post-war, she was based in California until decommissioned in December 1968, capping 41 years in the service.

125-foot “buck and a quarter” USCGC McLane (W146) in her post-WWII scheme. Note her 40mm Bofors, circa 1962

Mothballed at the US Coast Guard Yard for less than a year, the McLane was sold to the Marine Navigation and Training Association of Chicago in November 1969, who operated her as a school and instruction ship for Sea Scouts on the waters of Lake Michigan into the early 1990s. She was then acquired by the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum in 1993 (now known as the USS Silversides Submarine Museum) and began her third career as a museum ship in Muskegon.

That final chapter has now closed, and with her 98-year-old hull increasingly unstable, the museum has “de-assessed” McLane, towing her off to the breakers last week.

As noted by the museum:

The vessel, which had been closed to the public since spring 2025 due to ongoing maintenance concerns, was towed away with the support of dedicated community partners. After nearly a century of service in both salt and fresh water, the McLane’s condition had deteriorated to the point of being inaccessible for public touring and beyond the scope of feasible preservation.

Despite efforts to explore alternative preservation options, the museum ultimately determined that continued stewardship of the McLane was no longer sustainable. With the cold season approaching, the combination of time, weather, and structural decline made timely action necessary to ensure the safety of the vessel and the surrounding environment.

One of 33 Active-class cutters, McLane’s only remaining sister afloat, the former USCGC Morris (WPC-147/WSC-147/WMEC-147), was saved from the scrappers by the Vietnam War Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas, in 2021 and is being restored to sailing condition.

Two of the class, USCGC Jackson (WSC-142) and Bedloe (WSC-128), capsized going to the aid of a torpedoed freighter in the Great Atlantic Hurricane of September 1944.

CZ? Czech! Company Grabs $205 million Czech Army Contract

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The Prague-based Colt CZ Group announced this week it had signed a new agreement with the Czech Ministry of Defense running through 2031.

The 4.26 billion kroner ($205 million) contract covers BREN 2 rifles, P-10 C pistols, GL 40mm grenade launchers, and a wide range of accessories, including optics, spare parts, armorer kits, holsters, and cases. It expands on a relationship that goes back to 2011, when the Czech Army began replacing its Cold War-classic vz. 58 rifle with the original CZ 805 BREN.

CZ is supplying the Czech military with the bulk of its small arms needs, from 9mm P-10 pistols to 40mm grenade launchers. (Photos: Czech Army)

“Our firearms have long proven their reliability and quality in real combat conditions,” said Jan Zajíc, CEO of CZ. “We utilize this experience to make continuous improvements and develop new generations of our products.”

As noted by the Czech defense minister’s office, the news of the CZ contract comes amid a multi-year 510 billion kroner modernization effort that includes not only small arms but also 24 F-35A Lightning fighters from the U.S., 77 Leopard 2A8 tanks from Germany, 250 Pandur EVO 8x8s from Finland, and 246 Swedish CV90 infantry fighting vehicles.

A member of NATO since 1999, joining the same year as former Warsaw Pact allies Poland and Hungary, the country is nervously boosting defense spending amid concerns of an aggressive Russia to the East.

Hat’s Off!

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Members of the 3rd Co., Coast Artillery Reserve Corps, firing a 12-inch M1888MII gun at Fort Worden’s Battery Ash, overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, during summer camp, 1914. The round being fired is likely a rarely shot service round as opposed to a practice round, so more powder is involved.

Photo from Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum collection

Constructed during the Endicott Period of coastal defenses sparked by the Spanish-American War, Battery Ash was constructed between 1899 and 1902. At the time of operation, it was outfitted with five 10-inch and two 12-inch guns in barbette carriages, the latter of which had a range of 10 miles when firing a 1,070-pound armor-piercing shell. These were aimed towards the West, the expected entry point of the enemy.

The last of the big guns at Fort Worden were deactivated in late 1942, hopelessly obsolete, and were removed in 1944, cut up to be used as scrap iron for the war effort. None of the guns or mortars at the Harbor Defenses of Puget Sound ever fired a shot in anger – only for practice.

During their four-decade career, each of the big 12-inchers at Worden only fired about 70 rounds in practice, an average of less than two shots per year.

USCG Ups 154-foot Cutter Buy to 77 Hulls, PSU Boat Raiders, and HITRON Marks 1,000 ‘kills’

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The Coast Guard’s 2004 Program of Record for its planned Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter (FRC) program was “24 to 36 hulls.”

That was then.

Envisioned to replace 49 aging 110-foot 1980-90s vintage Island class patrol cutters (WPBs), 12 of which had been ruined in a botched lengthening modification, the new ships would be 30 percent longer, at 154-feet, and nearly twice the tonnage.

110-foot Island class cutters compared to the new 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class FRCs

Powered by two 5,800 shp MTU diesels (double the plant of the 110s), the FRCs also had 50 percent greater unrefueled range (2,900nm vs 1,882nm), a much better cutter boat (a stern dock launched jet drive 26-footer vs a davit deployed 18-footer with an outboard), better habitability, sensors, commo, and better guns (a gyro-stabilized remote fired Mk 38 Mod 2/3 25mm with an EO/IR sensor system and 4-6 M2s/Mk19s vs an unstabilized eyeball-trained Mk 38 Mod 0 and two M2s).

Plus, they had larger crews, at 4 officers, 4 POs, and 16 ratings, vs 2/2/12, which meant more hands could be sent away on landing details.

This meant they would be rated as WPCs instead of WPBs, akin to the Navy’s similar 170-foot Cyclone-class PCs.

MIAMI — The Coast Guard Cutter Webber, the Coast Guard’s first Sentinel Class patrol boat, arrives at Coast Guard Sector Miami Feb. 9, 2012. The 154-foot Webber is a Fast Response Cutter capable of independently deploying to conduct missions such as ports, waterways, and coastal security, fishery patrols, drug and illegal migrant law enforcement, search and rescue, and national defense along the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the Caribbean. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Sabrina Elgammal.

The lead FRC delivered, USCGC Bernard C. Webber (WPC-1101), commissioned in April 2012, while the last 110s to leave Coast Guard service did so this summer, at which point the FRCs, which have proven extremely handy, even on long-ranging blue water cruises in the Pacific, had 58 hulls in service with another nine under contract.

A big jump from 24-36!

The truth is, the USCG is pressing these new 154-footers into the gap left by their aging 210-270-foot blue-water medium-endurance cutter fleet. Mission whackamole.

Classmember USCGC Oliver Berry (WPC-1124) completed a nearly 9,300-nautical-mile, 45-day round-trip patrol from Hawaii to Guam in 2020 and followed it up with a 46-day patrol in 2024. At the same time, several of these hulls are self-deploying 7,700 miles from Key West to new home ports in Alaska.

There have been repeated calls for the Navy to purchase members of the class for use in littoral operations, as the cutter has sufficient weight and space to mount a Naval Strike Missile box launcher with four tubes at the stern.

Now, the CG has upped the $65 million per-cutter Sentinel class program to 77 hulls, with a 10-ship buy announced this week.

“Since its introduction to the fleet in 2012 as the successor to the 110-foot Island class patrol boat, the Fast Response Cutter has consistently proven its capabilities, adaptability, and effectiveness in a wide range of maritime environments and Coast Guard missions,” said RADM Mike Campbell, the Coast Guard’s Director of Systems Integration and Chief Acquisition Officer.

PSU Boat Raiders!

As part of Arctic Edge 2025, an element of 3rd Bn, 4th Marines, 1st MARDIV teamed up with Long Beach, California-based USCGR Port Security Unit 311 to use their 32-foot Transportable Port Security Boats to conduct a boat raid on a “simulated enemy port” at Port Mackenzie, Alaska.

A sort of budget SWCC/SEAL kind of arrangement.

The SWCC we have at home, if you will.

U.S. Coast Guardsmen with Port Security Unit 311, and U.S. Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, depart after conducting an amphibious raid on a simulated enemy port during ARCTIC EDGE 2025 (AE25) at Port Mackenzie, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Earik Barton)

U.S. Coast Guardsmen with Port Security Unit 311, and U.S. Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, conduct an amphibious raid on a simulated enemy port during ARCTIC EDGE 2025 (AE25) at Port Mackenzie, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2025. The raid was conducted to demonstrate joint-service interoperability in an austere environment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Earik Barton)

U.S. Coast Guardsmen with Port Security Unit 311, and U.S. Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, conduct an amphibious raid on a simulated enemy port during ARCTIC EDGE 2025 (AE25) at Port Mackenzie, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2025. The raid was conducted to demonstrate joint-service interoperability in an austere environment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Earik Barton)

U.S. Coast Guardsmen with Port Security Unit 311, and U.S. Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, conduct an amphibious raid on a simulated enemy port during ARCTIC EDGE 2025 (AE25) at Port Mackenzie, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2025. The raid was conducted to demonstrate joint-service interoperability in an austere environment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Earik Barton)

Keep in mind that something like this could be in the toolbox in a future conflict.

Capable of 45 knots on a pair of inboard diesels, the TPSBs carry two .50 cals and two M240B GPMGs. Girded with ballistic panels, they have shock-mitigating seats and can carry as many as eight passengers in addition to a four-man crew. It looks like each carried a half-squad or so of Marines. Each PSU has six TPSBs, allowing a theoretical raid force of 72, exclusive of crews.

The boats have an over-the-horizon capability and range of 238nm, meaning they can be used as an easily deployable blocking/interdiction force in a littoral if needed.

HITRON hits 1K

Finally, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Jacksonville-based Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) achieved a significant milestone in its counter-drug mission, completing its 1,000th interdiction of suspected narco-trafficking vessels on 25 August.

Since its founding in 1999, HITRON has interdicted $33.2 billion in illicit drugs during operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and over the past 26 years, it has averaged one interdiction every nine days.

Not bad numbers for less than 200 Coasties, including reservists and auxiliaries, and a dozen MH-65E Dolphins, whose base airframes are 40 years old!

Coast Guard crews from the Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team – South, Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757), helicopter tie-down members, and unmanned aerial vehicle personnel pose for a group photo aboard Midgett from behind three bullet-damaged outboard engine cowlings while underway in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Aug. 28, 2025. On Aug. 25, HITRON used airborne use of force to stop the non-compliant vessel, marking the unit’s 1,000th drug interdiction since the unit’s inception in 1999, which resulted in Midgett crew members seizing approximately 3,606 pounds of suspected cocaine worth an estimated $46 million and apprehending six suspected narco-traffickers. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

The rearview on 18 months with the Rost Martin RM1C

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We weren’t sure what to expect when the Rost Martin RM1C was first announced at SHOT ’24. Was it going to be a made-in-Turkey import with someone else’s name on it? A “game-changing” G19 Gen 3 clone but without its muse’s reliability? A vaporware gun that ever left the drawing board?

No, after 18 months and 1,500 rounds, we found it to be a solid American-made (from the land of Whataburger and Buc-ee’s, no less) double-stack 9 with lots of backend support and a lineage drawn from a proven design. Affordable, we found it dependable, accurate, and intuitive in use.

Plus, it is optics-ready.

That big ole Trijicon RCR actually costs about twice what the gun does, but both work.

About the only rocks we could toss its way were in the safety tab in the trigger shoe, which we have talked about and is easily overcome with a bit of training, and the very stout recoil spring, which is common in a lot of striker-fired pistols of its size.

Full review in my column over at Guns.com.

Never Forget

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19 October 1984: The Twin Towers dot the Gotham skyline as crackerjack-wearing gunners mates stand at attention on USS Iowa’s (BB 61) No. 1 16″/50 gun turret as the battleship approaches the southern end of Manhattan during a scheduled port visit to New York City shortly after the dreadnought was recommissioned for the third (and final) time. Note the full-color recognition flag on the roof of the gun house.

U.S. Navy photo DNST8505245 by PH1 Jeff Hilton, NARA 330-CFD-DN-ST-85-05245

Two other views from the same photographer that day, including a cameo by the Staten Island Ferry.

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