Free Republic

In a ghostly reminder of the Bay Area's nuclear heritage, scientists announced Thursday they have captured the first clear images of a radioactivity-polluted World War II aircraft carrier that rests on the ocean floor 30 miles off the coast of Half Moon Bay. The USS Independence saw combat at Wake Island and other decisive battles against Japan in 1944 and 1945 and was later blasted with radiation in two South Pacific nuclear tests. The Navy deliberately sank the contaminated ship in 1951 south of the Farallon Islands. The rediscovery of the USS Independence offers a fascinating glimpse into American military...

n the not-too-distant future, drivers in Washington state could cross the Sinclair Inlet on a bridge made of two or three decommissioned aircraft carriers. ... No aircraft carrier is available for the project—not yet, at least. Currently, the backers of the project have their eyes on the USS Independence, which was commissioned in the 1960s and could go to the salvage yard later this year, and the USS Kitty Hawk, a carrier that sailed in the Vietnam War after its 1958 commission.

Here's a Look at The U.S. Navy's New Pirate Catchers. The angular lines located throughout the entire design of the ship are not just for aero-dynamics --they actually serve to deflect radar waves up and away from the original source. This gives the ship a very small radar cross-section much like the Air force F-117 Stealth bomber making it a "radar stealthy" pirate catcher.

Woah, so the U.S. Navy wants to buy both classes of Littoral Combat Ship in equal numbers for a total of 20 ships, double the planned by of 10 Hulls, according to my former colleague Chris Cavas’ latest piece over at Defense News. The Navy, convinced that the competition has driven down the cost for the ships, is asking Congress for permission to award each team contracts for 10 ships, for a total of 20 new LCS hulls. “We’re engaging with key committee members, their staff and industry on whether awarding a 10-ship block buy to each team merits congressional...

I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm’s way,” reads the quote from the larger-than-life father of the U.S. Navy, John Paul Jones, which is posted above a stairway leading to the mess deck on the USS Independence. On a clear, calm day in late March, on only the ship’s fifth full day at sea, the crew saw how fast the Navy’s second Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-2), designed by General Dynamics, could go. In the blue waters far off Florida during its maiden voyage from Key West...

Where are all the sailors? That's usually the first question visitors ask when they step aboard the Independence. The littoral combat ship's unusually small crew -- it takes 40 sailors to operate the $700 million vessel -- is only the beginning of what sets it apart. And if all goes as envisioned, the Independence, which ended its maiden voyage Wednesday at Norfolk Naval Station, could change the way the Navy does business. The Independence and its cousin, the Freedom, were born in concept nearly a decade ago. The military was looking for a quick and cost-effective way to increase its...

The first time Chief Petty Officer Gary Thomas took his place on the bridge of the Navy's newest ship, he remembers, he felt a little nauseous. It wasn't nerves or anything like that. The chief engineman was just more used to being below decks, where most vessels don't sway as much. "As an engineer I had never stood watch on the bridge before," he said. "It's a lot different from being down below the waterline." On this ship, multipurpose monitors allow engineers to oversee the entire operation from a seat on the bridge rather than having to stand watch in...

MOBILE, Alabama (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest warship on Saturday, a 379-feet (115.5- meter) aluminum three-hulled vessel built by General Dynamics Corp, one of two designs vying for billions of dollars of follow-on orders. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead told reporters as he traveled to the ceremony that the new class of fast, flexible shallow-water warships would be useful for a wide range of missions, including responding to humanitarian disasters like the earthquake in Haiti. Roughead said the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) built by Lockheed Martin Corp, a more traditional steel monohull ship which...

My surface ship buddy Tim passed on these photos of the second class of littoral combat ship (LCS 2), named Independence, and built by General Dynamics/Bath iron Works in their Mobile, Alabama shipyards. The other ships built thus far for the LCS program have been by Lockheed Martin and have had their fair share of problems, having had two of their follow-on LCS programs cancelled for cost overruns. Both GD and Lockheed Martin had contracts canceled for their 2nd hulls, due primarily to an inability to agree on a fixed price contract with the Navy (edited thanks to Ken Adams...

May 15, 2008 With naval battles on the high seas now virtually extinct for the U.S. armed forces, the navy's role has become more one of infantry invasion and airstrike support - and with this new role comes a need for vessels more suited to littoral (just offshore) operations. The initial order was placed back in 2005, and the first delivery, the U.S.S. Independence, has just been launched, a speedy trimaran with helicopter decks, a stealthy radar profile and a healthy array of arms. It's configurable to suit a wide array of littoral combat missions, including minesweeping, anti-submarine and surface...

I have no idea how GenDynamics is doing, but this first ship looks absolutley wicked! Its tri-maran hull combined with the capabilities and look of a warship makes it something out of this world!

Note: Click on any of the pictures in this report for a larger image. Over the 2005 Labor Day weekend we drove from Idaho to Bremerton, WA to visit my daughter and son-in-law (active duty US Navy) and our two grandsons. A secondary reason was to take a look at the US Navy reserve fleet there in Bremerton and to see any current US Navy vessels in the yards. The trip over was very beautiful and pleasant. There is a lot of very beuatiful scenary between Idaho and Washington. Here are some pictures of some of that scenary. Once we...