Posted on 07/18/2016 5:12:43 PM PDT by Mariner
The United States Navy and its allies recently laid siege to a retired frigate in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It was all part of a SINKEX, or sinking exercise, that tested the missiles and big guns of modern navies against an actual warship.
Every two years, as part of the multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, the US Navy tows a retired warship out to sea. Then the U.S. military, along with allied forces, blow it to smithereens.
The USS Thach was an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate. Commissioned in 1979, it was named after Jimmy Thach, a World War II F4F Wildcat pilot who invented the famous "Thach Weave" fighter formation to counter the Japanese Zero fighter.
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
The Navy had a lot of stories as to why they wanted to retire these 50+ platforms before the end of their service life and none of them made any sense at all.
1. Slow. 30+knots for a Frigate ain't bad.
2. Can't take a hit. This article show that is NOT the case. Real action shows the same.
The combined SM-1 missile is retired. Really? These ships could be re-fitted for other launchers and other weapons. Relatively cheap.
Instead the Admirals and Pentagon employees took jobs with Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics right after the LCS contracts were awarded.
And all the Congressmen involved got all the money they needed for reelection and every one of their family and close friends got do-nothing jobs with the same companies.
This is the kind of malfeasance that a responsible POTUS would end. And, if we still have ANY of these ships left in mothball, they'll be sent for refit ASAP.
Frigate frigging outstanding!
That’s one tough old ship.
SINKEX 2016 appears to have been a failure. The old girl didn’t sink.
ping
Instead the Admirals and Pentagon employees took jobs with Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics right after the LCS contracts were awarded.
And all the Congressmen involved got all the money they needed for reelection and every one of their family and close friends got do-nothing jobs with the same companies.
...
You’re probably right. Military procurement has long been a source of crooked behavior.
I was on the Kennedy (CVA-67) and I know for a fact she would do 32 knots. A frigate needs to be faster than that.
As for survivability, all the fuel and explosives were removed so there were no secondary explosions. Note the bulge in the aft part of the ship at the front of the helicopter landing pad. That would have taken out the propulsion and left her dead in the water and possibly without power.
You could see that she broke her back in at least 2 places.
Friggen MK-48!
I just saw a “Dogfights” episode where F4F (I think) pilots were doing a Thach Weave.
I laugh at the prospect of ending government corruption like I do at the prospect of ending poverty.
Both are self-sustaining and too attractive to give up without dire consequences.
We haven’t got the guts for dire consequences.
I would think it would be tough to watch if you had served on that ship. I attended the decommissioning of my uncle’s submarine and after it was over with the crowd still there a tug towed it away backwards. It seems like a very undignified end for a boat with so many achievements.
Ex-surface line. Yeah, it’s tough to watch. BTT
No combustibles sure would help a vessel survive longer.
The torpedoes are the deadliest weapon against a ship.
Does kind of make one wonder how an Iowa class BB would stand up
to hits like this.
I heard that an Iraqi anti-ship missie was guiding on the Wisconsin but
a Royal Navy destroyer shot it down. Like, to see a corroboration
of that.
Not really.
The Destroyers and Cruisers do.
For 99%, at least, of the time all ships are in transit at 14-16kts.
If a CBG needs to reposition quickly, there's always at least two DDG's that can run with it if they have the fuel aboard.
And CVN's rarely advance faster than their subs and DDG's can keep up.
The role of a modern Frigate is to patrol the Persian Gulf and South China Sea radiating fire control radars to harass, escort of Amphibious units...and to aid in AAW/ASW for CBGs...where they can.
Sometimes just simple presence to deter untoward activities at sea.
They should have run it aground on Scarborough Shoals.
Those things are HUGE! I got a chance to see them up close touring a Los Angeles class boat while I was teaching a course in Groton. The 48's make the torpedoes carried on destroyers look like toys.
I couldn't believe how much space the bubbleheads had aboard that boat. Coming from an Adams class DDG, the sub looked immense by comparison.
The MK-48 hit directly below the gun mount where weapons store would be.
A 500lb bomb hit directly above the engine room.
She would have been conclusively and rapidly sunk by either.
I wish it were an Iranian ship in the Persian Gulf. Those A-H’s need some whup-ass.
That looks like fun.
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