Happy 25th, DDG-51
This 4th of July will enjoy extra significance for the U.S. Navy, as it marks the 25th anniversary of a ship class that has become a bulwark of the fleet—the Arleigh Burke–class guided-missile destroyer.
When the first-in-class USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) was commissioned on 4 July 1991, it marked the dawn of a new warship era. The innovative Burke class was the first to boast the Aegis combat system and the SPY-1D multifunction passive electronically scanned array radar. The multimission Burkes were conceived with versatility in mind, with antiair-, antisubmarine-, and antisurface-warfare roles all within their wheelhouse. Through the past quarter-century, the Burkes have been constructed in flights to accommodate technological advances. Flight II debuted in Fiscal Year 1992, Flight IIA in FY 94, and Flight III is slated to begin in 2016. Today, 62 Burkes operate in the fleet, with a total of 76 planned. And from the Bosnian War to the fight against ISIS, the USS Arleigh Burke and sister ships have proven their worth time and again.
It is hard to imagine a more fitting namesake for such a stalwart destroyer class: “31-Knot Burke” himself, highly decorated World War II and Korean War icon, the quintessential destroyerman, Chief of Naval Operations for Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. As CNO, Admiral Arleigh Burke served an unprecedented three terms. He lies in eternal rest at the U.S. Naval Academy cemetery, where his gravestone bears a one-word epitaph: “Sailor.”
The USS Arleigh Burke’s 25th anniversary will be celebrated with numerous events at the ship’s home port of Norfolk, Virginia, over the 4th of July weekend. For detailed event information, visit the USS Arleigh Burke Association at www.arleighburkeassociation.org.
Civil War Sub Coming into Clearer View
The H. L. Hunley has come out of her shell, and most of the lingering questions about the Civil War submarine may be answered later this year.
Save, perhaps, for the greatest mystery: Why did she sink?
Scientists at Clemson University’s Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, South Carolina, finished removing the thick layer of hardened sand, sediment, and shell from the 40-foot sub’s hull last year. They are now beginning similar work on her interior. Most of the Hunley’s crew compartment and ballast tanks are coated in the same organic material—what conservators call “concretion”—and removing it will be far more arduous due to the cramped confines of the 42-inch-wide sub, and the intricacies of her machinery.
Conservator Johanna Rivera-Diaz, who has begun work on the hand cranks the crew used to turn the sub’s propeller, said some of the concretion is coming off easily because for more than a year, the Hunley has been soaking in caustic chemicals to remove remaining salt from the metal hull and parts. That process is expected to take several more years, after which the boat can be displayed in a dry, climate-controlled room.
The Hunley team expects to find more artifacts in her concreted corners, but no one anticipates discovery of any one game-changing clue that explains why the sub did not return after sinking the U.S. screw sloop-of-war Housatonic off Charleston on 17 February 1864.
“We are hoping to find more significant clues, but mostly this will tell us more about how they operated the sub,” said Clemson archaeologist Michael Scafuri. “This will be more akin to an excavation than simply removing concretion.”
The work on the Hunley’s exterior revealed no signs of damage from gunshot, even though the crew of the Housatonic reported firing on her during the attack. The one scar she still carries from the attack is a crack in the cast-iron bow cap. Scafuri said it looks as if the Hunley rammed the Housatonic hard enough to break the sub’s wooden boom and do minor damage to the bow. But that likely did not lead to her sinking.
The Hunley was built by privateers in Mobile in 1863 and shipped to Charleston by train, where she sank twice on training missions—killing most of two crews—before she became the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship in battle. She disappeared after sinking the Housatonic, and was found less than a mile away from that wreck in 1995. She was recovered in 2000.
Since that time, Hunley scientists have excavated the crew compartment, recovering the remains of the eight men who crewed her, along with thousands of individual artifacts. Nothing they have found stands out as a smoking gun in the mystery of her disappearance. Scafuri said the answer probably lies in all the data scientists continue to collect. At some point, he said, all the evidence will only fit one scenario.
—Brian Hicks
What’s Up at the NHHC
Navy Archaeologists Assist in Buried-Ship Mystery
When archaeologists needed assistance after discovering the remains of an 18th-century ship buried in Alexandria, Virginia, they had only to look across the Potomac River for a team of underwater specialists.
The Naval History and Heritage Command’s (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) assisted city archaeologists with measuring and recording the excavated timbers at a warehouse in Alexandria in April.
“We have the Navy team here helping us because their eyes are so much better in terms of looking for features that are significant on a wooden ship,” said Alexandria City Archaeologist Francine Bromberg. “We have relied greatly upon their help and expertise to get a better understanding of what the ship was like.”
NHHC archaeologists used tools such as measuring tapes, calipers, and plumb bobs to measure the remains. Data collected on the curvature of the frames could reveal the shape of the hull, according to UAB archaeologist George Schwarz.
“We are recording each one of the timbers so that we can learn about the ship construction and see if there are any maker’s marks or other indications of specific construction techniques,” Schwarz said.
The recovered ship was built with thousands of trunnels to connect the different elements. Also called treenails, trunnels are wooden pins that swell when exposed to moisture, contributing to watertight integrity.
“It’s a very strong, robustly built ship, and the extensive use of the trunnels is an indication of how structurally sound this ship was,” said Schwarz. “They put a lot of effort into the construction because the builders had to fabricate each wood pin, drill each hole in the timbers by hand, and then plug both elements to attach the planks to the frame. It represents a lot of work.”
UAB was first contacted in December when the buried ship was found at the construction site of a hotel. The team observed the site and provided advice on maritime archaeology and options for preservation.
“While the ship was in position, we used a photo scan program that allowed us to take photographs around the site itself, and then the program basically matched the pictures together and stitched different points to create a photographic 3-D model,” Schwarz said.
Archaeologists believe only a portion of the original ship was buried. After being rediscovered, the pieces of the vessel were moved to a local warehouse for further studies.
“We have a large part of the keel, about 46 feet, an intact stem assembly, and then there are 23 full frames,” Schwarz said. “They may have disassembled parts of the ship for other purposes, such as for buildings and furniture.”
Alexandria was built around a shallow cove with two points jutting out into the Potomac River. To make Alexandria a major maritime port for ocean-going traffic, the entire cove was filled between 1749 and 1798. The ship was likely intentionally used as landfill, according to Bromberg.
“We are excited to be here because it brings our interns an up-close and personal experience on how to document ship construction and ship timbers,” said UAB archaeological conservator Shanna Daniel. “And it helps us practice for projects that will come to us in the future.”
The remains of the Continental Navy schooner Royal Savage are in the UAB warehouse at the Washington Navy Yard. Like the ship in Alexandria, the remains of the schooner were disassembled shortly after they were recovered from Lake Champlain. UAB plans to record each timber to explore the potential for a reconstruction of the Revolutionary War vessel.
The UAB program was founded in 1996 to fill an emerging need for the Department of the Navy to study and preserve its submerged cultural resources. Today, UAB’s mission is to research, conserve, and interpret the Navy’s collection of more than 2,500 shipwrecks and 14,000 aircraft wrecks distributed across the globe.
“As archaeologists, we are interested in contributing to the maritime history of the United States,” Schwarz said. “We are learning more about our collective maritime past by working on this project, whether it is a military vessel or not.”
—Lieutenant (junior grade) Chloe J. Morgan, NHHC