New trihull cats: very cool very fast: <dl><dt>[SIZE=+1]Here are some recent photos of the LCS 2 (to be USS) Independence. [/SIZE] </dt><dt>[SIZE=+1]She's at 43 knots here running at half power. NOTE the absence of a bow wave.[/SIZE] </dt><dt>[SIZE=+1]Turns tightly, also; allegedly this also was done at 43 knots...and from the look of the small bow wave, she's still in the turn.[/SIZE] </dt></dl> More pics at Http://www.rense.com/general89/nav.htm
I'm surprised they only have one Phalanx system. Did anyone consider multiple threats when designing her?
Also carries missiles and countermeasures. http://peoships.crane.navy.mil/LCS/factsheet.htm This is a "shallow" draft vessel, more suited to places that submarines and deep draft commands cannot go. She probably will not be subject to much in the way of air or submarine attack. If I know all I imagine, her missions will be more like anti piracy and punching out small threats than main battles. And if you think she won't do more than 45 knots, you need a head replacement.
Some where in the article they use therms "littoral"and "60 knots" together...man thats haulin fora ship. Oughta rip right around in the straights of hormuz andthe red sea.
Smaller vessels generally only carry one CIWS system, while cruisers and above carry two. My old frigate carried one back aft. I Google-mapped the Norfolk Naval Base this morning - lots of Arleigh Burke class DDG's, a few older Aegis cruisers, and surprisingly they still showed about three old Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates! I thought the OHP's were all sold off or put in mothballs. All the Knox-class frigates like mine are long gone - no 'steam' power anymore. It's all turbines now. Not nearlyas many auxillaries (oilers, supplies, etc) ships as in my day, and no carriers in that day! Several amphib helo-carriers though - I guess we have no beach invasions going on right now..... Four attack subs at the sub pier. A couple smaller ships I could not ID. My little USS Ainsworth (FF-1090) in the early 80's was called a "Fast Frigate" - with one steam plant and one screw, we topped out at 29 knots flat out. The old WWII destroyers and follow-on generation would run circles around us, easily doing low thirties or more. Saw the Pegasus class hydrofoil missile boats playing off the coast once - one blasted up and zipped around us - gosh, we were OWNED! "This Man's Navy" has become a speedster's club........
Yup; daddy was on the "Aucilla" an "oiler" in the med out of Spain (barcelona?) and Naples... wow 29 knots I didn't know they were that fast.
Oh I love Google earth, I've checked a lot of the common naval yards. Did you see the 2 carriers being built over NW at Newport News? The USS MIssouri is on Ford Island, HI as well as a few Aux's and frigates San Diego has more LST type carriers and a few auxillries, one carrier museum One carrier in Everett WA British landing carriers ,I think, at 50o23'21.19"N4o11'15.92"W PLymouth harbor French Carrier in Toulon France Spanish carrier?? at Rota, SPain Soviet era sub dry dock at 69o03'.46"N 33o12'12.06"E and other russian ships along the Murmansk inlet coastline Russian carrier just south west of the sub Also a bunch of russian frigates/destroyers at Vladivostok
How often is google earth updated? One of my fave places to visit has had the same clouds over it for the last year and a half.
Seems to me I read somewhere that all sensitive locations like military bases, ports, nuke power plants, and such had a minimum of a 72 hour delay on posting by google earth for security reasons. I am not positive, but I have pretty good recall, and I am almost sure that is what I read.
"Street View" don't work on military bases either..... Hey, even the current misadministration can't justify that kind of breach in security. Hehehe. Funny thing about Google Maps on the military bases - they point out all the fast food joints....... Google doesn't update normal areas or forests too often. My house is clearly visible, along with my little white car. A neighbor house shows the neighbor's car who moved out at least two years ago, maybe a bit longer. The local shooting range in the National Forest shows our new range extension - done about five years back. But the new two-year old two-holer outhouse is not shown...... Tyndall AFB in Panama City, Florida (where I served my USAF time in the late 70's) shows the F-22 Raptor fighter jets - Tyndall is the main training base for the Raptor. They got the Raptors on base in 2004.
The blue angels are at the pensacola NAS. I didn't see any F-22s at tyndall or eglin on google earth, some F-15s and F-16s and C-130's though
Those bigger fighters on the main parking strip are Raptors - look at the tails. The F-16s are to the right (east) - I think they were visiting as Tyndall didn't have the Falcon stationed there. Further east, the F4 Phantom drones are in a totally new facility compared to my day - we had them on the right side of the main base. The old H3 helos at Hanger Five in my day are long gone - wonder if they dropped the Firebee Drone program? I worked T-33A trianers in front of Hanger Three - where they now show some Transient birds. We had the F-106 interceptors in front of the first and second hangers, along with F-101 Voodoos acting as target tugs. We also had three small boats - the "USAF Navy" we called them - to recover drones that fell in the gulf. Those guys did more fishing than working though....... Hawk, I left the Ainsworth in April of '85, and did my final year at NAVCAMSLANT - the main East Coast comm facility. I got stuck working the same out-moded tube radios and crypto gear that I was in charge of on shipboard - I had hoped to get on something more modern! I ended up a real wiz on tube gear! Hehehe...... The Ainsworth still sails - she was sold to the Turkish Navy. She's full of Turkish Seamen now....... Here in IT, I still get the old out-dated mainframe applications - guess it's my fate to always be cursed with the ancient technology! But, it's a niche I have made my own......
I heard about that. Its funny how much this ship seems to come up. I was playing an online game one time, Everquest I think, when i started talking to a guy on there and turns out he was in the navy and did ship inspections. The last ship he had done was the Ainsworth right before it got shipped over to turkey. Really is a small world.
She was a good little ship! On my MED/IO cruise, we lost a lot of our liberty ports as other ships broke down, and the Ainsworth would take their commitments. We were the most reliable frigate there. I got my major 'attaboy' fromthe Captain for coming back from that cruise with all but one of seven UHF radios still up and humming - I was literally rebuilding modules at the component level (I was NOT rated for that, as it was 'depot repair'), since the onboard supplies had run out and the supply system was SLOW to ship to us! But, I used my old scale modeling skills and made sure the brass could communicate - they appreciate that! My old Seniorchief had a great idea too - before shipping out I went to the salvage yard and found two complete suites of old UHF gear that had been removed from other ships - I scarfed their modules! Had my own 'supply department'. Prior cruise, the UHF tech had all seven radios on the deck in pieces - NONE operational! That was the state I found them when I signed aboard. By the time they sent me to the advance UHF school, I had rebuilt them all - I aced the school. Pissed off the instructors. I even aced their 'ace-buster test' - it was something I had actually encountered, though rare. Gotta love OJT!
