HMS Astute

By SunDodger

Well, better late than never. Despite massive delays and crippling overspends the RN has it’s latest sleek black messenger of death.

June 8th HMS Astute (w/ video) should be launched. Four years late and nearly a billion pounds over budget, the project has not been without its problems. With the other two boats, Ambush and Artful, at various stages of construction beside her in the vast void of BAE’s Devonshire Dock Hall, hopefully lessons have been learnt and Fleet will receive the boats on time. Although most of the delays have been attributed to the initial design phase, heart can be taken from the fact that BAE wasn’t too proud to ask for help when costs were spiralling and schedules slipping.

Implementation of the vertical, modular method of construction taken from Electric Boat meant costs and man-hours were kept in check during the build phase. One can imagine information from the Seawolf and Virginia programmes being particularly helpful. And, as for the end result, it will have been worth the wait. As a platform she will be superb. Larger hull, no need to refuel, more weapons, latest sonar etc. The list is long and predictable. As to those who will serve on her, rejoice, there’ll be no more hotbunking! The days of staring at photos of your oppo’s wife as you try to get your head down, or feeling that still warm sensation as you come off watch will be no more. One man, one bunk.

A word of caution though. Star Trek technology and a smaller complement of men than previous classes can only mean one thing. More chances of getting a shake off watch for defect repair and maintenance. Still, as the saying goes, thats life in a blue suit..

More images of HMS Astute at http://navy-matters.beedall.com/astute.htm

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Help Support USS Lagarto Documentary

By Raymond

The Wisconsin Maritime Museum is raising money in order to fund the completion of the USS Lagarto documentary which already includes footage of the recent dive on the wreck off the coast of Thailand by the Deep Sea Detective’s Richie Kohler and John Chatterton.

The money raised so far by the museum for the project was enough to fund the 2007 Thailand dive and now in order to move production along, including the addition of interviews with submarine veterans and other experts, they need to raise more money though donations and grants.

The museum is hoping to release the completed Lagarto documentary in time for the 2008 Memorial Day holiday.

If you would like more information about the project or would like to donate money to help out with the post-production, please contact Bob Allen, Development Director at the Manitowoc Maritime Museum at 1-866-724-2356 or 920-684-0218.

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K-77 Sunk!

By Raymond

Here’s the latest scuttlebutt about the K-77, the Soviet Juliet class museum boat in Providence, RI that has taken damage from the recent storms to hit the East coast.

From Rontini’s BBS:
“Reports to me are that compartment 8 is fully flooded, Compt 7 is partially flooded, Compt 6 has water up to 2 feet below the deckplates (engine room), Compts 1-5 are dry (as of about 3 PM PST) with w/t door shut and dogged, but there are (I think) holes cut in the bulkheads or stuffing tubes without packing, so she is not w/t.” - Pat Householder

Russian submarine listing in Providence River after storm
Providence, RI (AP)
April 17, 2007 - 9:29AM

A Russian submarine used as a floating museum in the Providence River is listing after yesterday’s storm.

Museum President Frank Lennon says the nor’easter caused an extreme high tide and winds that pushed the submarine on a shoal close to shore. It’s now leaning to the left.

Lennon says the submarine floats in about a foot of water, so there’s little danger. No water has penetrated the boat.

The museum hasn’t yet decided how to fix the problem. The boat has been closed to visitors.

The Soviet Navy built the sub in the 1950s. It was designed to track and sink US and NATO warships during the Cold War.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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What Kind of Subsim Skipper Are You?

By Raymond

The folks over at www.subsim.com have come up with a short quiz. Surprisingly, i rated as a “Hardcore Subsim Skipper”. Imagine that!

Everyone brags about how many tons he has sunk, or his polished firing point procedures. Talk is cheap. Subsim, in conjunction with NASA and the National Academy of Sciences, has formulated a simple quiz that will define the kind of subsim skipper you are.

Take the quiz

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Lessons learnt?..

By SunDodger

With the 15 captured service personnel now safely home in goold ‘ol Blighty, what has actually been learnt over the course of the whole iranian affair? Neither side came out of it smelling of roses that’s for sure. It is clear that coercion was used to extract the ‘confessions’, and claims that the female of the group was initially segregated and told the other 14 members had been released is nothing less than psychological torture. What is also relatively clear is the validity of British claims that the RIBS were in Iraqi waters. Corroboration by Iraqi, US and HMS Cornwall confirm this. If anything this highlights a need for the Iraqis and the Iranians to have a grown up chat about the borders along the Shatt al arab waterway. A border based on decades old lines, based on the division of the navigable channel, (which of course changes over the years), will only lead to repeat incidents in the future. In this current climate i couldnt see this being discussed anytime soon.

As for who gained politically, that depends on the viewpoint. The British got to appear tough in talk for a while, with the full weight of the international community behind them (about which the Iranians cared not). A case can be made that diplomacy won the day. Militarily however, flaws may have been highlighted in ROE and air overwatch procedures. President Im-a-dinnerjacket and his Iranian regime strengthened their internal position by grandstanding the personnel on state run TV, and awarding medals to the Revolutionary Guard commander who was responsible for the capture. They also got a spike in the Iranian coffers while oil prices were nice and high, and got to appear benevolent to the world by releasing the prisoners to Britain as an ‘easter gift’. Whether there will be countries naive enough to be taken in by this piece of political theatre, and a corresponding softening of the stance regarding their nuclear ambitions remains to be seen. Who won? Do the math..

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2007 Lagarto Memorial Day

By Raymond

Lagarto Memorial Day 2007 looks to be shaping up to be a very interesting event with the recent addition of Richie Kohler as a speaker and his presentation of some footage of the April 2007 expedition to the wreck located off of Thailand.

(Above image courtesy of Dr Mike Gadd)

The recent dive on Lagarto, which included Kohler and John Chatterton, co-hosts of the History Channel’s Deep Sea Detectives, along with other professional divers, was to document the site with high definition camera equipment. The footage will be used for an upcoming documentary in which Kohler and Chatterton will try to discover the actual events that lead up to the loss of Lagarto.

The Lagarto Memorial Ceremony is being held at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin which is about an hour and a half north of Milwaukee. Lagarto family members and VIP’s will perform a ceremony to be held on the deck of USS Cobia (SS-245) on Saturday, 5 May.

The ceremony will be free and open to the public if viewed from the Riverwalk. You can contact the museum toll free at 866-724-2356 or email kduvalle@WisconsinMaritime.Org for more details.

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The Fight On Takur Ghar

By Raymond

A week or two ago I finished the book Roberts Ridge by Malcolm MacPherson and then started reading Not A Good Day To Die by Sean Naylor. While the first book deals specifically with the battle on Takur Ghar in Afghanistan, the second covers the entire story of Operation Anaconda, including Takur Ghar.

Comparing both books with one another, there are some definite gaps or inconsistencies between them, which is somewhat understandable considering much of their information is coming from sources that operate under big time operational security. But aside from that, the story is the same.

The battle on Takur Ghar is without a doubt, a subject needing to be studied hard so that the mistakes made there won’t be repeated again by the U.S. military. The intelligence and abilities of those soldiers that were on the mountain that day can not be questioned. Given the circumstances and their position, they kicked ass.

If any fault can be found in this particular fight, it’s with the command and control elements that were in either Bagram or Masirah and the all-too-familiar tug of war between commands and their staff officers. When field-grade officers get into pissing matches with each other or start to micromanage their forces, it’s never good. And when you bring in poor communication (intentional or unintentional), it’s bound to get even worse.

Today’s battlefield moves seemingly at lighting speed and there is a flood of information, some true and some false, that comes through various methods and if these aren’t checked or managed properly, it quickly becomes useless. There is no room for egos or the desire to grab the attention for ones service.

Depending too much on the current technology that is used on the battlefield can also be a detriment. Soldiers can’t loose the basic skills of combat and expect the technology to make up for it. It’s the other way around.

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MOD Sheds Some Light On The Situation

By Raymond

The British Ministry of Defence released some details today about the incident. (Thanks to SunDoger for the heads-up.)

“The action by Iranian forces in arresting and detaining our people is unjustified and wrong. As such it is a matter of deep concern to us and the families of the people who have been taken. We continue not only to call for their safe, but for their safe and speedy, return, and we continue to seek immediate consular access to them as a prelude to their release.”

Hey Iran - WTFO??

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And so ends the first Act..

By SunDodger

And so the curtains have closed on the softly softly approach to freeing 15 sailors and marines held by Iran. Tony Blair now thinly veiling his threat that ‘things will move to a different phase’ should the captured service personnel not be released. While not an indication that military action will be forthcoming, it certainly ups the tension and the stakes. Without a release of the personnel, the talk and posturing can only get stronger from this point on. The desire to save face on both sides and the ‘unconnected’ arrival of the USS Stennis strike group adds to the volatility, although on the latter point i agree with Bubblehead, that placing two capital ships inside the choke point of the Straits of Hormuz points more readily to sabre-rattling than any preemptive positioning.

Adding my opinion to the whole ROE debate, certain comments made by people (this fingers pointing at you Lt-Cdr Erik Horner), that the sailors and marines should have opened fire rather than be captured, are easily said with hindsight. What (outgunned) small boat commander would fire , without being fired upon, (on Iranian vessels in oft disputed water) and possibly become the catalyst for WW III?. Yes, the Iranians were the agressor, but it takes a mature appreciation of the situation to know the battles that can be won and the battles that dont need to be fought. The British light touch, i accept, is not the right response to every scenario, as proved operationally at times in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sometimes the arrival of a carrier battle group on the horizon will always paint a thousand words.

Oh, and just for big brother, this post in no way reflects the views of the UK government or its armed forces. Its a personal one, so there!

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Second-Guessing the Royal Navy’s ROE?

By Raymond

This article from The Independent sheds a bit of light on the capture of 15 RN sailors and marines. Personally i think maybe the XO of USS Underwood is second-guessing the British ROE a bit to quickly.

Perhaps i tend to read between-the-lines more than i should, but to me it sounds like the USN officer is calling the Brits pussies for not engaging the Iranians. If so, that is totally unfair to say about the British forces in the Gulf because they’re not.

Bubblehead points out an interesting observation on the shifting of USN forces in the Gulf in relation to this messed up incident.

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