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  • November 30, 1999

Archives For November 30, 1999

Book Review – Fatal Dive

August 28, 2012 — Leave a comment

Peter Stevens

Reporter Peter Stevens’ latest book, Fatal Dive, is an engaging and easy to read work about the disappearance of the US sub USS Grunion off the coast of Alaska during World War II. Launched only a few weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Grunion’s first combat deployment was against Japanese shipping in the Aleutian Islands. Commanded by Lieutenant Commander Jim Abele, Grunion and her 70 man crew successfully sank 2 Japanese sub-chasers, survived a depth charge attack by a Japanese destroyer and then disappeared with all hands after crippling the Japanese merchantman Kano Maru. Apart from Western Union telegrams declaring the crew members Missing In Action, the relatives of the crew were largely kept in the dark as to the causes of the sub’s loss.

Stevens’ straightforward writing style and the book’s relatively short-length of 175 pages (plus a 60 page appendix containing short bios of each crew member) make it a quick, but thoroughly enjoyable read. Fatal Dive chronicles the life of Lt. Commander Abele, the Grunion’s first combat cruise and subsequent loss, and the dramatic story of her discovery by Lt. Commander Abele’s sons 65 years later. Stevens’ avoids getting bogged down in historical minutiae and instead focuses on the characters in the story from both sides of the conflict. His writing effectively conveys the sense of excitement and danger faced by the Abele brothers and their crew as they work to locate the ship in the treacherous waters of the Bering Sea. Stevens concludes the book with a discussion of the causes of the ship’s sinking and why the US Navy subsequently chose to torpedo any explanation of her loss. Fatal Dive is a great choice for a quick weekend read for any history or mystery buff.

In 20th Century, 21st Century, American Shipwrecks, Book Reviews, Japanese Shipwrecks, Merchant Vessels, Warships, WWII
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Mapping of Charleston’s Civil War Naval Battlefield Completed

August 27, 2012 — Leave a comment
Charleston, SC Civil War

The Attack on Fort Sumter, Currier & Ives

Archaeologists from the University of South Carolina just completed a 4 year long survey of Charleston, South Carolina’s Civil War naval battlefield. While many associate Charleston with the attack on Fort Sumter or the CSS Hunley, the city was the scene of multiple naval engagements and an important port for Confederate blockade runners. The archaeological team created a map of wrecks, gun emplacements and harbor obstructions in 2010 and has spent the last 2 years surveying some of those sites.

Among the sites are the wrecks of several Union ironclads that were sunk in action with Confederate land batteries or by “torpedoes” – early versions of what are mines in today’s naval parlance. The archaeologists also sought the wrecks of the “Stone Fleets” – a fleet of approximately 30 ex-whaling ships and merchant vessels purchased by the US Navy, stripped of all valuable implements, loaded with stone and then sunk as block ships in the approach channels to Charleston Harbor. Because the ships were wooden hulled and had been stripped of most of their metal fittings, the USC team had to rely on side scan sonar, further complicating the task of locating the ships. The remains of Confederate blockade runners were also surveyed by the team, including a set of three wrecks that are now buried beneath dry land due to the shifting sands of the beach. The survey will be helpful not only to historians, but also to the US Army Corps of Engineers and other planning entities for the avoidance of wrecks and other obstructions in the harbor.

In 19th Century, 21st Century, American Shipwrecks, Atlantic Ocean, Civil War Shipwrecks, Conservation, Merchant Vessels, Warships
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Royal Navy Announces Specifications of Type 26 Global Combat Ship

August 21, 2012 — Leave a comment
Global Combat Ship

Photo: BAE Systems/MOD

The Royal Navy has projected British power since the 16th century and is responsible for sending hundreds, if not thousands of ships to the sea floor. Yesterday, the UK Ministry of Defence unveiled plans and specifications for the latest weapon in the Royal Navy’s arsenal. Designated the Type 26 Global Combat Ship, the 485.5 foot, 5,314 ton frigate will replace the Royal Navy’s aging Type 23 frigates which began entering service in 1990.

Noted defense contractor BAE Systems designed the ship and incorporated numerous innovations into its plans. A rear helicopter hangar, vertical missile silos,  “a flexible mission space for unmanned air, surface and underwater vehicles, or additional boats” and a medium caliber deck gun give the Type 26 a potent punch. What is most remarkable about the ship is not its armament, but rather its sensor systems and radar silhouette. Even though the ship will be 485.5 feet, its radar silhouette will be akin to that of a small fishing boat. The Type 26’s armament, sensors suite and design give it the ability to perform both power projection and humanitarian duties. Current cost estimates peg the construction of the frigates at approximately $393 – 500 million each and the Royal Navy aims to purchase 13 of the vessels. If the cost troubles of the UK’s two new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers are a guide for the Type 26s, though, then expect costs to be significantly more than $393 – 500 million.

In a separate twist to the procurement story of the Type 26 frigates, the award of the shipyard contracts will take place after Scotland’s 2014 referendum on independence and a vote for independence would most likely keep Scottish shipyards from competing for the contract. Irregardless of where the ships are built, they will give the Royal Navy a formidable tool to ensure freedom of the seas and locales such as the Falkland and South Georgia Islands.

In 21st Century, Royal Navy, Warships
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Former Royal Navy Flagship Discovered Beneath Factory Floorboards

August 18, 2012 — Leave a comment

Photo: Wiki Commons

British archaeologists have finally deciphered a perplexing puzzle found beneath an English millwright’s floorboards. In 1995, workers discovered the timbers of what appeared to be an 18th century warship – it’s just that no one knew what ship the timbers belonged to. Now, 17 years after the initial discovery, archaeologists have been able to identify the ship as the HMS Namur based on an investigation of its structure and fittings. In particular, the ship’s round bow helped archaeologists pinpoint the exact identity of the ship.

HMS Namur served as a ship-of-the-line in Britain’s Royal Navy and was Admiral Edward Boscawen’s flagship at the Battle of Lagos fought 253 years ago today (August 18 – 19, 1759). The ship was later broken up at the Chatham Royal Dockyard in 1833 and her timbers were placed beneath the millwright shop’s floors.

In 18th Century, Conservation, Napoleonic Wars, Royal Navy, Warships
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