March 2023. #6
By Doc Regan
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GENERAL BLARNEY
It is Super Bowl Sunday as I sit at my table in St. Augustine, FL debating whether to get dressed before 3:00 pm because it is gloomy, cold, and very windy. After ten years on the Gold Coast facing the Gulf, we have decided to try the Cold Coast. It is much less expensive. Besides the price of everything, I discovered many things about the differences between the two sides of this mostly swamp state.
The Atlantic is a different color than the Gulf. At St. Patrick’s Elementary, colors were the basic red, orange, yellow, green (lots of green), blue, black, and white. Period. So do not ask me to describe the color of the Atlantic. The Gulf is a kind of green. The Pacific is BLUE. I watched it for hours flying from LA to Agana Guam.
The Atlantic waves are much bigger than the Gulf so if you want to surf, you do it on the right side of Florida. The sand is finer on this side. The beaches are rugged with large dunes. This side is more conservative and less wealthy (until you head south). The Gulf side is OLD people…you know…kind of like me.
Because of the waves and water, boats on this side are much larger than on the gentle Gulf. I mean, wow, there are some mighty big sailboats on this side that make those 24-footers of the Gulf look puny. Many a marina can be found driving down the road in St. Augustine, but West Marine here can’t hold a candle to the St. Petersburg one.
All of this is interesting to me, but I will probably find greater changes as I drive south. I mean, Key West ain’t your normal city.
GRAY FLEET
A bajillion years ago I moved to a small town in northeastern Iowa and ran into an old elementary school pen pal that I had totally forgotten about. I truly enjoyed reacquainting with John Carnes. He ran a radio/TV repair shop with his dad. One day I was at his dad’s house and saw a massive photo of what I thought was a battleship. He informed me that it was a battlecruiser. I had never heard of such a thing from WWII.
My ignorance was quickly eliminated. Just before the war we desperately needed ships with great firepower and high speed. Our battleships were old and slow, and our cruisers didn’t have the guns. The U.S. built a couple of thin-skinned but fast ships with big guns—Battlecruisers. He had served on the USS ALASKA (CB-1) that had been laid down in mid-December 1941 just after Pearl Harbor.
CB-I was 808 feet in length and 91 feet across with a draft of 31 feet. She carried nine-12” guns, 12 five-inch guns, and a whole lot of anti-aircraft guns. She could easily hit 33 knots to keep up with the carriers who needed that speed for operations.
USS GUAM (CB-2) was also built and saw some action but by the time of her launch, the IOWA-class battleships were sailing. The behemoths had the guns and the speed and the armor necessary for the mission of supporting the carriers, and that ended the idea of a battlecruiser. While their usefulness was limited and their action lessened, these two were beautiful ships worthy of a large portrait to hang on his wall.
Interestingly, the senior Mr. Carnes was enlisted as a Chief. He ran a radio store and had studied electronics at DeVry Institute. I had heard about “slick arm” chiefs, but I had never met one. Gee, with two college degrees on my CV, I enlisted as an E-3 and three years later I was still an E-3. At that rate, I would have made chief in about…NEVER!
Vice Admiral Kelly Aeschbach announced that the Navy will commence billets for cryptologists aboard submarines. The team will consist of 2 officers (a cryptologist and an information officer) and 3 enlisted (a Cryptologist Technician, Cryptologist Maintenance, and an Intelligence Specialist). The old CTN (Network) will be redesignated, but a new name has not been decided upon. This is a lot different than O, R, I, M, A, T Communications technologists of my day. We were not supposed to tell what we did other than say we were in communications.
The reason for adding these duty stations to subs is that one of the primary missions of submarines is intelligence gathering and surveillance. CTs occasionally were aboard subs, usually, they took over the forward torpedo room and locked the door. Many CT ‘s rode destroyers, often for a couple of weeks until they hit the next port. They often were placed in a temporary shed welded to the deck and from which they never left. One old buddy who was a Viet Namese linguist crewed a dozen different ships in Viet Nam. If that ship received a Military Unit Citation or other awards, he also received that award. His chest was full of ribbons when he returned to the states.
I got a Good Conduct Medal and the ubiquitous National Defense Medal. What a hero, right!
SHIPWRECKS
There were 10 notable discoveries of wrecked ships found in 2022.
1. HMS ENDURANCE, Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic ship was caught in the ice in 1912 and crushed until she sank. His story of saving his crew without a single loss is legendary, and everyone who looks at exciting books needs to read one about him. The ship was discovered about 4 miles from where she took the plunge
2. HMS GLOUSTER sank 340 years ago after hammering a sandy shoal. She was carrying the future King James II. His policies were greatly influenced by this brush with death.
3. BI, a Spanish Treasure ship, hit the bottom in 1708 off Columbia. Her cargo was gold, silver, and other riches worth a fortune at that time. It is estimated that her worth is now $17 billion! I found a dive watch at the bottom of a lake once. It was worth about $50. Whoopie!
4. BARGE 129 was an odd-looking cargo barge that dove to the mud in the Great Lakes. It was considered a “whaleback” barge. The Lakes are not particularly kind to the wrecks. Old 129 was shredded and only little pieces were discovered.
5. USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (DE-413), was a little Destroyer Escort (about as small as Navy warships got in WWII) that was overpowered by bigger Japanese ships off the Philippines in 1944. This is the deepest wreck discovered and confirmed. She sits 22,621 feet below the surface. SAMMY B, as she was affectionally known, was a 306’ long ship that took on much larger Japanese ships during the Battle of Samar. She managed to torpedo one and made several gun hits on others before the big boys sank her. She is known as the Destroyer Escort that fought like a battleship.
6. INDUSTRY was a whaling brig that sank in a storm in 1836. Accidently discovered, the dive team placed videos of their finds, including an old cast iron stove, on the Internet. Kind of cool to look at. Obviously, the wooden hull, decks, and masts are long gone.
7. DOLPHIN is another old wreck that was recently discovered. She was identified by using the rings on the wooden masts to figure her age and analyzed which ship she must be. Oh, what science can do today. Gee, I thought knowing how to use a slide rule was pretty darn advanced.
8. A medieval ship was found off Sweden and thought to be from the 13th century. While it remains nothing special, it is the oldest cog found. Please do not ask the difference between a cog and a battleship. Someday I will learn the difference among brigs, brigantines, sloops, submarines, etc.
9. ZIBELLO popped up in the Po River when the European drought dropped water levels to 100-year lows. This barge was not the only ship to find sunshine after years on the bottom, dozens of Nazi ships that were sunk surfaced in the shallow waters.
10. BROOKHILL, an old steam-driven paddle wheeler also was exposed due to the drought along the Mississippi River. She sank in a terrible storm. Although scientists knew she was there, her exposure allowed more intense research on shipbuilding.
Truth be told, some of these were discovered earlier but not announced until 2022. The Columbian Navy sure was not ready to announce the $17 billion treasure before it was safely ashore and protected.
Every once in a while an old paddle wheeler will be found in the middle of a cornfield. The Missouri River has changed course many times. In fact, one Iowa town is now in the middle of Omaha, NB surrounded by that city. From downtown Omaha, you must go through an Iowa town to get to the airport. The Missouri has moved several miles and at least one old vessel was found a long way from any water.
HISTORIC TRIVIA
Wall comments and scribblings on the men’s room at the Area Education Agency where I worked proffered many words of wisdom and humor, but my favorite was a collective that had been added to over the year. It read, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t do, teach. Those who can’t teach, coach. Those who can’t teach or coach, administrate. Those who can’t teach, coach or administrate, consult. Those who can’t teach, coach, administrate or consult, work for the Iowa Department of Education.
Unfortunately, my high school history teachers (coaches all) never linked past events to each other. Everything seemed to happen independently of everything else. What a surprise I had in college. Everything seemed to be linked together. Worse, names and dates had little importance compared to what was significant. My first history test was an essay exam about the Reformation. I studied hard and spewed forth dates, names, and events with great alacrity. I got an “F”. My professor told me that all I did was spout trivia that a parrot could accomplish. “Why is that significant to anything?” he uttered. Wow, I was excited and frustrated, thrilled and disappointed simultaneously. Why something is important IS the question.
Believe me, I will get to a boat issue shortly. In November 1921, Harry Sinclair eyed the Teapot Dome oil field with greedy eyes. This field had been designated for U.S. Navy use only, and it was not to be drilled for commercial use. Harry had worked with Albert Fall, Secretary of Interior in the Warren Harding administration, and he quietly arranged for $100,000 to be given to the political figure in exchange for rights to drill at Teapot Dome.
High school students have all heard about this over the last 100 years as the first time a Cabinet member went to jail. But there is far more to the story than just a jail sentence.
Leap ahead 20 years. The Empire of Japan attacked the United States at the Naval Station Pearl Harbor on the Day That Lives in Infamy. The Japanese were incredibly successful using armor-piercing bombs and torpedoes with wooden wings attached so they didn’t sink and stick in the mud. We all know the story.
The Japanese made a multitude of errors in the attack. They missed the three aircraft carriers that were out to sea, they did not destroy the drydocks or repair facilities, and they did not hit the large oil containers that had 6-months of fuel.
Part of the deal between Harry Sinclair and Secretary Albert Fall was that the former would build huge oil storage tanks in Hawaii for the Navy. These could hold enough fuel for the entire Pacific fleet for a long time. Without those tanks, the Navy would have to come back to the U.S. and operate from the West Coast. In essence, the War in the Pacific was won because of an illegal deal and bribery.
In the photo below, please note all the white oil tanks.
Along these same lines, General Dwight D. Eisenhower responded to a question about the key component to winning the war in Europe. He simply said, “Logistics, logistics, logistics.” The same could be said about the Pacific War.
Many critics of the Navy’s operation immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor totally missed the logistical issues. No one less than Samuel Eliot Morison, the Harvard historian who wrote the 15-volume History of US Naval Operation in World War II—the bible of the war’s history, missed this point (and several other logistic problems). Morison and multitudes of his followers criticized the Navy for not trying to follow the Japanese after the assault, for not initiating offensive operations sooner, and for lacking an offensive orientation among the high-ranking officers, Regrettably, many in the press, Congress (especially the Republicans whose isolationist philosophies were dead in the Hawaiian mud), and many Navy officers (especially the aviation wing), failed to recognize the logistical concerns. The Navy only had a very few oilers in service on December 7, 1941, and only 2 in the Pacific. Without oilers, ships don’t sail.
The Pacific Command realized that they could not risk sending carriers to battle without fuel. Carriers needed destroyers, light cruisers, and heavy cruisers to protect them. These ships required lots of oil. Morison and virtually every naval historian from 1942 until 1995 decried Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher for not attacking the Japanese up to and including Midway (June 1942). The scholars roasted Fletcher for pulling out and refueling. Morison goes to the point of citing the fuel load of every single ship in Fletcher’s task force. Fletcher asserted his destroyers needed fuel. His opponents claim he had ample oil.
This writer wondered who was right. Using the data Morison provided, it looks like Fletcher was vastly over-conservative; however, I asked one of the world’s leading experts on destroyers (a US Naval Archivist and author on destroyers) about the discrepancy. It seems that destroyers use 5 times the normal rate of fuel consumption when sailing at the appropriate speed for aviation operations (about 25 knots or more). At normal rates, the ships had plenty of fuel (at 12 knots cruising speed); but supporting air operation required more than they had. Virtually all the destroyers had less than 1 day of fuel in their bunkers.
Truth be told for new readers; I wrote the biography of Frank Jack Fletcher.
GRAY FLEET
Huntington Ingalls Industries was awarded a nice $10.5 million to eliminate the twin 155mm guns from the USS ZUMWALT (DDG-1000) and the USS MICHAEL MANSOOR (DDG-1001) and replace them with an Advanced Gun System. These will fire hypersonic missiles that can fly at 5 times the speed of sound.
The Navy often talks about her fleets but I never knew just where they were. Now I know, and you do too.
2nd Fleet East Coast and North Atlantic- Norfolk
3rd Fleet Pacific- Pearl Harbor
4th Fleet South America – Mayport, FL
5th Fleet Middle East – Bahrain
6th Fleet Atlantic and Mediterranean – Naples, IT
7th Fleet Western Pacific – Yokosuka, Japan.
The Navy is considering reviving a 1st Fleet that would be based somewhere between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The constant fear of Chinese incursions is atop the United States’ list of concerns and threats. Currently, the 3rd Fleet is the largest of the six current entities and many believe that the Navy should rearrange its ship groupings.
INLAND WATERWAYS
Merchant boat owners along our navigable waters are hoping that the winter’s snow and rain will alleviate the low water marks. Several sites along the Mississippi River are at or near record lows. At one spot in Louisiana, the river is only 5 feet deep, according to Waterways Journal.
The Army Corps of Engineers will close two locks on the Illinois Waterway for 120 days in order to replace doors, machinery, and electrical units. The Brandon Road Lock on the Des Plaines River and the Dresden Island on the Illinois River are targeted for the work. Still, miter gate machinery will not be replaced because inflation overwhelmed the requisite budget. The Corps had a problem in 2020 dam work: the ubiquitous Asian Carp. They are better prepared this time.
Damen Marine Components ordered four new Multi Cat boats that C&C Marine will build in Louisiana marking the first time that this constructor has had multi-ship orders. The Multi Cat 3013 is a trimaran 100’ by 41’ with a draft of 8.5’ with 37 tons of bollard pull, and two deck cranes. Bow thrusters and winches make this a veritable Swiss Army Knife of a rivercraft. They will house 7 crew.
These boats are scheduled for assignment as repositioning pipelines, shift anchors, tow barges, and dredge operations. Vessel components will be built in the Netherlands, Poland, and China.
MERCHANT FLEET
Our East and West Coast ports have a noted decrease in incoming TEU containers. The Port of Long Beach unloaded in October 259,442 units, which is the lowest since 2011. 307,080 TEUs landed at the Port of Los Angeles, which is the lowest since 2012. Oddly, the Port of New Jersey landed 702,000 containers which is significantly greater than the two biggest ports on the West Coast. Overall, the West Coast ports were down negative 28% over the same month in 2021. The U.S. incoming units were down -8.8%.
Our exports showed a downturn. Port of Los Angeles shipped out 89,722 containers or -8.7% down from the same month a year ago. The entire West Coast shipped 321,820 containers, down, 7.2 %. The Right Coast sent 489,022 TEUs, down 3.6%. The United States overall was down -1.6%. This data is for October 2022 according to Maritime Executive.
Shipping got a little more complicated when the State of California passed a law forbidding trucks over ten years old from hauling freight. The maritime experts believe that about 25% of the trucks moving overseas supplies are older than 10. Did someone say there was a supply chain problem?
Our beloved friends the Chinese, who harass our Navy ships, push the envelope off Japan, and generally desire to take over all of Asia, are playing the Big Bully against fishing fleets throughout Asia. Using “non-governmental” paramilitary groups, the Chinese use threats, harassment, and downright attacks on fishing boats demanding control of fishing grounds.
With over 70,000 large fishing ships, the Chinese nudge out others all over Asia, around Japan, to the Philippines, and all the way to Australia. When Australian military jets flew over Chinese vessels, they were bombarded with lasers. Maybe this has something to do with the U.S. question if war with China is inevitable.
For the record, U.S. Navy warships in International Water anywhere in Asia tend to be closely followed by Chinese warships armed with the “Ship Killer” missiles at the ready. They don’t attack or even harass well out into the ocean. They simply want us to know that they can sink our ships easily. I am reminded that Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary and future Secretary of State, John Hay, posited in 1894 that war with Japan was inevitable. Correlation?
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