John Currin
15 years in Royal New Zealand Navy
USS Kwajalein_(CVE-98)
USS Kwajalein (CVE-98), formerly Bucareli Bay, was a Casablanca class escort carrier of the United States Navy.
It was launched on 4 May 1944, by the Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Washington, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. Rudolf L. Johnson; acquired by the Navy on 7 June 1944, and commissioned the same day, Commander R. C. Warrack in command.
Service history
After shakedown along the West Coast, Kwajalein cleared San Pedro, California on 19 July 1944, bound for Espiritu Santo with passengers and a cargo of fuel and planes. Arriving on 3 August, she sailed 4 days later to transport aircraft to Guam and pick up salvaged Japanese equipment for intelligence studies in the United States.
Following repairs at San Diego, Kwajalein got underway on 7 October for operations as replenishment carrier. She loaded combat-ready aircraft at Manus Island and sailed for Eniwetok on 5 November to replenish the carriers of Task Force 38 (TF 38) as they prepared for raids on Manila and the Visayas. Continuing operations from Ulithi, Kwajalein furnished the big carriers with the planes needed to drive the Japanese out of the Philippines. In January 1945, replacement aircraft flew from her decks to TF 38 flat tops for strikes on enemy air bases on Formosa and the China coast. Kwajalein returned to San Diego on 23 February for overhaul and additional aircraft before resuming operations on 9 March.
From March–August Kwajalein carried aircraft on three cruises from Pearl Harbor to the western Pacific, keeping carrier-based air groups at full strength for the massive carrier raids on the Japanese home islands. With the cessation of hostilities on 14 August 1945, the carrier was assigned the task of returning Pacific veterans to the United States. She made four cruises to the Pacific Islands before arriving at San Pedro on 2 February 1946, from her final Operation Magic Carpet mission. On 23 April, Kwajalein cleared San Pablo Bay for Mukilteo, Wash., arriving there 3 days later. She decommissioned at Tacoma, Washington on 16 August, and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 April 1960, and she was scrapped in Japan the following year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kwajalein
USS EDISTO, LYTTLETON, New Zealand 1957
USS Edisto (AGB-2) was a Wind-class icebreaker in the service of the United States Navy and was later transferred to the United States Coast Guard as USCGC Edisto (WAGB-284). She was named after Edisto Island, South Carolina. The island is named after the Native American Edisto Band who inhabited the island and the surrounding area. As of 2011 there is a namesake cutter USCGC Edisto (WPB-1313). The newer Edisto is a 110-foot Island-class patrol boat and is stationed in San Diego County, California.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Edisto_(WAGB-284)
HMS Diamond and US warships repel largest Houthi attack to date in Red Sea
James Knuckey
10th January 2024 at 9:22am
HMS Diamond, along with US warships, has repelled the largest attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea to date, the Defence Secretary has announced.
Grant Shapps said the Type 45 destroyer shot down seven attack drones using her Sea Viper missiles and guns.
No injuries or damage was sustained to Diamond or her crew – the ship is in the region as part of an international coalition to protect shipping.
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In a statement shared on X, Mr Shapps said: “Overnight, HMS Diamond, along with US warships, successfully repelled the largest attack from the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea to date.
“Deploying Sea Viper missiles and guns, Diamond destroyed multiple attack drones heading for her and commercial shipping in the area, with no injuries or damage sustained to Diamond or her crew.
“The UK alongside allies have previously made clear that these illegal attacks are completely unacceptable and if continued the Houthis will bear the consequences.
“We will take the action needed to protect innocent lives and the global economy.”
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HMS DIAMOND, along with US warships, has repelled the largest attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea to date.
Destroying multiple attack drones with her guns and sea viper missiles. pic.twitter.com/kFjFKj6TM6— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) January 10, 2024
The US Central Command said 18 one-way attack drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile were shot down by F/A-18 fighter jets from aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower, destroyers USS Gravely, USS Laboon and USS Mason, plus HMS Diamond.
Central Command said it was a “complex attack” launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the southern Red Sea, towards international shipping lanes where dozens of merchant vessels were transiting.
The command reported no injuries or damage and said this is the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since 19 November.
Watch: Sea Viper explained
//players.brightcove.net/2685123856001/Hy7Zehglog_default/index.html?videoId=6343610974112
The incident is the second time HMS Diamond has repelled attacks since being deployed to the Red Sea.
In December, Diamond used her Sea Viper missile system to shoot down a suspected attack drone believed to be targeting merchant shipping.
It was the first time since the Gulf War in 1991 that the Royal Navy had engaged and destroyed a hostile aerial target.
Overnight @HMSDiamond alongside US vessels repelled the largest and most complex attack by Houthis in the Red Sea to date.
Nearly 15% of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea.
Attacks to commercial shipping jeopardise the movement of goods worldwide. pic.twitter.com/ihOoyK7Hje— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) January 10, 2024
Overnight, the largest Houthi attack to date in the Red Sea was successfully repelled by @hmsdiamond and US warships.
Deploying Sea Viper missiles and guns, HMS Diamond destroyed multiple attack drones heading for her & commercial shipping in the area.@DefenceHQ@RoyalNavypic.twitter.com/NWgvYyNgC8— Defence Operations 🇬🇧 (@DefenceOps) January 10, 2024
It comes as Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond has been sent to the Middle East, which, the Defence Secretary insisted, does not represent an escalation in tension in the region.
Grant Shapps told the Commons the vessel was travelling to the Gulf where she would then allow the Royal Navy to swap places with HMS Diamond or HMS Lancaster.
The U.S. Navy’s Next Generation of Hospital Ships Will Be Radically Different
Austal USA
The new Bethesda-class expeditionary medical ships are designed to meet the demands of modern warfare.
BY KYLE MIZOKAMI PUBLISHED: JAN 09, 2024 10:57 AM EST
SAVE ARTICLE
The U.S. Navy’s massive hospital ships will soon be replaced by smaller, more accessible ships that can move closer to shore when necessary, all while caring for wounded troops.
The Navy has awarded a contract to the shipmaker Austal USA to build its next-generation hospital ships. The new Bethesda-class expeditionary medical ships will replace older ships that were built on supertanker hulls. The Bethesda-class ships are designed to more efficiently support U.S. forces abroad, with a new helipad that can accommodate the largest helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft.
Floating Hospitals
Armies have used hospital ships to treat the sick and injured for centuries. Hospital ships can keep up with advancing military campaigns, especially along coastlines, moving just behind the front line to keep the distance the wounded have to travel to a minimum. Unlike shore-based field medical stations, hospital ships embark larger, heavier, more sophisticated equipment such as X-ray machines, CT scanners, communications equipment for telemedicine, and more.
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HUM Images//Getty Images
The USS Red Rover was a Confederate steamer seized by the Union during the Civil War and used as a hospital ship.
Hospital ships are protected by the laws of war. The 1949 Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked Members of the Armed Forces stipulates that hospital ships are considered noncombatants and are given protected status—so long as they stay out of combat and do not otherwise advance the war effort.
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There are other rules, too. Hospital ships must be painted white, to set them apart from gray-hulled warships that might be nearby. They must have dark red crosses, “as large as possible,” painted on their hulls to indicate their status. They must also fly their national flag, along with a white flag with a red cross.
A New Generation
Brian Suriani
Expeditionary Fast Transport vessels, USNS Spearhead, USNS Choctaw County, and USNS Fall River at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. The new hospital ships are derivatives of these.
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The Navy signed a contract for three new Bethesda-class expeditionary medical ships. The first and namesake of the class, USNS Bethesda (EMS-1), is named after the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, now known as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The second, Balboa (EMS-2), is named after the Naval Medical Center San Diego, unofficially known as Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, California. The third ship is yet to be named.
The three ships are based on the Expeditionary Fast Transport (T-EPF), an aluminum-hulled catamaran ship built by shipbuilder Austal USA. The U.S. Navy is buying 16 T-EPFs, and after the last two are delivered Austal USA will switch over to building the medical ships.
Bethesda and her sister ships, according to Naval News, will be 361 feet long with a beam (width) of 103 feet. Each will have a draft of 15 feet, a speed of 18 knots or greater, and a range of 5,000 miles. A helicopter landing pad on the rear can accommodate the Marine Corps’s new CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter, the MV-22 Osprey, and the UH-60 Blackhawk series of Army helicopters. The ship will have a total crew, including embarked medical personnel, of 223.
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In terms of medical facilities, the ships will each have 34 acute care stations, six isolation wards, 14 intensive care units, 14 intensive care isolation units, and three operating rooms.
RELATED STORY
Hospital ships are typically unarmed but are allowed to carry weapons for self-defense, and only for self defense of the ship. That means they can carry short-range weapons that protect the ship but not longer-range weapons, like SM-2 surface to air missiles, that could protect friendly combatants as well. The latest model of the EMS class, as seen in the top image, includes what appear to be four .50 caliber machine guns, two mounted on the bow and two on the stern.
How the Generations Stack Up
U.S. Navy//Getty Images
The USNS Mercy sails alongside the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of Indonesia, 2005.
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The two Mercy-class hospital ships, Mercy and Comfort, are huge ships converted from oil tankers. At 894 feet long, each is longer than two new EMS ships parked nose to tail. The Mercy-class ships have an incredible 1,000 bed capacity, including 80 intensive care units, far more than the Bethesda-class.
The Mercy class’s design has significant drawbacks, however. The ships are huge, making them large targets and easier to spot on the battlefield. That’s irrelevant if the enemy intends to comply with the Geneva Conventions, but it becomes a problem if the enemy is indiscriminately attacking ships.
Patient access is another issue. The helicopter landing pad is relatively small and located amidships, where it’s tricky to land. Patients can also be embarked via a gangway if the ship is tied to port, or via small boats, but neither are ideal for the critically injured. With a draft of 32 feet, the Mercy class can’t pull in close to coastal cities and towns, except at piers and berths.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Trevor Andersen
The Mercy-class hospital ships have their helicopter pad on the top of the ship’s superstructure, with a cluttered approach and departure. The new ships will have the pad on the rear of the ship.
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The Bethesda class is an across-the-board improvement, particularly in terms of access. Instead of one large hospital ship, the Navy would likely use two smaller Bethesdas. The helicopter landing pad is on the ship’s stern, where it is easier to approach and land. The ships have a draft of just 15 feet, allowing them to pull up to shore and use more austere shore facilities, such as fishing piers. Once portside, a swing-out ramp on the starboard side allows for easier loading and unloading of patients.
Smaller ships provide smaller targets, they can more easily hide, especially in coastal urban areas, and allow the Navy to distribute medical care among multiple platforms.
The Takeaway
The Navy’s next-gen hospital ships are smaller than the ones they replace, but that’s likely a good thing. Neither of the Mercy-class ships were ever used to capacity anyway. The real issue with a hospital ship isn’t whether or not it has 1,000 beds, but whether or not it can keep up with and survive the rigors of fast-paced modern warfare.
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Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he’s generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.
