Ship Of The Line

I have a thing for ships and shipping.  Living in a maritime community it comes naturally.  There are 34 Coast Guard Cities in the United States, including Sturgeon Bay; the only one in Wisconsin.  For more than 150 years Coast Guard members and their families have called this their home.  

Shipbuilding is a major industry here in northeast Wisconsin - both commercially and for the department of defense.  During WWII the yard in Sturgeon Bay was launching a Liberty Ship in less than five days every month.  In nearby Manitowoc the yard built and launched 10 Gato and 18 Balao Class submarines.  Fincantieri Bay Ship has begun fabrication and assembly of the the US Navy's latest guided missile frigate.  Yes, they're resurrecting the frigate.  Bottom line; our naval roots grow deep.

In his recent speech to assembled US military commanders in Quantico, VA the president advanced his desire to return battleships to the US Navy; describing them as heavily armored, gun-centric, ships that are aesthetically impressive.  Trump further stated that this notion was under serious consideration and with a nod to their massive 16 inch guns that bullets are a lot less expensive than missiles.  The president was critical of the appearance of modern warships sporting stealth technology calling them, ugly.  Naturally, none of this is new as a decade ago candidate Trump delivered an address on the USS Iowa where he suggested recommissioning the ship. 

What is unclear from the Quantico speech is this:  Does the president wish to reactivate old battleships or does he wish to build new ones?  Whichever path is taken presents unique challenges.  Expensive ones too.

There are four remaining WWII era Iowa-class battleships.  Retired decades ago they presently serve as museum ships.  To make them operational would take years and cost billions upon billions of dollars.  Their oil-fired, steam power plants are antiquated and today's sailors are not trained to operate them.  The fire control system is obsolete; besides, 16-inch shells are no longer manufactured.

Build from scratch?  Consider the cost; two or three guided missile frigates could be had for the cost of one battleship.  And as impressive as a 16 inch gun might be; guided missiles and aircraft can hit further, faster and with deadly accuracy.  Smaller ships require smaller crews and large ships of the line are big, fat, high-value targets vulnerable to hypersonic weapons.

Let's face it, president Trump is not a naval architect; and the Navy has a plan to expand the fleet in the decades to come to include both manned and unmanned ships.  Moreover, higher-tech guns and missile tubes stand a better chance of dominating a conflict at sea. 

My guess?  Trump goes off-script most all the time and battleships occupy a memory hole in his vast pothole-ridden brain to emerge in his stream of consciousness like whack-a-mole when triggered.  

They're not gonna happen. 

You can learn more about this subject here. 

Drum

Recent travel to visit with family found us in Mobile Alabama for a week with an opportunity to become temporary Mobilians and soak-up the history, food and ambiance of this coastal city.  A boat ride of the delta estuary provided an opportunity to take-in the waterfront, port facilities and Austal Shipyard up-close and personal.  Including this:  The USS Drum. 

Forward Torpedo Tubes

USS Drum (SS-228) is a historic Gato-class submarine of the United States Navy that served during World War II.  She was laid down September 11, 1940 and commissioned November 1, 1941.  Her builder was Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine and the boat's nickname became "Mighty Drum"

The Helm

Drum conducted 13 total (April 1942 – April 1945) war patrols resulting in 15 confirmed enemy ships sunk, totaling ~80,580 tons. Drum was the first U.S. submarine to conduct a war patrol from Pearl Harbor after the attack by Japan on December 7, 1941; earning 12 Battle Stars and a Navy Unit Commendation.

Electric Motors

She was decommissioned February 16, 1946 and subsequently permanently berthed on display at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, Mobile, Alabama.  Drum is the oldest WWII submarine on public display in the U.S.

 

 

Engine Room

 Fast Facts:

• The Drum survived depth charge attacks and serious damage multiple times.

• Her crew performed numerous daring attacks in Japanese-controlled waters.

• Despite being battle-hardened, no crew member was lost to enemy action during war patrols.  She is a Lucky Boat.

  

  Galley

Max Miller is an American YouTuber and cook known for being the creator and host of Tasting History, a culinary and history fusion web-show that recreates ancient or historical recipes and explains the history around them.

Being a crew member aboard a submarine during World War II was one of the most dangerous jobs in the US military with a fatality rate of over 20%. This, and the extremely cramped and uncomfortable quarters, were why the food aboard a US sub was really good. If nothing else, at least you had delicious food to keep you going.

In this episode Max takes a couple pages out of the Official WWII Navy Cookbook to prepare Swiss Steak with Mashed Potatoes.  These steaks cook up to be fall-apart tender and delicious, and the mashed potatoes have wonderful flavor, even if the texture is a little different from regular mashed potatoes. According to Max the spuds kind of remind him of the mashed potatoes he'd get as a kid in school, which were also probably made from dehydrated potatoes.

Warrior Ethos

Recent travel to visit with family found us in Mobile Alabama for a week with an opportunity to become temporary Mobilians and soak-up the history, food and ambiance of this coastal city.  A boat ride of the delta estuary provided an opportunity to take-in the waterfront, port facilities and Austal Shipyard up-close and personal; including these vessels in the shipyard for routine scheduled maintenance.

The USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE-13) is a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo and ammunition ship of the United States Navy.

USNS Medgar Evers

USNS ships, also known as United States Naval Ships, are owned by the U.S. Navy.  However, they are operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) with civilian crews. While these ships are civilian-manned, some may also have a small military complement for specific functions

Several US Navy vessels have been named after civil rights activists, and some of these names are currently under review for potential renaming. Ships like the USNS Harvey Milk, USNS John Lewis, USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, USNS Medgar Evers and USNS Harriet Tubman are among those being considered for name changes. 

The John Lewis-class of oilers are designed to refuel and resupply other Navy ships at sea and are specifically named after prominent civil rights leaders.  The proposed name changes are part of efforts by the Trump Administration to expunge what they believe are prior diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the military.  

USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206) is the second of the John Lewis-class of underway replenishment oilers, operated by the Military Sealift Command.

USNS Harvey Milk

The potential renaming of these ships has sparked controversy; some of these assets have been deployed for five to fifteen years with sailors and members of the public viewing this as a symbolic erasure of the contributions of these individuals to American history and civil rights. 

Moreover, renaming a ship can be fraught. In naval tradition this practice is widely considered bad luck.  This stems from the belief that a ship has an identity and spirit, which renaming can anger or confuse. This superstition is rooted in ancient Greek mythology, where Poseidon, the god of the sea, was thought to keep a record of all ship names in his "Ledger of the Deep". Changing a ship's name was seen as disrespecting the sea gods and risking their wrath and incurring possible misfortune at sea. 

In further back-and-forth developments Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted just this past Wednesday that military veterans and active-duty troops urged the Trump administration to rename American military bases after Confederate traitors who took up arms against the government to defend the enslavement of Black people — a move the secretary claims is “important for morale.”

In his testimony to the Senate Armed Services committee, Hegseth defended the president’s decision to restore the names of several military bases in the South that were first named in honor of Confederate generals, despite Congress mandating their removal five years ago. 

Time will tell where this all ends-up.  Seems the MAGA movement itself has embraced its own version of Political Correctness and Woke.  

Drama, reality television theatrics and a waste of resources.  Jeesus; anybody else been to this rodeo before?

Still waiting for measurable improvement in your and my prosperity and general lot in life.  And maybe make the world a safer place.  Good thing I am a patient sort.....