HMCS Charlottetown In Support Of Libyan Operations

HMCS Charlottetown/photo US Navy

HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339) is a Halifax-class frigate that has served in the Canadian Forces since 1995.
Charlottetown is the tenth ship in her class which is based on the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the third vessel to carry the designation HMCS Charlottetown.
Charlottetown was laid down on 18 December 1993 at Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd., Saint John and launched on 1 October 1994. She was officially commissioned into the CF on 9 September 1995 and carries the hull classification symbol 339.
She is assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and is homeported at CFB Halifax.

Service

Charlottetown serves on MARLANT missions protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Atlantic Ocean and enforcing Canadian laws in its territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone.
Charlottetown has also been deployed on missions throughout the Atlantic and to the Indian Ocean; specifically the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea on anti-terrorism operations.
Charlottetown has also participated in several NATO missions, patrolling the Atlantic Ocean as part of Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) and its successor Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1).
On Wednesday March 2, 2011, the Charlottetown left its home port of Halifax to be a part of a humanitarian relief operations near Libya. The Charlottetown will be working in conjunction with an American carrier battle group led by the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise. Their mission is to reach Libya to help restore peace, evacuate Canadian citizens in Libya and provide humanitarian relief.
On Friday March 18th it was announced that HMCS Charlottetown, in addition to 6 CF-18s and 2 C-17s, would constitute Canada's contribution to the enforcement of UN resolution 1973 which permits UN member states to take certain military action against Libyan forces, including the enforcement of a no-fly-zone, to protect Libya's civilian population.

US Has No Current Aircraft Carrier Presence In The Medietteranian

French Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91)/US Navy photo

Currently the US Navy has no aircraft carrier presence in the Mediterranean and currently it doesn't look like they have any intention of doing so, the latest information has the USS Enterprise, CVN-65 is moving eastward away from Libya in route to join the USS Carl Vinson, CVN-70 off the coast of Afghanistan, and of course we have the USS Ronald Reagan CVN-76 and USS George Washington CVN-73 assisting with the Japan disaster, so the United States will be relying a lot of shore based air assests and Tomahawk missiles.

However one asset the United States Navy does have in the area with the capability of acting as a small aircraft carrier is the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) which is an amphibious assault ship with the capability to carry 22 V-22 Osprey vertical landing and take off aircraft as well as 5 × AV-8B Harrier II V/STOL attack jets and 6 × SH-60F/HH-60H ASW helicopters.

USS Kearsarge (LHD 3)/Photo US Navy

Lastly though the US has no aircraft carrier presence the French military announced that their aircraft carrier
Charles de Gaulle (R91) will be present in the area today.

SA-5 Gammon Missle The Main Target in Libya today

The NPO Almaz S-200 Angara/Vega/Dubna (Russian Ангара\Вега\Дубна), NATO reporting name SA-5 Gammon, is a very long range, medium-to-high altitude surface-to-air missile (SAM) system designed to defend large areas from bomber attack or other strategic aircraft (such as the SR-71 "Blackbird"). Each battalion has 6 single-rail missile launchers for the 10.72 m (35 ft) long missiles and a fire control radar. It can be linked to other, longer-range radar systems.

Photo Public Domain/US Air Force

Two-stage V-400 (5V11) Angara missile of the «Dal» SAM system in Saint-Petersburg Artillery museum.

The first S-200 operational regiments were deployed in 1966 with 18 sites and 342 launchers in service by the end of the year. By 1966, the S-200 was officially accepted into service in order to replace the failed anti-ballistic missile RZ-25/5V11 "Dal". The Dal was assigned the NATO reporting name SA-5 "Griffon" before it was cancelled. By 1968 there were 40 sites, and by 1969 there were 60 sites. The growth in numbers then gradually increased throughout the 1970s and early 1980s until the peak of 130 sites and 1,950 launchers was reached in 1985.

Missiles

Each missile is launched by 4 solid-fueled strap-on rocket boosters. After they burn out and drop away (between 3 to 5.1 seconds from launch) it fires a 5D67 liquid fueled sustainer rocket engine (for 51-150 seconds) which burns a fuel called TG-02 Samin (50% xylidine and 50% triethylamine), oxidized by an oxidizing agent called AK-27P Melange (fuming nitric acid enriched with nitrogen oxides, phosphoric acid and hydrofluoric acid). Maximum range is between 150 and 300 km (81 and 162 nmi), depending on the model. The missile uses radio illumination mid-course correction to fly towards the target with a terminal semi active radar homing phase. Maximum target speed is around Mach 4. Effective altitude is 300 to 20,000 m (1,000 to 65,600 ft) for early models and up to 35,000 m (115,000 ft) for later models. The warhead is either 217 kg (478 lb) high explosive fragmentation (16,000 2g fragmentation pellets and 21,000 3.5g pellets) triggered by radar proximity fuse or command signal, or a 25 kt nuclear warhead triggered by command signal only. Each missile weighs around 7018 kg (15,500 lb) at takeoff.
The system utilises radio semi active guidance with mid-course correction and has, for the first time in a Russian system, terminal semi active radar homing, which is far more accurate at long range than the command guidance method used by the S-75 Dvina and other missiles. The existence of an optional terminal passive radar homing mode for use against AEW aircraft remains unconfirmed. Peak missile speed is around Mach 8 and the single-shot kill probability is quoted as 0.85, presumably against a high altitude bomber-type target.

Main radar system

The fire control radar of the S-200 system is the 5N62 (NATO: Square Pair) CW H band radar, whose range is 270 km (168 mi). It is used for both the tracking of targets and their illumination.

Coalition Launches 'Odyssey Dawn' to Implement No-fly Zone

Coalition Launches 'Odyssey Dawn' to Implement No-fly Zone

Here is a news story directly from the US Navy web page informing the public of the begining of operations against Libya, I will get more information as it becomes available.

US, France, Britain and Canada Act On Libya No Fly Zone

CF-18 of Canada/photo courtesy Patcard

There was just a recent news release that the United States, French and British forces have began enforcing the no-fly zone in Libya, however as seen by the French who were the first to act this is going to be a no movement zone for the Libyan military.

I knew immediately that just a no fly zone would work, the Libyan forces could do just as much if not more damage to the civilian population than they can with their limited air force. I am going to do my best to keep this blog updated with actions going with the relief in Japan as well as what is now going on in Libya. Right now the names of the vessels currently deployed in the area are hard to locate. I do know that right now the United States has no Aircraft Carriers in the area and are relying on cruise missiles which can be quite effective in curtailing ground threats toward any civilian populations, though one of the aircraft carriers currently in the Persian Gulf can be moved their within a few days.

We do know also that the US, French and British Air forces are within striking distance from Europe and that the Canadian military are moving air assets to include CF-18 Fighter Jets  to assist from Sicily and the HMCS Charlottetown is already in the Libyan area.   I will keep this blog updated as much and as fast as I possibly can.

USS Germantown (LSD 42) Arrives off Japan

USS Germantown leaving San Diego/Public Domain

USS Germantown (LSD-42) is the second Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship in the United States Navy. She is the second Navy ship named after the Revolutionary War Battle of Germantown.
Germantown was the first ship in the class to serve in the Pacific. The amphibious ship's mission is to project power ashore by transporting and launching amphibious craft and vehicles loaded with embarked Marines in support of an amphibious assault. The ship was designed specifically to operate with Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) vessels. It has the largest capacity for these landing craft (four) of any US Navy amphibious platform.
The Navy ordered USS Germantown 26 March 1982. Four years later, on 8 February 1986, the ship was commissioned. In 1990–1991, she played a significant role during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The ship participated in mock amphibious assaults in the United Arab Emirates after the start of the air war in preparation for a possible amphibious assault.
On 16 August 2002, Harpers Ferry relieved Germantown as a forward-deployed naval unit in Sasebo, Japan. Germantown returned to San Diego, California, where she underwent a US$25 million overhaul. One year later, the ship deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Expeditionary Strike Group One. Germantown supported Operation Iraqi Freedom by landing Marines and equipment from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
In February 2006 Germantown deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, carrying the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit to Kuwait. She assisted Iraq in the North Persian Gulf by responding to an oil fire on the Khwar Al Amaya Oil Terminal and by querying vessels before they entered Iraqi waters. Germantown conducted "Presence Operations" throughout the Persian Gulf before returning to San Diego, California in August 2006.
Germantown departed for the Persian Gulf on 5 November 2007 to support Operation Enduring Freedom by transporting members of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit to Kuwait for field exercises. She then proceeded to conduct Maritime Security Operations throughout the Persian Gulf and was later tasked with conducting oil platform defense in the narrow Shatt-Al-Arab waterway on the Iran-Iraq border. She returned home to San Diego, California, on 3 June 2008 and began preparations for an extended mid-life overhaul to commence in the winter of 2008.
In January 2011, the Germantown reversed the 2002 hull swap with the Harpers Ferry, to return to Sasebo, and immediately proceeded to join the Essex Amphibious Ready Group for Cobra Gold 2011, a multinational exercise hosted annually by the Kingdom of Thailand
  USS Germantown with the Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) ships arrived off the west coast of mainland Japan in preparation to provide humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HADR) support to the nation, March 18.

USS Ronald Reagan, currently off coast of Japan

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) is a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier in the service of the United States Navy. The ninth ship of her class,she is named in honor of former President Ronald Reagan, President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Upon her christening in 2001, she was the first ship to be named for a living former president at the time.

 Ship's seal

CVN 76 Seal.

The design of USS Ronald Reagan’s (CVN 76) seal was created entirely by her plankowner crew with historical assistance provided by staff members at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library foundation. The red border that rings the ship’s seal is much like the distinctive red rim that defines the White House china designed for the Reagans during their White House years. Four gold stars represent President Reagan’s 40th presidency and his four pillars of freedom: individual liberty; economic opportunity; global democracy; and national pride. “Peace through Strength” was a recurring theme of the President’s life in public service. The aircraft carrier is positioned by the West Coast, representing President Reagan’s two terms as Governor of California and the ship’s homeport in the Pacific Fleet. The three aircraft with their patriotic contrails symbolize the three major military operations the President directed during his tenure: Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada/1983); Operation El Dorado Canyon (Libya/1986); and Operation Praying Mantis (Iran/1988). The view of the globe signifies the President’s vision of global democracy, and the center is the United States representing the country's national pride. Colors of red, white and blue dominate the seal reflecting the American flag.

Naming

Ronald Reagan was the first nuclear powered warship of any kind to be named in honor of a living former president. Unlike most of the other men honored by inclusion in this group, Reagan was not associated with the United States Navy apart from his term as Commander-in-Chief, though one of his key initiatives in office was the 600-ship Navy program.

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan christens USS Ronald Reagan with President George W. Bush and Newport News Shipbuilding CEO William Frick looking on, 4 March 2001

Design and construction

Main article: Nimitz class aircraft carrier

The contract to build Reagan was awarded to Northrop Grumman Newport News and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 8 December 1994, and her keel was laid down on 12 February 1998. The budget for the ship had to be increased several times and ultimately $4.5 billion was spent on her construction. included a redesigned ship island. Reagan was christened by Reagan's wife Nancy on 4 March 2001 at Newport News Shipbuilding, the crew moved aboard on 30 October 2002,^[8] and the ship was commissioned on 12 July 2003 at Naval Station Norfolk, with Captain J. W. Goodwin in command. Vice President Dick Cheney and Lynne Cheney were both present at the ceremony, as well as Nancy Reagan, who gave the ship's crew the traditional first order as an active unit of the Navy: "Man the ship and bring her to life." Ronald Reagan made her maiden voyage on 21 July 2003. President Reagan, who did not attend either the launch or the commissioning due to Alzheimer's disease, died eleven months later. At the end of the graveside services, the ship's commanding officer at that time, Captain James Symonds, presented the flag that draped the former president's casket to Mrs. Reagan at her request. This was also the flag that had flown over Capitol Hill on 20 January 1981, when the president was inaugurated. At a later date, Captain Symonds also presented Mrs. Reagan the flag that had been flying over Ronald Reagan when the former president died.

Commissioning ceremony of USS Ronald Reagan, 2003

Ronald Reagan conducted her maiden port visit in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. from Nov. 11-14, 2003.

Service history

After a five-month post shakedown availability (PSA), Reagan received flight deck certification on May 8, 2004, and then began her transit from Naval Station Norfolk, Va., around Cape Horn, South America, to her new homeport of Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. Carrier Air Wing Eleven, which is normally assigned to USS Nimitz, embarked only 25 percent of its total strength for the transit. The squadrons making the transit were VFA-14 and VFA-41 flying the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, VAW-117 flying the E-2C Hawkeye 2000, HS-6 flying the SH-60F Seahawk and VRC-30 flying the C-2A Greyhound. The ship transited the Strait of Magellan on June 20–21 and made port visits to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Valparaiso, Chile, and Callao, Peru before arriving in San Diego on 23 July 2004.

Gringo-Gaucho with the Argentine Navy during 2004 transit around South America

2006 maiden deployment

USS Ronald Reagan departed San Diego Jan. 4, 2006, on her maiden deployment to conduct naval operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as to conduct maritime security operations (MSO) in the Persian Gulf. The ship entered the Gulf on Feb 22, 2006, and returned from deployment on July 6, 2006.

2007 surge deployment

USS Ronald Reagan and the Reagan Carrier Strike Group (CSG) departed North Island, Coronado in San Diego on 27 January 2007 on an unscheduled surge deployment to the Western Pacific, fulfilling the role of the forward deployed carrier Kitty Hawk while it underwent maintenance in Japan. On 20 April 2007, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and her CSG returned to Coronado. The "surge deployment" was part of the Navy's Fleet Response Plan (FRP), which provides the U.S. with the ability to respond to any global commitment with flexible and sustainable forces and the ability to rapidly respond to a range of situations on short notice.
In January 2007, it was announced that USS Ronald Reagan had earned the 2006 Commander Naval Air Force, Pacific Carrier Battle Efficiency “E” award for the West Coast, the first Battle "E” ever for the carrier. On 28 January 2006, an F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter attempting a night landing aboard Reagan crashed into the ship's flight deck about 200 km (120 miles) southeast of Brisbane, Australia. The aircraft struck the ramp at a low angle, caught fire and skidded overboard. The pilot ejected safely, but the aircraft was lost.
Reagan returned to Naval Air Station North Island on April 20, 2007, following the three-month deployment in support of operations in the Western Pacific.

USS Ronald Reagan conducts rudder checks in October 2007, as part of the ship's periodic inspection

On 15 December 2007, the carrier answered a distress call from a cruise ship off the coast of Baja California. An Illinois teenager whose appendix had ruptured while on a Mexican cruise was airlifted by an SH-60 helicopter to Ronald Reagan, where an emergency appendectomy was performed by the ship's surgeon.

2008 deployment

USS Ronald Reagan, with CVW-14 embarked, departed San Diego May 19, 2008, for a scheduled 7th Fleet and 5th Fleet deployment.
The Reagan Carrier Strike Group performed humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in the Philippines on 24 June 2008 after that country was devastated by Typhoon Fengshen, killing hundreds from the central island regions and the main island of Luzon. The typhoon also capsized the passenger ferry MV Princess of the Stars. orking in support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Reagan and her escorts of Carrier Strike Group 7 focused their efforts on the island of Panay in the Central Visayas. For eight days,  helicopters and aircraft of the Ronald Reagan Strike Group helped deliver more than 519,000 lbs. of rice, fresh water and other supplies to areas of Panay, which were not reachable via truck due to flooded roads. The mission in Panay would earn the entire strike group the Navy's Humanitarian Service Medal.
The Strike Group arrived in the  area on Aug. 28, 2008, where she launched more than 1,150 sorties into Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Reagan returned to San Diego on Nov. 25, 2008.

Sailors and their families await a small arms demo during Tiger Cruise 2008.

USS Ronald Reagan received word in February 2009 that the ship had won its second Battle Effectiveness Award.

2009 deployment

On May 28, 2009, Reagan deployed with Carrier Air Wing 14 to the 7th and 5th Fleet Areas of Responsibility Reagan relieved the Eisenhower CSG and launched its first sorties in support of OEF on 6 July. Reagan returned to homeport on Oct. 21 after a five-month deployment

2010

In early 2010, Reagan was awarded the 2009 Chief of Naval Operations Afloat  Award. and the 2009 Pacific Fleet  for combat efficiency. The Battle "E" award was Reagan's second consecutive and third in four yearsi n November 2010, Reagan provided emergency supplies and assistance to passengers stranded aboard the Carnival Splendor, which was rendered inoperable in the Pacific Ocean by an engine fire.

2011

On March 11, 2011, Reagan was in the Korean peninsula region for a long-planned exercise off Korea, but was redirected towards Japan to provide support after the massive March 11th earthquake. The ship, stationed off  was used as a floating refueling station for Japanese military and coast guard helicopters flying relief missions in the area.

As of today some reports are sketchy but it seems approxmiately 17 Ronald Reagan sailors were exposed to minor levels of radiation leaking from one of the dmamaged nuclear reactors damaged from the earthquake and ensuing tsunami.