David
Sat January 3, 2004 9:18pm
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AN/PVS-7B Night Vision Go
Function: Image intensifying, passive binoculars which allow the operator to perform tasks at night or under low light level conditions.
Description: The AN/PVS-7B is a single-tube night vision goggle, Generation III image intensifier which uses prisms and lenses to provide the user with simulated binocular vision. The Marine Corps is acquiring the AN/PVS-7B, a model which incorporates a high light level protection circuit in a passive, self-contained image intensifier device which amplifies existing ambient light to provide the operator a means of conducting night operations. A shipping case, soft carrying case, eyepiece and objective lens cap, and filter are ancillary items. A demist shield is also provided to prevent fogging of eyepiece.
Background: The AN/PVS-7B represents the current state of the art in night vision goggles. Initially, it will augment the AN/PVS-5 NVG, and over time, it will replace the AN/PVS-5. The Marine Corps is interested in procuring a clip-on Night Vision Magnification Device (NVMD) to satisfy the need to see targets at the maximum effective range of its weapons.
General Characteristics, AN/PVS-7B Night Vision Goggles (NVG)
Manufacturer:
ITT, Roanoke, Virginia
Litton, Tempe, Arizona
Length:
5.9 inches (14.99 centimeters)
Width:
6.1 inches (15.49 centimeters)
Height:
3.9 inches (9.91 centimeters)
Weight:
24 ounces (.68 kilograms)
Magnification:
1x
Range, Man-Sized Target:
Starlight: Man-Sized Target, 100 meters; vehicle-Sized Target, 500 meters
Moonlight: Man-Sized Target, 300 meters
Field of View:
40? (circular)
Power Source:
Mercury, Nickel Cadmium, or Lithium Battery (2.7V) (BA-5567 or AA Cells)
Operation Time:
12 hours on one 2.7 volt battery
Inventory:
2,300
Unit Replacement Cost:
$6,000
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 9:38pm
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MiG-31 Foxhound
Function: High speed, high altitude, long range interceptor.
Description: Developed as an improved MiG-25 (the original prototype was based on a converted MiG-25MP), the Foxhound was designed to improve the range, low altitude speed, and electronic performance and capabilities of the earlier interceptor. As such, the MiG-31 utilizes larger engines and air intakes, extended exhaust nozzles, a strengthened airframe (to improve low altitude supersonic performance) and a phased array radar capable of tracking ten separate targets out to 75 miles (120 km) and engaging up to four simultaniously. Additionally, the MiG-31 incorperates an additional crewmember who serves as the weapon systems operator.
General Characteristics, MiG-31 Foxhound
Designer:
Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau
Power Plant:
Two Aviadvigatel D-30F6 afterburning turbofans
Thrust:
34,170 pounds each
Length:
22.69 meters (74.44 feet)
Height:
6.1 meters (20 feet)
Wingspan:
13.46 meters (44.16 feet)
Speed:
1,500 kmh (932 mph) at sea level
3,000 kmh (1,865 mph) at 30,000 feet
Ceiling:
20,604 meters (67,600 feet)
Weight:
21,824 kilograms (48,115 pounds) empty
Maximum Takeoff Weight:
46,198 kilograms (101,850 pounds)
Range:
3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles)
Crew:
One
Armament:
One GSh-6-23 23mm internally mounted cannon with 260 rounds of ammunition
Four R-33 and two R-40T Air to Air Missiles (AAM), or four R-60 AAMs
Date Deployed:
1983
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 9:38pm
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Shenyang J-8 (F-8 Finback
Function: Twin-engined, single-seat aircraft is primarily used for air combat, with the capability of ground attack.
History: Introduced in 1964, the J-8 was the first People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft utilizing a wholly Chinese design. While similar in configuration to the Soviet MiG-21 or the Chinese J-7, the J-8 airframe has been enlarged to accommodate two engines. Although the design was approved in 1964, prototype production was not completed until 1969. Because of the civil unrest caused by the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), the prototypes would see only limited flight activity through 1976, delaying production further. Production of the J-8 began in December 1979, with very few airframes actually entering service. These first-run aircraft were equipped with a single axial air intake supplying air to both engines, with a centrally mounted ranging radar, which gave the aircraft an appearance similar to the Mig-21/J-7. These aircraft were also equipped with two Type 30 30mm cannons and four under wing hardpoints, capable of firing the PL-2B short-range air-to-air missile. First-run production was completed in 1987.
The second run J-8 I "Finback A" entered production in 1985. Similar to the original J-8, the J-8 I had an improved radar which gave it all-weather capability. In addition, the two 30mm cannons were replaced by a single twin-barreled 23mm cannon. Production was halted in 1987 after some 100 aircraft were built (including original J-8 aircraft converted to the J-8 I design).
The completely redesigned J-8 II "Finback B" was first flown in 1984 and made public in 1986. The forward section of the airframe has been completely redesigned, replacing the single combination air intake-radome with two separate intakes, mounted laterally on the fuselage just aft of the cockpit, and a solid nose housing the aircraft's search radar. The solid nose also increases the amount of space available for additional after-market avionics. The J-8 II also incorporates a ventral stabilizer fin for increased maneuverability, which can folded for takeoff and landing. The export model of the J-8 II, designated the F-8 II, has improved avionics, to include digital electronics, a Heads Up Display (HUD), and Doppler radar, and engines, along with leading edge slats and in-flight refueling capabilities, giving it improved performance characteristics.
The J-8 IIM is a private venture (sponsored by Shenyang Aircraft Company) to improve the performance, and marketability, of the Basic J-8 II design. The J-8 IIM is capable of launching a variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground ordnance, including the PL-8, R-27/AA-10 and PL-5B. In addition, conventional iron bombs can be carried on seven hardpoints. The J-8 IIM also incorporates the advanced Russian made Zhuk-8II (FG-8) look-down, shoot-down radar, which replaces the older Chinese Type-208 radar. The Zhuk-8II has a range of 70 nautical miles, is able to track up to 10 targets at once and engage 2 targets simultaneously with radar-guided missiles such as the AA-10, as well as to launch anti-ship missiles such as the Kh-31. While the J-8 IIM also incorporates improved engines, the J-8 IIM is actually heaver than the baseline model, so aircraft range and performance are down slightly. Though the J-8 IIM completed its first test flight in 1998, none have been exported.
The most recent variant of the J-8 introduced, the J-8D, appears to be a basic J-8 II modified with a fixed in-flight refueling probe. In addition, it would seem that the avionics package has been upgraded to allow the ability to fire the PL-8 IR missile and the PL-11 semi-active radar guided missile.
Description: The basic J-8 design is very similar in appearance to the Soviet MiG-21 and Chinese J-7 aircraft, with the modified delta wing, swept horizontal and vertical stabilizers and central combination air intake-radar housing. The J-8's laterally mounted twin engines, however, readily give it away, the twin exhausts easily visible below and aft of the vertical stabilizer. The J-8 II replaces the MiG-21 forward section with a completely new design, incorporating the same single seat stepped cockpit, but with a solid nose and two laterally mounted, one on each side of the fuselage, square air intakes. The back half of the J-8 II, however, remains largely unchanged from the original J-8 design.
General Characteristics, Shenyang J-8 (F-8 Finback)
Country:
People's Republic of China
Designation:
Jian-8 Finback
Type:
Intercept
Builder:
Shenyang Aircraft
Power Plant:
Two open 13A-II turbojets at 14,815 pounds thrust
Length:
70 feet, 10 inches (21.6 meters)
Wingspan:
30 feet ( 9.3 meters)
Weight:
Empty: 21,600 pounds (9,820 kilograms)
Normal Takeoff: 31,500 pounds (14,300 kilograms)
Maximum Takeoff: 39,200 pounds (17,800 kilograms)
Speed:
Maximum Speed: 1,450 mph (2,340 kmh, Mach 2.2)
Cruising Speed: 800 mph (1,300 kmh)
Ceiling:
18-20,000 meters
Range:
Combat Radius: 2,500 miles (800 kmh)
Cruise Radius: 800 miles (1,300 kilometers)
Ferry Range: 1,400 miles (2,200 kilometers)
Internal Fuel Capacity:
3994 kilograms
Armament:
Two 23mm cannons (J-8 only; not found on J-8II)
One underfuselage hardpoint
Six underwing hardpoints for fuel, bombs, rockets or missiles
Four PL-2 or PL-7 and 800 L drop tank (680 nm)
Two PL-2 or PL-7 and two 480 L drop tanks and one 800 L drop tank (741nm)
Sensors:
Izmurd raging radar
RWR
Ballistic bomb sight
Crew:
One
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:02pm
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SA-10 Grumble
Function: Low to high altitude, mobile radar guided surface to air missile capable of engaging multiple targets.
Description: The SA-10 was designed to defeat massed aircraft raids at any altitude and represents a serious improvement over previous theater SAM systems in that it can engage multiple aircraft at different altitudes, is low altitude capable, can engage targets with a low radar cross section, such as stealth aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or cruise missiles, as well as tactical ballistic missiles. Though its primary purpose is the defense of large military complexes and population centers, the SA-10b is a mobile system and is capable of being forwardly deployed on the battlefield and is capable of engaging targets within 5 minutes of vehicle emplacement.
The SA-10 is a low to high altitude vertically launched single stage surface to air missile utilizing track via missile guidance. The FLAP LID radar is capable of engaging six targets simultaneously and can assign two missiles to each target. The SA-10 is armed with a 100 kilogram fragmentation warhead (a low yield tactical nuclear warhead is also possible) with proximity detonation capability. An SA-10 battalion consists of a battery command post and fire direction center, a CLAM SHELL three dimensional continuous wave pulse Doppler target acquisition radar, a FLAP LID A multifunction phased array engagement radar and up to twelve semitrailer erector-launchers, each armed with four tubular missile launcher-containers. A Regimental sized unit will have three battalions as well as the BIG BIRD long range three dimensional surveillance and tracking radar. The SA-10 is capable of engaging targets at any altitude between 25 and 30,000 meters and can engage high altitude targets beyond 90 kilometers. In forested environments the FLAP LID radar can be deployed on a special trailer mounted 24.4 meter extendable platform, which increases the low altitude engagement range from 32 kilometers to 43 kilometers.
General Characteristics, SA-10 GRUMBLE Surface to Air Missile
Propulsion:
Single stage air fired, solid rocket propellant
Length:
24.6 feet (7.5 meters)
Diameter:
19.7 inches (50 centimeters)
Weight Fully Armed:
3,968.3 pounds (1,800 kilograms)
Maximum Range:
90+ kilometers
Maximum Altitude:
25 meters
Fuzing:
Proximity
Ceiling:
30,000 meters
Speed:
Mach 5.6
Guidance System:
Track via missile
Warhead:
100 kilograms fragmentation
Rate of Fire:
Two missiles per target up to six targets
Introduction Date:
1980
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:02pm
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SA-3 Goa
Function: Medium altitude Surface to Air Missile.
Description: The SA-3 is a medium altitude two stage surface to air missile dependent on radio command guidance for tracking. In the event of jamming or radar shut down the SA-3 may be guided optically and acquire its target after launch. The SA-3 is armed with a high explosive fragmentation warhead with contact, proximity, and command detonation capability. The booster is a solid rocket propellant motor fitted with four large fins. The second stage is similar to the booster, utilizing a solid propellant motor with a set of four fixed fins mounted at the base and a set of four movable control fins mounted on the nose.
Target acquisition and long range surveillance was originally performed by a vehicle mounted P-15 FLAT FACE radar which has a range out to 250 km, though this unit is being replaced by the P-15M SQUAT EYE which has its antennae mounted on a 20-30 meter mast to improve low level acquisition. In addition, the PRV-11 SIDE NET height finding radar, with a range of 180 km, is used to acquire targets to an altitude of 32,000 meters. Once targets are acquired, they can be tracked and engaged with a trailer mounted LOW BLOW fire control radar. The LOW BLOW is capable of acquiring targets out to 110 km and tracking within 40-85 km (depending on the size and altitude of the target.) The LOW BLOW can track six targets simultaneously, as well as direct one or two missiles. Improved versions of the LOW BLOW radar incorporate television cameras to allow operators to engage targets out to 25 km under conditions of heavy ECM jamming.
General Characteristics, SA-3 GOA Surface to Air Missile
Propulsion:
Booster and sustainment stages; solid rocket propellant
Length:
22 feet (6.7 meters)
Diameter:
23.6 inches (60 centimeters)
Weight Fully Armed:
881.8 pounds (400 kilograms)
Maximum Range:
25 kilometers
Minimum Range:
6 kilometers
Minimum Height:
100 meters
Fuzing:
Impact, proximity, command detonated
Ceiling:
25 kilometers
Speed:
Mach 3+
Guidance System:
Radio command, possibly infrared in terminal phase
Warhead:
High explosive fragmentation
Rate of Fire:
One or two missiles per target, capable of tracking six targets
Introduction Date:
1961
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:24pm
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Akula Class Nuclear Attac
Function: Nuclear powered attack submarine.
History: The Delfin class attack submarines (SSN) were originally conceived in 1972 as Project 971/971U "Bars", a strategic cruise missile launch platform (SSGN) capable of launching the S-10 Granat missile, a Soviet copy of the American Tomahawk cruise missile. Originally designed along the same lines of the Pr. 671RTM (NATO Victor III) submarines, and armed with six 53cm torpedo tubes (to fire the S-10) and 2 65cm tubes (to launch defensive torpedoes and missiles), when the Soviet navy realized that its production facilities were not capable of producing titanium hulled Pr. 945 (NATO Sierra I and II) submarines, the 971 was redesigned to take advantage of the advanced sensor, command, communication, and weapons systems of the Zubatka and Karp class boats, yet made from steel. This redesign also increased the number of 53cm and 65cm torpedo tubes to four apiece. Additionally, the Pr. 971 submarines incorporated the active countermeasures suite found on the Pr. 945 boats. This system would use acoustic sensors to detect, classify, and automatically prioritize these contacts and display this information to an operator who then could take more precise action. Furthermore, in the case of torpedoes, the system could automatically take action, launching decoys and initiating barrage and deception jamming of the threat sensors. Surprisingly, when the 971 series entered production, it was found to offer performance similar to the 945 but at a fraction of the cost,with lower maintenance requirements, and the only real drawback being the reduction of the basic load from 40 weapons to 32. Consequently, the 971, and not the 945, was adopted as the follow on general purpose submarine to replace the aging 671 fleet.
Improvements to the basic Delfin design were incorporated into a more advanced production model designated the 971U. These improvements included the installation of 6 external 53cm torpedo tubes (for launching the S-10 Granat) and the non acoustic sensor system from the Pr. 945 submarines, which uses infrared sensors to detect the thermal gradients produced in submarine wakes. As production of the 971U was initiated, attempts to reduce the noise signature to levels comparable with the early Los Angeles class boats were made, which necessitated the redesign of the engine spaces. These modifications were incorporated into a new design designated Project 971A.
Deployed roughly at the same time as the American Improved Los Angeles class fast attack submarines, the 971 boats produce more noise than the early Los Angeles class, though their performance is far superior to earlier Soviet designs. The 971U is comparable to the early Los Angeles submarines in radiated noise levels at low speeds, becoming progressively noisier as speed increases. Additionally, the 971 series are far inferior to their US counterparts in terms of sonar sensitivity and combat capabilities. Production was limited to twelve 971U submarines before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Additionally, production was initiated on two 971A submarines but discontinued for lack of funding. Eleven of the surviving 971U submarines are currently in limited service with the Russian navy.
General Characteristics, Delfin Class
Builders:
Krasnoye Soromovo Zavod 112, Nizhniy Novgorod
Power Plant:
One OKB-650B-5 rated at 190 Megawatts, two steam turbines, one shaft with one VRSh-7 controllable pitch screw, 47,000 shaft horsepower
Length, Overall:
354.2 feet (107.9 meters)
Beam:
44.3 feet (13.5 meters)
Draft:
31.4 feet (9.6 meters)
Displacement:
7,900 tons submerged
Speed:
35 knots submerged
Crew:
31 Officers; 31 Enlisted
Maximum Safe Diving Depth:
1,475 feet
Armament:
Two internal 53cm torpedo tubes
Two external 53cm torpedo tubes (8 on 971U series)
Four internal 65cm torpedo tubes
S-10 Granat (NATO SS-N-21 SAMPSON) strategic cruise missiles
Two RPK-6 Vodopod (NATO SS-N-16 STALLION) rocket delivered nuclear depth charges
RPK-7 Vodopei (NATO SS-N-16 STALLION) rocket delivered homing torpedoes
BA-111 Shkval underwater rockets
Type 53-65K torpedoes
SET-65 torpedoes
TEST-68 torpedoes
Sensors:
Vspletsk combat direction system
Radar:
One Chiblis surface search radar
One Medvyedista-945 navigation radar
Sonar:
One MGK-503-M Skat active/passive sonar suite
One Pelamida towed sonar array
Two Akula flank arrays
One MG-70 mine detection sonar
Countermeasures:
Bukhta ESM/ECM system
Two MG-74 Korund noise simulation decoys
One MT-70 sonar intercept reciever
Nikhrom-M IFF system
Ships:
K.239 Karp, Commissioned June 1987, decommissioned 1997.
K.276 Krab, Commissioned September 1984, decommissioned 1997
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:24pm
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Sierra I Class Nuclear At
Function: Nuclear powered attack submarine.
History: The Sierra I class nuclear attack submarine (SSN) was conceived in 1972 as Project 945 "Barrakuda," and was intended to serve as a replacement for the aging Pr. 671RTM boats, which had reached the limits of their developmental potential, as the primary attack submarine in the Soviet Navy. In addition to incorporating a number of technological enhancements which improved navigation, communications, propulsion, radiated noise, sensor quality and command and control, the Pr. 945 boats featured an active countermeasures suite which worked in a manner similar to those found on aircraft. This system would use acoustic sensors to detect, classify, and automatically prioritize these contacts and display this information to an operator who then could take more precise action. Furthermore, in the case of torpedoes, the system could automatically take action, launching decoys and initiating barrage and deception jamming of the threat sensors. Lastly, the Pr. 945 submarines were the first to utilize non acoustic sensors to detect submarines, using infrared sensors to detect the thermal gradients produced in submarine wakes. The design utilized many features found in the Pr. 685 boats, including the 48-T titanium alloy hull. The 945 hulls were armed with two internal 53cm torpedo tubes, two external 53cm torpedo tubes, and four internally mounted 65cm torpedo tubes. Unlike the Pr. 685 submarines, the Barrakuda had a large torpedo room with a capacity for 40 weapons, including 53 and 65cm wake following and wire guided torpedoes, BA-111 Shkval underwater rockets, P-100 anti-ship missiles, RPK-6 rocket delivered nuclear depth charges, and RPK-7 rocket delivered homing torpedoes.
Deployed roughly at the same time as the American Improved Los Angeles class fast attack submarines, the 945 boats were comparable with the early Los Angeles class in terms of performance except in the areas of non acoustic detection and integrated acoustic countermeasure systems, where the Soviet submarines are decidedly superior. Production was limited to two submarines before the class was redesigned and reclassified Project 945A and both were decommissioned in 1997 as a result of high operating costs.
General Characteristics, Karp Class
Builders:
Krasnoye Soromovo Zavod 112, Nizhniy Novgorod
Power Plant:
One OKB-650B-5 rated at 190 Megawatts, two steam turbines, one shaft with one VRSh-7 controllable pitch screw, 47,000 shaft horsepower
Length, Overall:
351 feet (107 meters)
Beam:
36.7 feet (11.2 meters)
Draft:
27.9 feet (8.5 meters)
Displacement:
6,800 tons submerged
Speed:
35 knots submerged
Crew:
31 Officers, 28 Enlisted
Maximum Safe Diving Depth:
2,300 feet
Armament:
Two internal 53cm torpedo tubes
Two external 53cm torpedo tubes
Four internal 65cm torpedo tubes
P-100 Oniks (NATO SS-N-22 SUNBURN) anti-ship missiles
Two RPK-6 Vodopod (NATO SS-N-16 STALLION) rocket delivered nuclear depth charges
RPK-7 Vodopei (NATO SS-N-16 STALLION) rocket delivered homing torpedoes
BA-111 Shkval underwater rockets
Type 65-76 torpedoes
SET-72 torpedoes
TEST-71M torpedoes
USET-80 torpedoes
Sensors:
Vspletsk combat direction system
Radar:
One Chiblis surface search radar
One Medvyedista-945 navigation radar
Sonar:
One MGK-503 Skat active/passive sonar suite
One Pelamida towed sonar array
Two Akula flank arrays
One MG-70 mine detection sonar
Countermeasures:
Bukhta ESM/ECM system
Two MG-74 Korund noise simulation decoys
One MT-70 sonar intercept reciever
Nikhrom-M IFF systemm
Ships:
K.239 Karp, Commissioned June 1987, decommissioned 1997.
K.276 Krab, Commissioned September 1984, decommissioned 1997.
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:24pm
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Victor III Class Nuclear
Function: Nuclear powered attack submarine.
History: The Project 671RTM class (NATO Victor III) nuclear attack submarine (SSN) was designed based off of information delivered to the Soviet Union via the Walker spy ring. The documents delivered by the Walker family compromised every aspect of the American navy's antisubmarine warfare program. What these documents revealed was just how badly outclassed the Soviets were in submarine warfare. The current Soviet production submarines, the Pr. 671RT, were shown to be so noisy that not only was the US Navy able to maintain a "real time" position fix on these submarines, but that their own noise levels defeated the effectiveness of their own offensive sensors. In effect, had war between the Soviet Union and the United States been initiated, the Soviet submarine fleet would have been decimated.
The information provided by the Walker spies changed all this. Following their disclosures, the Soviet navy initiated a crash program to quiet its current fleet of submarines as well as improve their offensive capabilities, which were still based on World War Two technology. Designated the Pr. 671RTM, this new series would incorporate rafted and insulated machinery, a brand new sonar suite which emphasized passive detection capabilities as well as new twin flank arrays and a new towed sonar array. Improvements would be made in the processing of this additional sonar information, culminating with the development of an integrated combat system for the Pr. 671RTMK series (this was made possible through the acquisition of a Norwegian navy software program and Toshiba computer components). Externally similar to the Pr. 671RTM, the 671RTMK incorporates, among other improvements, the non acoustic sensor complex built for the Pr. 971 boats. The 671RTM/RTMK hulls were armed with four bow mounted 53cm torpedo tubes and four bow mounted 65cm torpedo tubes. Unlike the Pr. 685 submarines, the Barrakuda had a large torpedo room with a capacity for 40 weapons, including 53 and 65cm wake following and wire guided torpedoes, BA-111 Shkval underwater rockets, P-100 anti-ship missiles, RPK-6 rocket delivered nuclear depth charges, and RPK-7 rocket delivered homing torpedoes.
Deployed roughly at the same time as the American Improved Los Angeles class fast attack submarines, the 671RTM boats were comparable with the much earlier Permit class American Submarines while the 671RTMK were the equivalent to the later Sturgeon class in terms of performance. Production was stopped at 26 submarines with 14 still in limited service. The remaining 671RTM series submarines will be withdrawn from service once their reactor life has been exhausted.
General Characteristics, K.138 (Victor III) Class
Builders:
Krasnoye Soromovo Zavod 112, Nizhniy Novgorod
Power Plant:
Two VM-4T rated at 72 Megawatts each, two steam turbines, one shaft with one VRSh-7 controllable pitch screw or two VRSh-4 screws on a single shaft, 31,000 shaft horsepower
Length, Overall:
351.6 feet (107.2 meters)
Beam:
35.4 feet (10.8 meters)
Draft:
24.2 feet (7.4 meters)
Displacement:
6,990 tons submerged
Speed:
30 knots submerged
Crew:
27 Officers; 73 Enlisted
Maximum Safe Diving Depth:
1,150 feet
Armament:
Four bow mounted 53cm torpedo tubes
Two bow mounted 65cm torpedo tubes
P-100 Oniks (NATO SS-N-22 SUNBURN) anti-ship missiles
Two RPK-2 Viyoga (NATO SS-N-16 STARFISH) rocket delivered nuclear depth charges or two S-10 Granet (NATO SS-N-21 SAMPSON) strategic cruise missiles
Six RPK-7 Vodopei (NATO SS-N-16 STALLION) rocket delivered homing torpedoes (ASW variant)
Six P-100 Oniks (NATO SS-N-22 SUNBURN) anti-ship missiles (ASuW variant)
BA-111 Shkval underwater rockets
Type 53-65K torpedoes
SET-65 torpedoes
TEST-68 wire guided torpedoes
Sensors:
Vodopod combat direction system (671RTM)
Viking combat direction system (671RTMK)
Radar:
One MRK-50 Topol surface search radar
One Medvyedista-671 navigation radar
Sonar:
One MGK-400 Rubikon active/passive sonar suite
Two Akula flank arrays One Pithon towed array
One MG-24 Luch mine detection sonar
Countermeasures:
Bulava ESM/ECM system
Two MG-74 Korund noise simulation decoys
One MT-70 sonar intercept receiver
Nikhrom-M IFF system
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:24pm
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Alpha Class Nuclear Attac
Function: Nuclear powered attack submarine.
History: The K.377 class (or zolotaya ruba, meaning "Golden Fish") nuclear attack submarine (SSN) was initiated in 1957 as a purpose built carrier battle group "interceptor." Designated Project 705, the Lyra was built to wait in port until offshore sensors detected the approach of enemy carrier battlegroups, at which time the crew would board the submarine and, vectored toward the approaching enemy fleet by ground controllers, make a high speed attack run using 53cm torpedoes. To meet these requirements, the submarine had to be fast, which in turn, required it to be small and powerful. To this end, everything was sacrificed in the name of reducing the hull's "wetted" area (that portion of the submarine in contact with the water), displaced weight and maximizing the its power output. To save on weight the reactor was designed to run automatically and sealed off from the rest of the ship by a single bulkhead. To increase power, a design cooled by liquid metal (sodium) was selected over a more conventional water cooled model. Because the Pr. 705 would not be used for extended patrols at sea, many of its systems were automated, and the crew was slashed to 29-43 officers. Lastly, in order to improve diving depth and reduce weight, a revolutionary titanium alloy was used in constructing the hull.
Unfortunately, the technology required to fabricate titanium on such a scale did not exist at the time and it was not until 1965 that the design was ready for production. Furthermore, by the time the Pr. 705 submarines were ready for production, the primary threat to the Soviet Union, and the whole reason for the class' existence, had shifted from the carrier battlegroup to the ballistic missile submarine. Nonetheless, production continued and eventually 7 submarines were built. Hated by the Soviet Navy as well as the crews aboard them, the 705's were so obsolete by the time they entered service that there was never any serious indication that they would ever be deployed. Because their automated systems were susceptible to damage by exposure to radiation the reactor systems were unreliable and it is believed that 4 of the 7 suffered reactor failures. Eventually the submarines were deemed to dangerous to be tolerated and all were pulled from service by 1995. Roughly equivalent to the American 1957 USS Seawolf (the only American submarine to use a liquid metal reactor) in design philosophy, by the time they were launched the Lyra I class submarines were hopelessly outclassed by current American SSNs.
General Characteristics, Lyra I Class
Builders:
Admiralty Yard, Leningrad Sevmashpredpriyatiye, Severodvinshk
Power Plant:
One BM-40A or OK.550 rated at 155 Megawatts, one OK.7 steam turbine, one shaft with one VRSh-5 controllable pitch screw, 47,000 shaft horsepower
Length, Overall:
260.8 feet (79.5 meters)
Beam:
31.2 feet (9.5 meters)
Draft:
22.6 feet (6.9 meters)
Displacement:
4,320 tons submerged
Speed:
43 knots submerged
Crew:
29 - 43 Officers
Maximum Safe Diving Depth:
1,150 feet
Armament:
Six bow mounted 53cm torpedo tubes
53-65K torpedoes
SET-65 torpedoes
Sensors:
Accord combat direction system
Leningrad-705 fire control system
Radar:
One MRK.50 Topol surface search radar
One Sozh navigation radar
Sonar:
One Okean active/passive sonar suite
One MG-24 Luch mine detection sonar
Countermeasures:
Bukhta ESM/ECM system
Two MG-74 Korund noise simulation decoys
One Yenisei sonar intercept reciever
Khrom-KM IFF system
Ships:
K.377, commissioned 1972, suffered reactor accident during sea trials, dismantled immediatly thereafter.
K.316, commissioned 1979, reactor destroyed in 1982 when coolant solidified. Dismantled in 1985.
K.373, commissioned in 1978, suffered reactor meltdown. Hull cut in half and forward half used as experimental test bed.
K.123, launched in 1977, liquid metal coolant contaminated engine compartment in 1982. New engine compartment installed and submarine was finally comissioned in 1991. Redesignated B.123, served as a floating pier until decommissioned in 1995.
K.432, commissioned in 1982, struck a whale during sea trials. Repairs completed in 1988 but never recommissioned. Dismantled in 1993.
K.463, commissioned in 1982, suffered unspecified reactor accident. Engine compartment decontaminated and a VM-4 conventional water cooled plant from a Pr. 671B submarine installed sometime after 1986. Served as a test bed until scrapped in 1994.
K.493, commissioned in 1983, was re-engined with a VM-4 conventional water cooled plant and served as a training ship for submariners. Reactor has since been removed and hull is awaiting scrapping in St. Petersburg.
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:24pm
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Sierra II Class Nuclear A
Function: Nuclear powered attack submarine.
History: The Sierra II class nuclear attack submarine (SSN) is essentially an improved version of the Pr. 945 "Barrakuda" design, incorporating a number of technological improvements. Designated Project 945A "Kondor," the 945A submarines incorporates an advanced "US style" bow mounted spherical sonar array, which required moving the bow mounted torpedo tubes amidships and angling them outward, a method initiated by the Americans years earlier. In addition, the sail was redesigned, being lengthened by almost 20 feet and flattened, to give it a more streamlined appearance. All masts, sensors, and hatches were moved to the starboard side so that two, rather than one, rescue trunks, could be attached. The 945A retain the same armament of the original Pr. 945 series, which included two internal 53cm torpedo tubes, two external 53cm torpedo tubes, and four internally mounted 65cm torpedo tubes capable of launching 53 and 65cm wake following and wire guided torpedoes, BA-111 Shkval underwater rockets, P-100 anti-ship missiles, RPK-6 rocket delivered nuclear depth charges, RPK-7 rocket delivered homing torpedoes and the S-10 Granat strategic cruise missile.
Construction of the Zubatka class was severely curtailed by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Only two submarines were actually built and the last three which were to be modified and re classed as Project 945B "Mars" boats, were scrapped prior to construction. In addition, the Soviet navy had come to the realization that it lacked the production capabilities to continue producing titanium hulled submarines and so committed itself to the production of the steel hulled Project 971 "Bars" submarines instead.
Deployed roughly at the same time as the American Improved Los Angeles class fast attack submarines, the 945A boats were comparable with the 688I boats in terms of radiated noise at very low speeds but this performance fell away rapidly as speed increased. In addition, the performance of the 945A submarines deteriorated rapidly as the submarines aged. Both Zubatka class submarines were decommissioned in 1997 as a result of high operating costs.
General Characteristics, Karp Class
Builders:
Krasnoye Soromovo Zavod 112, Nizhniy Novgorod
Power Plant:
One OKB-650B-5 rated at 190 Megawatts, two steam turbines, one shaft with one VRSh-7 controllable pitch screw, 47,000 shaft horsepower
Length, Overall:
370 feet (112.8 meters)
Beam:
36.7 feet (11.2 meters)
Draft:
27.9 feet (8.5 meters)
Displacement:
7,100 tons submerged
Speed:
35 knots submerged
Crew:
31 Officers, 28 Enlisted
Maximum Safe Diving Depth:
2,300 feet
Armament:
Two internal 53cm torpedo tubes
Two external 53cm torpedo tubes
Four internal 65cm torpedo tubes
S-10 Granet (NATO SS-N-21 SAMPSON) strategic cruise missiles
P-100 Oniks (NATO SS-N-22 SUNBURN) anti-ship missiles
Two RPK-6 Vodopod (NATO SS-N-16 STALLION) rocket delivered nuclear depth charges
RPK-7 Vodopei (NATO SS-N-16 STALLION) rocket delivered homing torpedoes
BA-111 Shkval underwater rockets
Type 65-76 torpedoes
SET-72 torpedoes
TEST-71M torpedoes
USET-80 torpedoes
Sensors:
Vspletsk combat direction system
Radar:
One Chiblis surface search radar
One Medvyedista-945 navigation radar
Sonar:
One MGK-503 Skat active/passive sonar suite
One Pelamida towed sonar array
Two Akula flank arrays
One MG-70 mine detection sonar
Countermeasures:
Bukhta ESM/ECM system
Two MG-74 Korund noise simulation decoys
One MT-70 sonar intercept reciever
Nikhrom-M IFF system
Ships:
K.534 Zubatka, Commissioned 1992, decommissioned 1997.
K.336 Okun, Commissioned 1993, decommissioned 1997.
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:35pm
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AOE - Combat Supply Ships
Function: High-speed vessel, designed as oiler, ammunition and supply ship.
Description: The fast combat support ship (AOE) is the Navy's largest combat logistics ship. The AOE has the speed and armament to keep up with the carrier battle groups. It rapidly replenishes Navy task forces and can carry more than 177,000 barrels of oil, 2,150 tons of ammunition, 500 tons of dry stores and 250 tons of refrigerated stores. It receives petroleum products, ammunition and stores from shuttle ships and redistributes these items simultaneously to carrier battle group ships. This reduces the vulnerability of serviced ships by reducing alongside time. Congress appropriated the funds for the lead ship of the AOE 6 (Supply class) in 1987.
General Characteristics, Sacramento Class
Cost:
$458-568 million
Builders:
AOE 1, 3, 4 - Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
AOE 2 - New York Shipbuilding
Date Deployed:
March 14, 1964 - USS Sacramento (AOE-1)
$458-568 million
Power Plant:
Four GE LM2500 gas-turbines; two shafts; 105,000 horsepower
Length, Overall:
793 feet (241.71 meters)
Beam:
107 feet (32.61 meters)
Displacement:
53,000 long tons (53,850.55 metric tons) full load
Speed:
26+ knots (29.92+ miles, 48.15 km, per hour)
Crew:
24 officers, 576 enlisted
Armament:
NATO Sea Sparrow missiles
Two Phalanx close-in weapons systems
Aircraft:
Two UH-46E Sea Knight helicopters
Ships:
USS Sacramento (AOE-1), Bremerton, WA
USS Camden (AOE-2), Bremerton, WA
USS Seattle (AOE-3), Earle, NJ
USS Detroit (AOE-4), Earle, NJ
General Characteristics, Supply Class
Builders:
National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, CA
Date Deployed:
February 26, 1994 - USS Supply (AOE-6)
Power Plant:
Four boilers, geared turbines, two shafts, 100,000 shaft horsepower
Length, Overall:
793 feet (241.71 meters)
Beam:
107 feet (32.61 meters)
Displacement:
48,800 long tons (49,583.15 metric tons) full load
Speed:
25 knots (28.77+ miles per hour, 46.30 km per hour)
Crew:
40 officers, 627 enlisted
Armament:
NATO Sea Sparrow missiles
Two Phalanx close-in weapons systems
Two 25mm machine guns
Aircraft:
Three UH-46E Sea Knight helicopters
Ships:
USS Supply (AOE-6), Earle, NJ
USS Rainer (AOE-7), Bremerton, WA
USS Arctic (AOE-8), Earle, NJ
USS Bridge (AOE-10), Bremerton, WA
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:35pm
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AS - L.Y. Spear Class Sub
Function: Submarine Tenders furnish maintenance and logistic support for nuclear attack submarines.
History: The L.Y. Spear class is designed and fitted to accommodate attack submarines and can service up to four submarines moored alongside simultaneously. The Simon Lake class was configured especially to service ballistic missile submarines, the last of this class was decommissioned June 25, 1999.
Description: Submarine tenders are the largest of the active auxiliaries. Their crews are made up mostly technicians and repair personnel.
General Characteristics, L.Y. Spear Class
Builders:
Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction Company (AS-39 through AS-41)
Date Deployed:
July 7, 1979 (USS Emory S. Land)
Power Plant:
Two boilers, geared turbines, one shaft, 20,000 shaft horsepower
Length, Overall:
644 feet (196.30 meters)
Beam:
85 feet (25.91 meters)
Displacement:
Approximately 23,493 long tons (23,870.02 metric tons) full load
Speed:
20 knots (23.02 miles, 37.05 km, per hour)
Crew:
97 officers, 1,266 enlisted
Armament:
Two 40mm guns
Four 20mm guns
Aircraft:
None
Ships:
USS Emory S. Land (AS-39), La Maddalena, Italy
USS Frank Cable (AS-40), Guam
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 11:34pm
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CG47 - Ticonderoga Class
Function: Surface Action Combatant with multiple target response capability.
Description: Based on the DD963 Spruance class destroyer hull, the Ticonderoga is the first non-nuclear cruiser since the CG26 Belknap class guided missile cruiser, commissioned in 1964. The Ticonderoga uses the same gas turbine propulsion system as the Spruance, though it lacks hull stabilizers and is equipped with supplemental Kevlar armor to provide additional protection in critical areas. With 27 cruisers slated for construction over a period of 14 years, construction was broken up into four separate "blocks" to take advantage of technological advancements.
Since the commissioning of the final Ticonderoga class cruiser (CG73 USS Port Royal) the class has undergone three technology "block" upgrades.
Block I: Includes CG47 and CG48. Block I represents the "baseline" design, incorporating fore and aft Mk 26 Mod 5 missile launchers, 2 SH-2F Seasprite LAMPS I ASW/Recon helicopters, and the AN/SPY-1A radar.
Block II: Includes CG49-CG51. Replaces the 2 SH-2F LAMPS I helicopters with 2 SH-60B Seahawk helicopters (LAMPS III.) In addition the RAST haul down helicopter landing system is also incorporated and SM-2MR Block II Standard missile is introduced.
Block III: Includes CG52-CG55. Mk 26 Mod 5 missile launchers are removed and replaced with fore and aft Mk 41 Mod 0 Vertical Launch Systems (VLS.) In addition, the Ticonderoga's anti-ship and land strike potential are increased with the introduction of VLS launched Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Block IV: Includes CG56-CG58. The class' ASW capabilities are improved with the addition of the SQQ-89(V)3 towed passive sonar array. Later retrofitted with UYK-43/44 combat information system.
Block V: Includes CG59-CG73. Encompassing the remaining cruisers, the Aegis radar is upgraded to the AN/SPY-1B and the combat information systems are upgraded to the UYK-43/44 standard.
Following the completion of class' production run, a number of weapon and electronic systems upgrades have been introduced, improving the combat and sensor capabilities of the class. The Block IV SM-2 has replaced the SM-2MR Block II, which, coupled with improved tracking ability, gives the class a Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD) capability. In addition, improvements have been made in Tomahawk guidance capabilities. In order to improve small craft targeting and tracking, the Mk 15 Mod 2 Phalanx Close In Weapon System (CIWS) is being upgraded with thermal imaging units, though the weapon systems are slated to be replaced with the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM block I) beginning in 2001.
History: Commissioned on 22 January, 1983, the Ticonderoga represents a revolution in surface warfare ship design. Though similar in design to earlier ships (specifically the DD963 Spruance class destroyer), the Ticonderoga class differs in that its primary weapon system is not a weapon at all, but the powerful SPY-1 Aegis radar. Capable of acquiring, tracking, and engaging multiple targets simultaneously, the Aegis system sets a new standard in Surface and Anti-Air Warfare. Furthermore, the Aegis system can integrate itself with the weapon and combat information systems of other ships in the battle group, to coordinate and direct the actions of the entire group. This capability allows the Ticonderoga cruiser battle groups to operate effectively and for an extended period in any Anti-Air, Anti-Submarine, Anti-Surface or strike environment.
General Characteristics, Ticonderoga Class
Cost:
About $1 billion each
Builders:
Ingalls Shipbuilding: CG 47-50, CG 52-57, 59,62, 65-66, 68-69, 71-73
Bath Iron Works: CG-51,58,60-61,63-64,67,70
Power Plant:
4 General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines; 2 shafts with controllable reversible pitch propellers, 80,000 shaft horsepower total
Date Deployed:
January 22, 1983 (USS Ticonderoga)
Crew:
24 Officers, 340 Enlisted
Sensors:
Radars:
1 AN/SPY-1 phased array air search and fire control radar
1 AN/SPS-49 air search radar
1 AN/SPS-55 surface search radar
1 AN/SPS-64 surface search radar
1 AN/SPQ-9A gunfire control radar
4 AN/SPG-62 fire control illuminators
Sonars:
One AN/SQS-53 hull mounted sonar
One AN/SQR-19 towed array sonar
One AN/SQQ-89 ASW combat system
Countermeasures:
One Mk 36 Mod 2 Super Rapid-Blooming Off Board Chaff System (SRBOC)
One AN/SLQ-32(v)3 electronic warfare suite
One AN/SLQ-25 towed torpedo decoy (Nixie)
Length, Overall:
567 feet (172.82 meters)
Beam:
55 feet (16.76 meters)
Displacement:
9,600 long tons (9,754.06 metric tons) full load
Speed:
30+ knots (34.52+mph, 55.55+ kph)
Armament:
Guns:
Two Mk 45 5"/54 caliber Lightweight Gun Mounts
Torpedos:
Two Mk 32 Mod 14 triple torpedo tubes firing either the Mk 46 Mod 5 or Mk 50 ASW torpedoes
CG52 - CG73 Vertical Launch ASROC with Mk 46 Mod 5 or Mk 50 ASW torpedoes
Missiles:
Tomahawk cruise missiles
Standard 2MR Surface to Air missile
Vertical Launch ASROC torpedoes
CG47-CG51 Missiles launched from fore and aft twin rail launchers
CG52-CG73 Missiles launched from 2 forward mounted Mk 41 Vertical Launch Systems (VLS)
Two aft mounted Harpoon Missile Quad-Cannister Launcher
One Mk 15 Mod 2 Close-In Weapon System (2 mounts)
Aircraft:
Two SH-2 Seasprite (LAMPS) in CG 47-48
Two SH-60 Sea Hawk (LAMPS III)
Ships:
USS Ticonderoga (CG 47), Pascagoula, MI
USS Yorktown (CG 48), Pascagoula, MI
USS Vincennes (CG 49), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Valley Forge (CG 50), San Diego, CA
USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51), Pascagoula, MI
USS Bunker Hill (CG 52), San Diego, CA
USS Mobile Bay (CG 53), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Antietam (CG 54), San Diego, CA
USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), Norfolk, VA
USS San Jacinto (CG 56), Norfolk, VA
USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), San Diego, CA
USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), Norfolk, VA
USS Princeton (CG 59), San Diego, CA
USS Normandy (CG 60), Norfolk, VA
USS Monterey (CG 61), Norfolk, VA
USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Cowpens (CG 63), San Diego, CA
USS Gettysburg (CG 64), Norfolk, VA
USS Chosin (CG 65), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Hue City (CG 66), Mayport, FA
USS Shiloh (CG 67), San Diego, CA
USS Anzio (CG 68), Norfolk, VA
USS Vicksburg (CG 69), Mayport, FA
USS Lake Erie (CG 70), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Cape St. George (CG 71), Norfolk, VA
USS Vella Gulf (CG 72), Norfolk, VA
USS Port Royal (CG 73), Pearl Harbor, HI
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David
Tue August 9, 2005 12:21pm
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USS Wasp CV 7 25 Apr 1940
USS Wasp CV 7 25 Apr 1940 15 Sep 1942
USS Wasp (CV-7) entering Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 26 May 1942. An escorting destroyer is in the background.
displacement: 14,700 tons
length: 741 feet 4 inches
beam: 80 feet 8 inch; extreme width at flight deck: 109 feet
draft: 19 feet 11 inches
speed: 29? knots
complement: 2,367 crew
armament: 8 five-inch guns, 16 1.1-inch guns, 16 .50-cal. machine guns
aircraft: 80
class: Wasp
The eighth Wasp(CV-7) was laid down on 1 April 1936 at Quincy, Mass., by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., launched on 4 April 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Charles Edison, the wife of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Charles Edison; and commissioned on 25 April 1940 at the Army Quartermaster Base, South Boston, Mass., Capt. John W. Reeves, Jr., in command.
Wasp remained at Boston through May, fitting out, before she got underway on 5 June 1940 for calibration tests on her radio direction finder gear. After further fitting out while anchored in Boston harbor, the new aircraft carrier steamed independently to Hampton Roads, Va., anchoring there on 24 June. Four days later, she sailed for the Caribbean in company with USS Morris (DD-417).
En route, she conducted the first of many carrier qualification tests. Among the earliest of the qualifiers was Lt. (jg.) David T. McCampbell, who later became the Navy's top-scoring "ace" in World War II. Wasp arrived at Guantanamo Bay in time to "dress ship" in honor of Independence Day.
Tragedy marred the carrier's shakedown. On 9 July, one of her Vought SB2U-2 Vindicators crashed two miles from the ship. Wasp bent on flank speed to close, as did the plane-guarding destroyer Morris. The latter's boats recovered items from the plane's baggage compartment, but the plane itself had gone down with its crew of two.
Wasp departed Guantanamo Bay on 11 July and arrived at Hampton Roads four days later. There, she embarked planes from the 1st Marine Air Group and took them to sea for qualification trials. Operating off the southern drill grounds, the ship and her planes honed their skills for a week before the Marines and their planes were disembarked at Norfolk, and the carrier moved north to Boston for post-shakedown repairs.
While civilian workmen from the Bethlehem Steel Co. came on board the ship to check their workmanship and to learn how it had stood up under the rigors of shakedown, Wasp lay alongside the same pier at which she had been commissioned. While at Boston, she fired a 21-gun salute and rendered honors to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose yacht, USS Potomac (AG-25), stopped briefly at the Boston Navy Yard on 10 August.
Wasp departed the Army Quartermaster Base on the 21st to conduct steering drills and full-power trials. Late the following morning, she got underway for Norfolk. For the next few days, while USS Ellis (DD-164) operated as plane guard, Wasp launched and recovered her aircraft: fighters from Fighter Squadron (VF) 7 and scout-bombers from Scouting Squadron (VS) 72. The carrier put into the Norfolk Navy Yard on 28 August for repair work on her turbines ? alterations which kept the ship in dockyard hands into the following month. Drydocked during the period from 12 to 18 September, Wasp ran her final sea trials in Hampton Roads on 26 September 1940.
Ready now to join the fleet and assigned to Carrier Division (CarDiv) 3, Patrol Force, Wasp shifted to Naval Operating Base (NOB), Norfolk from the Norfolk Navy Yard on 11 October. There she loaded 24 P-40s from the 8th Army Pursuit Group and nine O-47As from the 2d Observation Squadron, as well as her own spares and utility unit Grumman J2Fs on the 12th. Proceeding to sea for maneuvering room, Wasp flew off the Army planes in a test designed to compare the take-off runs of standard Navy and Army aircraft. That experiment, the first time that Army planes had flown from a Navy carrier, foreshadowed the use of the ship in the ferry role that she performed so well in World War II.
Wasp then proceeded on toward Cuba in company with USS Plunkett (DD-431) and USS Niblack (DD-424). The carrier's planes flew routine training flights, including dive-bombing and machine gun practices, over the ensuing four days. Upon arrival at Guantanamo, Wasp's saluting batteries barked out a 13-gun salute to Rear Admiral Hayne Ellis, Commander, Atlantic Squadron, embarked in USS Texas (BB-35), on 19 October.
For the remainder of October 1940 and into November, Wasp trained in the Guantanamo Bay area. Her planes flew carrier qualification and refresher training flights while her gunners sharpened up their skills in short-range battle practices at targets towed by the new fleet tug USS Seminole (AT-65). While operating in the Culebra, Virgin Islands, area, Wasp again teamed with the aviators of the 1st Marine Air Wing, giving the flying Leathernecks practice in carrier take-offs and landings.
Her work in the Caribbean finished, Wasp sailed for Norfolk and arrived shortly after noon on 26 November. She remained at the Norfolk Navy Yard through Christmas of 1940. Then, after first conducting degaussing experiments with USS Hannibal (AG-1), she steamed independently to Cuba.
Arriving at Guantanamo Bay on 27 January 1941, Wasp conducted a regular routine of flight operations into February. With USS Walke (DD-416) as her plane guard, Wasp operated out of Guantanamo and Culebra, conducting her maneuvers with an impressive array of warships ? Texas, USS Ranger (CV-4), USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37), USS Wichita (CA-45) and a host of destroyers. Wasp ran gunnery drills and exercises, as well as routine flight training evolutions, into March. Underway for Hampton Roads on 4 March, the aircraft carrier conducted a night battle practice into the early morning hours of the 5th.
During the passage to Norfolk, heavy weather sprang up on the evening of 7 March. Waspwas steaming at standard speed, 17 knots, a pace that she had been maintaining all day. Off Cape Hatteras, a lookout in the carrier spotted a red flare arcing into the stormy black night skies at 2245. The big ship swung around to head in the direction of the distress signal while a messenger notified the captain, who reached the bridge in an instant. Capt. Reeves himself took the conn, as a second set of flares was seen at 2259.
Finally, at 2329, with the aid of her searchlights probing the wet night, Wasp located the stranger in trouble. She proved to be the lumber schooner George E. Klinck, bound from Jacksonville, Fla., to Southwest Harbor, Maine.
The sea, in the meantime, worsened from a state 5 to a state 7. Wasplay to, maneuvering alongside at 0007 on 8 March 1941. At that time, four men from the schooner clambered up a swaying jacob's ladder buffeted by gusts of wind. Then, despite the raging tempest, Wasp lowered a boat, at 0016, and brought the remaining four men aboard from the foundering 152-foot schooner.
Later that day, Wasp disembarked her rescued mariners and immediately went into drydock at the Norfolk Navy Yard. The ship received vital repairs to her turbines. Port holes on the third deck were welded over to provide better watertight integrity, and steel splinter shielding around her 5-inch and 1.1-inch batteries was added. After those repairs and alterations were finished, Wasp got underway for the Virgin Islands on 22 March, arriving at St. Thomas three days later. She soon shifted to Guantanamo Bay and loaded marine stores for transportation to Norfolk.
Returning to Norfolk on 30 March, Waspconducted routine flight operations out of Hampton Roads over the ensuing days and into April. In company with USS Sampson (DD-394), the carrier conducted an abortive search for a downed patrol plane in her vicinity on 8 April. For the remainder of the month, Wasp operated off the eastern seaboard between Newport, R.I., and Norfolk conducting extensive flight and patrol operations with her embarked air group. She shifted to Bermuda in mid-May, anchoring at Grassy Bay on the 12th. Eight days later, the ship got underway in company with USS Quincy (CA-39), USS Livermore (DD-429), and USS Kearny (DD-432) for exercises at sea before returning to Grassy Bay on 3 June. Wasp sailed for Norfolk three days later with USS Edison (DD-439) as her antisubmarine screen.
After a brief stay in the Tidewater area, Wasp headed back toward Bermuda on 20 June 1941. Waspand her escorts patrolled the stretch of the Atlantic between Bermuda and Hampton Roads until 5 July, as the Atlantic Fleet's neutrality patrol zones were extended eastward. Reaching Grassy Bay on that day, she remained in port a week before returning to Norfolk sailing on 12 July in company with USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37), USS Grayson (DD-435), USS Anderson (DD-411), and USS Rowan (DD-405).
Following her return to Norfolk on the 13th, Wasp and her embarked air group conducted refresher training off the Virginia capes. Meanwhile, the situation in the Atlantic had taken on a new complexion, with American participation in the Battle of the Atlantic only a matter of time, when the United States took another step toward involvement on the side of the British. To protect American security and to free British forces needed elsewhere, the United States made plans to occupy Iceland. Wasp played an important role in the move.
Late on the afternoon of 23 July, while the carrier lay alongside Pier 7, NOB Norfolk, 32 Army Air Force (AAF) pilots reported on board "for temporary duty." At 0630 the following day, Wasp's crew watched an interesting cargo come on board, hoisted on deck by the ship's cranes: 30 Curtiss P-40s and three PT-17 trainers from the AAF 33d Pursuit Squadron, 8th Air Group, Air Force Combat Command, home-based at Mitchell Field, N.Y. Three days later, four newspaper correspondents ? including the noted journalist Fletcher Pratt ? came on board.
The carrier had drawn the assignment of ferrying those vital Army planes to Iceland because of a lack of British aircraft to cover the American landings. The American P-40s would provide the defensive fighter cover necessary to watch over the initial increment of American occupying forces. Wasp consequently cast off from Pier 7 and slipped out to sea through the swept channel at 0932 on 28 July, with USS O'Brien (DD-415) and USS Walke as plane guards. USS Vincennes (CA-44) later joined the formation at sea.
Within a few days, Wasp's group joined the larger Task Force (TF) 16 ? consisting of USS Mississippi (BB-41), Quincy, Wichita, five destroyers, USS Semmes (AG-24), USS American Legion (AP-35), USS Mizar (AF-12), and USS Almaack (AK-27). Those ships, too, were bound for Iceland with the first occupation troops embarked. On the morning of 6 August 1941, Wasp, Vincennes, Walke, and O'Brien parted company from TF 16. Soon thereafter, the carrier turned into the wind and commenced launching the planes from the 33d Pursuit Squadron. As the P-40s and the trio of trainers droned on to Iceland, Wasp headed home for Norfolk, her three escorts in company. After another week at sea, the group arrived back at Norfolk on 14 August.
Underway again on 22 August, however, Wasp put to sea for carrier qualifications and refresher landings off the Virginia capes. Two days later, Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, Commander Cruisers, Atlantic Fleet, shifted his flag from USS Savannah (CL-42) to Wasp, while the ships lay anchored in Hampton Roads. Underway on the 25th, in company with Savannah, USS Monssen (DD-436) and Kearny, the aircraft carrier conducted flight operations over the ensuing days. Scuttlebutt on board the carrier had her steaming out in search of a German heavy cruiser, Admiral Hipper, which was reportedly roaming the western Atlantic in search of prey. Suspicions were confirmed for many on the 30th when the British battleship HMS Rodney was sighted some 20 miles away, on the same course as the Americans.
In any event, if they had been in search of a German raider, they did not make contact with her. Wasp and her escorts anchored in the Gulf of Paria, Trinidad, on 2 September, where Admiral Hewitt shifted his flag back to Savannah. The carrier remained in port until 6 September, when she again put to sea on patrol "to enforce the neutrality of the United States in the Atlantic."
While at sea, the ship received the news of a German U-boat unsuccessfully attempting to attack the destroyer USS Greer (DD-146). The United States had been getting more and more involved in the war; American warships were now convoying British merchantmen halfway across the Atlantic to the "mid-ocean meeting point" (MOMP).
Wasp's crew looked forward to returning to Bermuda on 18 September, but the new situation in the Atlantic meant a change in plans. Shifted to the colder climes of Newfoundland, the carrier arrived at Placentia Bay on 22 September and fueled from USS Salinas (AO-19) the following day. The respite in port was a brief one, however, as the ship got underway again, late on the 23d, for Iceland. In company with Wichita, four destroyers, and the repair ship USS Vulcan (AR-6), Wasp arrived at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, on the 28th. Two days earlier, Admiral Harold R. Stark, the Chief of Naval Operations had ordered American warships to do their utmost to destroy whatever German or Italian warships they found. The "short-of-war" operations were drawing frightfully close to the real thing!
With the accelerated activity entailed in the United States Navy's conducting convoy escort missions, Wasp put to sea on 6 October in company with Vincennes and four destroyers. Those ships patrolled the foggy, cold, North Atlantic until returning to Little Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, on the 11th, anchoring during a fierce gale that lashed the bay with high winds and stinging spray. On 17 October, Wasp set out for Norfolk, patrolling en route, and arrived at her destination on the 20th. The carrier soon sailed for Bermuda and conducted qualifications and refresher training flights en route. Anchoring in Grassy Bay on 1 November 1941, Wasp operated on patrols out of Bermuda for the remainder of the month.
October had seen the incidents involving American and German warships multiplying on the high seas. Kearny was torpedoed on 17 October, Salinas took a "fish" on the 28th, and in the most tragic incident that autumn, USS Reuben James (DD-246) was torpedoed and sunk with heavy loss of life on 30 October. Meanwhile, in the Pacific, tension between the United States and Japan increased almost with each passing day.
Wasp slipped out to sea from Grassy Bay on 3 December and rendezvoused with USS Wilson (DD-408). While the destroyer operated as plane guard, Wasp's air group flew day and night refresher training missions. In addition, the two ships conducted gunnery drills before returning to Grassy Bay two days later.
Wasp lay at anchor on 7 December 1941, observing "holiday routine" since it was a Sunday. In the Pacific, the Japanese broke the Sunday morning peace in a devastating surprise attack on the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Their daring attack plunged the United States into World War II in both oceans. On 11 December, Germany and Italy followed Japan into war against the United States.
Meanwhile, naval authorities felt considerable anxiety that French warships in the Caribbean and West Indies were prepared to make a breakout and attempt to get back to France. Accordingly, Wasp, USS Brooklyn (CL-40), and two destroyers, USS Sterett (DD-407) and USS Wilson, departed Grassy Bay and headed for Martinique. Faulty intelligence gave American authorities in Washington the impression that the Vichy French armed merchant cruiser Barfleur had gotten underway for sea. The French were accordingly warned that the auxiliary cruiser would be sunk or captured unless she returned to port and resumed her internment. As it turned out, Barfleur had not departed after all, but had remained in harbor. The tense situation at Martinique eventually dissipated, and the crisis abated.
With tensions in the West Indies lessened considerably, Wasp departed Grassy Bay and headed for Hampton Roads three days before Christmas, in company with USS Long Island (AVG-1), and escorted by USS Stack (DD-406) and Sterett. Two days later, the carrier moored at the Norfolk Navy Yard to commence an overhaul that would last into 1942. After departing Norfolk on 14 January 1942, Wasp headed north and touched at Argentia, Newfoundland, and Casco Bay, Maine, while operating in those northern climes. On 16 March, as part of Task Group (TG) 22.6, she headed back toward Norfolk. During the morning watch the next day, visibility lessened considerably; and, at 0650, Wasp's bow plunged into Stack's starboard side, punching a hole and completely flooding the destroyer's number one fireroom. Stack was detached and proceeded to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where her damage was repaired.
Wasp, meanwhile, made port at Norfolk on the 21st without further incident. Shifting back to Casco Bay three days later, she sailed for the British Isles on 26 March, with Task Force (TF) 39 under the command of Rear Admiral John W. Wilcox, Jr., in USS Washington (BB-56). That force was to reinforce the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy. While en route, Rear Admiral Wilcox was swept overboard from the battleship and drowned. Although hampered by poor visibility conditions, Wasp planes took part in the search. Wilcox' body was spotted an hour later, face down in the raging seas, but it was not recovered.
Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen, who flew his flag in USS Wichita, assumed command of TF-39. The American ships were met by a force based around the light cruiser HMS Edinburgh on 3 April 1942. Those ships escorted them to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
While the majority of TF 39 joined the British Home Fleet ? being renumbered to TF 99 in the process ? to cover convoys routed to North Russia, Wasp departed Scapa Flow on 9 April, bound for the Clyde estuary and Greenock, Scotland. On the following day, the carrier sailed up the Clyde River, past the John Brown Clydebank shipbuilding facilities. There, shipyard workers paused long enough from their labors to accord Wasp a tumultuous reception as she passed. Wasp's impending mission was an important one ? one upon which the fate of the island bastion of Malta hung. That key isle was then being pounded daily by German and Italian planes. The British, faced with the loss of air superiority over the island, requested the use of a carrier to transport planes that could wrest air superiority from the Axis aircraft. Wasp drew ferry duty once again. Having landed her torpedo planes and dive bombers, Wasp loaded 47 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V fighter planes at the King George Dock, Glasgow, on 13 April 1942, before she departed the Clyde estuary on the 14th. Her screen consisted of Force "W" of the Home Fleet ? a group that included the battlecruiser HMS Renown and antiaircraft cruisers HMS Cairo and HMS Charbydis. USS Madison (DD-425) and USS Lang (DD-399) also served in Wasp's screen.
Wasp and her consorts passed through the Straits of Gibraltar under cover of the pre-dawn darkness on 19 April, avoiding the possibility of being discovered by Spanish or Axis agents. At 0400 on 20 April, Wasp spotted 11 Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters on her deck and quickly launched them to form a combat air patrol (CAP) over Force "W".
Meanwhile, the Spitfires were warming up their engines in the hangar deck spaces below. With the Wildcats patrolling overhead, the Spitfires were brought up singly on the after elevator, spotted for launch, and then given the go-ahead to take off. One by one, they roared down the deck and over the forward rounddown, until each Spitfire was aloft and winging toward Malta.
When the launch was complete, Wasp retired toward England, having safely delivered her charges. Unfortunately, those Spitfires, which flew in to augment the dwindling numbers of Gladiator and Hurricane fighters, were tracked by efficient Axis intelligence and their arrival pinpointed. The unfortunate Spitfires were decimated by heavy German air raids which caught many planes on the ground.
As a result, it looked as if the acute situation required a second ferry run to Malta. Accordingly, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, fearing that Malta would be "pounded to bits," asked President Roosevelt to allow Wasp to have "another good sting." Roosevelt responded in the affirmative. Rising to the occasion, Wasp loaded another contingent of Spitfire Vs and sailed for the Mediterranean on 3 May 1942. Again, especially vigilant for submarines, Wasp proceeded unmolested. This time, the British aircraft carrier HMS Eagle accompanied Wasp, and she, too, carried a contingent of Spitfires bound for the "unsinkable aircraft carrier," Malta.
The two Allied flattops reached their launching points early on Saturday, 9 May, with Wasp steaming in column ahead of Eagle at a distance of 1,000 yards. At 0630, Wasp commenced launching planes ? 11 F4F4s of VF-71 to serve as CAP over the task force. The first Spitfire roared down the deck at 0643, piloted by Sergeant-Pilot Herrington, but lost power soon after takeoff and plunged into the sea. Both pilot and plane were lost.
Undaunted by the loss of Herrington, the other planes flew off safely and formed up to fly to Malta. Misfortune, however, again seemed to dog the flight when one pilot accidentally released his auxiliary fuel tank as he climbed to 2,000 feet. He obviously could not make Malta, as the slippery tank fitted beneath the belly of the plane had increased the range of the plane markedly. With that gone, he had no chance of making the island. His only alternatives were to land back on board Wasp or to ditch and take his chances in the water.
Sergeant-Pilot Smith chose the former. Wasp bent on full speed and recovered the plane at 0743. The Spitfire came to a stop just 15 feet from the forward edge of the flight deck, making what one Wasp sailor observed to be a "one wire" landing. With her vital errand completed, the carrier set sail for the British Isles while a German radio station broadcast the startling news that the American carrier had been sunk! Most in the Allied camp knew better, however; and, on 11 May, Prime Minister Churchill sent a witty message to the captain and ship's company of Wasp: "Many thanks to you all for the timely help. Who said a Wasp couldn't sting twice?"
While Wasp was conducting those two important missions to Malta, a train of events far to the westward beckoned the carrier to the Pacific theater. Early in May, almost simultaneously with Wasp's second Malta run ? Operation Bowery ? the Battle of the Coral Sea had been fought. That action turned back the Japanese thrust at Port Moresby. One month later from 4 to 6 June 1942, an American carrier force smashed its Japanese counterpart in the pivotal Battle of Midway. These two victories cost the United States two precious carriers: USS Lexington (CV-2) at Coral Sea and USS Yorktown (CV-5) at Midway. While the Japanese had suffered the damaging of two at Coral Sea and the loss of four carriers at Midway, the United States could scarcely afford to be left with only two operational carriers in the western and central Pacific ? USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Hornet (CV-8). USS Saratoga (CV-3) was still undergoing repairs and modernization after being torpedoed off Oahu in early January 1942.
To prepare to strengthen the American Navy in the Pacific, Waspwas hurried back to the United States for alterations and repairs at the Norfolk Navy Yard. During the carrier's stay in the Tidewater region, Capt. Reeves ? who had been promoted to flag rank ? was relieved by Capt. Forrest P. Sherman on 31 May 1942. Departing Norfolk on 6 June, the last day of the critical Battle of Midway, Wasp sailed with TF 37 which was built around the carrier and the new battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) and escorted by USS Quincy (CA-39) and USS San Juan (CL-54) and a half-dozen destroyers. The group transited the Panama Canal on 10 June, at which time Wasp and her consorts became TF 18, the carrier flying the two-starred flag of Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes. Arriving at San Diego on 19 June, Wasp embarked the remainder of her complement of aircraft, Grumman TBF-1s and Douglas SBD-3s-10 of the former and 12 of the latter conducting their carrier qualification on 22 and 23 June, respectively, the latter replacing the old Vindicators. On 1 July, she sailed for the Tonga Islands as part of the convoy for the five transports that had embarked the 2d Marine Regiment.
While TF 18 and the transports were en route to Tongatabu, Wasp received another congratulatory message, this time from Admiral Noyes, embarked in the ship. "During the two weeks my flag has been in Wasp I have been very favorably impressed by the fine spirit of her ship's company and the way that all hands have handled their many problems. Since we have been at sea, every day has shown marked improvement in operations. I am sure that when our opportunity comes to strike the enemy in this ocean, Wasp and her squadrons will add more glory to the name she bears." Noyes' hopes were to be realized, but for all too brief a time.
Four days out of Nukualofa harbor, Wasp developed serious engine trouble. The ship's "black gang," however, worked diligently to do the preliminary work in lifting, repairing, and replacing the ship's starboard high-pressure turbine. The work done en route substantially helped enough to allow speedy completion of the repairs after the ship dropped her hook at Tongatabu on 18 July 1942.
Meanwhile, preparations to invade the Solomon Islands were proceeding apace. Up to that point, the Japanese had been on the offensive, establishing their defensive perimeter around the edge of their "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere."
On 4 July, while Waspwas en route to the South Pacific, the Japanese landed on Guadalcanal. Allied planners realized that if the enemy operated land-based aircraft from that key island, then it immediately imperiled Allied control of the New Hebrides and New Caledonia area. Rather than wait until the Japanese were firmly entrenched, they proposed to evict the Japanese before they got too deeply settled. Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, who had attained a sterling record in London as Special Naval Observer, was detailed to take command of the operation, and he established his headquarters at Auckland, New Zealand. Since the Japanese had gotten a foothold on Guadalcanal, time was of the essence. Preparations for the invasion proceeded apace with the utmost secrecy and speed.
Wasp, together with the carriers Saratoga and Enterprise, was assigned to the Support Force under Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. Under the tactical command of Rear Admiral Noyes, embarked in Wasp, the carriers were to provide air support for the invasion.
Wasp and her airmen worked intensively practicing day and night operations to hone their skills to a high degree. Pilot qualification and training, necessitated by the ship's recent operations in the Atlantic and by the re-equipment of her air group and newer types of planes, proceeded at an intensive pace and, by the time the operations against Guadalcanal were pushed into high gear, Capt. Sherman was confident that his airmen could perform their mission. "D-day" had originally been set for 1 August, but the late arrival of some of the transports carrying Marines pushed the date to 7 August.
Wasp, screened by USS San Francisco (CA-38), USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), and four destroyers, steamed westward toward Guadalcanal on the evening of 6 August until midnight. Then, she changed course to the eastward to reach her launch position 84 miles from Tulagi one hour before the first rays of sunlight crept over the horizon. A fresh breeze whipped across the carrier's darkened flight deck as the first planes were brought up to prepare for launch. The night offshore was bright, but clouds hung heavily over the assigned objective. So far, so good. No Japanese patrols had been spotted.
At 0530, the first planes from Wasp's air group barreled down the deck: 16 F4F-4s under Lt. Comdr. Courtney Shands. Then, 15 SBD-3s under Lt. Comdr. John Eldridge, Jr. and the TBF-1 flown by the air group commander, Lt. Comdr. Wallace M. Beakley, fitted with a larger gasoline tank in its bomb bay to lengthen its time in the air, followed seven minutes later. At 0557, the first combat air patrol fighter took off.
The early flights of F4Fs and SBDs were assigned specific targets: Tulagi, Gavutu, Tanambogo, Halavo, Port Purvis, Haleta, Bungana, and the radio station dubbed "Asses' Ears." After taking off, the 16 Wildcats split up into sections and raced off to their respective hunting areas. At about 0600, the planes passed over the transport area off Lunga Point, as the ships were preparing to disembark their troops. In the pre-dawn darkness, the ships were almost invisible until the fighters passed directly over them. Soon, the fourth division of Shands' flight climbed to 5,000 feet above Tulagi to serve as CAP for the strafers. The third division broke off and headed for their target ? Haleta ? before Shands took three planes around the northwest tip of Tulagi.
Shands and his wingman, Ensign S. W. Forrer, then swung down the north coast toward Gavatu. The other two headed for Tanambogo, to work over the seaplane facilities there. The Japanese appeared to be caught flat-footed, and the Grummans, arriving simultaneously at daybreak, shot up all of the patrol planes and fighter-seaplanes that were in the area. Fifteen Kawanishi flying boats and seven Nakajima floatplane fighters ? the seaplane derivative of the Mitsubishi Zero ? were destroyed by Shands' fighters that flew almost "on the deck." Shands himself bagged at least four Nakajima single-float fighter seaplanes and one four-engined flying boat. His wingman, Forrer, bagged three floatplane fighters and one patrol plane. Lt. Wright and Ens. Kenton bagged three patrol planes apiece and destroyed a motorboat apparently attempting to tend the flying boats; Ensigns Reeves and Conklin each bagged two and shared a fifth patrol plane between them. In addition, the strafing F4Fs destroyed an aviation fuel truck and a truck loaded with spare parts.
The SBDs, too, laid their bombs "on the money." Post-attack assessment estimated that the antiaircraft and shore battery sites pinpointed by intelligence had been destroyed by the dive bombers in their first attack. So complete was the enemy's unpreparedness that none of Wasp's planes was shot down. Only one plane from the 16 Grummans failed to return, and, in that case, its pilot, Ensign Reeves, put her down on board Enterprise after having run low on fuel.
That was not all, however. At 0704, 12 Grumman TBF-1s, led by Lt. H. A. Romberg, rolled ponderously down the deck, loaded with bombs for use against land targets. Having encountered resistance, the initial landing forces called for help. Romberg's dozen Avengers blasted enemy troop concentrations east of the nob of land known as Hill 281, in the Makambo-Sasapi sector, and the prison on Tulagi Island. "All enemy resistance," the official report later stated, was "apparently effectively silenced by this flight."
The first day's operations against Guadalcanal had proved successful. Some 10,000 men had been put ashore there and met only slight resistance. On Tulagi, however, the Japanese resisted stoutly, retaining about one-fifth of the island by nightfall. Wasp, Saratoga, and Enterprise, with their screens, retired to the southward at nightfall.
Wasp returned the next morning, 8 August 1942, to maintain a continuous CAP over the transport area until noon. These fighters were led by Lt. C. S. Moffett. Meanwhile, she also launched a scouting flight of 12 SBD-3s led by Lt. Comdr. E. M. Snowden. The Dauntlesses searched a sector to a radius of 220 miles from their carrier, extending it to include all of the Santa Isabel Island and the New Georgia group.
The Dauntless pilots sighted nothing that morning and made no contact with the enemy during their two hours in the air. But that was soon to change for the flight leader. At 0815, Snowden sighted a Rufe some 40 miles from Rekata Bay and gave chase. The Japanese airman, seeing that he had been spotted, had no stomach for a fight. He pulled up and attempted to use the clouds for cover. Each time the dogged dive bomber pilot gunned the SBD-3 after him. Twice the Rufe headed for the clouds. Snowden finally pulled within close range, and, using his two fixed .50-caliber guns, fired a short burst that hit home, causing the Rufe to spin into the Solomon Sea.
Meanwhile, a large group of Japanese planes approached from Bougainville, apparently bent upon attacking the transports off Lunga Point. Upon learning of their approach, Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner ordered all transports to get underway and to assume cruising disposition. The Americans accordingly cleared the decks for action. Wasp's planes took part in the melee that followed, some planes by accident.
Lt. Comdr. Eldridge, again leading a formation of SDB-3s from VS-71, had led his planes against Mbangi Island, off Tulagi, the site of some still fierce Japanese resistance. Eldridge's rear seat gunner, Aviation Chief Radioman L. A. Powers, suddenly spotted a formation of planes coming in from the northeast, but thinking them to be a relief flight, Eldridge continued on his present course. The Americans did a double-take, however, and discovered that the planes were, in fact, enemy. At that instant, six Zeroes showed up and bounced the first section, but showed remarkably little skill in the attack, for they made 12 firing passes but could not down any of the Dauntlesses.
Meanwhile, the leader of the last section of VS-71, Lt. (jg.) Robert L. Howard, spotted a cluster of twin-engined G4M1 Betty bombers heading for the American transports. Howard dove to the attack, but, in his excitement, failed to flip his armament switch to "on." After two runs during which his guns had failed to fire ? thinking that the guns needed to be recharged ? he discovered his error, but too late to do anything about the Mitsubishi bombers. At that moment, four Zeroes, escorts for the bombers, attacked the single SBD.
Howard's rear gunner, Seaman 2d Class Lawrence P. Lupo, handled his twin 30-caliber mount magnificently and kept the enemy fighters at arm's length, his bullets scoring several hits on them as well. After about eight passes, one Zero veered up sharply and made a head-on run that Howard met with simultaneous fire from his fixed .50s. The Zero caught fire like a flying tinder box, passed close aboard the Dauntless' left wing, and crashed in flames amidst the American landing craft far below. At the same time Howard was downing the Zero ahead, Seaman Lupo was firing on another Zero making an attack from the stern. Lupo kept the enemy away, but he had to shoot through his own plane's vertical stabilizer to do it. Eventually the enemy tired of sporting with the SBD and retired to leave Howard and his squadron mates in VS-71 to return safely to their carrier.
At 1807 on 8 August 1942, Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher recommended to Ghormley, at Noumea, that the air support force be withdrawn. Fletcher, concerned by the large numbers of enemy planes that had attacked on the 8th, reported that he had only 78 fighters left (he had started with 99) and that fuel for the carriers was running low. Ghormley approved the recommendation, and Wasp joined Enterprise and Saratoga in retiring from Guadalcanal. By midnight on 8 August, the landing had been a success, having attained its immediate objectives. All Japanese resistance, except for a few snipers, on Gavutu and Tanombogo had been overcome. Early on 9 August, a Japanese surface force engaged an American one off Savo Island and retired at very little cost to themselves. The Allied force suffered loss of four heavy cruisers off Savo Island, including two that had served with Wasp in the Atlantic: Vincennes and Quincy. The early and unexpected withdrawal of the support force, including Wasp, when coupled with Allied losses in the Battle of Savo Island, jeopardized the success of the operation in the Solomons.
After the initial day's action in the Solomons campaign, the carrier spent the next month engaged in patrol and covering operations for convoys and resupply units headed for Guadalcanal. The Japanese, while reacting sluggishly to the initial thrust at Guadalcanal, soon began pouring reinforcements down to contest the Allied forces.
Wasp was ordered south by Vice Admiral Fletcher to refuel and did not participate in the Battle of Eastern Solomons on 24 August 1942. That engagement cost the American force the use of the valuable Enterprise. Saratoga was torpedoed a week later and departed the South Pacific war zone for repairs as well. That left only two carriers in the southwest Pacific: Hornet, which had been in commission for only a year, and Wasp.
On Tuesday, 16 September 1942, those two carriers and North Carolina ? with 10 other warships ? were escorting the transports carrying the 7th Marine Regiment to Guadalcanal as reinforcements. Wasp had drawn the job of ready-duty carrier and was operating some 150 miles southeast of San Cristobal Island. Her gasoline system was in use, as planes were being refueled and rearmed for antisubmarine patrol missions; and Wasp had been at general quarters from an hour before sunrise until the time when the morning search returned to the ship at 1000. Thereafter, the ship was in condition 2, with the air department at flight quarters. There was no contact with the enemy during the day, with the exception of a Japanese four-engined flying boat downed by a Wasp Wildcat at 1215.
About 1420, the carrier turned into the wind to launch eight fighters and 18 SBD-3s and to recover eight F4F-3s and three SBDs that had been airborne since before noon. The ship rapidly completed the recovery of the 11 planes, she then turned easily to starboard, the ship heeling slightly as the course change was made. The air department at flight quarters, as they had done in earlier operations, worked coolly at refueling and respotting the ship's planes for the afternoon mission. Suddenly, at 1444, a lookout called out, "three torpedoes . . . three points forward of the starboard beam!"
A spread of four torpedoes, fired from the tubes of the Japanese submarine I-19, churned inexorably closer. Wasp put over her rudder hard-a-starboard, but it was too late. Two torpedoes smashed home in quick succession while a fourth passed ahead. Both hit in the vicinity of gasoline tanks and magazines.
In quick succession, fiery blasts ripped through the forward part of the ship. Aircraft on the flight and hangar decks were thrown about as if they were toys and dropped on the deck with such force that landing gears snapped. Planes triced up in the hangar overheads fell and landed upon those on the hangar deck. Fires broke out almost simultaneously in the hangar and below decks. Soon, the heat of the intense gasoline fires detonated the ready ammunition at the forward antiaircraft guns on the starboard side, and fragments showered the forward part of the ship. The number two 1.1-inch mount was blown overboard and the corpse of the gun captain was thrown onto the bridge where it landed next to Capt. Sherman.
Water mains in the forward part of the ship proved useless, since they had been broken by the force of the explosions. There was no water available to fight the conflagration forward; and the fires continued to set off ammunition, bombs, and gasoline. As the ship listed to starboard between 10 and 15 degrees, oil and gasoline, released from the tanks by the torpedo hit, caught fire on the water.
Sherman slowed to 10 knots, ordering the rudder put to port to try to get the wind on the starboard bow. He then went astern with right rudder until the wind was on the starboard quarter, in an attempt to keep the fire forward. At that point, some flames made central station untenable, and communication circuits went dead. Soon, a serious gasoline fire broke out in the forward portion of the hanger, within 24 minutes of the initial attack, three additional major gasoline vapor explosions occurred. Ten minutes later, Capt. Sherman consulted with his executive officer, Comdr. Fred C. Dickey. The two men saw no course but to abandon, as all fire-fighting was proving ineffectual. The survivors would have to be gotten off quickly if unnecessary loss of life was not to be incurred.
Reluctantly, after consulting with Rear Admiral Noyes, Capt. Sherman ordered "abandon ship" at 1520. All badly injured men were lowered into rafts or rubber boats. Many unwounded men had to abandon from aft because the forward fires were burning with such intensity. The departure, as Capt. Sherman observed it, looked "orderly," and there was no panic. The only delays occurred when many men showed reluctance to leave until all the wounded had been taken off. The abandonment took nearly 40 minutes, and, at 1600 ? satisfied that no one was left on deck, in the galleries, or in the hangar aft ? Capt. Sherman swung over the lifeline on the fantail and slid into the sea.
Although the submarine hazard caused the accompanying destroyers to lie well clear or to shift position, the "tin cans" carried out the rescue efforts with persistence and determination until USS Laffey (DD-459), USS Lansdowne (DD-486), USS Helena (CL-50), and USS Salt Lake City had 1,946 men embarked. The abandoned ship drifted with her crew of remaining dead. The fires greedily traveled aft; four more violent explosions boomed as night began to fall. Lansdowne drew the duty of destruction, and she fired five torpedoes into the dying ship's fire-gutted hull. Three hit, but she remained afloat. By now, the orange flames had enveloped the stern. The carrier literally floated in a burning pool of gasoline and oil. She sank at 2100 by the bow.
Wasp received two battle stars for her World War II service.
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David
Tue August 9, 2005 12:33pm
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USS Hornet CV 12 20 Nov 1
USS Hornet CV 12 20 Nov 1943 26 May 1970
March 1945, with Air Group 17 on the flight deck.
displacement: 27,100 tons
length: 872 feet
beam: extreme width at flight deck: 147? feet
draft: 28 feet
speed: 33 knots
complement: 3,448 crew
armament: 12 five-inch guns, 40 40mm.guns
class: Essex
The eighth Hornet (CV-12) was launched 30 August 1943 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.; sponsored by Mrs. Frank M. Knox, wife of the Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned 29 November 1943, Captain Miles M. Browning in command.
Hornet conducted shakedown training off Bermuda before departing Norfolk 14 February 1944 to join the Fast Carrier Task Force 20 March at Majuro Atoll in the Marshalls. After lending air support to protect the invasion beaches in New Guinea, she conducted massive aerial raids against Japanese bases in the Caroline Islands and prepared to support the amphibious assault for the occupation of the Marianas Islands.
On 11 June 1944 Hornet launched raids on Tinian and Saipan. The following day she conducted heavy bombing attacks on Guam and Rota. During 15 to 16 June, she blasted enemy airfields at Iwo and Chichi Jima to prevent air attacks on troops invading Saipan in the Marianas. The afternoon of 18 June 1944 Hornet formed with the Fast Carrier Task Force to intercept the Japanese First Mobile Fleet, headed through the Philippine Sea for Saipan. The Battle of the Philippine Sea opened 19 June 1944 when Hornet launched strikes to destroy as many land-based Japanese planes as possible before the carrier-based Japanese aircraft came in.
The enemy approached the American carriers in four massive waves. But fighter aircraft from Hornet and other carriers did a magnificent job and broke up all the attacks before the Japanese aerial raiders reached the task force. Nearly every Japanese aircraft was shot down in the great air battles of 19 June 1944 that became commonly known as "The Marianas Turkey Shoot." As the Japanese Mobile Fleet fled in defeat on 20 June, the carriers launched long-range air strikes that sank Japanese carrier Hiji and so damaged two tankers that they were abandoned and scuttled. Admiral Ozawa's own flag log for 20 June 1944 showed his surviving carrier air power as only 35 operational aircraft out of the 430 planes with which he had commenced the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
Hornet, basing from Eniwetok in the Marshalls, raided enemy installations ranging from Guam to the Bonins then turned her attention to the Palaus, throughout the Philippine Sea, and to enemy bases on Okinawa and Formosa. Her aircraft gave direct support to the troops invading Leyte 20 October 1944. During the Battle for Leyte Gulf she launched raids for damaging hits to the Japanese center force in the Battle off Samar, and hastened the retreat of the enemy fleet through the Sibuyan Sea towards Borneo.
In the following months Hornet attacked enemy shipping and airfields throughout the Philippines. This included participation in a raid that destroyed an entire Japanese convoy in Ormoc Bay. On 30 December 1944 she departed Ulithi in the Carolines for raids against Formosa, Indochina, and the Pescadores Islands. In route back to Ulithi, Hornet planes made photo reconnaissance of Okinawa 22 January 1945 to aid the planned invasion of that "last stepping-stone to Japan."
Hornet again departed Ulithi 10 February for full-scale aerial assaults on Tokyo, then supported the amphibious landing assault on Iwo Jima 19-20 February 1945.
Repeated raids were made against the Tokyo industrial complex, and Okinawa was hard hit. On 1 April 1945 Hornet planes gave direct support to the amphibious assault landings on Okinawa. On 6 April her aircraft joined in attacks which sank the mighty Japanese battleship Yamato and her entire task force as it closed Okinawa. The following two months found Hornet alternating between close support to ground troops on Okinawa and hard-hitting raids to destroy the industrial capacity of Japan. She was caught in a howling typhoon 4 to 5 June 1945 which collapsed some 25 feet of her forward flight deck.
Hornet was routed back to the Philippines and from there to San Francisco, arriving 7 July 1946. Her overhaul was complete by 13 September 1945 when she departed as a part of the "Magic Carpet" operation that saw her return home troops from the Marianas and Hawaiian Islands. She returned to San Francisco 9 February 1946. She decommissioned there 15 January 1947, and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Hornet recommissioned 20 March 1951, then sailed from San Francisco for the New York Naval Shipyard where she decommissioned 12 May 1951 for conversion to an attack aircraft carrier (CVA-12). She recommissioned 11 September 1953 and trained in the Caribbean Sea before departure from Norfolk 11 May 1954 on an eight-month global cruise.
After operations in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, Hornet joined the mobile 7th fleet in the South China Sea where 25 July, search planes from her task group shot down two attacking Chinese Communist fighter planes. She returned to San Francisco 12 December 1954, trained out of San Diego, then sailed 4 May 1955 to join the 7th fleet in the Far East.
Hornet helped cover the evacuation of Vietnamese from the Communist controlled north to freedom in South Vietnam, then ranged from Japan to Formosa, Okinawa, and the Philippines in readiness training with the 7th fleet. She returned to San Diego 10 December 1955 and entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard the following month for conversion that included a hurricane bow and the installation of an angled flight deck which permits the simultaneous launching and recovery of aircraft.
Following her modernization overhaul, Hornet operated along the California coast. She departed San Diego 21 January 1957 to bolster the strength of the 7th fleet until her return from the troubled Far East 25 July. Following a similar cruise, 6 January-2 July 1958, she was converted to an Antisubmarine Warfare Support Carrier (CVS-12) in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. On 3 April 1959 she sailed from Long Beach to join the 7th fleet in antisubmarine warfare tactics ranging from Japan to Okinawa and the Philippines. She returned home in October, for training along the western seaboard.
In the following years, Hornet was regularly deployed to the 7th fleet for operations ranging from the coast of South Vietnam, to the shores of Japan, the Philippines and Okinawa. On 25 August 1966 she was on recovery station for the unmanned Apollo moonship that rocketed three-quarters of the way around the globe in 93 minutes before splashdown near Wake Island. Scorched from the heat of its re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, the Apollo space capsule, designed to carry American astronauts to the moon, was brought aboard Hornet after its test.
Hornet returned to Long Beach 8 September, but headed back to the Far East 27 March 1967. She reached Japan exactly a month later and departed Sasebo 19 May for the war zone. She operated in Vietnamese waters throughout the remainder of spring and during much of the summer of 1967 aiding in the struggle to keep freedom alive in Southeast Asia.
Hornet was the recovery carrier for the Apollo 11 moon mission during which astronauts Neil Armstrong, and Edwin Aldrin Jr., landed on and walked on the moon in July 1969. Fellow astronaut Michael Collins remained in orbit around the moon. On 24 November, the Apollo 12 astronauts ? all Naval Aviators ? Richard F. Gordon, Charles Conrad Jr., and Alan L. Bean were recovered by Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Four (HS 4) and returned to Hornet.
Hornet was decommissioned 26 June 1970. Following nearly two decades in mothballs, she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 25 July 1989, and sold for breaking up in April 1993. However, the old carrier was saved from the scrap heap by the efforts of historically-minded citizens and was donated to The Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation for use as a museum at Alameda, Calif., on 26 May 1998.
Hornet received the Presidential Unit Citation and seven battle stars for service in World War II.
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