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  • Surprised no one has made comment of this yet..

    Originally posted by Archdude View Post
    Has the Connie left yet?
    Quite a long trip it will be, 16,00 NM, 140 days, at 6 knots, reaching Brownsville in December.

    Follow the tow of CONSTELLATION with their blog!

    USS Constellation Tow Blog

    And btw she can be seen in Long Beach when the tug fuels up

    "At this time it is we will be going to the outer anchorage (Anchorage F) at Long Beach.

    The best views of the “Connie” will be from Ocean Boulevard between Belmont Shores and Downtown.

    Boats can be taken out to take pictures but need to keep a 500-yard distance.

    So far they are holding to their ETA on 8/19 at 07:00. They will only be in port long enough to take fuel and clear customs."

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    • Saratoga left Newport, RI today


      Aircraft carrier Saratoga has left the pier, heading to Texas

      The towing of the U.S.S. Saratoga is underway, having departed Pier I at the Newport Naval Station before its scheduled departure time of 8:30 a.m.

      By Mike McKinney

      [email protected]

      The lines that have tethered the U.S.S. Saratoga, the decommissioned Navy aircraft carrier, to her berth in Newport for 16 years were being cut Thursday morning.

      Her date with the scrapper looms much closer now.

      Tugs arrived at 5:30 a.m. and began securing the ship alongside the pier and the lines began to be cut, reports Lisa Woodbury Rama, a Newport Naval Station spokeswoman.

      The ship, which began life in 1955 and was decommissioned in 1994, is slated to be towed to Brownsville, Texas, taken apart and recycled.

      “We are on schedule to have her begin moving away from Pier 1 around 8:30; under Newport Bridge around 10:30 and past Ft. Adams at 10:45 a.m. this morning,” she said in a news release. Those are estimates, she cautioned.

      “Should be great viewing for the public from” Fort Adams, she said.

      As of Wednesday evening, it appeared Saratoga would get to stave off its journey to the end a little while longer and linger in Rhode Island waters.

      “Weather conditions are not favorable. There are possible storms developing with models predicting a path up the US East Coast,” Rama said in a 6:05 p.m. email Wednesday.

      But in an email this morning, things changed.

      “There was a weakening of the weather pattern that was developing and threatening to intersect with the path of the Saratoga as she is tugged between [Rhode Island and Texas” and the operation is underway,” the email said.

      In 2010, the Navy opted to scrap Saratoga. The Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame had made an effort for years to make the ship into a floating museum.

      In May of this year, the Navy reached an accord to pay one cent to a Brownsville, Texas, company to tow, dismantle and recycle the ship berthed at Naval Station Newport.

      ESCO Marine was one of three companies awarded contracts for dismantling decommissioned, conventionally powered aircraft carriers over the coming five years.

      The Journal reported in May that the Navy continues to own the ships until they have been dismantled. The contractor will own the the scrap metal and sell it to offset its costs of operations, according to a Navy news release in May.

      Aircraft carrier Saratoga has left the pier, heading to Texas | Breaking News | providencejournal.com | The Providence Journal

      Comment


      • Another story, with some good pictures of the departure.

        Saying goodbye to the

        It may be the angle, but it sure looks like she's listing a bit in picture 1...

        Comment


        • Originally posted by ChrisV71 View Post
          Another story, with some good pictures of the departure.

          Saying goodbye to the

          It may be the angle, but it sure looks like she's listing a bit in picture 1...
          Yep, I think it's... 1.5 degrees? Had it ever since she was decommed. FORRESTAL did, too...

          Comment


          • What's the reason behind that?
            RIP Charles "Bob" Spence. 1936-2014.

            Comment


            • USS Saratoga arrives in Texas | Navy Times | navytimes.com

              Comment


              • US joint forces sink former USS Fresno

                PACIFIC OCEAN – Ships and aircraft sank the decommissioned former USS Fresno (LST 1182) at 3:15 p.m. in waters 18,000 feet deep, 215 nautical miles northeast of Guam as part of the exercise Valiant Shield 2014, Sept. 15.

                The participating sinking exercise units included the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, each of whom were able to gain proficiency in tactics, targeting and live firing against a surface target at sea.

                “This exercise provided an important opportunity for realistic at-sea training with live ordnance, in conditions that could not be duplicated otherwise,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Russell Allen, the U.S. Pacific Fleet Valiant Shield exercise lead. “This particular event enhanced our collective combat readiness and allowed us to improve our interoperability by working together to achieve specific training objectives.”

                Former Navy vessels used in sinking exercises (SINKEX) are prepared in strict compliance with regulations prescribed and enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, including the requirements that the event be conducted in waters a minimum of 1,000 fathoms (6,000 feet) deep and 50 nautical miles from land and that the area be confirmed clear of any marine mammals that might be harmed during the SINKEX.

                "The SINKEX is conducted on the front end of Valiant Shield mostly so we can safely dispose of the hulk involved," said Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, commander, Battle Force 7th Fleet. "It allows us to test both systems and tactics, techniques and procedures we developed for the employment of those systems in a live-fire environment. It's a mixture of Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps weapons systems from surface ship, fixed-wing, and rotary-based platforms. It provides an excellent opportunity for all three services and all the elements of the carrier strike group to work jointly to flex their firing chains and demonstrate their ability to release weapons accurately, safely and in an efficient manner."

                USS Fresno was the fourth ship in the Newport class of tank landing ships and was named for the city and county in California. The ship was assigned to the Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, and homeported in San Diego. Fresno participated in amphibious training operations along the West Coast of the United States and several deployments to the Western Pacific. Fresno saw extensive service during the latter stages of the Vietnam War, and earned two engagement
                stars for service.

                Valiant Shield is sponsored by U.S. Pacific Command. It is a U.S.-only, field training exercise that focuses on detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air, on land, and in
                cyberspace in response to a range of operational scenarios. Lessons learned can then be used to sustain and improve upon options to defend U.S. interests and those of its allies and partners.


                Read more: DVIDS - News - US joint forces sink former USS Fresno

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                • Originally posted by ChrisV71 View Post
                  US joint forces sink former USS Fresno

                  PACIFIC OCEAN – Ships and aircraft sank the decommissioned former USS Fresno (LST 1182) at 3:15 p.m. in waters 18,000 feet deep, 215 nautical miles northeast of Guam as part of the exercise Valiant Shield 2014, Sept. 15.

                  The participating sinking exercise units included the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, each of whom were able to gain proficiency in tactics, targeting and live firing against a surface target at sea.

                  “This exercise provided an important opportunity for realistic at-sea training with live ordnance, in conditions that could not be duplicated otherwise,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Russell Allen, the U.S. Pacific Fleet Valiant Shield exercise lead. “This particular event enhanced our collective combat readiness and allowed us to improve our interoperability by working together to achieve specific training objectives.”
                  I guess I need this explained to me how one gains proficiency in tactics, targeting and live fire against a sitting duck. Live fire I can see since you get to push the button, and watch something blow up, but tactics needed to track a non-moving target.

                  Comment


                  • You know, the Navy acquired the USS Paul F Foster DD-964 and automated her so that they could test defense systems by firing weapons at the ship while having personnel safely elsewhere. I wonder how difficult it would be to acquire a surplus vessel, place a remote control for some rudimentary maneuvering and maybe a srboc to make it interesting and use that as a target.

                    One thought though, it would have to be fueled, have lubricants, hydraulic fluids and other materials to make it work that would probably cause the EPA to go nuts.
                    Last edited by DonBelt; 16 Sep 14,, 05:09. Reason: answer my own question

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by tbm3fan View Post
                      I guess I need this explained to me how one gains proficiency in tactics, targeting and live fire against a sitting duck. Live fire I can see since you get to push the button, and watch something blow up, but tactics needed to track a non-moving target.
                      For aircraft, while they aren't tracking per se, maneuvering for an attack over water requires slightly different tactics as, for one thing, there's no terrain to make use of when on the approach profile. For surface ships we basically "lie" to the system. We're moving but we make the fire control system think that the target is moving.
                      Last edited by desertswo; 16 Sep 14,, 15:42.

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                      • Has anyone noticed that Google has recently updated the imagery over Newport News? GRF being fitted out, bits of the new JFK scattered about, and Big E, with 8 separate cut outs on her flight deck. A few cylindrical, containment vessels on the flight deck and pier.

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                        • Just looked it up that was cool. I thought the holes on E would be bigger? Glad I got to see her before they moved her.
                          RIP Charles "Bob" Spence. 1936-2014.

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by tbm3fan View Post
                            I guess I need this explained to me how one gains proficiency in tactics, targeting and live fire against a sitting duck. Live fire I can see since you get to push the button, and watch something blow up, but tactics needed to track a non-moving target.
                            Its not about the target.

                            Its about the system.
                            Coordinating the three services to attack the target is where the training is.

                            Target identified, decision made to engage said target

                            When do you arm the planes?, when do you launch them?, How long does it take your players to get in position to engage the target?

                            Setting flight control measures/multiple ingress/egress corridors. Getting that info to all the players.You don't want one of your ships shooting down the strike aircraft.
                            When do you implement those measures and when do you cancel the same?

                            Engaging with guns and missiles also? Setting height restrictions and moving the ships that will engage to places that can do so within those restrictions, deconflicting battlespace (air and surface).

                            Who is in charge? Are Navy/Marine Corp procedures known and used by the USAF? (Do they use the same lingo)

                            What sensors does each component bring to the table to make us more effective/give us a better picture? And how do we use them?

                            Who does BDA assessments? How are those shared? Who decides that the target has been Neutralized/Sunk

                            And a whole bunch of other stuff that is really important but to numerous and boring to add to this post. I could fill pages.

                            Those are the techniques, tactics and targeting procedures that we refine and gain proficiency in during one of these exercises.

                            Sinking the ship is just gravy.

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by DonBelt View Post
                              You know, the Navy acquired the USS Paul F Foster DD-964 and automated her so that they could test defense systems by firing weapons at the ship while having personnel safely elsewhere. I wonder how difficult it would be to acquire a surplus vessel, place a remote control for some rudimentary maneuvering and maybe a srboc to make it interesting and use that as a target.

                              One thought though, it would have to be fueled, have lubricants, hydraulic fluids and other materials to make it work that would probably cause the EPA to go nuts.
                              We do it with small boats

                              B-1B Exterminates Small Moving Boat; Tests Larger Anti-Ship Missile « Breaking Defense - Defense industry news, analysis and commentary

                              Attached Files

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                              • Some photo's from Brownsville, of former Saratoga and Forrestal.
                                forrestal

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