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Captain Walter S. DeLany, Jr., U. S. Navy Associate Editor
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Polaris Site One, Holy Loch
By Captain Joseph F. Heald,
U. S. Navy
Naval Air Reservists’
Airlift to Vietnam
By Commander Milton L. Levy,
U. S. Naval Reserve (R)
Why Not Another Mariner Class of Merchant Ship?
By Captain E. B. Perry,
U. S. Navy (Ret.)
One Hundred Years of Tide Predictions
By Steacy D. Hicks,
Coast and Geodetic
Survey, Environmental Science
Services Administration
The Coast Guard’s Navy Icebreakers
By Chief Journalist Gerald R. Boling,
U. S. Navy
Relative Bearing Navigation
By Lieutenant John H. Bartol, Jr.,
U. S. Navy,
(Officer in Charge,
USS Cove, (MSI-1)
POLARIS SITE ONE, HOLY LOCtf
Site One, the Polaris mobile replenishment site, has been in operation on the Firth of Clyde near Glasgow in Holy Loch, Scotland, since 3 March 1961.
Quietly, but with monotonous regularity the work goes on. To the outside observe1 standing on the Scottish shore, this regularity becomes obvious as more and more subm3'
rines come and go. This regularity of movement, being obvious, vouches for the reliability of the installation, and consequently substantiates the credibility of the deterrent. ^ deterrent is of no use unless it is known t0 be there, always on station.
When Polaris was approaching operational readiness, many discussions were held to de' cide from where Site One should operate. The pros and cons of the continental United States versus overseas replenishment siteS were discussed at great length. The first Polaris missile, the A-l, had a range of only 1,200 miles. To reach all principle target the initial nuclear-powered Polaris ir>lS' sile-firing submarines (SSBNs) had to operate in the eastern Atlantic. This meant long runs back to a U. S. mobile replenishment site wh'1 a consequent loss of time on station.
All effort went into the search for an ovef' seas site where the host country would be amenable to having a nuclear-powered submarine replenishment and refit activity. Tbe Clyde was checked carefully, because of lts proximity to the North Atlantic, the excelled shelter provided by the deep mountains sUr' rounding the many lochs and the proximm of a major overseas airport at Prestwick, Sco£' land. Holy Loch proved to be the ansWerj An agreement was reached with the United Kingdom which gave the United States per’ mission to moor a submarine tender 1,1 Holy Loch and refit nuclear-powered subu'a' rines. The USS Proteus (AS-19) was the first
submarine tender to enter Holy Loch in |^arch 1961. She moored head and stern to uoys in the stream off Ardnadam Pier near Sandbank, Scotland.
The USS Patrick Henry was the first submarine to refit in Holy Loch alongside the newly converted Polaris submarine tender, he Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore oosevelt and many others followed. The r°teus was relieved by the USS Hunley (AS-31)
in March 1963, after having refitted hout 7 5 ballistic missile submarines. A year ater> the new A-3, 2,500-mile missile became operational and the Proteus came back again or two months while the Hunley converted erself to the ^-3. Now, the Hunley has been Fe *eved by the USS Simon Lake, a bigger and newer Polaris submarine tender.
The operational and administrative organi- 2ation for Site One is similar to conventional ^marine squadrons. Commander Subma- Fl.ne Squadron Fourteen has been assigned n'nu submarines with two crews each (one ernbarked and one in the United States for ^ost and retraining), a submarine tender, a y dock and miscellaneous small craft to service these units. There are some facilities ashore along the edge of Holy Loch, but these are under the management and control of Commander, Naval Activities, United Kingdom in London, who is represented locally by the Greenock, Scotland, Detachment. Once the submarine sails for patrol and until it returns to the Clyde, it is under operational control of Commander in Chief, Atlantic, a joint command (Army, Navy, Air Force) who reports directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington.
Site One is more than just a Polaris submarine tender. There are many units that make up the whole site. There are the submarines coming and going from patrol; the ASDB-7 dry dock; stores barge YFNB-31; 18 small craft (LCM, Army 63-foot Box-L, OMB, tugs, and a 50-foot ML); facilities ashore; enlisted and chief petty officer clubs; an exchange; bowling alley; and, the beautiful environment.
The submarines are not just visitors—they arrive for a refit. The repairs that are beyond the capability of the submarine are sent to the tender repair facilities. The submarine’s
At Site
Wh' ®ne> PoLris submarine replenishment base at Holy Loch in Scotland, ;nlc“ has been operating since 1961, the submarine tender Hnnlt
tiling ullILv 1 y U 11JL jULMllllllllC
a nuclear-powered, ballistic-missile submarine.
Hunley lowers a missile
crews must test every piece of equipment on board to ensure that it is in peak operating condition before they depart on patrol. There is no time in the schedule for an extra day. The submarine comes in from a 60-day submerged patrol and has 28 days to be refitted before it must deploy again. The same day the SSBN arrives, her alternate crew arrives, ready to take over from the incumbents. Four days of exchange of information and the old crew is relieved. They are flown back to the United States for rest, relaxation, and retraining before their next patrol, about 85 days after their return.
A great many of the repair items at Site One are routine and quite conventional, but occasionally there is a major job. The tender stationed there, with help from a local shipyard and squadron staff, has replaced two submarine storage batteries, two turbine casings (jobs normally done by a shipyard), replaced piping, and has made repairs to nuclear reactors.
In addition to the repairs, the submarines must, of course, be re-supplied for the next patrol. Spare parts, food, basic consumables and the many other little items so essential to making the patrol a success are loaded. This requires an extensive and efficient supply back-up. This is provided by tender supply activities, supply activities ashore in the United Kingdom (NavActUK, Greenock, Det.) and the supply activities in the United States, Polaris Material Office, Charleston, S. C. All these activities are immediately responsive to an SSBN’s many and varied requests that are ultimately filled at Site One.
The tender is a large, industrial complex with 67 different trades having 37 different organized shops. Since a submarine is a plumber’s heaven of pipes going everywhere, the pipe shop on the tender is large and well stocked. The machine shop provides another important service for the submarines. The electronics area is divided into the many components of missile, radar, sonar, radio, and navigation; and repairs in all of these areas can be undertaken by the tender.
A major factor in the repair of any submarine is replacing faulty parts. The supplf department of the submarine tender has 3 j wide and large stock (89,000 line items)- About 12,000 of these items are used at least twice every 6 months, the rest are insurance j items that must be carried.
The tender, of course, must have the housekeeping facilities to care for the 1,152 enlisted men, 52 officers, and many frequent visitors' The tender provides “hotel” power to submarines alongside to permit them to shut doWf their nuclear reactors. The tender has barbef shops, clothing stores, and gift stores for all hands.
The floating dry dock has been in Hob' Loch since March 1961. It was built during World War II and, though old, can still 1^ two SSBNs side by side. More often, only o^ : is lifted at a time because of the submarine5 schedules. The dock has the unique ability 0 detaching from itself and dry docking any cN
!tladles, additional storage space was gained Mooring a large, covered, general purpose
by
F°lar;
ls Site One. Each is important to the
SUcc,
th,
pf its own four sections, which is a great help ln Maintaining the dock on station. When not actually docking, it becomes an excellent oerth for submarines, tugs, and visiting ships °f any size. During the replacement of a subMarine’s main battery, the floor of the dry dock was used as a staging area for the new and old batteries and the dry dock crane Made all the lifts in and out of the submarine.
For the 18 small craft, the supporting tender must establish a schedule, house, and Urnish crews. With the tender moored bow and stern in the stream, the boating require- 1 cents are extensive. These small craft move oout 125 tons of cargo a month to the tender and return with about 14 tons of retrograde Cargo. In addition, about 800 people a day Move to and from the ship by small boat.
The principal source of supplies to Polaris lte One is the monthly cargo ship. There are tUr of these ships that have been converted carry Polaris missiles and all other items aceded for the missile and the submarine.
tiey run on a regular schedule, arriving at ("no ^ne everY 28 days, carrying as much as J Measurement tons of cargo, which in- udes diesel and furnace fuel for the tender and dry dock, and provisions. They load at k ,e One heavy, low priority, cargo that is eMg salvaged and retrograded. or the storage of large items and inflam-
ammunition barge (YFNB-31), brought °M the United States, behind the tender. q lso in the SUppiy chain is the facility at vrepnock, Scotland, which functions as a con- lence to the Polaris activity. It includes car e^°Use> sorthig, and handling spaces. Air fo t’° Com‘ng from Prestwick is sorted here tr direct delivery to submarines or to the er s storerooms. Cargo that is to be re- M-d to the United States is stowed here, hese are the elements that make up
ess of the program in its own area and 0pcrWh°lc is an effective team. In six years of i ation at the Site One, no submarine has sub ^°r a sc^ec^u^ec^ sailing nor has any PropjarMc aborted a patrol due to material as§o ,eMs. This is a record of which everyone all Clated with Polaris can be proud, especi- mose who have served at Site One.
By Commander Milton L. Levy,
U. S. Naval Reserve (R)
Naval Air Reserve Training Unit, Alameda
NAVAL AIR RESERVISTS’ AIRLIFT TO VIETNAM
Quietly and without fanfare, the Naval Air .Reserve took on a task of carrying high priority military cargo to Southeast Asia, destination Vietnam. These flights were begun in May 1965 upon the request of the Commander-in-Chief of the U. S. Pacific Fleet to the Chief of Naval Operations. These volunteer Naval Air Reserve crews have chalked-up an impressive record. There have been more than 530 flights, accounting for at least 64,000,000 passenger miles and hauling over 16,000,000-ton-miles of cargo. Each flight takes approximately 70 hours from the continental United States.
The first flight was made by an aircrew from the Naval Air Station, Glenview, Illinois, in May 1965. Since then, crews from the 12 Naval Air Reserve activities flying C-118s have delivered to the war area needed cargo that was piling up on the Pacific Coast.
The Commander-in-Chief of the U. S. Pacific Fleet undoubtedly turned to the Naval Air Reserve because it currently has as much if not more airlift capability than the regular Navy. There are 56 active transport (VR) squadrons in the Naval Air Reserve. This is balanced against the three long-haul squadrons in the regular Navy. The Naval Air Reserve has a total of 25 Douglas Liftmaster C-l 18 four-engine cargo planes. The squadrons also have 31 of the older C-54 aircraft. The C-l 18 can carry a payload of about 15,000 pounds, which is about half that of the newer planes used by the regular Navy. The C-54 payload is approximately 6,000 pounds.
Military air export cargo, under the control of Western Area, Military Traffic Management and Terminal Service (WA MTMTS) at Oakland, California, increased by 21 per cent during the quarter ending 31 March 1967. This military cargo tonnage moving
The American full-rigged ship Aristides painting by Mr. Robert Salmon which appeared on the cover of the Proceedings for April 1965 is available in full color as a large- size print (26"X22") suitable for framing. List price $5.00 per print. Member’s price $1.00 per print.
Prints Available
through West Coast ports surpassed the monthly volume of the Korean War and approached the proportions of World War II. The Naval Reserve flights and cargo are not a part of the WA MTMTS effort, but this does indicate the huge amount of cargo that is being airlifted from the Pacific Coast. The Oakland Army Base reported that nearly 84,000 short tons of military supplies and equipment were airlifted overseas during the quarter ending March 1967.
Cargo for Vietnam is loaded on board Naval Reserve aircraft at NAS Alameda. Departures are normally scheduled for a Monday morning, following a Sunday afternoon briefing. The first stop is NAS Barbers Point in Hawaii; other stops include: Guam, the Philippines, and finally Da Nang. Most of the flights return to the Philippines where they pick up either passengers or cargo or both and then head for NAS Atsugi in Japan for crew rest. Following this, they return to Alameda via Midway and NAS Barbers Point.
Reserve stations making these flights to date include Alameda, Andrews, Dallas,
Glenview, Jacksonville, Los Alamitos, Ne" Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Olathe, South Weymouth, and Willow Grove.
The cargo has included just about every* thing. Some of it has been “red label” class1' fied cargo. In a recent Alameda flight, eigh1 helicopter engines were taken into Da Nang from the Philippines, after the cargo from Alameda had been unloaded.
The flights are for the most part in add1' tion to normal weekend drills and the two- week training duty. Tabulation at Alameda finds that 85 per cent of the officer crew and 75 per cent of the enlisted crew are inactive Reservists.
Upon the recommendation of the Com' manding Officer of NARTU Alameda, the Secretary of the Navy’s Commendation f°r Achievement Award has been given to these crew members who have made more than five such flights.
The flights are normally made with aug' mented crews so that the aircraft can be nj the air much of the time and make the round trip in the eight days. The stop at Da Nang is normally only long enough to unload anfl load the plane, then head back to the PhihP' pines or to Japan. The stop may take as lid*1 as 50 minutes. The majority of the pilots lea' e the Da Nang loading area posthaste, as space is at a premium.
About 2,000 landings are made at ^ field each 24 hours, making it one of the bus1' est in the world and no place to linger. * score of different types of aircraft are packe in the various loading areas. The Da Nang a*r" base also serves as a terminal for civili3*’ flights to Vietnam.
The C-118 is a reliable and dependa^1 workhorse. It is a long range, low-wiug’ monoplane completely pressurized and ^ conditioned, and designed to haul either maximum cargo loads of 15,500 pounds °r 70 passengers. It has a cruising speed of knots, a ceiling of 25,000 feet, and a range 0 3,000 miles or 14 hours flying time. It instruments for all-weather operations. Tlie flights often run into 30 or 40 knot headwind5 going into Hawaii, which makes it a 12 h°l,r flight from California.
Other than the stop in Japan, the crevV’ usually see little of the country where the' stop. Most crews have made the trip before’
I
^ j country tQ tjie fact that, while shipadding tools had only recently been laid
aside b[
stiU, one of the first stops is the “Hotsi” bath. Many have said that the 70 or so hours in the air and the wear and tear is worth it just for a famous Japanese bath. Shopping in Japan ls another attraction, but it is complicated a bit with the use of three kinds of money. The Reservist has U. S. green. To shop at the oases, he must exchange this for American Military Currency, dubbed “funny money.” f he goes off base, he must use Japanese ■Honey.
Few of the flights have encountered any serious problems. One or two have been delayed along the route because of engine repairs while replacement parts were flown in.
ut for the most part, the flights have been Mthout incident.
Many of the pilots and navigators work for aidines as pilots and flight engineers. It’s all r°utine for them; they run the flight just like an airline. Many have made half a dozen triPs, some have flown the circle a dozen hrties, and the support effort will continue.
WHY NOT ANOTHER MARINER CLASS OF MERCHANT SHIP?
n 1550, the Korean War came upon the FJnited States. That emergency awakened
we were faced with a shortage of suita- c ships to meet commitments in world trade u serve as an acceptable auxiliary to the tr"l(:d forces. The United States had survived c0 FVorld Wars, each of which caught the vntry woefully short of the merchant sels needed to support war efforts and to Jde for commercial welfare. rn each case, the United States had been 4 Bred to start from scratch; to provide the tra-eSSary shipbuilding facilities; recruit and ln shipbuilding and seagoing personnel;
and design, construct, and operate the ships so necessary to the war efforts and the movement of essential cargoes. The United States just did not have the maritime might required of a world power.
In 1967, the United States is engaged in a limited, controversial, and costly war in a land far from its shores. Again, we have had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to provide the necessary overseas transportation for the war’s logistical support. It is generally admitted that the country is slipping into the status of a second-rate or third-rate maritime nation. Should the limited Vietnamese War develop into a full-blown war, the country would be right back where it was in 1917 and 1940, scurrying around to build some freighters at any cost on an emergency basis.
Recognizing in 1950 that the American Merchant Marine was in dire straits and needed beefing up, the late Vice Admiral E. L. Cochrane, U. S. Navy (Retired), head of the reorganized Federal Maritime Board and Maritime Commission, made a government-sponsored, production line, and standardized ship construction program his first order of business. A total of $350 million was made available to start a shipbuilding program which became known as the Mariner Program. In early February 1951, contracts were awarded and the program was soon in full swing, with 35 Mariners under construction in seven experienced and respected shipyards, five ships to a yard. The first Mariner slid down the ways in February 1952. Shortly thereafter, many of the Mariners were in operation under general agency agreements with privately owned steamship companies as operators for the Military Sea Transportation Service carrying military supplies.
The Mariners were conceived primarily as naval and military auxiliaries and secondly as advanced types of dry cargo carriers for employment in commercial trade. It was the purpose of the program that the Mariners, after construction and delivery to the government, should be purchased by U. S. steamship companies and operated as privately owned vessels, except when needed by the government in war or national emergency as auxiliaries to the MSTS Fleet. For these services, the owners would be suitably reim-
bursed. The Mariners were larger, faster, and somewhat more costly than the freighters already in service. It took a bit of salesmanship on the part of the Maritime Administration to excite purchaser interest. Once resistance had been broken down, many of our great subsidized steamship lines saw the light and only too soon there were no Mariners left on the government’s shelf.
General Characteristics of Mariner Ships
Length overall | 563 | feet |
Beam | 76 | feet |
Light ship weight | 7,675 | tons |
Draft as a shelterdeck vessel | 29 | feet |
Draft as a full scantling vessel | 31 | feet |
Deadweight as a shelterdeck |
|
|
vessel | 13,418 | tons |
Deadweight as a full scantling |
|
|
vessel | 14,885 | tons |
Bale capacity | 736,723 | cubic |
Shaft horsepower, maximum | 19,250 |
|
Shaft horsepower, normal | 1 7,500 |
|
Speed, sustained as a shelter- |
|
|
deck vessel | 20 | knots |
Speed, sustained as a scantling |
|
|
vessel | 19.8 | knots |
Gross tonnage | 9,215.95 | tons |
Net tonnage | 5,366.00 | tons |
The Mariner was so designed and constructed that it could be operated as a full
scantling vessel, if the carriage of weight was of importance. If the cargo mix was such that space was of more advantage than weight, the ship could be operated as a shelterdeck vessel to considerable advantage-
In 1967, American-owned ships are carry' ing less than 10 per cent of U. S. foreign commercial tonnage. The reserve fleet of inactive merchant ships has been drained of worthwhile vessels, now serving mainly the supply train to Vietnam; 98 per cent of the U. S. military cargo to Vietnam goes by ship' Under the restrictions imposed by our Mari' time Administration on subsidized operations, there are about 90 vessels which, because of age, are long overdue for replacement. In domestic trades, certain foreign- flag ships have been authorized to transport American cargoes from one American port to another American port despite legislation to the contrary.
The 1968 Fiscal Year Federal Budget calh for funds to replace 13 over-age freighters d the subsidized fleet. Little thought has been given to building replacement ships using production-line methods based on standardized designs which could materially rcdncC the costs of construction.
|
The time is long past when we show® have a realistic, long-range ship construct^11
United States
The Pioneer Myth is one of a number of Mariner-class cargo ships which were bu! in 1952 as part of "a Government-sponsored, production-line and standardized-^*1^ construction program.’*
A
., ) horn about its beginning in 1807 until
sPec ' Vl1 anc^ Spanish-American Wars re- 1Vely- As such, naval officers have been
program to build ships without frills, competitive but without over-design, similar to the successful Mariner program. Ships of moderate characteristics, with an absence of gad- &ots, rather than fewer ships of great size and tugher speeds should be emphasized. Such a Program of standardization and production- lne construction would cure most of our ills and provide a healthy American Merchant Marine with ships capable of serving our commercial needs except when required by the
government.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF TIDE PREDICTIONS
s a column of naval vessels slowly stands in through the headlands of a harbor en- . ance> it is safe to assume that the command- tr\8 officers and navigators possess full knowl- go of the local tides and tidal currents. Ccurate and detailed information of condi- ns to be encountered during the anchorage r dock approach was obtained far at sea en their estimated time of arrival (ETA)
. s established. In fact, for a harbor possess- g swift tidal currents and wide ranges in ., e> their schedule was probably adjusted so faat the ETA would coincide with the most .y°rat>le conditions. The information was y- gained from the Tide and Tidal Current les, which publications are filed near the ^ table of virtually every U. S. Navy ves- Q ^ he tables are published annually by the v> and Geodetic Survey of the U. S. En- of (^llnental Science Services Administration Commerce Department.
1 . ' Army and Navy officers were regu- Ve Aass‘Sned to the Coast and Geodetic Sur- )-l y Cvhose previous names were Survey of 6 P?ast’ to 1836, and Coast Survey, to the
intimately involved in the tide observation program and in the development of the tide prediction system.
Although celebrating its centenary of published tide predictions, C&GS has been supplying navigators with information from which to make their own predictions from as far back as 1844. On that date, mean high water lunitidal intervals (first called Corrected Establishments of the ports) and ranges began to be printed on the Survey’s nautical charts. Since the mean high water lunitidal interval is the average time interval between the moon’s transit over the local or Greenwich meridian and the following high tide for all phases of the moon, this figure (plus a nautical almanac) will provide a rough tide prediction. Subsequently, the lunitidal interval method was refined by applying corrections to the intervals and heights for the effects of the moon’s phase and for the declination and parallax of the moon and sun. The intervals, ranges, and most highly developed correction tables to date were published in the Appendices of the Survey’s Annual Reports from 1853 through 1864. In 1864, for example, the method involved the use of three separate tables (including the Nautical Almanac) for East Coast predictions, five for Key West, and for the West Coast. The greater number of tables required for the latter predictions was due to the importance of lunar declination on the amount of daily height inequality found in these regions.
The first evidence of the use of intervals, ranges, and refinement tables is noted in naval operations in the Civil War. In response to a request from the Navy Department, 1,000 copies of the Appendix to the Annual Report of 1864 were printed in pamphlet form for distribution to Union naval forces.
The lunitidal interval method was used for predictions through 1884; the harmonic method has been used ever since. The harmonic method consists of first decomposing an observed tide record into a number of cosine curves, each representing an idealized astronomic period with a height and time lag unique to the specific geographical location. The single cosine curves are then adjusted relative to each other in time according to the astronomic events prevailing at the
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time of the desired prediction. The curves are finally summed and the predicted times and heights of the high and low tides read from the composite curve.
The voluminous and tedious work involved in the summations prompted William Ferrel to design the Survey’s first tide predicting machine, which was introduced in 1885. The Ferrel (or Maxima and Minima Tide Predictor) summed only 19 cosine curves but provided for the times and heights of the high and low tides to be read directly from the dial indicators. Rollin A. Harris and E. G. Fischer designed a 37-curve machine which was used from 1912 through 1965, when it was replaced by the electronic digital computer prediction program of D. Lee Harris, N. Arthur Pore, and Robert A. Cummings.
The vast naval operations and the great increase in sea logistic support of the armed forces during World War II required an additional effort in the area of tides. It was necessary, of course, to print more of the standard Tide and Tidal Current Tables to meet demands^ Additional predictions were required, however, for war areas that had not previously been covered by the standard tables for lack of significant peacetime commercial interest’ Predictions also were needed to supplant those normally exchanged with war-tor11 nations. As a result, Tide and Tidal Current Table volumes were published but restricted from 1943 through 1946 for: Punta Gorda> Venezuela, 1940 (tides); Gilbert, Marshall) Caroline and Mariana Islands, 1944-4$ (tides); western Aleutians, Alaska and Kurd Island, Japan, 1944 (tides); Philippine Is' lands, 1944-51 (tides and tidal currents)) Japan and China, 1945-51 (tides and tida currents); Unimak Pass, Alaska, 1943-4 (tidal currents); Malacca Straits, 1944-4$ (tidal currents); and, the Yangtze Kiang Entrance, 1945-46 (tidal currents).
Numerous highly classified tide reports were prepared to assist in the planning of the great amphibious operations of World War II. Some of the predictions in these reports were based on isolated bits of intelligent fromca ptains of trading schooners, touristy and coast watchers, since the required U day observation series from remote Pacifi0 islands, let alone specific landing beacheS)
j importance in planning amphibious h ^Tugs. The first is diurnal inequality in the
t|. T pomes ashore with supplies just before se higher high tide of the day, and needs, A four hours to discharge, it may have to th ^ ^ hours for the next higher high tide; ^ ls> the lower high tide, only 12.5 hours y> may not be high enough to float the
'verc usually nonexistent or very scarce.
A useful and convenient publication, the Pde and Light Diagrams, was designed for amphibious unit commanders. Each page contained information for one month at a particular location. The information included tune and height of tide, daylight, three stages of twilight, darkness, moonrise and moonset, iui and bright moonlight, monthly mean air and sea temperatures, and winds. In addition, constants could be applied to extend the hdal information to nearby places. Over >150 monthly copies for 112 locations were Published. Although some were prepared for strategic points in Europe, they were mostly Used in the Pacific theater.
The importance of tidal information to a,nphibious operations is, first of all, in know- lng when, if ever, there will be enough water to get the initial units ashore. The coasts of jUany Pacific islands possess reefs with deep nn.gshorc channels between the reef and each. Without sufficient water to clear the r^e^> landing craft and ships are exposed to °re fire without discharging their troops or ^fiuipment because of the prohibitive depth of e intervening channel. Of almost equal im- P°rtance is the need in such operations to rc-use landing craft and ships. If at all pos, le, it is desirable to land on a rising tide • e^ore the time of high tide. The few extra Inches, from the time of landing until high together with the reduced draft due to (- 'fading, helps in backing off the shore, ■loading must be done between the time en there is enough water to get ashore and §n tide. With troops this is no problem, but j . suPplies there could be trouble. If off- fading has not been completed by high tide, cpstly 12.5-hour wait may be necessary in Q °l°ns with semidiurnal (twice daily) tides, Perhaps a 25-hour wait in regions with dluruals (daily).
Wo additional tidal factors are of considerable
uding _ _ _ __
eights of the high tides. If a landing craft or
vessel off. The second factor is the spring- neap tide effect. Landings made during times of the month approaching spring tide conditions will have progressively higher high tides. These will be of great advantage in beachhead reinforcement waves and supply landings. The contrary will be true on approaching neap conditions.
In addition to attempting to satisfy the needs of war, the Coast and Geodetic Survey has published special Tide Tables for peacetime military use. From 1955 through 1961, for example, separate tables were prepared for selected places in Greenland, Canada, and Alaska at the Navy’s request.
Tidal current predictions were first compiled in 1890 for New York harbor and vicinity, and were included in the Tide Table volumes up through 1922. Since 1923, however, they have been published in their own separate Tidal Current volumes.
The number of locations for which predictions have been made naturally have increased throughout the 100 years. In the tables of 1867, there were 19 principal locations with 124 secondary locations related to the former by empirical constants. The predictions were published in two volumes. This is in contrast with the 1967 tables which include 251 principal and 7,822 secondary locations. These predictions are contained in six volumes, of which two are devoted exclusively to tidal currents.
To predict the tide for a location by the present method, it is first necessary to observe it for 15 days at that specific location. The task of conducting such observations at every potential amphibious landing site is prohibitive. Instead, two courses are suggested: First, build a landing force composed entirely of true amphibious vehicles or surface effect ships, both of which are virtually immune to tidal problems. Second, develop a tide prediction method that is independent of prior in situ observations. Dynamic numerical prediction models hold some promise, although they are by no means accurate enough at present for naval operations.
The second centenary of tide predictions, beginning this year, is marked by a concerted effort to measure the tide in the world’s oceans. To date, tide measurements have been confined to the shorelines of conti-
nents and isolated islands. Now, for the first time, it is possible to move into the open ocean to observe the tides for gathering and understanding tide propagation, data for verification of theories, source data for dynamic numerical prediction models, the magnitude of tidal friction, information on linkage with internal waves of tidal periods, correction to geophysical fields for the effects of global tides, the correction of soundings in the open ocean (whenever the accuracy of soundings warrants), and information for possible geodetic leveling application. This effort is part of the Deep-Sea Tide Program of the International Association of Physical Oceanography. The Coast and Geodetic Survey intends to be the major U. S. participant. The importance of this program to the U. S. Navy, in undersea and antisubmarine warfare, bathymetric navigation, and man-in-the-sea activities, for example, remains couched in speculation on this anniversary year; perhaps the next hundred years will tell.
THE COAST GUARD’S NAVY ICEBREAKERS
In December 1966, the Navy’s remaining icebreakers were transferred to the Coast Guard. The last two were the Burton Island (AGB-l), now numbered WAGB-283, and the Atka (AGB-3), renamed the Southwind (WAGB- 280). The others were: Edisto (now WAGB- 284), Staten Island (now WAGB-278), and the Glacier (now VVAGB-4). In all, the Coast Guard’s fleet of icebreakers now numbers eight ships.
It was probably the 15th and 16th century whalers who first built ships successful to some degree for use in the polar areas. Eager to fish in the Northern Sea, they built ships that gave the cold weather adventurer a vessel capable of tackling the ice. The whaler and
the sealer were more strongly timbered than any earlier vessel. They were built to withstand rough seas and thick ice. Bow framing was very heavy and covered along the waterline by the toughest known wood, to reduce the cutting action of the ice.
In 1884, the United States purchased the Bear and immediately dispatched her, under Navy command, in a desperate attempt to rescue the Greeley Arctic expedition. The ship penetrated the winter ice early that season and rescued the Greeley survivors. She was the first ship acquired by the U. S. Navy especially for operating in the ice. She was one of the sturdiest sailing ships ever built'
One of the next ships constructed with icebreaker features was the Norwegian ship From. Her hull was rounded below the waterline, somewhat like today’s icebreakers, the theory being that expanding ice would push the ship upwards instead of crushing her.
In 1893, the Fram sailed into the Arctic Ocean and was deliberately allowed to be frozen in. She drifted with the polar currents for three years, from 1893 to 1896. As a result, her patient passengers were brought in a wide circle closer to the North Pole, which experience provided a fundamental contribution to the knowledge of ocean currents.
But most important, the rounded hull de' sign was incorporated into later icebreaker construction. Some of the earlier steamships that could be classed as icebreakers were further fitted with a bow screw to loosen pa(4 ice. Others were designed to crush the ict under heavy sloping bows.
A 10,000-ton Russian ship built in 189 was the forerunner of today’s modern ice' breaker. British designers incorporated thrc£ engines that developed 10,000 h.p. Three screws were installed aft and one in the bo'v' Extra-thick steel plate was added to protect her sides in the waterline.
In 1927, the U. S. Coast Guard built a1’ advanced type of icebreaker, the Jloi"1' ■ land. The most important feature of hef construction was a riveted steel frame, ( placing the massive wooden hull of earl'ef ships, and rounded hull lines.
Ten years later in 1937, the U. S. Na'^ and Coast Guard began drawing advance designs of icebreakers. Because of Worl War II, the icebreakers were rushed to co'"
n recent years, icebreakers have added a
arc ^)lece equipment—the helicopter. Two
1 generally carried. The helos search for
u C s or lines of least resistance in the ice
fQ^°ugh which the ship might more easily
^Cr wa^’ anc^ in Edition, they provide
Ue and transport service to men and earof-
rgo.
Shi
aeet,
fj aiPs of the U. S. Coast Guard icebreaking
Paction. The famous Eastwind was commissioned in 1944, followed six weeks later by the °uthwmd. Both were immediately assigned to duty off Greenland. This was part of an exPedition which destroyed German weather Nations that were providing the enemy with essential meteorological data.
Later the same year, the Westwind was comP eted. Others followed, including the Burton 5 and in 1946 and the Edisto in 1947.
Almost routinely, icebreakers have been ^ployed in making historic passages through c polar ice, providing this service for several ^editions to both polar regions. The ice- bakers have had similar duties in supplying father, radar, and air stations. The Coast uard designates operating areas in three ^IPons: the Antarctic, Arctic East (around ^nland and Iceland), and Arctic West beria to Canada). These areas have been P'bonally the working realm of the ice- -> at one time operating jointly with the ]', • Navy, have helped to open the ice- ucd Polar frontiers. Early in 1955, one was on a reconnaissance voyage to Antarc
The USCGC Edisto was one of five icebreakers designed before World War II by the Coast Guard and Navy; she was operated by the Navy until December 1966, when all were transferred to the Coast Guard. Shown here in her new colors, the Edisto is painted white with a bow slash in bright orange.
tica in an effort which was a forerunner of a major international geophysical research program for 1957-1958.
When heading for Antarctica, the ships are greeted first by the local residents, the Emperor Penguin riding an ice floe. Here, on the fringes of the Continent, the ship’s real work begins. Perhaps some 600 miles of the ice lie between the ship and her next port on the Continent, and she must make a channel in the ice for the train of supply ships coming behind her to resupply U. S. stations there.
These sturdy ships are often laboratories in support of scientific efforts in the polar seas. Oceanographic data is gathered from water samples taken at various depths. Meteorological data also is studied and transmitted to weather centers. Special missions are routine for these ships. They have charted, often for the first time, mountain ranges, peninsulas, islands, and unknown seas. At times, these explorers have spotted ice-free, freshwater lakes and brown hills of snow. Scientists on board icebreakers have been involved in research embracing such fields as meteorology, cosmic rays, solar activity, ionospheric, physics, geomagnetism, oceanography, and glaciology.
The Antarctic is a continent surrounded by oceans, while the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by continents. The Antarctic ice sheet contains about 90 per cent of the world’s ice, and represents between one and 2 per cent of the earth’s water. The amount of water contained as ice on the Antarctic Continent is
.11
gyro repeaters lost power, requires magnetic compass course be used. In thlS case, the compass course that the helmsin3' had “checked” prior to the gyro fad111^ would be the one for the navigator to recoin mend. (The “Quartermaster’s Noteboo
,ass
the
equal to all the rain and snow that has fallen over the earth during the past 50 or 60 years. The ice sheet’s existence is a key factor in the balance between sea and land levels throughout the world; if all the polar ice were to melt, experts say, the oceans would rise over 120 feet.
The cold and stormy oceans that surround Antarctica are full of life: seals, penguins, shrimp, krill, sponges, and many species of fish. These oceans have been described as being among the greatest sources of untapped food supplies yet known to man.
Modern icebreakers, pound for pound, are mechanical marvels of man’s ingenuity. Outside the one-and-a-half-inch thick armored skin, the water is often 28 degrees. Yet inside the steel, football-shaped hull, at least 200 men can live in warmth and comfort with enough supplies to last at least eight months.
The armor plate enables the icebreaker to bulldoze her way through 15-foot pack ice that would crush an ordinary ship. From high on the bridge, the ship seems more like a giant sled gliding across the ice on pneumatic runners than a ship grinding through ice.
A broad beam, over twice that of most ships, permits the ship to ride up on the ice, which is crushed by her tremendous weight. The rounded bottom and thick skin prevent ice pressure from crushing her hull, which is forced up instead of crushed.
All icebreakers of the Wind class have characteristics in common; the Glacier is the biggest U. S. icebreaker, being about one- fourth larger than the Wind-class icebreakers, which have a beam of 69 feet, an over-all length of 269 feet, a draft of 26 feet, a full-load displacement of 6,500 tons, 6 diesel-electric engines which produce a total of 10,000 s.h.p' with a cruising speed of about 16 knots. The Glacier has a 74-foot beam, a length of 310 feet displacement of 8,775 tons full load, and machinery of 10 diesel engines which produce 21,000 s.h.p. for a cruising speed of 16 knots.
The Coast Guard has studied extensively Arctic conditions and other factors that might influence icebreakers and has developed design concepts for replacement vessels. The aging fleet must be replaced by ships that are even larger and more powerful.
By Lieutenant John H. Bartol, Jr., U. S. Navy, Officer in Charge, USS Cove (MSI-1)
RELATIVE BEARING
The navigator who suddenly finds hi>n self without the aid of the ship’s gyro in formation when navigating in restrictc waters may tragically realize that he shot' have known how to navigate without reliance upon a gyro system. The numerous naviga tion books written by such notable authors as Knight, Dutton, and Bowditch often overlook detailed instructions which must he followed in such a predicament. A successfi1 solution by the navigator means that he muS continually answer three questions: (1) Wha magnetic compass course should be recoin mended upon gyro failure? (2) What is dlC ship’s position? (3) What magnetic coinpasS courses should be recommended to bring the ship back to the intended track?
A gyro failure, as would happen if a
that a
would have recorded the steering comp' reading in case the officer of the deck or navigator had forgotten it.)
Plotted to yield a fix.
Plotted positions whose navigational triangles continue to grow in size for no apparent reason probably indicate that the ship’s gyro system has an increasing error. A comparison of the magnetic compass reading to the gyro oead would confirm that the gyro was wandering off course. If such was the case, the navigator should recommend a magnetic c°urse which would take into account varia- h°n and deviation. The way to get this is to read it off the chart; the intended track should have been labelled with the true and magnetic c°urses, the latter in parentheses.
Chart preparation should include at least he following: after the skipper has approved he intended track on a chart, the true channel courses followed by an arrow (to avoid reciprocal heading mistakes) are labelled 0yer each channel leg. The equivalent magnetic compass courses must then be computed and labelled in parentheses.
^Vhen doing this computation, the naviga- ^0r should realize the effects that deviation and variation will have on the steering comPass. A compass subjected to a 10-degree east '■hriation on a heading whose deviation is 2 ^egrees west will cause the compass card to e deflected clockwise 8 degrees such that the hninber under the lubber line will decrease 0 8 degrees below the ship’s true heading. To convert a true course to a compass course 'lu*ckly combine variation and deviation for C°UlPass error and subtract the compass error when east.
navigator who has recommended a ^agnetic course must now determine the • P s position without the use of true bear- gs. The following is a method this writer . s used, involving the use of relative bear- ^s; the ship’s compass course, and a parallel lQtion protractor (PMP). The PMP is ad- Ced so that the outer ring conforms to the do ®net^c compass rose on the chart. This is ,le by placing the PMP arm on 000 degrees j Suetic, rotating the outer ring to 000, then a j'hing it. The PMP’s position has now been JUsted so that magnetic headings can be a tted. The use of these headings provides , r(-‘ference from which relative bearings can
To accomplish this, the navigator first swings the PMP arm so that it indicates the ship’s magnetic head at the time a relative bearing is taken. While holding the PMP arm in this position, a pencil mark is written under the 000 on the inner ring. The pencil mark, when the PMP arm is turned from this position, now indicates a relative bearing based on the magnetic heading. In order to plot correct lines of position, the navigator must (mentally) adjust the PMP to take into account the deviation of the ship’s compass. If the ship’s magnetic compass has an easterly deviation, the ship’s magnetic head will be greater than actually is indicated on the compass. To correct for easterly deviation, the PMP arm must be rotated clockwise the number of degrees indicated on the deviation column of the magnetic compass table (NAVSHIPS Form 1104).
Assume that the PMP has been set up for magnetic bearings and the ordered course is 005 degrees per standard compass (PSC). When the bearing taker says “mark,” the helmsman reports the ship’s head is 006 degrees PSC; bearing taker #1 reports point A, 075 degrees relative. With the PMP on 006, a pencil mark is placed under the 000. The PMP is now rotated to place the pencil mark under the 075 degrees. Noting on the magnetic compass table that the deviation is 1.5 degrees east for a compass course of 000, the PMP is rotated clockwise 1.5 more degrees, and the line of position is drawn. Similarly, other lines of position are plotted and the ship’s position is determined; necessary navigational data is reported to the OOD, and the pencil mark is removed from the PMP, thus preparing it for the next round of relative bearings.
★
The last problem for the navigator is to determine a recommended compass course to bring a ship back to an intended track. The navigator places the PMP arm from his last fix in the direction of intended motion. He then reads off the outer ring of the PMP a magnetic course and mentally corrects it for deviation. Since he is in effect correcting from true to compass readings, easterly deviations should be subtracted.
Progress
Fast Ro-Ro—The Admiral William M. Callaghan is powered by 2 large, gas turbine engines. The roll-on, roll-off ship with a 7,000- ton cargo capacity was built by Sun Shipbuilding for Sunexport and will be operated by American Export Isbrandtsen Lines under charter to MSTS. The 694-foot, 12,100-ton ship launched 17 October can sustain a top speed of 25 knots for 6,000 miles.
Pratt & Whitney
Fuel Safety—The Air Force has adapted a polyurethane foam filler for combat aircraft fuel tanks that makes the tanks so much safer that it virtually prevents explosion in a direct hit by incendiary bullet. Cut into blocks, the foam completely fills the fuel tank, but reduces fuel capacity only slightly and does not interfere with fuel flow, while suppressing slosh and preventing leakage from ruptured tanks, and reduces the danger of secondary fire or explosion. The material is also being evaluated for commercial aircraft.
Air Force Noses—Under the Apollo/Range Instrumented Aircraft program, eight Air Force EC-135N jet transports are being converted to fly communication stations for NASA and the Department of Defense manned Apollo missions. The bulbous nose of each aircraft is 10 feet long, 8 feet wide and houses a large dish-shaped antenna for tracking a spacecraft for voice and telemetry communications.
Douglas Aircraft
Ocean Lab—POP is a cigarshaped vessel 2 50 feet long that can be flooded to stand upright in the ocean. It has an under-sea observation cabin and a diver compression chamber 75 feet below the surface. When upright, a portable van is lifted onto the platform (right) to provide living quarters for four people and laboratory working space. It was designed by General Motors to work with its vessel Swan on specialized deep-ocean programs.
Soviet Trawler—The French shipbuilding firm of Ateliers et Chantiers de Nantes is to build for Russia two more fishing trawlers-and-factory ships like the one at left. Powered by three diesels of
2.500 h.p., the ship is designed to remain at sea for 120 days with a capability of processing 70 tons of fish daily. Specifications are: 350 feet over-all, 60 feet beam, 36 feet depth of fishing deck,
4.500 tons displacement and 14 knots speed.
Research Vessel—The Kos- rnonavt Vladimir Komarov, a Soviet research vessel, was recently built at a shipbuilding yard in Leningrad. Reportedly, she will do experimental research on the upper layers of the atmosphere in the tropical zone of the Western Atlantic.
Notebook
U. S. Navy
s Oceanography Takes 'National’ Focus
{American Oceanography, September 1967) In a recent talk at the U. S. Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, California, Rear Admiral O. D. Waters, Jr., preceded his description of the U. S. Navy oceanographic program with these words:
For the first time we now have our sights set on a truly national program that promises to give us central co-ordination of our national activities under top level civilian leadership. A master plan fomhis is being worked out by the National Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development, a Cabinet level group headed by the Vice President. Assisting the Council is an advisory commission of experts from industry, the federal and state governments, the academic world and marine laboratories. Their goal is to have a comprehensive proposal ready for the President and the Congress early next year.
Admiral Waters stated that the $250 million Naval Oceanographic budget would be divided as follows:
• $45 million for Ocean Science, in which research work done in the Navy’s laboratories will be supplemented by research contracts with some 20 universities, non-profit research laboratories, and private industry. He made special reference to sound physics in antisubmarine warfare.
• $101 million for Ocean Engineering, slanted heavily toward deep submergence systems to develop greater capabilities in both submarine search and rescue; and Sealab operations which should constitute interesting periods to the paragraphs being written by industry.
• $104 million for Oceanic Operations, which involves direct fleet support, including operations in Vietnam.
Each of these categories includes valuable oceanographic researches, mostly of a traditional nature. There is less tradition among the miscellaneous items:
• A shore-to-slope tunnel ending in a scientist’s living and working facility, locality to be decided upon.
• Tripling of the depth range of the vehicle CURV to 7,000 feet and beyond.
• Glass and concrete hulls for undersea vehicles; glass, at least, can strengthen to a point under pressure.
• Manned stations on mid-ocean, flat- typed sea mounts.
s Carrier Safety Study Completed
{Armed Forces Journal, 28 October 1967) A Navy Aircraft Carrier Safety Review Panel which was convened on 15 August has completed its study and forwarded its findings and recommendations to the Chief of Naval Operations.
Principal improvements suggested by the panel fall into three general categories:
(1) Improvement of flight deck fire-fighting equipment to provide remotely controlled massive suppressant for fires on the flight deck at least equivalent to that which the Navy now has on the hangar deck;
(2) Provisions for better personnel survival damaged ships by improvement in equipment and training;
(3) Improvement in aviation ordnance handling procedures and documentation.
In obtaining information on which to base their recommendations, members of the panel visited aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific spoke to hundreds of technical experts, oper" ationally experienced officers and enlisted people, and visited a number of technical and training commands throughout the Navy-
Director of the Panel was Admiral James S> Russell, who came out of retirement to head the study. Admiral Russell previously served as the Vice Chief of Naval Operations and as Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics. He has had extensive attack carrier experience.
In the report, Admiral Russell noted that safety in carrier operations has been served well by many improvements since World War II and the Korean conflict. The angled deck for aircraft recovery, the steam catap11^ for launching, the stabilized optical landing system, the precision approach radar, aJ have shared in this advance, Admiral Russe*
and
swim
t n®mg pool. On 18 September, it will go to k°ckheed’s San Diego facility, and is due to ** Sea trials °n 26 September. Acceptance 0la s are due to be held towards the end of ^ctober with delivery to the Navy by mid- ^ ovember 1968—-just one year late. Original design goal was 6,000 feet; now it is ’ ® fleet; contract calls for 3,500 feet, h 11 ^alf-scale model of the DSR/V pressure ls being built for destructive testing,
said. He added that the elimination of highly flammable aviation gasoline and the substitu- h°n for it Gf the especially stable jet fuel, have decreased the incidence of carrier
fires.
Serving with Admiral Russell on the panel Were Rear Admiral Paul D. Buie, Commander of the Naval Aviation Safety Center; *7<;ar Admiral James L. Holloway, III, former Commanding Officer of the nuclear attack carrier Enterp rise, and representatives from various technical commands within the Navy.
E3 Plans PDMS Defense for Ships
vAviation Week & Space Technology, 2 October -'67) Navy is considering the planned Point cfense Missile System (PDMS) as a replacement for conventional short-range anti-aircraft weapons for all types of naval vessels, anging from torpedo boats to larger warships, ae PDMS missile would incorporate both in- ared and semi-active radar homing guidance capabilities. Contract definition studies are anticipated during Fiscal 1969.
DSR/V Trials Schedule Set
Cean Science News, 8 September 1967) The -140 Steel Tri-sphere pressure hull of avy’s DSR/v (Deep Submergence Rescue ehicle) is due to be completed by Sun Ship- uding (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun ej ^°-) and delivered to David Taylor Modi’ i^as^n f°r testing in December. By 19 ruary 1953^ jt js t0 delivered to Lock- cd s Sunnyvale plant for integration into USl</Vs “fuselage.”
2 August 1968, it will begin dry testing on 19 August wet testing in Lockheed’s
while a second full-scale hull has been started. Present status of the first hull is that it is in the final stages of being welded together. Spheres are seven feet in diameter, spun from Cameron- produced plate by Bethlehem-Sparrows Point and machined. Each one-inch weld requires 25 passes.
s Navy Tower Tallest Below Equator
{Journal of the Armed Forces, 28 October 1967) Highest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere is the 1,271-foot broadcast tower at Navy’s new North West Cape Communications Station, a completely self-sufficient community in an extremely remote and desolate area of Australia. The Station, the world’s largest VLF facility, was built under NavFac direction to improve Fleet communications in Far Eastern waters.
E New Navy Combat Jet Planned
(Philadelphia Bulletin, 14 September 1967) Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara has ordered preliminary work on a new high- performance combat aircraft for the Navy. Officials say the new plane would replace the Navy’s F-4, current first-line mainstay in the Vietnam air war, and would supplement— not substitute for—the controversial TFX, or F-111B.
Designated the VFAX, the new craft is intended to be both a fighter and a dive-bomber. It probably would have swing-wings, a new engine and the most advanced weapons and electronic gear, Navy officials say.
“The contractors are all doing a lot of work [on the new plane] already,” Vice Admiral T. F. Connolly, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air, told a Senate appropriations subcommittee in testimony released yesterday. “The situation has gone quite far.” A year ago, the Navy was reported considering suggestions that the F-4 be modified by fitting it with swing-wings.
Connolly indicated this is still under study. “The swing-wing F-4, I never let that get out of the corner of my mind,” he said.
Connolly said the Pentagon’s specific order 146
concerning the new plane directed the Defense Department’s Director of Defense Research and Engineering to work with the Air Force and Navy on the characteristics needed.
At the same hearing, on July 14, Paul H. Nitze, Deputy Secretary of Defense, disclosed that development of the Navy’s version of the TFX, the F-111B, now is 2.5 years behind schedule because of “inherent technical difficulties.”
The Air Force version, the F-111 A, has been relatively trouble free. Sources say the Air Force may deploy some F-111A in Vietnam early next year, but officials told the committee that carrier tests of the Navy version won’t begin until August, 1969.
Nitze and other Pentagon officials said in their testimony that:
• The latest Navy test model is “extremely deficient in combat mission capability.”
• Test pilots have reported the F-111B models they flew contained 252 deficiencies, including 100 they classified as “mandatory for correction.”
• These pilots concluded that development models are “unsuitable for service.”
• Estimated per-unit cost of a fully equipped F-111B now stands at about $10 million, more than triple original estimates.
0 Plane Found Whole After 2 3 Years
(Thomas O’Toole Washington Post) The research submarine Alvin has found a World War 11 fighter plane that has been lying in 5,500 feet of water off Nantucket Island for 23 years.
Except for a bent propeller, the Navy Hellcat appears as airworthy as the day (30, Sept. 1944) the plane’s pilot ditched it in the Atlantic—apparently while practicing carrier takeoffs and landings.
“Absolutely amazing,” a Navy salvage expert said of the plane’s near-mint condition. “All the planes we’ve found in the ocean before this one have been badly scattered and chewed up.”
Because of the plane’s old age and good condition, the Navy is interested in raising it, even though it means an estimated $25,000 in salvage expense.
The plane was found late last summer, as the Alvin was cruising along the Continental Shelf about 125 miles southeast of Nantucket, in the vicinity of a rill known as Oceanographers’ Canyon.
“It was like something out of the Twilight Zone,” said Marvin McCamis, pilot of the two-man sub at the time.
So undisturbed was the paint on the plane that McCamis could clearly read the serial numbers on the Hellcat’s tail. It was through these numbers that Navy archivists in Washington were able to trace the plane’s past: “Fost at sea, September 30, 1944.”
Other U. S. Services
s Army Unveils Main Battle Tank
{Journal oj the Armed Forces, 14 October 1967) The first prototype of a new and highly sophisticated main battle tank (MBT-70), developed jointly by the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany, was shown publicly for the first time 9 October in Washington, D. C., during the annual meeting of the Association of the U. S. Army.
The main weapon of the MBT-70 is a 152mm. gun, capable of firing both conventional ammunition and Shillelagh guided missiles^ Introduction of an automatic loading system permits elimination of the fourth crew member and represents an improvement over the manual system of the currently operational M-60 main battle tank.
The MBT-70 offers other significant advances in tank design: a unique environment controlled capsule, a new suspension system, a more accurate fire control system, more powerful engine-transmission combination, and improved armor protection.
There is built in climate control for protection of the crew against radiation, chemical and biological and airborne contaminants, thus permitting the tank to operate, buttoned up, for a longer period of time than any cut' rently in operation.
Increased cross country mobility and fleXi' bility is made possible by a unique suspension system which permits varying the ground clearance from the normal to a higher or unusually low silhouette. The vehicle also can he tilted front-to-back and side-to-side to reman1 level under all terrain conditions.
Powered by a newly designed 1,475-h P' diesel engine, the MBT-70 also features a steer shift transmission with hydrostatic steering'
Uavi^ r‘ed b
J^ahe its debut last week at the Stratford, °Unecticut, plant of Sikorsky Aircraft. a ^n°wn as the HH-3F, the twin-turbine, Phibious helicopter will undergo a six- “th test period before delivery. The cointer ^ Sa*^ at ^east n‘ne aircraft would en- active service next year, and more are ex- Pe^d to be ordered.
he new craft will supplement the HH-52A,
gation and instrument systems ever cary a search and rescue rotary-wing craft,
The transmission incorporates both converter a,'d lock-up gear ranges with four forward and four reverse ranges.
The unique two-nation tankR&D program, lhe first of its kind in Army history, was initiated in August 1963 under an agreement between officials of the United States and the federal Republic of Germany. The agree- nient created an international two-man Program Management Board, which has guided the program since its inception.
S3 C.G. to Search for Sunken Tanker
(Marine Engineering/Log, August, 1967) The u • S. Coast Guard soon will seek to locate the tanker Gulftrade, torpedoed off the coast of jew Jersey some 25 years ago. If the hulk can e found, divers will descend in an attempt to etermine if the nearly 100 oil tankers sunk ^merican shores are a potential pollution * reat to the U. S. coastline.
The undersea examination will be conducted at the direction of the Department of ransportation in response to President L. B. J^unson’s order for a water pollution study.
cast Guard cutters will use fathometers and s°nar gear to locate the sunken tanker.
The position of the Gulftrade is approximately 12 miles offshore, some 38 miles north- °f Atlantic City, N. J. If the hulk is found, yers will obtain samples of the hull and >nker oil cargo that may be trapped within e tanks. The oil samples will be analyzed anh the hull plating samples given metallurgic lamination to determine the extent and gency of the threat of oil pollution posed by Unken tankers.
^3 Sikorsky Unveils New C. G. Helo
^ New York Times, 15 October 1967) A ^ ' T Coast Guard helicopter, described as av,ng the most sophisticated electronics,
“But where will I get the electronics men to maintain it?”
Because of the severe shortage of technically-; qualified military personnel, new and complex electronic equipment is frequently received with mixed emotions.
Chances are you're engaged in a continuing effort to improve the technical competency of your enlisted personnel. CREI can help you in this task as it has helped officers since 1927.
CREI Home Study Programs give your men an opportunity to acquire technical knowledge beyond the scope of military courses. They cover every phase of modern electronics—from communications to spacecraft tracking and control—as well as the increasingly important field of nuclear engineering technology.
The man who enrolls in a CREI Program studies on his own time and pays his own tuition. The cost to the Armed Forces is nothing.
Many officers not only encourage CREI students but also suggest CREI study to particularly ambitious men. And they welcome the CREI Field Service Representative who visits their command. If you are not familiar with CREI Programs, we'll be glad to send you complete information as well as typical lesson material for your evaluation.
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Waterline 1:1250 Scale
J German Warships of World War II. 168 pp. \ U.S. Warships of World War II. 442 pp.
6.95
5.95
6.75
8.75 / i 5.05 * 25.00 /
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a single-turbine helicopter that Sikorsky has been producing for the Coast Guard since 1963. More than 70 of the latter craft are now in operation from Coast Guard land bases, cutters, and icebreakers.
The new craft will extend the Coast Guard’s search and rescue capability far beyond the range of the HH-52A. The HH-3F can fly 345 miles out to sea, hover for 20 minutes, pick up six survivors and return to land.
It carries an external rescue hoist with 240 feet of cable. Built with a rear ramp, it also has a starboard-side passenger-cargo door equipped with a rescue platform. Pontoons and pop-out flotation bags permit landings and pickups in rough seas.
Among the sophisticated electronic devices is an integrated flight director system, a heading-reference system, search and weather radar, an automatic altitude retention system and ultra-high frequency communication systems.
The cabin has provisions for six passenger seats or 15 litters. There is also space for lifejackets, parachutes, life rafts, an emergency water supply, and radio and electronics gear for rescue use.
Powered by two General Electric T-58-5 gas-turbine engines, each with 1,500 h.p. at take-off, the craft has a top speed of 157 miles an hour. Its cruising speed is 150 miles an hour.
@ NATO ASW Unit Seen for Med.
(Charles A. Falls in Newport News Daily Press, 21 September 1967) The deputy commander of the U. S. European Command said Wednesday a NATO antisubmarine war- .-x-. 'k..-s..•-vi
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Japanese Warships of World War II. 400 pp. Warships of World War I, comb. vol.
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Weyer’s Flottentasehenbuch 1966-67 Groener’s Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe,,1815-1945
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fare force may be established in the Mediterranean.
General David A. Burchinal, USAF, told a news conference at the Armed Forces Staff College “certainly such a plan is conception- ally on the table.” Burchinal said the need for such a force was indicated by an increase ifl the number of Russian submarines in the Mediterranean. “You want to know where they are all the time,” he said.
The United States, he said, has its own antisubmarine capability in the Mediterranean which embodies “an integrated approach, that “could well serve as a pattern for a NATO force.”
Burchinal said the Soviets have 35 to 38 combat craft in the Mediterranean ranging from guided-missile-firing cruisers and submarines to destroyers and amphibioUs assault ships. The Soviets, he said, present 3 “counterpart to the Sixth Fleet.”
In addition, Burchinal noted, the Soviet8 have poured help into Egypt, Algeria, Syna> and Iraq, he said. By doing this, those couB' tries have permitted “Soviet influence in theh affairs both economic and military.”
“The Soviets are definitely out to erode the influence of the United States and the United Kingdom and Western influence in the Med1' terranean. Their military challenge to the Sixth Fleet is there today and is the place i’1 Europe where we see an increase in Soviet capability.”
s New Type Army Discharge Lighter
(Ira S. Varner in The Military Engineer, Sep" tember-October 1967) The new versatde Army beach discharge lighter (BDI.), the P’ Col. John U. D. Page, has demonstrated its e*' cellent capacity and usefulness in operatic1'5 in Vietnam.
The Page is an ocean-going ship 338 fcej. long, with 65-foot beam and displacement 0 2,200 long tons. Propulsion is by two 1,2^ b.h.p. diesel engines each of which drives 11 vertical axis propeller, giving the vessel 3 speed, without cargo, of 10 knots. This ship’ the largest operated by the Army, can trai1 port more than 1,000 long tons of cargo, if ^ draft limitations are imposed. With a dr" limited to 4 feet at the bow when trimmed I beaching, it can carry 600 tons for dischar£c'
The crew of the Page consists of 8 wan-3'
ground need help the most, strikes some-
are virtually impossible. Army Helo Survival Statistics
59
(L
officers and 36 enlisted men. They provide self-sufficiency for the vessel and accommodations for a 4,800-mile cruise. Berthing and ttiessing for 125-vehicle drivers are provided for short periods.
Water transport of large quantities and yarieties of vehicular and mobile equipment ls a requirement of modern warfare. Landing this materiel at the point where needed is an ever-growing problem which usually is complicated by lack of port facilities for deep-draft ocean-going carriers. The general practice has been to use lighterage involving over-the- Slde discharge from ship to lighter for delivery °f cargo across shallow water to port, or to use vessels equipped with ramps for roll-off discharge onto beaches. The obvious disadvantages of these methods were the limited cargo Capacity, with most of the vessels being deigned for transport of a single large item of m°bile equipment; and, the fact that the Vcssels were not capable of self-delivery over- j’Oas and not suitable for more than a singlenatch discharge from the ocean ship.
^9 A.F. Aircraft Needs Reflected in War
{Christian Science Monitor, 7 October 1967) The ^lr War over Vietnam is teaching the U. S. ;)lr Force what is urgently needed in future %hter planes:
. • Greater ability to keep craft on course ln all types of weather.
• Improved night-flying capability.
• More accuracy in placing munitions on target in strikes against the enemy.
Such planes as the Navy’s A-6 Intruder and e F-4 Phantoms of the Navy and Air Force yve made it possible to mount more telling ^'ghttime and bad-weather attacks. In fact, a Per cent of the attack sorties over the north ll0w are being flown after dark. But foul 'Veather and the blackness of night still ham-
PCr operations. When rain-soaked troops on the
times
erttcal World, September 1967) Interesting fottistic on helicopter survivability offered by j ajor General Robert H. York, USA, Commanding General of Infantry Center at Fort en_ning; Army has averaged 18,000 combat 0rties for each helicopter lost.
s Laser, Rifle, Plane-Tested for Army
(Hanson Baldwin in The New York Times, 17 October 1967) The Army of tomorrow will reconnoiter the battlefield in silent aircraft, fix targets with laser rangefinders and suppress enemy resistance with a tremendous burst of fire from automatic weapons.
The Experimentation Command, headed by Major General George L. Mabry, Jr., is now conducting a study of the infantry rifle unit in the 1970-75 period; mounted and dismounted combat operations with tanks and infantry; indirect fire operations with mortars and artillery, including target acquisition and hit probabilities, and aerial surveillance systems.
The studies are conducted with live fire and specially tailored Army units on elaborately monitored ranges, with scientific support by a group from Litton Industries. The infantry rifle unit tests, a study of the basic building block of the future Army, will be completed before the end of 1968. The most important tests are now in progress.
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Tentative conclusions indicate that the
rifle unit of tomorrow may variously be called a fire team or squad and that its size will probably be from five to seven men—about half the size of today’s squad.
The automatic weapons of the 1970-75 period—rapid-fire grenade launchers, rifles that fire flechettes or small dart-like projectiles and new types of small arms—will give a few men almost as much firepower as a platoon of today.
Tomorrow’s basic building block, the fire team or squad, must, therefore, be much smaller than today’s, and the ratio of leaders to led must be higher if the vastly increased fire power is to be properly controlled.
Rifles firing flechettes will spew out numerous small high-velocity darts, effective up to about 350 meters, from one cartridge. The rifleman will achieve a kind of long-range shotgun effect with a greater probability of a hit. Grenade launchers may be carried on the same rifle or in a contraption that will hurl grenades as a man can turn a handcrank.
The study of silent planes to replace noisy helicopters for surveillance behind enemy lines or over the battlefield includes tests of a new Lockheed QT-2, a tiny glider-like, one- man aircraft that slightly resembles a baby version of the famous U-2 spy plane.
It has a wooden bladed propellor and flies so quietly that it is difficult to hear. Modified versions of the Grumman OV-1 Army observation plane are also being tested.
The laser rangefinder, using an intense beam of light, promises greater accuracy for the forward field artillery observer in his estimates of ranges to enemy targets. The Experimentation Command here is trying to determine what field errors are made in providing artillery support and how to reduce them.
Merchant Marine
s Britain Builds Shipborne Desalination
(<Oceanology International, September/October 1967) Desalination—the process of distilling fresh water from salt water—has gone to sea in Great Britain. Islands or isolated coastal cities with inadequate supplies of natural fresh water normally are served from water tankers operating on long hauls from mainland bases.
Now, a sea-going desalination plant is under consideration. The main advantage would be less expensive water. British designers envision a plant housed in a ship’s hull that would load seawater via a pipeline dropped over the side. A second pipeline would deliver water to shore storage tanks while the ship is in port.
Spokesmen for the British Ship Research Assn, and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority—co-ordinators for all British research in desalination—place the total cost of building such a vessel at less than $1-1' million.
Fresh water from the on-board multistage flash distillation plant could be produced {°r about 80^ per cubic meter, at the rate °* more than 900 m3 per day.
s Electronic Aids to Automate QE II
{The New York Times, 8 October 1967) When the Queen Elizabeth II goes to sea in 1969, her master will have at his command the most advanced computer system ever to be in" stalled on a merchant ship, Cunard Line officials said last week.
According to Torn Kameen, the line’s technical director, the ship will represent a major step forward in ship automation. The advance is a result of two years of joint investig3' tion and research by the line; the shipbuilders’ John Brown & Co. (Clydebank) Ltd.; the British Ship Research Association; the Na' tional Research Development Corporation and Ferranti Ltd., manufacturers of the coni' puter. ,
The computer to be installed at a cost o $280,000 will be the first to combine technical) operational and commercial functions at sea> according to Mr. Kameen. Heretofore, this wide range of functions has been carried out on a shorebased installation.
Initially the device, based on a FerraU1 Argus 400 computer, will have six main fmlC
tions: j-
• The automatic recording of the state 0 the main engines and other machinery, a11 the printing of an engineroom log.
• A continuous alarm scanning syste'11 that will give warning when temperature °r pressure departs from normal limits.
• Continuous control of certain machine1"! to give increased economy and, consequent)> lower fuel consumption.
i
Ian
gest tankers to be built over the next few
r°Om
m the machinery space, one engineer
•Almost instantaneous computation of Weather reports to give the best speed and course of the ship. This will also give the information required for the most comfortable Journey for passengers.
•Prediction of fresh water requirements, Which will enable maximum efficiency in the Use of the vessel’s evaporating plant.
•Providing a stock control by recording the inventory of some 3,000 items of food, drink, and supplies in six major stores in the ship and reporting bonded goods unsold at the end of a voyage.
The system will provide information on the rst three functions continuously and on the atter three intermittently.
53 Mammoth Tankers Ordered by Italy
['Marine Engineering/Log, September 1967) tulian oil interests have ordered two of the
years. The Societa RafFineria Siciliana Pe- ^r°h of Palermo has ordered two tankers of ”>000 dwt. each from the Italcantieri Mon- alcone shipyard. With an overall length of aa°ut 1,080 feet (329.6-m), they will have a cam of nearly 160 feet (48.68-m) and a depth ° ^4 feet (25.6-m). With a corresponding cadweight of 227,000 tons metric, they will raw slightly over 65 feet of water.
4 he two ships will be given the highest assification for the transportation of bulk Peboleum products. They will have a con- lnu°us main deck, forecastle, poop, 15 cargo anks (4 central, 11 side) and 2 central tanks 0r dean ballast.
or loading and discharging there will be Motorized remote control valves with automatic opening and closing related to liquid vcls in the tanks, and a cargo control center ^Plcte with all the necessary instruments. . jhe 32,500-s.h.p. steam turbine plant also 16 be hi§hly automated. The ship will make p -1 knots at 90 r.p.m. of the single propeller. r°'u a sound-proof, air-conditioned control
1 tie able to operate the machinery, both tor°Pulsi°n and auxiliary, and he will be able sWitch control to the bridge at any time.
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Ri ^^ew York Times, 11 October 1967) fa'*SS*a *S building an unusual multi-purpose Ctory ship that will carry 14 fishing vessels,
-for de'
-the
tection, localization, and identification
for
for resources on or beneath the sea floor,
the Soviet press agency Tass reported today. It said the Vostok, 43,000 tons, was under construction at the Admiral Teiskiy Shipyard in Leningrad.
Ship designers have solved the complex problems of combining in the one ship the properties of at least five types, Tass said. The Vostok would be a combination of a floating cannery capable of producing 150,000 cans of fish—equal to 180 tons a day, a bulk cargo ship with a carrying capacity of 13,000 tons; a tanker; a refrigerator ship and a passenger ship equipped with a movie and swimming pool for the 600 crew members, Tass said.
s Westinghouse Opens Ocean Center
(Underseas Technology, October 1967) The new Westinghouse Ocean Research and Engineering Center, located on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Maryland, was dedicated late last month. Among the distinguished visitors present was Rear Admiral Odale D. Waters, Oceanographer of the Navy. The handsome, 110,000-sq. ft., modern structure houses one of the most up-to-date oceanographic and ocean engineering facilities in the United States. Included is a 40,000 gallon indoor test pool, three man-rated pressure chambers, a life-support research lab, a hybrid computer facility, and manufacturing operations. More than 500 employees at the center are engaged in research and engineering in the areas of submersibles, saturation diving, conventional diving, navigation, communications, deep submergence, measurements and materials analysis.
s U. N. May Control Ocean’s Floor
(The Washington Post, 23 September 1967) The ocean floor, like outer space, is a “natural” field for international control, a State Department expert said yesterday. But he predicted it will be a long time before any decision is made on a Malta proposal to place oceanic development under U. N. control.
David H. Popper, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Affairs, testified in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on resolutions which have been introduced in the House in opposition to the plan.
The United States intends to do whatever it can to accelerate scientific research on a national and international basis, Popper said, but the resolutions are unnecessary at present because “we stand at the beginning of a rather lengthy process of international discussion on this subject.”
But Rep. Edward A. Garmatz (D-Md.)> argued that “it would be most unwise, and dangerous to the vital interests of the United States ... to seriously consider such a proposal at this time.” s 3-D Images Via Sound Waves
(iOceanology International, September/October 1967) Sonoptography—a term rapidly becoming familiar to ocean scientists and engineers—is the use of sound waves to obtain three-dimensional images of distant objects.
A considerable amount of work in the neW field presently is underway at McDonnell Douglas’ Advanced Research Laboratories in Huntington Beach, California. The equip' ment has been tested extensively in air, but the ultimate goal is to obtain high-quality underwater sonoptigrams. \
Necessary equipment includes a source °* sound waves, an electrical biasing signal to provide the third dimension information, 3 coherent light (laser) device, and a detection system. ;
The function of the detecting system, whic11 may be a special transducer, is to project the sound signals returned by the target onto 3 display device. The display device now used 13 a cathode ray tube (CRT). .
The pattern shown on the CRT consists 0 a series of dots or other seemingly unintelhg1' ble patterns. A photograph is made of this dis' play, providing the sonoptigram. The sonop' tigram then is interrogated by the laser bean j to recreate the original three-dimension3 ■ image. j
Sonoptography could provide a break through in ASW detection systems. Instead 0
having to compare three sets of data-
7 — ~—j — ----------- « ^
operator would be able to see the actual o ject. He quickly could tell whether it was whale, school of fish, or submarine.
The method also would be useful in probing
sea-floor geological studies, and for investig3 tion of submerged archaeological sites 3 ^ volcanic tubes. Sonoptography is in its 1,1 fancy, and images are crude and blurry-