USS Milwaukee breaks down right off the lot
Stars & Stripes reports that the newest ship in the Navy, the USS Milwaukee, broke down just 20 days after the Navy drove it off the lot and had to be towed 40 miles to Little Creek, VA to be repaired;
Initial indications are that fine metal debris that collected in the lube oil filter caused the system to shut down, but the cause is not known, the Times reported.
“Reporting of a complete loss of propulsion on USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) is deeply alarming, particularly given this ship was commissioned just 20 days ago,” Sen. John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee who has voiced serious reservations about the [littoral combat ship (LCS)] program in the past, said in a statement to the Times.
“U.S. Navy ships are built with redundant systems to enable continued operation in the event of an engineering casualty, which makes this incident very concerning.”
At the time of its commissioning critics said the $437 million ship still hadn’t met expectations.
But not all news out of the Navy is depressing; this was a nice touch:
Navy's new stealthly Zumwalt rescues stricken fisherman off Maine coast
The U.S. Navy's brand new $4.3 billion stealth destroyer, the Zumwalt, came to the rescue of a fisherman suffering chest pains early Saturday off the coast of Maine.
It was only Monday that the Zumwalt, the largest destroyer ever built for the Navy, headed out to sea for the first time.
Coast Guard officials reported receiving a distress call at about 3 a.m., saying the 46-year-old captain of the fishing boat Danny Boy was suffering chest pains about 40 miles southeast of Portland.
The Zumwalt was conducting sea trials in the area and responded to the scene, the Portland Press Herald reported.
A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter had responded from Air Station Cape Cod but the crew determined a hoist of the stricken fisherman would be too dangerous due to the configuration of the fishing boat's deck.
Officials said a crew and small boat from the Zumwalt transferred the man to the destroyer's deck. The helicopter crew then hoisted the patient and transported him to shore, where he was taken to Maine Medical Center for care.
I hope they don't charge him gas for the ride.
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