Littoral Combat Ships

[ChrisV71]

Montgomery is probably getting a reputation as a hard luck ship...

Tug collides with LCS Montgomery, cracks the hull
By: David B. Larter, October 6, 2016 (Photo Credit: Austal USA)
The littoral combat ship Montgomery can’t seem to catch a break.

Less than three weeks since a pair of engineering casualties sent the trimaran into port for repairs, Montgomery took a hard knock from a tug as it sortied from Mayport, Florida ahead of the Hurricane Matthew.

The Tuesday collision opened up a foot-long crack amidships along a weld seam, about three feet above the waterline, according to a report obtained by Navy Times. The crack was letting in about a gallon of water every three minutes until sailors plugged the quarter-inch crack with wedges, the report said.

Sailors installed dewatering systems to the space; the ship does not need to come back into port.

The accident happened in choppy waters with winds gusting up to 30 nautical miles-per-hour in Mayport harbor.

"As the ship was departing the [Mayport] basin, pilot requested tugs come along the starboard side to push Montgomery further from the quay wall and the aft landed hard on the starboard side" the report reads.

Sailors also reported five of the horizontal beams in the hull – called stringers – were bent.

Naval Surface Force Pacific confirmed to report in a statement, adding that an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the fender-bender.

"USS Montgomery (LCS 8) sustained a crack to its hull while getting underway from Naval Station Mayport under orders to sortie Oct. 4,” the statement read. “This crack resulted in minor seawater intrusion, but was contained by the crew. An investigation into possible causes is underway, and the ship will receive more permanent repairs upon her return to port.”

Montgomery, alongside the cruiser Anzio and amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, were sortied from Mayport ahead of the storm, which is expected to slam into Florida’s east coast as a massive Category 4 hurricane.

The Air Force Hurricane Hunters measured the storms’ winds overnight at 125 mph, and the storm is expected to strengthen as it approaches Florida tonight.

Montgomery suffered a pair of engineering failures within 24 hours, the Navy announced Sept. 16. The ship pulled into Mayport on its own power for repairs, which were under warranty from the manufacturer.

https://www.navytimes.com/articles/t...racks-the-hull

[JRT]

Freedom (LCS-1) suffered an engineering casualty recently, too. Seems that a seal failed, allowing sea water into the engine lube oil system for the propulsion diesels.

In the article below, it seems interesting that an engine was damaged, is now in need of replacement or overhaul, and yet three months later, "No final decision has been made yet on the options for follow-on repairs to Freedom related to the July 11 engineering casualty.”

LCS Freedom CO fired after engine damages

Defense News
10/14/2016

The head of the surface Navy on Thursday fired the commanding officer of a littoral combat ship that damaged one of its main propulsion diesel engines in July.

Vice Adm. Tom Rowden cashiered the CO of Crew 106 of LCS Freedom, Cmdr. Michael Wohnhaas, “due to loss of confidence in his ability to effectively lead and carry out his assigned duties,” Naval Surface Force Pacific said in a Friday release announcing the removal.

“The loss of confidence followed an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding damage to the ship's number 2 main propulsion diesel engine (#2 MPDE) that occurred in the operation areas off the coast of southern California on July 11,” the SURFPAC release said. “No final decision has been made yet on the options for follow-on repairs to Freedom related to the July 11 engineering casualty.”

Navy Times’ sister publication Defense News reported in August that the Freedom’s diesel engine was damaged by a crewmember's error and would need to be completely rebuilt or replaced entirely.

The Freedom’s engine casualty was followed six weeks later by the engineering breakdown on LCS Coronado, which forced the ship to return to port for repairs at the start of its maiden deployment. Two weeks later, the Montgomery was forced to lock its port propellers and return to port to get fixed only three days after its commissioning. The beleaguered LCS class has suffered five engineering mishaps in the last year, intensifying the scrutiny for the new ship class. Amid these incidents, Rowden ordered a safety standown for all LCS engineering in August and has ordered all engineers on the ships, officers and enlisted, to re-train and re-certify.

Wohnhaas is the second LCS CO fired this year in the wake of engineering problems. In March, the CO of the Fort Worth was ousted amid a probe into the damages to the ship’s propulsion gears on deployment.

Wohnhaas has been temporarily reassigned SURFPAC. Capt. Matthew McGonigle, the deputy commodore of LCS Squadron 1, will act as the temporary CO.

Wohnhaas is a 1996 Naval Academy graduate who had been slated to command the future LCS Detroit, according to his official bio. Wohnhaas did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

[JRT]

Davidson: 'We are going to get unmanned only through LCS'

Inside Defense
10/12/2016


PORTSMOUTH, VA -- The Navy will make strides in developing and deploying unmanned systems through the Littoral Combat Ship, according to the head of all naval forces based on the East Coast.

The ship's large mission bays lend themselves well to operating unmanned vehicles compared to other surface vessels, Adm. Philip Davidson, the chief of Fleet Forces Command, said here Oct. 12 during a keynote address at the Expeditionary Warfare Conference.

"We are going to get unmanned only through LCS," Davidson said, highlighting how the limited space, weight, cooling and power margins on guided missile destroyers and other ships will limit them to operating only smaller unmanned vehicles.

"That big mission bay, we are going to be extraordinarily grateful for as we think about that capability set moving forward," he said.

The Navy is developing several unmanned systems to operate off of LCSs. The Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle will carry minehunting and influence gear as part of the LCS mine countermeasures mission package. The Knifefish unmanned underwater vehicle, meanwhile, will hunt for mines as part of the mission package as well.

Two MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles are currently in use aboard the LCS Coronado (LCS-4) deployed in the Western Pacific. The MQ-8B and the larger MQ-8C will carry sensors as part of both the surface warfare and mine countermeasures mission packages, respectively.

Though not planned for incorporation into any of the mission packages, the Navy’s LCS program executive office is also responsible for developing the Large Diameter Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV).

The surface Navy, meanwhile, recently began implementing changes to the way it will man, operate and maintain LCSs.

...

[surfgun]

Detroit (rock city) is to commission on October 22nd.

http://seapowermagazine.org/stories/...1-detroit.html

[ChrisV71]

You've got to be kidding me...

Littoral Combat Ship USS Montgomery Damaged Transiting Panama Canal

By: Sam LaGrone
October 31, 2016 4:59 PM

The Littoral Combat Ship USS Montgomery (LCS-6) suffered damage during a transit through the Panama Canal on its way to its new homeport in San Diego, Calif., USNI News has learned.

Montgomery, was crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific when the LCS collided with one of the walls of the lock and suffered damage to the hull on Oct. 29, Cmdr. Ryan Perry with U.S. 3rd Fleet told USNI News on Monday.

“Under control of the local Panama Canal Pilot, the ship impacted the center lock wall and sustained an 18-inch-long crack between her port quarter and transom plates,” Perry said.
“The crack is located 8-10 feet above the waterline and poses no water intrusion or stability risk.”

The ship is now on the Pacific side of the canal heading to its new homeport.

Damage through the canal transit is the third incident to occur to Montgomery since the ship commissioned in September.

Days after its commissioning, the Austal USA-built Montgomery suffered two separate engineering casualties on Sept. 13 on its first intended transit of the Panama Canal.

“The first casualty happened when the crew detected a seawater leak in the hydraulic cooling system. Later that day, Montgomery experienced a casualty to one of its gas turbine engines,” read a September statement.
Then on Oct. 4, when the ship was scrambling from Naval Station Mayport, Fla. to avoid the path of Hurricane Matthew, the ship “took a hard knock from a tug,” according to a report in Navy Times.

The following is the complete Oct. 31, 2016 statement from U.S. 3rd Fleet

On Oct. 29 USS Montgomery (LCS 8) sustained damage to her hull while transiting Southbound through the Gatun and Pedro Miguel locks of the Panama Canal. Under control of the local Panama Canal Pilot, the ship impacted the center lock wall and sustained an 18-inch-long crack between her port quarter and transom plates. The crack is located 8-10 feet above the waterline and poses no water intrusion or stability risk.

The ship has continued her transit as scheduled, has now exited the Panama Canal and is expected to arrive at her new homeport of San Diego next month.

https://news.usni.org/2016/10/31/uss...ged-transiting

[jlvfr]

That's it, it's official: the ship is cursed. Call a priest...

[JRT]

"Under control of the local Panama Canal Pilot, the ship impacted the center lock wall and sustained an 18-inch-long crack between her port quarter and transom plates. The crack is located 8-10 feet above the waterline and poses no water intrusion or stability risk."

That's an easy fix...

[surfgun]

Classic!

[surfgun]

Here is a hi-Rez photo of LCS Montgomery: note the patches on the port side particularly the aft corner and I think one can see some of her Panama Canal damage on her bow.

http://www.navy.mil/management/photo...-FC195-045.JPG

[tbm3fan]

Sort of like paper, rock, scissors. The paper hull of the Montgomery hit the rock wall of the canal. Usually paper wins so something went wrong here...

[jlvfr]

Sort of like paper, rock, scissors. The paper hull of the Montgomery hit the rock wall of the canal. Usually paper wins so something went wrong here...

Nah, the rock scissored up the hull... ;)

[Tankersteve]

https://warisboring.com/the-u-s-navy...0eb#.ncxhltu2b

The current JCIDS process is purpose-built for complex programs like LCS. This article really breaks down how the Navy worked to circumvent it, to the detriment of all except the stockholders of the builders...

Tankersteve

[tbm3fan]

Another one set to sail.

Ok, odds and bets on when this one has her first engineering issue!

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/28/politi...rds/index.html

USS Gabrielle Giffords at nation's service
Zachary Cohen-Profile-Image

By Zachary Cohen, CNN

Updated 4:10 PM ET, Wed December 28, 2016
Navy commissions controversial vessel
Navy commissions controversial vessel

Navy commissions controversial vessel 00:59

(CNN)The USS Gabrielle Giffords is set to sail.
The Navy accepted delivery of the $475-million littoral combat ship from shipbuilders during a ceremony in Mobile, Alabama, last week.
Named in honor of the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head and badly wounded in 2011, the vessel is the ninth littoral combat ship to join the fleet.

It is also the 16th naval ship to be named for a woman.
The Navy expects to receive a total of 26 LCS ships, which come in two versions, the Independence class and Freedom class.
The Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin and the Independence variant is built by Austal USA. The Giffords vessel is of the Independence class.
The official transfer of the ship -- which took four years to build -- from Austal USA to the Navy marks the final milestone before it is commissioned into active service, which is planned for 2017, according to the Navy.

[jlvfr]

Another one set to sail.

Ok, odds and bets on when this one has her first engineering issue!

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/28/politi...rds/index.html

Keep it away from the Canal!

[surfgun]

Yes the current operators (valet service), are banging the snot out of the clientels vehicles! Thank you, Jimmy Carter!