Tag Archives: uss zumwalt

Storis to Return, Zumwalt Floats, Arkansas Launches

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U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Storis during the run for a short-cut Northwest Passage prepares to send helicopters aloft on ice reconnaissance before proceeding eastward through Amundsen Gulf to Dolphin and Union Straits, Canadian Northwest Territory (July 23, 1957). 26-G-5782

The name USCGC Storis is one of the most hallowed to the Coast Guard.

Commissioned in 1942, the heavily-armed 230-foot icebreaker earned her chops in the “Weather War” against the Germans in Greenland, later became the first U.S. vessel to circumnavigate the North American continent after she cleared the Northwest Passage, and stood watch over Alaska– supporting the DEW Line and rebuffing Soviet interlopers during the Cold War. Once it thawed, she became the first foreign warship to visit the Russian Pacific Fleet bastion of Petropavlovsk since 1854.

Only narrowly escaping preservation as a museum ship following her decommissioning in 2007, the service has apparently bestowed the name on a much less noble successor.

Rather than holding out to name one of the big new Polar Security Cutters currently under construction, the USCG is apparently renaming the third-hand 360-foot oilfield support vessel Aiviq as USCGC Storis (WAGB-21), as detailed by images coming from Tampa Ship LLC in Florida, where she is undergoing a rushed conversion before entering federal service sometime in 2026.

Icebreaker Aiviq is now in USCG Icebreaker Red and carries the name Storis on its transom. (Source: GCaptain)

Icebreaker Aiviq is now in USCG Icebreaker Red and carries the name Storis on its transom. (Source: GCaptain)

The Coast Guard intends to permanently homeport the vessel in Juneau, Alaska, a departure from its longstanding tradition of basing icebreakers in Seattle.

China trembles. 

Meanwhile, in DDG-1000 news…

Some 16 months after arriving in Pascagoula, and with her original twin 155mm Advanced Gun Systems replaced with 12 new Conventional Prompt Strike missile tubes, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) undocked on 6 December and returned to the water of the Pascagoula River.

Zumwalt undocking, 6 December 2024, Pascagoula, HII photo

Zumwalt undocking, 6 December 2024, Pascagoula, HII photo

She will now undergo testing in the Gulf of Mexico before returning to the fleet and the (hopeful) IOC of her new hypersonic boost-glide weapon system.

Keep in mind that Zumwalt was laid down in 2011 and commissioned eight years ago, so it will be nice to finally see her with a set of teeth…eventually.

A deeper dive by Alex Hollings. 

Welcome Back, Razorback!

The 27th Virginia-class submarine, the future USS Arkansas (SSN 800), was christened Saturday at Newport News.

USS Arkansas was christened on the 83rd anniversary of Pearl Harbor. HII photo

It is a great name and it’s nice to see it on the NVR again, after a 26-year absence.

When commissioned, likely in 2026, the advanced Block IV boat will be the fifth warship to carry the name of The Natural State including the mighty Wyoming-class battleship (BB-33) and a Virginia-class nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser (CGN-41).

Of note, BB-33 was at anchor in Casco Bay on the sleepy Sunday morning of 7 December 1941, part of the Atlantic Neutrality Patrol, a task that spared her a spot on Battleship Row in Pearl that day.

She would be in the gunline off Normandy.

Opening the Attack Painting, Watercolor on Paper; by Dwight C. Shepler; 1944 D-Day. Arkansas is in the foreground, and French cruisers George Leygues and Montcalm are in the background. NHHC 88-199-ew

Once her work was done in Europe, she of course returned to the Pacific to support the landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Love Boat shows teeth

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Sigh…

There is really no way to sugar coat it, the USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) has been a pear-shaped embarrassment in terms of naval acquisition, making the LCS and Ford programs look squared away by comparison.

Awarded in 2008, DDG-1000 took eight years to complete, which is kinda shocking for a “destroyer” but of course isn’t when you keep in mind it is actually 14,800-tons, pushing into the size envelope of a WWII-era Baltimore-class heavy cruiser, making them the largest non-carrier surface asset constructed for the Navy since the 15,500-ton nuclear-powered USS Long Beach (CGN-9) commissioned in 1961.

The Zumwalts were to showcase two new weapons platforms, namely the 155 mm Advanced Gun System– which likely will never be operational in practice– and the MK 57 VLS, which uses four-cell missile packs spread along the peripheral edges of the vessel instead of the more traditional 8-cell VLS modules bunched fore and aft.

Mk-57 Peripheral Vertical Launching System (VLS), for now, unique to the Zumwalt-class destroyers

At least it looks like the MK 57 is (almost) up and running, with a test launch of an SM-2 at Point Mugu, on 13 October– notably just 72 hours short of the $4.4B Zumwalt’s 4th commissioning anniversary.

“Today’s successful firing event is a critical milestone in the maturation of this incredible ship class and represents the culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work and partnership of Zumwalt’s talented crew and the engineers, designers, and programmers helping us to bring her capabilities to the Fleet,” said Capt. Gary Cave, Zumwalt’s commanding officer. “It is a day we’ve been looking forward to and demonstrates the strides we are taking to add combat capability to our surface force.”

Star Wars, we are here

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(U.S. Navy photo by Andy Wolfe/Released)

(U.S. Navy photo by Andy Wolfe/Released)

CHESAPEAKE BAY, Md. (Oct. 17, 2016) Aircraft CF-02, an F-35 Lightning II Carrier Variant piloted by CDR Jonathan “Flopper” Murphy, attached to the F-35 Pax River Integrated Test Force (ITF) assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 completes a flyover of the recently commissioned guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) while a USCG 25-foot RBS escorts- and likely is the only one armed.

Now if only they can get them to work….

Welcome USS Michael Monsoor

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Sally Monsoor christens the future USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001)BATH, Maine (June 18, 2016) Sally Monsoor christens the future USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), which is named in honor of her son, Medal of Honor recipient Navy MA2 (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor. DDG-1001 includes new technologies and will serve as a multi-mission platform capable of operating as an integral part of naval, joint or combined maritime forces. (U.S. Navy photo 160618-N-NO101-002 courtesy of Bath Iron Works/Released)

Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor poses for a photo in Hawthorne Nev.. He was postumously awarded the MOH after he leap on a live grenade saving the lives of two fellow SEALs

Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor poses for a photo in Hawthorne Nev.. He was postumously awarded the MOH after he leap on a live grenade saving the lives of two fellow SEALs

MA2 Monsoor distinguished himself in by his actions on actions on Sept. 29, 2006

The ship named in his honor will be the second Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer and as such is huge.

How huge? Check this out when compared to the rest of the U.S. Navy’s destroyer lineage.

destroyer history american

Now that’s something you don’t see everyday

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The future USS Zumwalt DDG 1000 returned from the at-sea portion of INSURV acceptance trials last Thursday after two days underway at sea.

She is breathtaking.

U.S Navy photo

U.S Navy photo

And, at 600-feet oal and 14,500-tons, this new breed of destroyer is the size of a WWI predreadnought or a WWII heavy cruiser. 

And it shows.

Of course, the WPB is a small patrol boat and the perspective is forced, but the Zumwalt dwarfs her.

Of course, the WPB is a small patrol boat and the perspective is forced, but the Zumwalt dwarfs her.

She is set to commission 15 October and her first sistership, USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), is scheduled to be christened on 18 June.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyer DDG-115 USS Rafael Peralta under construction alongside Zumwalt-class destroyer DDG-1001 USS Michael Monsoor, at the Bath Iron Works shipyard. Again, note the size difference and keep in mind that Peralta is 512-feet long

Arleigh Burke-class destroyer PCU DDG-115 USS Rafael Peralta under construction alongside Zumwalt-class destroyer PCU DDG-1001 USS Michael Monsoor, at the Bath Iron Works shipyard. Again, note the size difference and keep in mind that Peralta is 512-feet long

USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001)

A blend of 19th and 21 Centuries

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The brand-spanking new destroyer USS Zumwald (DDG-1000) sailing by Fort Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec river in Maine, on it’s way to sea trials. All images by Ed Rice.

Destroyer USS Zumwald sailing by Fort Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec river, on it's way to sea trials. Images by Ed Rice 4 Destroyer USS Zumwald sailing by Fort Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec river, on it's way to sea trials. Images by Ed Rice 3 Destroyer USS Zumwald sailing by Fort Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec river, on it's way to sea trials. Images by Ed Rice 2 Destroyer USS Zumwald sailing by Fort Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec river, on it's way to sea trials. Images by Ed Rice
If you are curious, Fort Popham dates back to the 1850s when the granite block coastal defense post was constructed over what was an old  American Revolution and later War of 1812-era battery. Named for Popham colony leader George Popham, the Fort was armed in time for the Civil War (though never fully completed) and mounted 36 Rodman guns and some 10-inch Parrott rifles arranged in two tiers of vaulted casemates.

In latter part of the 19th Century these were replaced by some 15-inch Rodman “shipkillers” and a single 8-inch M1888 breechloader and the fort was maintained through the early 1900s when it was placed into caretaker status with the construction of more modern nearby Fort Baldwin (who in turn mounted 3x 6-inch M1900/M1905 guns and 2x 3-inch M1903s for use against minesweepers for her locally planted fields; later replaced by four 155 mm M1918 guns on Panama Mounts in WWII).

Both Baldwin and Popham were fully decommissioned by the Army by 1949 and turned over to the state of Maine who maintains them as historic sites.

Zumwalt christened

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The huge, first (and only?) destroyer of her kind, the USS Zumwalt, (DDG-1000) larger than most cruisers ever commissioned and many battleships, has now passed the christening milestone on Saturday.

The 610-foot, 15,000-ton USS Zumwalt is named after the late Admiral Elmo “Bud” Zumwalt. He served as the youngest Chief of Naval Operation in 1970.

Of course, she will be largely experimental when commissioned, but she is one of the few ships with enough electrical juice to make a rail-gun work, so this could very well be the USS Langley of the rail gun navy.

Stay tuned.

ORD_Rail_Gun_on_DDG-1000_Concept_lg

The Z-Boat Really Floats!

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Congratulations US Navy, you have the first new floating tumblehome hull battleship since the Battle of Tsushima in 1905!

131028-O-ZZ999-103
October 28th, 2013, — The 87% complete Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer PCU USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) is floated out of dry dock at the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard. The ship, the first of three Zumwalt-class destroyers, will provide independent forward presence and deterrence, support special operations forces and operate as part of joint and combined expeditionary forces. The lead ship and class are named in honor of former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo R. “Bud” Zumwalt Jr., who served as chief of naval operations from 1970-1974. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of General Dynamics/Released)

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Above is not the Zumwalt but the 12,300-ton (only 700-tons lighter than the Mighty Z-boat!) French battleship Charles Martel with her tumblehome hull. Construction date: 1891. Incidentally, the great graveyard of tumblehome battleships is in the waters between Japan and China. There in May of 1905, an upstart Asian naval force with borrowed technology sank a modern European one and made it look simple.

Now if the the US Navy can just get the magic guns to work on their new 13,000 ton ‘destroyer’  that has 20% fewer VLS cells than the current 1980s technology Burke class destroyers, and 40% fewer cells than the 1970s technology Ticonderoga-class cruisers in a larger hull, things will start to look a lot better and less like 1905.