Halibut Hangar

Originally Published May 16, 2008; Updated and Republished September 05, 2008; Updated and Republished September 15, 2008; Updated and Republished December 21, 2008; Updated and Republished December 31, 2008:

Yesterday, House Armed Services Committee (HASC) completed its mark-up process for the fiscal year 2009 Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 5658), providing $531.4 billion in budget authority. The HASC 2009 budget includes $4,145 million procurement dollars, for the Navy’s Virginia-class submarine program.

USS Virginia SSN 774

HASC added $722 million dollars to the Navy's request of $3,423.5 million dollars. The additional HASC procurement dollars aim to accelerate and increase the submarine’s annual production rate from one to two. General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman now jointly produce one submarine per year under a teaming agreement, which HASC proposes to continue for FY 2009.

The Virginia-class submarine program has been plagued by cost overruns. Many think the submarine's proposed price of $2 billion per copy must be significantly reduced for post Milestone III limited production and production to be sustainable¹.

• Manufacturers: General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman
• Displacement (tons): submerged - 7,800; surface - 7,300 (est)
• Length: (feet/meter): 377/114.9
• Beam: (feet/meter): 34/10.3
• Speed (knots/mph/kph): submerged – 34/39.1/62.9; surface – 14/16.1/25.9
• Propulsion: single shaft, pump-jet, 44,000 shp
• Power plant: S9G, advanced breeder²
• Dive Depth (feet/meter): 1,600/487.6
• Torpedo Tubes: 4; 21”
• Armaments: Mark 48 Torpedo (heavy); Block IV Cruise and Harpoon Missile; Mark 67 SLMM; littoral mining
• Standard Crew Complement: 134 men³

Web:

• UPDATED 12/31/2008 US House, Joe Courtney et al. Letter To President-elect Obama (750K pdf). Representative Courtney has coordinated a letter, signed by himself and 27 other representatives⁵.

  The representatives are urging Obama to preserve the Virginia-class submarine platform and its anticipated two submarine per year production rate, including multi-year contracting and advance procurements.

  General Dynamics Electric Boat Division is located in Groton Connecticut, part of Joe Courtney's second district.

• UPDATED 12/21/2008 NYT Editorial, How to Pay for a 21st-Century Military

  "Halt production of the Virginia class sub. Ten of these unneeded attack submarines — modeled on the cold-war-era Seawolf, whose mission was to counter Soviet attack and nuclear launch submarines — have already been built. The program is little more than a public works project to keep the Newport News, Va., and Groton, Conn., naval shipyards in business."--NYT--

  It's no accident that Navy acquisition is planning to purchase 10 8 more Virginia class submarines (20 18 total) before the next administration takes office.

  • UPDATED 12/23/2008 NavyTimes, Navy orders 8 new Virginia-class subs
  • UPDATED 12/22/2008 Reuters, General Dynamics and Northrop awarded submarine deal (Fixed Price Incentive Contract⁴—N00024-09-C-2104)

  It will be a shame to unnecessarily waste so many dollars in contract cancellation and close-out.

• UPDATED 9/15/2008 Senate votes to begin work on 2009 Defense Authorization Bill; See S.3001 for text of legislation—Subtitle C--Navy Programs--Sec. 131. is the advanced procurement for the Virginia-class submarine. See Roll Call Vote 197 for official tally. See H.R 5658 for House companion legislation.

• UPDATED 09/05/2008 Navy's Newest Submarine Class Conducts Tomahawk Cruise Missile Launches.This Navy reporting does not state what Tomahawk cruise missile variant(s) was/were launched, whether those variants were block III and/or IV or whether all or part of the launches were successful.

  It's unclear what "boundaries pushing" Rear Admiral William Hilarides (PMS-PEO 450) is referring to—however, launching cruise missiles from a submarine is not boundary pushing.

  The current Los Angles class submarines, SSN 688 through 773, have been successfully launching all Tomahawk cruise missile variants through Block III, for many years.

• UPDATED 06/18/2008 Winter: Fewer Subs For Now. Speaking at the United States Naval War College Secretary of Navy, Donald C. Winter said he does not support increasing the Virginia-class submarine production rate (from one to two per year).

  ”There is no silver-bullet solution to this financial problem,...We must figure out how to build a more cost-effective fleet and build a fleet that is less costly to operate.”--Donald C. Winter--

Res: Northrop Grumman Marketing Data for U.S. Navy's Virginia-class Attack Submarine Program and Promotional Photos.

-----notes-----

1. The submarine is currently costing $2.5 billion per submarine.

2. Likely, the fertile actinoid Thorium 232 in a heavy water moderator, using an advanced fuel rod geometry (i.e. high power density) configuration.

3. Note two, concerning women on Virginia-class submarines has been removed—see comments.

The Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) has recommended to the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations that they commit to the integration of women into the submarine community and develop an implementation plan for doing so.

DACOWITS has also recommended that the Secretary of the Navy direct redesign of Virginia-class submarines to accommodate mixed gender crews.

4. Each submarine is purchased without weapons for a fixed price of say $1.65 billion current dollars (weapons are purchased separately for, say another $.850 billion).

The contractor is then "incentivized" with additional dollars, as a function of capital investment (which is huge for shipbuilding) depending on negotiated performance goals.

Contracting on a fixed price basis without an established and fixed submarine design is illusory. The fixed price effectively becomes cost reimbursement each time the design is changed (this applies to the submarine's weapons as well as the submarine itself).

It is useful to use total cost of ownership (aka life-cycle costs) figures as opposed to any single announced price tag. An announced price tag always comes with so many assumptions about future events that it rarely if ever is meaningful or represents the true price, even within large margins of error!

5. Representatives James Langevin, J. Randy Forbes, Brad Ellsworth, Robert Wittman, Betty Sutton, Rosa DeLauro, Robert Brady, Patrick Kennedy, Henry Brown, Robin Hayes, Time Ryan, Michael Doyle, Michael Michaud, Carol Shea-Porter, John Culberson, Paul Hodes, Peter King, John Larson, Jack Kingston, Bob Goodlatte, Timothy Bishop, Christopher Murphy, Madeleine Bordallo, Robert Scott, Norman Dicks, Carolyn McCarthy, and Elijah Cummings.

Last Updated December 23, 2008: Added Block III Subs; USS North Dakota, SSN 784 through SSN 791.

• Los Angeles-Class (Active;6,900 tons)

  1. USS Los Angeles (SSN 688)
  2. USS Philadelphia (SSN 690)
  3. USS Memphis (SSN 691)
  4. USS Bremerton (SSN 698)
  5. USS Jacksonville (SSN 699)
  6. USS Dallas (SSN 700)
  7. USS La Jolla (SSN 701)
  8. USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN 705)
  9. USS Albuquerque (SSN 706)
  10. USS Augusta (SSN 710)
  11. USS San Francisco (SSN 711)
  12. USS Houston (SSN 713)
  13. USS Norfolk (SSN 714)
  14. USS Buffalo (SSN 715)
  15. USS Olympia (SSN 717)
  16. USS Providence (SSN 719)
  17. USS Pittsburgh (SSN 720)
  18. USS Chicago (SSN 721)
  19. USS Key West (SSN 722)
  20. USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723)
  21. USS Louisville (SSN 724)
  22. USS Helena (SSN 725)
  23. USS Newport News (SSN 750)
  24. USS San Juan (SSN 751)
  25. USS Pasadena (SSN 752)
  26. USS Albany (SSN 753)
  27. USS Topeka (SSN 754)
  28. USS Miami (SSN 755)
  29. USS Scranton (SSN 756)
  30. USS Alexandria (SSN 757)
  31. USS Asheville (SSN 758)
  32. USS Jefferson City (SSN 759)
  33. USS Annapolis (SSN 760)
  34. USS Springfield (SSN 761)
  35. USS Columbus (SSN 762)
  36. USS Santa Fe (SSN 763)
  37. USS Boise (SSN 764)
  38. USS Montpelier (SSN 765)
  39. USS Charlotte (SSN 766)
  40. USS Hampton (SSN 767)
  41. USS Hartford (SSN 768)
  42. USS Toledo (SSN 769)
  43. USS Tucson (SSN 770)
  44. USS Columbia (SSN 771)
  45. USS Greeneville (SSN 772)
  46. USS Cheyenne (SSN 773)

• Seawolf-Class (Active;9,200 tons)

  1. USS Seawolf (SSN 21)
  2. USS Connecticut (SSN 22)
  3. USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23)

• Virginia-Class (Active;7,800 tons)

  1. USS Virginia (SSN 774)
     • Wikipedia, USS Virginia (SSN-774)
     • Submarine Atlantic, USS Virginia (SSN-774)
     • Global Security, SSN-774 Virginia-class
     • FAS, SSN-774 Virginia-class NSSN New Attack Submarine Centurion
     • Naval Ships Registry, USS Virginia (SSN-774)
  2. USS Texas (SSN 775)
  3. USS Hawaii (SSN 776)
  4. USS North Carolina (SSN 777) End of Block I¹
     • Wikipedia, USS North Carolina (SSN-777)
     • Submarine Atlantic, USS North Carolina (SSN-777)
     • Naval Ships Registry, USS North Carolina (SSN-777)
     • Submarine USS North Carolina Commissioning Ceremonies, (SSN-777)
  5. New Hampshire (SSN 778)
     • Wikipedia, USS New Hampshire (SSN-778)
     • Command Submarine Group Two NL, USS New Hampshire (SSN-778)
     • Naval Ships Registry, USS New Hampshire (SSN-778)
     • Submarine USS New Hampshire Commissioning Ceremonies; (SSN-778); [October 25, 2008 @ 10 am - Webcast]
  6. New Mexico (SSN 779)
     • Wikipedia, USS New Mexico (SSN-779)
     • TBAssigned
     • Naval Ships Registry, USS New Mexico (SSN-779)

     • Submarine USS New Mexico Navy League Website, (SSN-779); December 13, 2008 Christening Webcast (first 27 min is pictures and protocol)—Cindy Giambastiani is New Mexico's sponsor.

       The band and their music is fantastic.

  7. Missouri (SSN 780)
  8. California (SSN 781)
  9. Mississippi (SSN 782)
  10. Minnesota (SSN 783) End of Block II¹
  11. North Dakota (SSN 784)—Fixed Price Incentive Contract² (N00024-09-C-2104) for Block III (8 subs) announced December 22, 2008.
  12. (SSN 785)
  13. (SSN 786)
  14. (SSN 787)
  15. (SSN 788)
  16. (SSN 789)
  17. (SSN 790)
  18. (SSN 791) End of Block III

-----notes-----

1. Blocks are program points for assessment (congressional, military, design, costs etc) and phase in of prior accumulated design changes, both major and minor.

2. Each submarine is purchased without weapons for a fixed price of say $1.65 billion current dollars (weapons are purchased separately for, say another $.850 billion).

The contractor is then "incentivized" with additional dollars, as a function of capital investment (which is huge for shipbuilding) depending on negotiated performance goals.

Contracting on a fixed price basis without an established and fixed submarine design is illusory. The fixed price effectively becomes cost reimbursement each time the design is changed (this applies to the submarine's weapons as well as the submarine itself).

It is useful to use total cost of ownership figures as opposed to any single announced price tag. An announced price tag always comes with so many assumptions about future events that it rarely if ever is meaningful or represents the true price, even within large margins of error!

Originally Published June 04, 2008; Updated and Republished July 30, 2008; Updated and Republished October 15, 2008:

Miss Virginia 2007, Hannah Kiefer, visits America's newest fast attack submarine, USS Virginia, SSN 774. In addition to having our young women visit our newest submarine, our Navy needs to ensure they can stay if they so choose. Hannah, instead of just calling for Miss Virginia 2008 to visit our newest submarine, why not call on the United States Navy to begin assigning our young women to our nation's newest submarine?

Hannah Kiefer, USS Virginia SSN 774

Challenge our young women to crew our submarines. Challenge them to design submarines with: lower costs (USS Virginia costs $2.5 billion, plus!); more advanced technology; improved and advanced materials—the sail on which you and the lieutenant stand is so yesterday (it represents approximately 8-9% of the submarine's total hydrodynamic drag¹)—a platypus like appendage.

Web:

• UPDATED 10/15/2008 UPI, Some urge broader women's role in military.

  "These women aren't asking for special privileges," said Manning, a Navy veteran. "We think women and men should be allowed to do any job they are physically qualified to do."

• UPDATED 07/30/2008 Remembering When Women Became Waves. The video gives a short history of women in the Navy ending with a statement implying that women are now fully integrated into the Navy—not quite we still need them to command and crew our nuclear submarines. (also, women cannot be Navy Seals, notwithstanding their ability to meet all the requirements)

• UPDATED 06/18/2008 Winter: Fewer Subs For Now. Speaking at the United States Naval War College Secretary of Navy, Donald C. Winter said he does not support increasing the Virginia-class submarine production rate (from one to two per year).

  ”There is no silver-bullet solution to this financial problem,...We must figure out how to build a more cost-effective fleet and build a fleet that is less costly to operate.”--Donald C. Winter--

• Miss Virginia Visits State's Namesake Submarine
• Virginia Class Submarine - Defense Authorization FY09

-----notes-----

1. Increased hydrodynamic drag, all other things being equal, means more propulsion, which requires a larger (noisy and heavy) or more efficient propulsor and/or propulsion plant.

The sail also has other undesirable attributes for the modern submarine. For example added weight, limited maneuverability, larger energy (sonar, radar, magnetic) cross sections, and high center of gravity (instability).

Some of these undesirable attributes are mitigated by manufacturing modern submarine sails from new composite plastics.

Originally Published June 20, 2008; Updated and Republished July 16, 2008:

Navy and Army divers will conduct a joint training exercise to raise the Juliett-class submarine K-77, (1960s) cum Russian Submarine Museum.

The submarine was purchased by the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation in 2002 and placed pier-side at Collier Point Park, Providence, Rhode Island. It conducted public tours, until its freak pier-side sinking in April 2007.

The Providence River bathymetry at the sinking site barely covers the sunken submarine. The salvage divers will repair the damaged main ballast tanks and LP air pumps will slowly fill them until K-77 once again floats.

The divers get some practice and Providence can reopen their submarine museum, after a lot of pier-side clean-up and repair.

Web:

• UPDATED 07/30/2008 AP, Salvage teams raise sunken Russian Sub Museum.
• UPDATED 07/16/2008 Joint Navy, Army Operation to Salvage Sunken Former Soviet Sub Nears Completion. Salvage divers are making progress. They've righted the 49^o list and are applying the patches necessary to pump air in to force the water out.
• Navy, Army Divers Work to Raise Sunken Former Soviet Sub
• Flickr Photo, K 77 - Julett 484 and Flickr, K 77 Rising - U.S. Navy and Army Divers Photos

The USS Halibut (SSN-587) 2008 Reunion is being held in New London, Connecticut on September 18 - 21, 2008. The Halibut Veterans' Association has arranged, for attendees staying at the Radisson Hotel New London to receive a nominal discount rate on request1. New London September Weather Avgs: High Temp: 72oF; Low Temp: 54oF; Precip: 4.06 inches (current weather in New London, CT).

Virginia Class Submarine Attack Center2

Click Map for Detailed View of New London Area

Here is a near real-time picture (updated every minute) at Avery Point looking across the Thames River harbor inlet toward Seaside—approximately three miles down river from the Radisson Hotel New London.

The New London Ledge Light³ is a historic lighthouse located in the Thames River harbor inlet adjacent to Avery Point. The historic lighthouse contains a modern weather station.

Web:

• Reunion 2008; Nautilus Tour
  

  • USS Nautilus (SSN 571) Thames River Museum, Groton, CT.

    • Nautilus Veterans, SSN-571/SS-168, are holding their reunion in New London on September 25-29, 2008; panopo[replace brackets and text with the appropriate symbol]gmail.com
  • USS Nautilus (SSN 571) AllHands write-up.
  • USS Nautilus (SSN 571) PBS NOVA virtual tour

• Reunion 2008; Attend Sub-School Class (Official Navy Site):

  • Naval Submarine School, History of Naval Submarine School
  • Naval Submarine School, Submarine Escape Training
  • Naval Submarine School, Main Site

• Reunion 2008; Dinners:

  • SubBaseNLon Dinner (detailed map of SubBaseNLon, 1 meg pdf)
  • Halibut Veterans' Dinner

• Reunion 2008 Guest Speaker: Halibut veteran and author of "Spy Sub", Roger C. Dunham MD. (left). He will report on his recent tour of the Navy's latest Virginia-class submarine, USS Hawaii, SSN 776.

Photos, Previous Reunions:

• David Palagyi's Photos—Reunion 2002, San Diego 2002

Possible Places To Visit (in or near New London):

• Foxwoods Resort Casino (World's Largest Casino - area map)

  • Foxwoods Pequot Museum
  • Foxwoods Resort Casino, Headliner Shows
  • Foxwoods Resort Casino, Free Shows
  • Foxwoods Resort Casino, Golfing
  • Explore MGM Grand at Foxwoods. Click only if your wife and/or girlfriend are not watching the computer screen.

• Mystic Seaport

  • Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration
  • Mystic Country Comprehensive site for information about Mystic.
• Harkness Memorial State Park or Harkness Memorial State Park
• Sail aboard the Tall Ship Mystic Whaler
• National Submarine Memorial (Near Nautilus and Submarine History Museum)
• Connecticut College Arboretum or Connecticut College Arboretum
• Mohegan Sun Casino (approximately 15 minutes from Foxwood Casino)
• U.S. Coast Guard Museum (area map)
• Custom House Maritime Museum (area map). If website is under-constructions check here for address and hours.
• Lyman Allyn Art Museum (area map)

• New London County Golf Courses

  • The Chanticlair Golf Course
  • Birch Plain Golf Course & Driving Range
• The Grand-Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut (area map)
• Ocean Beach Park (aerial map)
• Florence Griswold Museum (area map)

National Historic Places—New London Saint James Episcopal Church (area map) Williams Memorial Institute (area map) Ledge Lighthouse—see note one below Fort Griswold (aerial map) Fort Trumbull (aerial map) New London Customhouse List of Registered Historic Places, New London, Connecticut Gillette Castle State Park (area map) Haley Farm State Park Connecticut River Museum (area map) New London County, Connecticut Fishing Lakes. Here are 200 lakes in New London County to fish till you drop—or catch a few fish.

Enlarge—Turtle4

• Museum of Connecticut History. This is in Hartford, an hour’s drive from New London. If time and interest in America's history combine, this is a must visit—so much history, including that John Winthrop, Jr founded New London, Connecticut in 1646. (See also the numerous other Connecticut Museums and Historical Societies!)
• New London County Historical Society. This is the Perkins-Shaw Mansion which was frequented by a young New London school teacher (see New London Main Street, below for location of school house) and first American spy, Nathan Hale. During our Revolution the Navy used the house as its headquarters—George Washington is widely thought to have stayed overnight during his march of some 20,000 Continental Army troops to fight in the August 1776, Battle of Brooklyn Heights, New York.

• New London Maritime Society, Amidstad (aerial map). The Customhouse displays a scaled replica and brief history of the famous Spanish schooner and slave ship, La Amistad. (see Amistad Revolt - An Historical Legacy of Sierra Leone and the United States for a more details).

  Technically, La Amistad was not designated a slave ship. However, its below decks manacles belied its technical designation.

  Today, thousands of children track, via the internet and Google maps, a full scale La Amistad as it sails the world teaching others about the horrors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

  Connecticut and its leaders marked their opposition to America's slavery, even as our judiciary and southern states slogged their way toward the fateful Dred Scott decision and our nation's Civil War.

• Taverns, Pubs, Bars, and Inns—New London Area

  • Dutch Tavern-YouTube Video (area map) The famous American playwright Eugene O'Neill frequented the Dutch Tavern and drank, ... well, like a submariner, a young submariner—O'Neill's boyhood house, Monte Cristo Cottage, is located in New London. (The Reunion Radisson Hotel is on the corner of Eugene O'Neill Boulevard and Governor Winthrop Boulevard.)
  • Reunions Pub, Building 485 (formerly Tavern by the Green) and Fouled Anchor Lounge, Building 447 and "The Dive" O'Club, Building 429. Both are on the SubBase, overlooking the Goose Run Golf Course.
  • The Bee and Thistle Inn. The Bee and Thistle Inn was built in 1756. (area map)
  • The Griswold Inn The Griswold Inn opened in 1776. (area map)
  • Lighthouse Inn Wharf area New London (area map)
• New London Main Street. This is a great site for finding "touristy" dining and doing in and around the wharf area—all within walking distance of the reunion Radisson Hotel. (Main Street has published a handy Historic Waterfront District Dining Guide—a 2Meg pdf and Historic Waterfront District Map & Guide—1.5Meg pdf)

USS Halibut (SSN-587) 2008 Reunion Area Aerial Map-Click for Details

Entertainment and Eateries:

• Restaurants around New London

Out, About, and Around (New London):

• Taxis and Rental Cars
• Ferry Service (aerial map)
• SeaPony Cruises and Charter
• Planes, Trains, & Buses
• New London Visitor Information Station (860-444-7264). Maps & brochures on door at all times.
• New London, Eastern Regional Tourism District Office,(860-444-2206) Or (800-863-6569)
• New London Police Department. Routine calls: 860-447-5269 menu item 20; emergency menu item 0 or use 911 instead. The station is just down the street from the Radisson Hotel at 5 Governor Winthrop Boulevard
• Detailed City Data about New London, Connecticut

Hospitals and Drugstores:

• Lawrence & Memorial Hospital (aerial map)
• Naval Healthcare Clinics, Groton and other New England Locations
• CVS (860-443-5359) (aerial map). There is a 24 Hour CVS in Groton, Connecticut- 915 Poquonnock Road;(860-446-0912).
• Rite Aid (860-447-0661) (aerial map). 817 Bank Street, New London

Internet Access and WiFi Connections:

• New London Public Library (aerial map). The library has free public access to the internet, including WiFi (wireless) connection for your personal laptop.[Thanks Tara]
• Reunion Radisson Hotel (A surcharge applies to WiFi access.)
• Bean & Leaf, Cafe & Roastery (aerial map) Free high-speed WiFi for customers.

Still Need Ideas:

• Flickr Photos; New London, Connecticut A great way (not to mention enjoyable) to get ideas for a trip is to see what others have photographed in the area.

  Amateur photographers take some of the most amazing picture, if by accident!

  • Close-up of Ledge Light
  • Customs House
  • First Episcopal Church
• Boston Globe, Close-up on New London
• Tooheyworld, Attractions in Groton (CT)
• Groton Trails
• Groton Yellow Pages
• Groton American Billiards. Still out of ideas...just hang-out at the pool hall and play cribbage or get a haircut or massage or wait for Halibut Reunion 2010 in a different city.

-----notes-----

1. Very often fees, surcharges, or complimentary services make the total cost of one hotel higher or lower when compared to another—it never hurts to ask for complimentary services.

It is amazing the huge stock and variety of "comps" a good hotel negotiates with local and non-local businesses and provide their special guests on request—complimentary gym/spa access, complimentary shuttle service to casinos, complimentary WiFi access, complimentary movies, complimentary discounts on: shows; plays; symphony; seasonal attractions; special activities; eateries; beverages; cruises; parking; rental cars; plane-train-bus-fares; sight-seeing tours etc... On and on...

You can contact the New London Radisson's Front Office Manager, Scott Brodie, here: rhi_newl[replace brackets and text with the appropriate symbol]radisson.com

2. The Attack Center (roughly Control to Halibut veterans) is highly integrated and computerized with flat-panel displays galore, including two large displays (vertical and horizontal) for the attack (approach) officer (roughly OOD to Halibut veterans).

The 20 or so watches for the standard Attack Center are collectively referred to as the New Attack Submarine Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (C3I) System: Approach Officer; FCC; Combat Control Operators(3); Sonar Supervisor; Sonar Operator(5); CCS TSD Operator; Tactical Display Evaluator; Integrated Tactical Display Operator; Photonics Operator (very expensive panoramic digital periscope to Halibut veterans); Radar Operator; and Fathometer Operator; Pilot; Copilot; and Relief Pilot (roughly Diving Officer, Chief of the Watch, Helmsman, Planesman, to Halibut veterans).

3. If you look close at the webcam picture you can see the Ledge Light (41.304974° Longitude: -72.078297°) out in the inlet harbor (almost center of picture). A boat takes visitors to the Ledge Light (Adults,$19; Children 6-12, $16; no children under 6 permitted for safety reasons), a tour lasting about 2 hours. Tour demand in September is low so only one tour on Saturday is provided.

Each Lighthouse is assigned a distinct and unique light color and flash pattern—the Ledge Light flashes three whites and one red flash every 30 seconds.

The decorative lighthouse in the picture's foreground is the Avery Point lighthouse, which no longer functions.

4. Bushnell's Turtle drawing is courtesy of the Mayflower Families who have been so essential in documenting our nation's early history.

United States, National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will survey the World War Two sites of three sunken German submarines, U-85, U-352, and U-701.

Web:

• UPDATED 07/09/2008 Science Daily, Surveying German Subs Sunk Off North Carolina During World War II
• NOAA and Partners to Explore German Subs Sunk off North Carolina During World War II

In a milestone first the United States Navy has simultaneously deployed all four of its SSGN submarine platforms¹.

USS Georgia SSGN 729

Web: SSGN Class Marks First – Entire Class at Sea Simultaneously

-----notes-----

1. These are former Ohio-Class ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) which have been converted for tactical use—the nuclear ballistic missiles have been replaced by cartridges of Navy cruise missiles and teams of seal guys (no women, yet) and paramilitary types, including their exotic equipment; [USS Ohio (SSGN 726), USS Michigan (SSGN 727), USS Florida (SSGN 728), USS Georgia (SSGN 729)].

Think of a submarine launching cruise missiles, seal guys, and paramilitary types to take-out an al Qaeda bad guy hide-out (or other installations and sites) and pickup laptops, intelligence, bad guys (an occasional good guy), DNA samples, other things of national security interest, and periodically take photos (occasionally useful in moments of diplomatic denial or subterfuge).

On this day, October 28, 1968, the USNS Mizar (T-AGOR-11) towed her magnetometer and cameras over a sunken wreckage two miles below. Two days later the United States Navy declared to the world that the sunken USS Scorpion (SSN 589) had been located. A recently published book, by Ed Offley, Scorpion Down, Basic Books, 2007 provides convincing, compelling, and conclusive primary source accounts that the Mizar’s October 28, 1968 “discovery” was nothing more than an elaborate “cover story”, by senior Navy and government officials, to obfuscate the fact that the wreckage had been located months earlier on June 9, 1968, by the USS Compass Island (EAG 153)1.

Book in WorldCat

To submarine fiction readers Scorpion Down will read like a submarine thriller that drops depth charge after depth charge until the truth about Scorpion’s sinking is finally forced to surface.

To USS Halibut (SSN 587)² submariners it will read like a detailed x-y grid plot of a target area after years of patient passes in a very dark sea, which finally promises to illuminate the target and enable recovery ... of the truth.

Offley has left many actively pinging transponders on a carefully constructed high probability, narrow confidence band grid of targets. I suspect it will not take 25 more years to recover documentary evidence of the truth about Scorpion's³ sinking.

Map Showing Compass Island's Search Track Beginning June 9, 1968

Web:

• Scorpion Down
• UPDATED Radio WNIA, Scorpion Down, Interview with Ed Offley (mp3)
• UPDATED 10/29/2008 Casualties of the Cold War: in Scorpion Down, veteran correspondent Ed Offley claims the nuclear submarine USS Scorpion was sunk in 1968 by the Soviet Navy.

-----notes-----

1. In the world of intelligence, especially military intelligence, especially superpower military intelligence it is actually very difficult and expensive to slow the relatively short half-life of a secret. Human actions will always belie randomness and thus secrecy, so intelligence officials use cover stories to explain the human non-randomness. Or as John Craven, technical coordinator of the Mizar’s Scorpion search might say: an ideal cover story must always be true and explain every aspect of non-random behavior with respect to the secret(s) being protected.

According to Offley’s compelling case the ultimate secret sought to be protected is that the former USSR intentionally torpedoed and sunk the USS Scorpion, on May 22, 1968 at 1644 (4:44 pm local time) in retaliation for the earlier US sinking of USSR’s K-129 submarine. The cover story used by senior Navy and government officials was intentionally or unintentionally articulated by Craven. Craven maintained and reasserted to Offley that the USS Scorpion sank as a result of an internally exploding torpedo (hot-running torpedo).

Later, when images (Navy and Ballard) of the sunken Scorpion showed no sign of an internal explosion the cover story was tweaked, by the USS Scorpion’s board of inquiry to say that the hot-running torpedo was jettisoned by crew members and then spontaneously locked on and sunk the Scorpion.

Offley conclusively demonstrates that senior Navy and government officials responded to the Scorpion’s sinking within hours of its May 22, 1968 sinking. This fatally torpedoes and sinks the official cover story. The old cover story cannot be tweaked, amended or salvaged, Craven's assertions notwithstanding – it has been fatally and conclusively blasted out of the water.

Offley, having successfully sunk the Scorpion’s cover story goes on to construct a theory of why Navy and government officials covered up the fact that they had begun the Scorpion search within hours not days and located the wreckage within days not months of its sinking. In this effort Offley is less successful. He unnecessarily complicates his theory by weaving in the Walker spy ring, North Korea’s proxy piracy of the spy ship USS Pueblo (AGER-2) and Russia’s access to submarine crypto gear, KLB-47, KWR-37, and KW-7.

2. Offley incorrectly associates hull number 575 with the USS Halibut (SSN 587). Submarine hull number 575 belongs to Halibut’s sister ship the USS Seawolf (SSN 575). In Offley’s book the Seawolf was scheduled to participate in upcoming NATO exercises in the then volatile Mediterranean. However, system failures forced Seawolf into the shipyard and Scorpion took her place for the Mediterranean NATO exercise.

As noted above Halibut figures into Offley’s book as the submarine that located the sunken Russian submarine K-129. According to Offley’s book Scorpion was sunk in retaliation for America’s earlier sinking of K-129, which Halibut then located and photographed. The CIA subsequently salvaged the K-129 submarine using the USNS Glomar Explorer (T-AG-193) – remember the manganese nodules cover story?

America honored a prior Russian request to provide evidence that the K-129 submariners recovered in the salvage operation were given a proper at sea burial. America presented Russian President Boris Yeltsin with photos of the sunken K-129, the at sea burial ceremony, and the flags used during the at sea burial of the recovered K-129 Russian submariners.

3. Another book on the USS Scorpion by Kenneth Sewell and Jerome Preisler, All Hands Down: the true story of the Soviet attack on the USS Scorpion, Simon and Schuster, 2008 is schedule for publication around April 15, 2008 (Sewell is also co-author, with Clint Richmond, of Red Star Rogue: the untold story of a Soviet submarine's nuclear strike attempt on the U.S.).

What submariner, as described in All Hands Down, in the entire US Submarine Force, officer or enlisted, standing an in port 15 hour engineering watch would ever request the below decks watch to wake the captain so he (engineering watch) could take a piss?