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First Trident Contract Awarded
(The Washington Post, 26 July 1974)
The Navy yesterday ordered a start on construction of the first of ten Trident missile-firing submarines for the 1980s and beyond.
It awarded a $285.4 million contract to General Dynamics Corporation’s Electric Boat division of Groton, Connecticut. The Trident program is one of this country’s major new strategic weapons developments.
It contemplates sending to sea ten huge submarines, each armed with 16 missiles capable of striking across 6,500 miles. The missiles will carry multiple warheads that can be aimed at separate targets.
Total cost of the ten submarines,
their missiles, and research and development on the entire program is estimated at $12.4 billion.
The Russians reportedly sought in the recent round of nuclear arms limitation talks to gain agreement from the United States to halt the Trident program. These negotiations have been deadlocked over the question of controlling the size and number of multiple missile warheads on both sides.
The Trident subs would replace Polaris missile-firing undersea craft and would join 31 submarines armed with multiple warhead Poseidon missiles in the front line of U. S. nuclear forces.
According to present plans, the first Trident is due to join the fleet in late 1978.
The Navy says the Trident will be quieter, faster, and equipped with improved sound-ranging equipment, "all of which will greatly improve survivability to threats which may emerge over the next 30 years.”
Sub-launched Soviet Missile May Threaten U. S. Carriers
(Richard Burt in The Christian Science Monitor, 6 August 1974)
Concern is mounting in naval circles over the testing and possible deployment of a new Soviet submarine- launched missile which could pose a major threat to U. S. aircraft carriers and might also complicate arms-control negotiations.
According to officials in London and Washington, the new weapon, the
SS-N-13, possesses a range of 400 miles and may be a ballistic missile because it travels to its target at four times the speed of sound.
These characteristics and a report that the missile is capable of mid-flight course corrections suggests that it has been designed for use against naval vessels rather than targets within the United States or Europe.
The Soviet Union presently deploys a variety of cruise missiles, for use against naval targets such as carriers, which travel in a manner similar to low-flying aircraft. Because cruise missiles take as much as a half hour to reach their targets, naval officers are relatively confident of their ability to detect and defend against these weapons.
The SS-N-13, however, is said to be capable of reaching its target just minutes after launching. Because of its speed and ballistic trajectory, some analysts suggest that the only means of defending carriers and other vessels from attack would be to deploy "mini” antiballistic missiles on board the vessels.
It has also been suggested that the Soviet Navy might intend the SS-N-13 for use against the U. S. Polaris/ Poseidon ballistic missile submarine force.
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Although the new missile would not make it any easier for Soviet forces to find U. S. submarines, it might be possible to use the new missile against a Polaris boat once it had betrayed its location by firing. The high-speed SS-N-13 could possibly destroy the Polaris before all 16 of its missiles were launched.
Reports indicate that the SS-N-13 will be ready for deployment by the end of the year, but where the missile is placed could become a matter of some controversy. It is believed that the Soviets earlier planned to replace some older submarine-launched ballistic missiles with SS-N-13S on a group of 22 diesel submarines known as the G class.
Long Beach Feels Navy Cutbacks
(United Press International, 6 July 1974)
A year ago, there were often more than 50 warships tied up in the "home port of the tin can fleet.”
Now the Long Beach Naval Base "active fleet” is comprised basically of eight Naval Reserve training ships. The combat vessels, including about 25 destroyers, have been transferred to other home ports, most to San Diego.
Military manpower ashore has now dropped from more than 20,000 to less than 10,000 and will go down more. The Long Beach base would really be in the doldrums were it not for the increased activity at the adjoining Long Beach Naval Shipyard.
Manpower at the shipyard has gone up by about 1,000 workers to a total of around 7,200. The Hunters Point Navy Yard in San Francisco Bay has been closed down and Long Beach is now handling virtually all West Coast refitting, repair, and construction.
Britain to Take Over Shipyards
(Terry Robards in The New York Times, 1 August 1974)
The British government announced plans yesterday for the nationalization of the shipbuilding, ship repairing, and marine engineering industries, and the stock market immediately sank to a 15-year low.
Amid cheers from left-wing supporters in the Labor Party, Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Secretary for Industry, disclosed in a Parliamentary speech that legislation for the government takeover of the nation’s shipyards would be proposed later this year. The opposition immediately denounced the proposal as "doctrinal.”
The secretary said the legislation would provide "fair compensation” for owners of the yards. Only those yards employing more than 1,000 workers would be affected, he said, but that would involve the bulk of British shipbuilding.
Liner Independence Sold to C. Y. Tung of Hong Kong
{The Sun [Baltimore], 19 July 1974)
The American passenger liner Independence, laid up in Baltimore for six years because of her high operating costs, was officially turned over to foreign interests yesterday.
The official sale of the American Export Lines ship to C. Y. Tung, the Hong Kong shipping magnate, came only minutes after the U. S. Maritime Administration approved the transfer.
The 22-year-old Independence, which was laid up at Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, will be operated in the foreign trade by Atlantic Far East Lines.
QE2 to Increase Atlantic Runs
{The Sun [Baltimore], 3 August 1974)
The giant British liner Queen Elizabeth 2 is increasing her trans- Atlantic crossings next year to make up for the retirement last month of her French counterpart, the France, it was announced yesterday.
1
Notebook 113
The British liner will make 31 crossings next year, up from 24 this year, said her owners, Cunard Lines. As part of the same plan, summer cruises by the liner from her home port of Southampton will be reduced to two in 1975 from nine this year, Cunard said.
U. S. Merchant Commerce Gains
(Department of Commerce news release, 8 July 1974)
U. S.-flag ships carried more foreign cargo tonnage in 1973, according to preliminary data, than in any year since 1957. Statistics compiled by the Maritime Administration show that 39-8 million long tons of cargo were transported to and from foreign ports last year in U. S. vessels. This is 67% more
than the 23.8 million tons carried in 1972.
While the liner (general cargo) and the non-liner segments of the U. S.-flag merchant fleet registered respective gains of 34% and 18%, tanker tonnages increased more than 100% over the 10.2 million tons carried in 1972. Preliminary data indicate U. S.-flag tankers transported 22.2 million tons, or 7.6% of the tanker cargoes that moved in the nation’s foreign trade last year. The U. S.-flag portion was the largest volume handled since 1952.
The 39.8 million tons carried by the U. S.-flag fleet represent 6.4% of the total 622.9 million tons of foreign trade goods that passed through U. S. ports last year. By contrast, U. S. shipping companies captured only 4.6% of the total 513.6 million tons moved during 1972.
Liberty Ships Attract Fish
(United Press International, 21 July 1974)
To create artificial reefs—which attract fish that attract fishermen-tourists —more than 30 World War II Liberty ships are being pulled out of mothballs this year and sunk in the Atlantic off southern states and in the Gulf of Mexico.
The vessel Theodore Parker was sunk last month 3,800 yards off Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, in 55 feet of water. Morehead City, N.C., fisherman
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Canada to Sell Tankers to Cuba
(The Sun [Baltimore], 8 June 1974)
Canada has signed a $30 million deal with Cuba to build three 10,000-ton coastal tankers for the Castro government. The ships will be built by Marine Industries, Ltd., of Montreal, and will be delivered in 1977 and 1978.
The company insisted on including an inflation clause in the contract, and Cuba agreed.
The Cuba deal is the latest chapter in Canada’s shipbuilding success story, and the bonanza is largely because of government actions to encourage export sales. The federal government offers a 17% incentive grant to companies with export ship sales, and the Canadian Export Development Corporation allows low-interest loans to customer countries for up to 80% of the balance.
In three years the program has increased Canadian ship exports dramatically with sales to Greece, France, Britain, and the United States.
Kaman’s SH-2F-LAMPS for Electronic Warfare
David Willis reported that the "fishing is already better” in the immediate area. Old tires, concrete blocks, and other scrap have been dumped on the ship to help the reef along.
There is speculation that Cuban Premier Fidel Castro is purchasing tankers for possible oil shipments from Venezuela. Currently, Cuba receives 100,000 barrels of oil daily from the Soviet Union to cover virtually all her needs.
Biggest-ever U. S.-built Ships Included in Supertanker Plans
(The Sun [Baltimore], 1 July 1974)
Contracts for construction of four giant tankers at a total cost of $508.5 million were announced 29 June by the Maritime Administration. Government subsidies are to account for 38.7% of the construction costs.
The subsidies go to the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, which got a $414.3 million contract to build three tankers of 390,770-deadweight-tons capacity each, and to Seatrain Shipping Corporation of Brooklyn, N.Y., which will build a
Bristling with electronics for her two primary roles, Anti-Submarine Warfare and Anti-Ship Missile Defense, Kaman’s SH-2F Seasprite can also handle other missions. Electronic surveillance. Gunfire support. Amphibious assault support. Communications relay.
LAMPS means Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System, and multipurpose it is. In addition to its electronic roles, it serves frigates, destroyers and escorts in vertical replenishment, courier and personnel transfer, medical evacuation, search and rescue. And it has a capability for the future as an air-to-surface missile launching platform.
Multi-mission, multi-capable, SH-2F is an all-weather, day/night, overwater and over-the-horizon extension of the “small boy’s" power. That’s why she has been called “the most versatile new weapons system added to the destroyer fleet in the past ten years," pound for pound the most potent helicopter in the business.
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Notebook 113
225,0- deadweight-ton tanker for $94.2 million.
The ships to be built at Newport News will be the largest ever built in this country. Upon delivery in 1978, two of them will be owned by VLCC I and VLCC II, wholly owned subsidiaries of Interstate Oil Transport of Philadelphia, and will be time-chartered to Shell Oil Company.
The third of the Newport News ships is to be built for Zapata Ocean Carriers, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Zapata Bulk Transport, Inc., of New York. When placed in service in 1979, it is to carry crude oil from the Persian Gulf to a refinery scheduled to be built in Puerto Rico.
The vessel to be built by Seatrain, according to the announcement, will be owned by Pierce Tanker Corporation and operated by Hudson Waterways Corporation, both affiliates of the shipyard. The fifth tanker of this size ordered from the Seatrain yard, it is to engage in worldwide carriage of crude oil after its delivery in 1977.
The new contracts bring to only 59 the number of vessels ordered under the Merchant Marine Act of 1970—in comparison to the 300 that were supposed to be built during the administration-proposed, decade-long program established by the act.
The steel shortage has put something of a damper on new ship construction. And one Maritime Administration source said some firms that had been expected to sign orders before the new fiscal year had held back, possibly to see what would happen with the oil preference bill in Congress.
That bill would improve the prospects of American-flag tankers by requiring that at least a certain proportion of oil imports be transported in American bottoms.
may wind up in the courts.
The increase from 90 cents to $1.08 a ton was granted after the Panama Canal Company successfully argued that it was facing a $24 million deficit in the current fiscal year, based on the company’s depreciation of such assets as titles and treaty rights.
It was an assertion hotly contested by the shipping interests during lengthy congressional hearings, at which they accused the canal company of juggling accounting figures to reflect the deficit.
The ship operators asserted that, instead of a deficit, the canal company should realize a $3 million surplus in revenues during fiscal year 1975, which began 1 July.
A spokesman for the American Institute of Merchant Shipping said the ship operators may fight the toll increase in court, should alternative steps fail.
Apparently, the shipping interests already have asked the General Accounting Office to examine the canal company’s computing methods by seeking answers to questions relating to anticipated toll revenue changes, pro
posed increases in manpower levels, and general changes in the company’s longstanding depreciation policies.
If the figures computed by the GAO do not balance with those computed by the canal company, the government can order the canal operators to reverse their deficit projections, which could result in a lower toll increase.
Whale-hunting Quotas Lowered
(The New York Times [United Press International], 25 June 1974)
The United States, against strong Japanese and Soviet opposition, yesterday demanded a 10-year moratorium on commercial killing of whales to save them from extinction.
Japan and the Soviet Union, the only two countries in the world still operating large whaling fleets, said they would not agree to a total ban. The Japanese delegation, however, said it would accept a reduction in the size of the catch.
Shippers Criticize Increase In Panama Canal Toll Rates
(Joseph S. Helewicz in The Sun [Baltimore], 15 July 1974)
The President’s approval last week of a 20% increase in the transit tolls at the Panama Canal yesterday drew harsh criticism from American-flag steamship operators, who indicated that the issue
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Addressing the opening session of the 26th annual conference of the 15-nation
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"Whales and their wise management
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THE YACHT SQUADRON
AT NEWPORT
Arnold Art Store and The Gallery announce the publication of a full color reproduction of the large folio Currier & Ives lithograph of The Yacht Squadron at Newport, 1872 in a limited edition of 1500 numbered copies produced by Meriden Gravure Co. Prepublication subscriptions will be received until Nov. 1 for $10.00 which includes packing and postage. Price after Nov. 1 is $15.00. Delivery before Christmas.
Arnold Art Store and The Gallery
Attn. Capt. H. F. Rommel, USN, Ret. 210 Thames St., Newport, R.I. 02840
Enclosed is a check for $10.00 each for
_ copies of The Yacht Squadron at
Newport to be delivered to the address below or as listed on the attached sheet.
today are a symbol of a much broader concern of mankind for the preservation of his environment,” he declared. "The delegation of the United States will again seek a 10-year moratorium on all commercial whaling.”
Iwao Fujita of Japan said that his country "opposes a total moratorium.” Whale meat he said, "represents 10% of Japan’s protein consumption, and on it depends the livelihood of 50,000 Japanese.” But he said Japan would agree to reduction of present whaling quotas.
Editor’s Note: On 21 June the International Whaling Commission agreed to ban hunting of the fin whale after 1 July 1975 and to lower the annual quota for hunting set whales.
Soviets Announce Details Of 300,000-ton Supertanker
[Marine/Engineering Log, June 1974)
At a recent Moscow press conference, information was provided on the Soviet Union’s new mammoth tanker by its designer, Nicolai Rodionov. He revealed that it will be at least twice the size of the Ktym, the 150,000-ton tanker launched on the Black Sea in early April, and is likely to be in the 300,000- to
350,0- ton range. Earlier this year, the Soviet press was talking about 370,000 tons.
The ship is being built for Soviet and foreign oil carrying and will have a draft of about 72 feet. This means it will not be able to pass through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles.
Though the type of propulsion plant is yet to be decided, it will have a total shaft horsepower of 30,000. Engine
Pass-Down-The-Line-Notes
The author of American Steel Navy, Commander John D. Alden, U. S. Navy (Retired) is compiling a history of the fleet-type submarine in the U. S. Navy and would like to hear from anyone with first-hand knowledge of the conceptual development, design, or employment of these submarines in the period between World Wars I and II. He is especially interested in the early fleet boats from the T class of 1914-15 through the USS Cachalot (SS-170) and
room and cargo handling systems will be fully automated.
Where the ship will be built has not yet been disclosed. It is known, however, that the Russians are contemplating construction of their own large shipbuilding facility.
Nuclear Icebreaker Arktika Undergoes Dock and Sea Trials
(Yu. Zakharov in Pravda, 22 March 1974)
Dock trials of the Arktika, the largest nuclear-powered icebreaker in the world, have begun at the Baltic Shipyard, where the giant icebreaker is being outfitted. The mighty hull, with a length of some 150 meters [500 feet] and a beam of 30 meters [100 feet], is literally "stuffed” with complex equipment and automated systems. Along with the men from the Baltic Yard, dozens of enterprises and institutes which developed and built the fundamentally new models of equipment, machinery, and instruments are following their operation.
(Abstract from Nedelya, No. 13, 1974 and Vodnyy Transport, 30 March 1974)
The Soviet weekly newspaper Nedelya reports that within a few months the Arktika will leave the Baltic Shipyard to begin her sea trials. It also notes that, "On her icy course she will be guided by the former captain of the nuclear- powered icebreaker Lenin, Yu. S. Kuchiyev.” In an interview in the 30 March issue of Vodnyy Transport, the Minister of the U.S.S.R. Merchant Marine, T. Guzhenko, stated that the Arktika will go into service in the Arctic Ocean this year.
USS Cuttlefish (SS-171) of 1930. His address is 98 Sunnyside Avenue, Pleasant- ville, New York 10570.
Charles H. Bogart is trying to locate pre-World War II photos of Fort Wint, Grande Island, Subic Bay, Philippines, for an article he is writing on coast defense in the Philippines. Anyone with such photos may write him at 201 Pin Oak Place, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.
Changes in Status of Ships and Shore Establishments
Compiled by Commander J. B. Finkelstein, U. S. Navy 1-31 July 1974
U. S. Navy Fleet—
Ships Commissioned:
27 July 1974 USS Valdez (DE-1096)
Ships Transferred to the Naval Reserve Force:
1 July 1974 USS Enhance (MSO-437)
1 July 1974 USS Fearless (MSO-442)
Ships Transferred to Military Sealift Command:
1 July 1974 USS Atakapa (ATF-149)
26 July 1974 USS Mispillion (AO-105)
Ship Stricken:
1 July 1974 USS Severn (AO-61)
U. S. Navy Shore Establishment— Facilities Established:
1 July 1974 Naval Education and Training Information Systems Activity, Pensacola, Fla.
1 July 1974 Naval Reserve Readiness Command, Boston, Mass. (Development Status)
1 July 1974 Naval Reserve Readiness Command, Columbus,
Ohio (Development Status)
1 July 1974 Naval Reserve Readiness Command, Los Angeles, Calif. (Development Status)
1 July 1974 Naval Reserve Readiness Command, Twin Cities, Minn. (Development Status)
1 July 1974 Naval Reserve Officers
Training Corps Unit, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va.
1 July 1974 Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C.
1 July 1974 Naval Support Activity, Long Beach, Calif.
1 July 1974 u. S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 5, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1 July 1974 U. S. Naval Weather
Service Facility, Yokosuka, Japan
1 July 1974 Navy Environmental
Health Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
U. S. Navy Shore Establishment—
Facilities Modified
1 July 1974 Change Fleet Intelligence Center, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., to Fleet Intelligence Center Europe and Atlantic, Norfolk, Va.
1 July 1974 Change Naval Hospital
Corps School, San Diego, Calif., to Naval School of Health Sciences, San Diego, Calif.
1 July 1974 Change Naval Medical Training Institute, National Naval Medical Center, Be- thesda, Md., to Naval Health Sciences Education and Training Command, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.
1 July 1974 Change Navy Management Systems Center, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif., to Defense Resources Management Education Center, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.
1 July 1974 Change Navy/Marine
Corps Exhibit Center, Washington, D.C., to Navy Recruiting Exhibit Center, . Washington, D.C.
1 July 1974 Change Navy Toxicology Unit, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., to Naval Medical Research and Development Command, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.
1 July 1974 Change U. S. Naval Communication Station, Asmara, Ethiopia, to U. S. Naval Communication Unit, Asmara, Ethiopia.
1 July 1974 Redesignate Polaris Missile Facility, Pacific, Bremerton, Wash., as Strategic Weapons Facility, Pacific, Silver- dale, Wash.
1 July 1974 Redesignate U. S. Navy Commissary Store, Holy Loch, Scotland, to U. S. Navy Commissary Store Region, United Kingdom, Glasgow, Scotland.
U. S. Navy Shore Establishment: Facilities Disestablished:
1 July 1974 Boston Naval Shipyard, Boston, Mass.
1 July 1974 Fleet Intelligence Center,
U. S. Naval Forces, Europe, Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Fla.
1 July 1974 Naval Medical Research
Unit No. 1, Berkeley, Calif. 1 July 1974 Naval Ordnance Systems Command, Washington, D.C.
1 July 1974 Naval Ship Systems Command, Washington, D.C.
1 July 1974 Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, USN, Boston, Mass.
1 July 1974 U. S. Navy Commissary Store, Asmara, Ethiopia
June 1974 Addenda—
Facilities Established:
30 June 1974 Naval Magazine, Lualualei, Oahu, Hawaii
June 1974 Addenda—
Facilities Disestablished:
30 June 1974 Fleet Intelligence Center, Pacific Facility, Subic Bay, P.I.
30 June 1974 Naval Ammunition Depot, Oahu, Hawaii 30 June 1974 Naval Weapons System
Analysis Office, Washington, D.C.
30 June 1974 U. S. Naval Weather
Service Facility, London, England
A full-scale, low-volume ramjet (LVRJ) separation test vehicle successfully completed a series of three separation and drop tests earlier this year. It was launched from a Navy A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft flying at 13,500 feet and 500-650 mph. The LVRJ is an integral rocket/ramjet propulsion system designed for a variety of higher-speed, longer-range tactical missile systems than those now in use. Boosted to high speed by its solid- propellant rocket motor, the system then uses the empty motor case as a combustion chamber for ramjet fuel.
The USNS Sealift Indian Ocean, a
25,0- ton tanker, went sliding down the ways 27 July at Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California. Breaking the traditional bottle of champagne to christen the ship was Mrs. Robert S. Salzer, wife of the Navy vice admiral who commands the Pacific Fleet Amphibious Force. The tanker, 587 feet long, will carry 220,000 barrels of fuel and will be used primarily to transport oil for U. S. military forces. It will be operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command.