A bow view of the experimental stealth ship SEA SHADOW underway in San Francisco Bay.
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USS Iowa 1943
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Skull Island Tomahawk – A 45th Fighter Squadron Curtiss P-40N Tomahawk, “Lackanocki,” is seen refueling from an F-2 type servicing truck pulled by a Cletrac M2 high-speed tractor while at Funafuti Airfield, Nanumea, Gilbert Islands.
The 45th, formed at Wheeler Field, Hawaii Territory in December 1940, was decimated during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor a year later.
Reformed with newer P-40N “Sand” models, it deployed to the Gilbert Islands in November 1943, operating in turn from Funafuti, Abemama, and Makin Fields in the chain until it was recalled to Hawaii some 80 years ago this month in early March 1944– dating the above image nicely. Of note, the 45th FS during this period claimed the destruction of 11 enemy aircraft on 26 January 1944 near Aur Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
The 45th would remain in Hawaii for almost a year until February 1945, when, reequipped with late-model P-51 Mustangs to perform very-long-range bomber escort missions, it forward deployed to Iwo Jima in March 1945, where it finished the war escorting B-29s over Japan, a task that earned it a Distinguished Unit Citation.
The squadron lived on into the jet age, flying F-86s, F-100s, F-84s, F-4s, A-37s, and A-10s, the latter of which it has been pushing out of Davis–Monthan since 2009.
Of note, the 45th of the above Gilbert Islands period surfaced in the 2017 film, Skull Island, in which a 45th FS pilot, LT Hank Marlow (Will Brittain/John C. Reilly), parachutes in 1944 onto the uncharted island where a giant ape serves as the big banana and survives 29 years until an expedition arrives in 1973.
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How a Michigan Beach Town Became Home to a Highly-Decorated WWII Submarine
MUSKEGON, MI – An 82-year-old piece of storied World War II history has called the Muskegon Lake channel home since 1987, thanks to strong community support and the formation of a new museum.
The USS Silversides fought in the war from April 1942 to July 1945. Painted on the side of the ship like a tattoo are 30 Japanese flags representing the enemy ships the submarine sank during its 14 patrols. The submarine ranks third highest among all WWII submarines in ships sunk, today it is the nation’s most famous surviving WWII submarine.
The submarine was originally designed to run alongside a Navy fleet but when the U.S. fleets were depleted after Pearl Harbor, the submarine’s mission changed to “hunter killers,” said museum preservationist Matt Kervin.
Unlike modern-day submarines, the Silverside does not have a round exterior. Instead, the ship has a flat surface and looks similar to a fleet ship.
The USS Silverside was in the war from April 1942 to July 1945. Painted on the side of the ship like a tattoo are 30 Japanese flags representing the enemy ships the submarine sank during its 14 patrols. The submarine ranks third highest among all WWII submarines in ships sunk. Today it is the nation’s most famous surviving WWII submarine.
After WWII, the Silversides was brought to Chicago for training. After years of sitting in decay a team of volunteers helped restore the vessel. The submarine was moved to Chicago’s Navy Pier in 1979, but with the city wanting to revamp the pier, the submarine needed a new home.
In 1985, residents of Muskegon started a campaign to get the decorated submarine to their home port. In August 1987 that became reality as several boats helped escort the submarine to its permanent location in the Muskegon Lake channel.
Walking the length of the 312-foot vessel, visitors can picture different scenes of life at war, from the stacked cots next to torpedoes, the galley kitchen outfitted with a massive coffee tank, to the lights and levers of the control room.
People get a sense of how nimble and agile the crew must have been — especially the crew manning the elevated conning tower 36 feet up who would jump down the hatch and into battle position in 30 seconds.
However, they won’t envy the lack of privacy these men endured with only three showers and four toilets among them.
Today the Silversides serves as the centerpiece of the USS Silversides Submarine Museum located at 1346 Bluff St. in Muskegon.
The two-story submarine museum next to the vessel details the many adventures of the USS Silversides throughout World War II, its significance in battle and personal accounts from its crew. Also docked next to the Silversides is the USCGC McLane, a prohibition-era Coast Guard cutter, that is also open for tours seven days a week.
“We don’t want to cater only to the history buffs,” Executive Director Bethann Egan said.
“We want to make you curious about it afterwards. This isn’t a place you have to know something about World War II, you’re going to learn when you come here. You don’t have to be intimidated.”
The museum allows overnight stays for groups who want to fully immerse themselves in history. Groups up to 72 people can stay onboard, hang out below the water line and sleep next to torpedoes.
For more information about the museum and hours and admission, visit their website here.
©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Back at sea for the first time in four and a half years is HMS St Albans – the penultimate Royal Navy frigate to undergo a massive overhaul.
The Type 23 warship left Devonport Naval Base today on the first stage of its regeneration to return to front-line duties later this year.
The vessel will spend the next few weeks flashing up its systems and testing improved/refurbished machinery in the Channel to ensure all the work that has been carried out is effective.
The ship’s 178-strong crew moved back aboard in mid-November, since when they’ve been working hand-in-hand with contractors and engineers from defence firm Babcock, which has overseen the entire refit program.
“Going back to sea is a huge milestone. Today is the result of a real team effort where Ship’s Company, Babcock, other specialist contractors, shore-based support organisations, Devonport Naval Base and even some people from other Devonport-based ships have come together to help us transition from engineering project back to being a warship,” said HMS St Albans’ Commanding Officer Commander Helen Coxon.
After nearly 20 years of constant service in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Gulf, St Albans arrived in Plymouth in 2019 to begin preparations for the refit, known as the life extension (LIFEX) upgrade.
The upgrade will help carry the class of Duke-class frigate into the middle of the next decade, while their successors – the Type 26 City-class currently under construction on the Clyde – enter service.
Revamping the 23s have been a massive undertaking stretching back a decade. Work on HMS St Albans alone has demanded more than 1.2 million working hours by sailors, civilian engineers and shipwrights, software specialists and many more.
All four diesel generators were replaced, meaning the ship can produce more power, the main engines removed, overhauled, and reinserted—a complex engineering feat, and a first for the project team.
More than two dozen new pumps with four kilometres of pipework have been fitted, and some 10,000 square metres of paintwork refreshed – that’s the size of a football pitch.
All weapons and sensors have been upgraded, not least the installation of the Sea Ceptor air defence system which can provide protection to an area the size of Greater Manchester against incoming threats in the skies.
As a dedicated submarine hunter, the ship has been fitted with Sonar 2150 in place of 2050, which can detect underwater threats at greater range and is easier to operate.
After the initial trials in the Channel, St Albans will return to base for any necessary tweaks to the work carried out in refit, before starting the work-up to becoming fully operational again, which culminates with Operational Sea Training off Plymouth.
Just one Type 23 frigate is left to complete the LIFEX program: HMS Sutherland, which is currently in Devonport’s frigate refit complex.
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Bataan ARG, 26th MEU Heads Home After 8 Months Deployed – DZIRHAN MAHADZIR MARCH 6, 2024 10:06 AM
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Russia’s war against Ukraine
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Russia’s Sergey Kotov patrol ship. Ukrainian forces hit and destroyed the ship in an overnight attack orchestrated by Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), the agency said on March 5.(X/open sources) |
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HII Completes Initial Sea Trials of New Jersey Nuclear Submarine
HII segment Newport News Shipbuilding has concluded the initial sea trials for the US Navy’s upcoming Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine USS New Jersey (SSN 796).
The trials included the vessel submerging for the first time followed by assessments of its system and components for several days at sea.
Throughout the tests, the ship also performed high-speed maneuvers in surface and underwater conditions.
Additional work will take place to ensure the SSN 796’s operability before its delivery to the US Navy, the company wrote.
The New Jersey will be the 23rd Virginia submarine upon its arrival in the service.
“Taking New Jersey out for the first time is a significant milestone and the first major test of the submarine’s capabilities at sea,” Newport News Shipbuilding Virginia Submarine Construction VP Jason Ward stated.
“Both New Jersey and her crew performed exceptionally well. This was truly a team effort between shipbuilders, thousands of suppliers around the country and the crew. We look forward to delivering New Jersey to the Navy soon so it can begin its service to our nation.”
Virginia Submarines
The Virginia-class program was conceptualized in the 1990s to replace the US Department of Defense’s aging Los Angeles attack submarines.
In the early 2000s, HII and General Dynamics Electric Boat began fabrication of the new fleet, with SSN 796 being the 11th to be delivered under Newport News Shipbuilding.
Each ship measures 377 to 469 feet (115 to 140 meters) and is powered by a reactor, steam turbines, and propulsion motors to reach speeds of more than 25 knots (46 kilometers/29 miles per hour).
The vessels are armed with torpedoes as well as Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles. Newer versions use similar but more powerful warheads.
Recent Progress
HII launched the USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) into the James River in Virginia last month.
In June 2023, the US Navy christened the USS Iowa (SSN-797) at General Dynamics’ Groton facility in Connecticut.
Four months later, the service commissioned the 22nd Virginia ship, the Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 795), at the same site.
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Building bridges: British and German troops demonstrate river-crossing skills in Poland Alex Walters 6th March 2024 at 1:15pm
British and German soldiers have been using their M3 Amphibious Bridging Vehicles to let a stream of Nato tanks and armoured vehicles safely cross a river during Exercise Dragon 24.
Dragon 24, which is taking place in Poland, is one of several exercises that collectively make up Exercise Steadfast Defender 24 – the alliance’s largest military exercise since the Cold War.
Troops are deployed across the entirety of Europe’s eastern flank, stretching from the far north of Norway inside the Arctic Circle, all the way down to Georgia in the Caucasus.
Nato’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) has released footage of the bilateral battalion of the British and German armies using their bridging vehicles to effect a river crossing.
“Their cooperation is the very epitome of being #StrongerTogether,” Nato ARRC posted on X.
The soldiers from 23 Amphibious Engineer Squadron are among some 16,000 British soldiers who are taking part in the largest set of Nato multinational manoeuvres in a generation.
M3 Amphibious Bridging Vehicle
The Army has many large specialist vehicles, one of which is the M3 Amphibious Bridging Vehicle being used by the Royal Engineers.
As the name suggests, it is used for crossing water and the M3 does this in two ways.
Each vehicle can either act like a ferry, crossing water as a single boat, or it can work together with other M3s to form a larger bridge across a body of water.
It does this by driving into the water and then being joined together with the other M3 Amphibious Bridging Vehicles.
Up to eight M3s can be joined together to form a 100-metre-long bridge, a structure that can support the weight of a Challenger 2 tank driving across it.
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RAF’s Typhoon display team all set to dazzle crowds in Canada for the first time Kirstie Chambers 6th March 2024 at 9:40am
The RAF Typhoon display team are due to show off their aerobatic skills to crowds of more than 150,000 people as they perform in Canada for the first time.
The team will perform at the Bagotville International Air Show on 22 and 23 June, as part of celebrations for the Royal Canadian Air Force’s centenary year.
The team’s newest pilot, Flight Lieutenant David ‘Turbo’ Turnbull, told Forces News: “It’s awesome the RAF get to send a jet out there.
“Hopefully they’ll enjoy having a Typhoon there as much as I’ll enjoy being there.”
He will be launching the display season with some new manoeuvres.
The team will display alongside the iconic Canadian Forces Snowbirds, who will be operating the historic Canadair CT-114 Tutor, and the US Air Force’s F-35A Demonstration Team flying the fifth-generation fighter F-35A Lightning II.
The Red Arrows also announced they will be taking their display to Canada, to mark the RCAFs 100th anniversary.
They will take part in a series of airshows from late August to September as part of a five-week tour, named Maple Hawk 2024.
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