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USS Cleveland (C-19/PG-33/CL-21) was a United States Navy Denver-class protected cruiser.


She was launched 28 September 1901 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, sponsored by “Miss R. Hanna” (probably Ruth Hanna McCormick), and commissioned 2 November 1903, with Commander William Henry Hudson Southerland in command.

Service history
The Cleveland cruised with the European Squadron, in West Indies and Cuban waters, along the east coast between Hampton Roads and Boston, and on a midshipmen training cruise until 17 May 1907. She then sailed from New York via Gibraltar, Port Said, Aden, Colombo and Singapore to Cavite, arriving 1 August 1907. After three years on the Asiatic station, the Cleveland returned to Mare Island Navy Yard 1 August 1910. Decommissioned 3 August 1910, she was placed in second reserve 8 April 1912, and returned to full commission 31 August 1912.[4]

The Cleveland alternated patrols in waters off Mexico and Central America with reserve periods at Mare Island Navy Yard between 1912 and 1917, protecting American lives and interests from the turmoil of revolution. On 31 March 1917, she arrived at Hampton Roads, and from 9 April to 22 June, patrolled from Cape Hatteras to Charleston. Assigned to escort convoys to a mid-ocean meeting point, the Cleveland made seven voyages between June 1917 and December 1918.[4] In November 1919, Cleveland returned the body of former Salvadoran president Carlos Meléndez (who had died in New York in August 1919) to La Libertad, El Salvador.[5]

USS Cleveland
Returning to patrols off Central and South America, the Cleveland was assigned to the Pacific Fleet once more from 16 February 1920, returning to Caribbean waters from time to time. She was reclassified CL-21 on 8 August 1921. During her continued service in the Caribbean and along the South American coasts, the Cleveland made courtesy calls, supported diplomatic activities, gave disaster relief, and represented American interests in troubled areas. She was decommissioned at Boston 1 November 1929, and sold for scrapping 7 March 1930 in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty limiting naval armament.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cleveland_(C-19)

Austal delivers EPF USNS Cody to US Navy

January 18, 2024, by Fatima Bahtić

Austal has revealed that USNS Cody (EPF-14) has been delivered to the US Navy.

US Navy

Constructed at Austal USA’s Mobile Alabama shipyard, EPF-14 is the first ‘Flight II’ Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ship that features enhanced medical facilities and naval medicine afloat capabilities that will provide critical combat care in austere and contested operating environments.

Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said the ‘Flight II’ EPF’s provide a Role 2E medical capability that allows surgeons to perform medical procedures in an onboard operating suite, underway.

“Cody is the US Navy’s first EPF to include enhanced medical facilities that enable a broader range of surgical procedures to be undertaken at sea, with 2 operating rooms and an onboard pharmacy, blood bank and laboratory to support missions,” Gregg said.

“The Flight II variants also have the added capability to support V-22 Osprey flight operations and launch and recover 11 metre RHIB’s.”

Austal USA and the Navy’s Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) program team completed acceptance trials of EPF 14 in the Gulf of Mexico in December 2023. The vessel was christened in February 2023.

HMS Oardacious win World’s Toughest Row and become fastest military team ever

Alex Candlin

17th January 2024 at 1:47pm

HMS Oardacious crew of Rob Clarke, Daniel Seager, Mike Forrester, lan Allen and Matthew Main were the first team to cross the finishing line in Nelson's Dockyard (Picture: Alligin UK).
HMS Oardacious win the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2023 and become the fastest military team in the history of the race (Picture: Atlantic Campaigns)

A Royal Navy team of submariners have crossed the finish line in first place in the World’s Toughest Row after sailing across 3,000 miles of the Atlantic Ocean in 35 days, four hours and 30 minutes.

HMS Oardacious arrived in Antigua with a significant lead over the remaining 36-boat fleet – and their time also makes them the fastest Oardacious crew to complete the row as well as the fastest military team.

Commander Matthew Main, Commander Daniel Seager, Commander Michael Forrester, Petty Officer Ian Allan and Lieutenant Rob Clarke also became the first team to travel 100 nautical miles in 24 hours during the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, better known as the World’s Toughest Row.

“Sometimes it seemed like it would never end,” said Cdr Main.

This year was the third time an HMS Oardacious team had taken part in the competition. 

Beginning their journey on 13 December, the team set off from San Sebastian de la Gomera in the Canary Islands in their boat Captain Jim, named in memory of a former colleague.

They were unable to beat the world record, but did become the fastest military crew to complete the race and also became the first five-man team to lift the title as the race is typically won by teams of four due to the weight advantage.

Their efforts this year have become a major fundraising initiative for the submarine community.

The team have raised £15,000 since leaving the Canaries, and around £70,000 for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.

Cdr Main said: “It was pretty challenging. It’s a really long way. I don’t recommend rowing it – fly it!”

He added: “It was amazing. We had a real mixture. We had some really challenging conditions.

“We thought going in challenging weather would make it good for us.

“But overall, it’s been a brilliant experience. It’s demanded a lot of love – and tolerance at times – but these four men are amazing. We made a real bond.

“We had some beautiful times rowing in the moonlight. Racing through the night on big waves. Brilliant fun.”

HMS Oardacious crew of Rob Clarke, Daniel Seager, Mike Forrester, lan Allen and Matthew Main were the first team to cross the finishing line in Nelson's Dockyard (Picture: Alligin UK).
HMS Oardacious crew of Rob Clarke, Daniel Seager, Mike Forrester, lan Allen and Matthew Main were the first team to cross the finishing line in Nelson’s Dockyard (Picture: Alligin UK).

Scientists confirm arrival of bird flu in Antarctic animals with help from HMS Forth

17th January 2024 at 11:28am

HMS Forth pays the island of South Georgia a visit 17122023 CREDIT HMS Forth X
Results confirm High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been found in elephant and fur seals on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia (Picture: HMS Forth)

The crew of Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Forth, which has resumed South Atlantic duties after nearly a year away, helped scientists confirm for the first time a highly infectious form of bird flu in Antarctic seals and birds.

The ship transported an expert virologist from the UK’s Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA) to the remote island chain of South Georgia after an unusual number of dead birds were noted in the autumn. 

Access to the archipelago, which lies about 800 miles from the Falkland Islands and is barely habited by humans, is only possible by sea as there is no airstrip. 

HMS Forth ferried the APHA’s Dr Marco Falchieri to the islands and helped him take samples from dead wildlife, notably elephant seals and birds.

At labs back in the UK, the samples were found to prove that the disease – officially known as High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza or HPAI – has reached the fringe of Antarctica, probably carried there by migratory birds.

Although not prevalent yet, it is threatening one of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet.

The virus was found in elephant seals, fur seals, brown skuas, kelp gulls and Antarctic terns but has so far not infected the penguin population. 

South Georgia is a British Overseas Territory and part of HMS Forth’s mission, as the Royal Navy’s permanent presence in the South Atlantic, is to regularly patrol the waters.

Forth’s remit is to protect the nation’s interests at sea, whether that means safeguarding fishing stocks in UK waters, or offering reassurance and protection in the Falklands.

The ship also has a flight deck and is armed with an array of weaponry, meaning she can support a range of operations from counter-piracy to anti-smuggling.

Monte Cassino: Remembering the brutal four-month Second World War battle 80 years on

Claire Sadler

17th January 2024 at 9:45am




Watch: Claire Sadler explains why the campaign took four months and four attempts.

The battle of Monte Cassino was a pivotal event in the Italian campaign during the Second World War.

It was one of the bloodiest engagements of the war, and was infamous for its destruction of the monastery.

Monte Cassino eventually resulted in an Allied victory, but it cost 55,000 Allied casualties and the deaths of 2,000 civilians.

Why did it take the Allies four months and four attempts to capture it and secure the route to Rome? Claire Sadler’s video above explains.

HMS Narvik – photos

HMS Narvik
HMS Narvik with subs alongside
HMS Narvik

Built by ‘Vickers-Armstrong’, Barrow & launched on 29th July 1945 as LST 3044. Named HMS Narvik in 1947. She was flagship of the British Task Force for the Atomic Bomb tests in Monte Bello Islands in May 1956.

She became a ‘Submarine Support Ship’ at Chatham & then, in 1960, became a Depot Ship to the 108th Minesweeping Squadron in Malta.

In 1965 she moved to Faslane to become an accommodation ship as the new Clyde Naval Base was being built. She was berthed inside MAIDSTONE during 1966-68.

 Broken up probably in 1970’s

Photos – USS Texas (BB-35) is a museum ship and former United States Navy New York-class battleship. She was launched on 18 May 1912 and commissioned on 12 March 1914.

USS Texas

USS Texas – 1930’s

Texas served in Mexican waters following the “Tampico Incident” but saw no action there, and made numerous sorties into the North Sea during World War I without engaging the enemy, though she did fire in anger for the first time when shooting medium-caliber guns at supposed submarines (no evidence exists that suggests these were anything more than waves). In World War II, Texas escorted war convoys across the Atlantic and later shelled Vichy French forces in the North African Landings and German-held beaches in the Normandy Landings before being transferred to the Pacific Theater late in 1944 to provide naval gunfire support during the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She was the only Allied battleship that took part in all four of these amphibious landings. Texas was decommissioned in 1948, having earned a total of five battle stars for service in World War II.

Texas was also a technological testbed: the first U.S. battleship to mount anti-aircraft guns, the first U.S. warship to control gunfire with directors and range-keepers, the first U.S. battleship to launch an aircraft,[6][7] and one of the first U.S. Navy warships to receive production radar. She was the first battleship in the world to be outfitted with 14-inch guns.[A 1]

Texas was the first U.S. battleship to become a permanent museum ship. Although the USS Alabama museum was opened on 9 January 1965 [A 2][6] In 1976 she became the first battleship to be declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark,[8] and is the only remaining World War I era dreadnought battleship. She is also one of the eight remaining ships and the only remaining capital ship to have served in both World Wars.[9][A 3] Texas is owned by the people of Texas and is officially under the jurisdiction of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Everyday operations and maintenance of Texas have been handled by the non-profit organization Battleship Texas Foundation since August 2020.[10][11] At the end of August 2022 she was moved to a dry dock in Galveston, Texas, to undergo a $35 million repair project. As of August 2023, the repair project is still underway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35)

All-out war with Russia a possibility within the next 20 years, senior Nato official warns

19th January 2024 at 11:35am

F-35B Lightning jet taking off from HMS Queen Elizabeth off the coast of Norway (Picture: Royal Navy).
If Admiral Rob Bauer’s predictions are correct, British F-35B Lightnings could see themselves in combat (Picture: Royal Navy)

All-out war with Russia is a possibility within the next 20 years, a top Nato military official has warned.

Speaking after a meeting of Nato defence chiefs, Admiral Rob Bauer told reporters private citizens need to ready themselves for a potential conflict that would change their lives.

The Dutch naval officer, who is chairman of Nato’s Military Committee, warned that large groups of people would need to mobilise in the event of war and authorities must ensure systems are in place to manage it.

He praised Sweden for its move in asking all residents to brace themselves for war ahead of the nation joining the alliance.

https://www.forces.net/nato/all-out-war-russia-possibility-within-next-20-years-senior-nato-official-warns?utm_source=Forces+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0a832fb466-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_01_19_05_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-0a832fb466-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

The UK is expected to send 20,000 military personnel to take part in Exercise Steadfast Defender 24 – one of Nato’s largest military exercises in Europe since the Cold War.

During the first half of 2024, personnel from the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force will deploy across Europe alongside 31 Nato allies and Sweden as the alliance practises repelling an invasion by Russian forces.

The video above explains what is known about the numbers and equipment being sent.

USS Tuscaloosa (LST-1187) was the ninth of the Newport-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy, which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs).

A port bow view of the tank landing ship USS TUSCALOOSA (LST 1187) anchored off the Silver Strand, San Diego, California.
140712-N-GO855-085..PEARL HARBOR (July 12, 2014) Ex-USS Tuscaloosa (LST 1187) is towed in preparation for a sink exercise (SINKEX) as part of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2014. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Charles E. White/Released)

The vessel was constructed by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California and was launched in 1969 and commissioned in 1970 and the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after the city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The LST participated in the Vietnam War and was decommissioned in 1994. The ship was laid up until being sunk as a target ship during a sinking exercise in 2014.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tuscaloosa_(LST-1187)