New USN Carrier USS Gerald R Ford

[Hangarshuffle]

Come aboard USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78), the newest aircraft carrier (http://blogs.defensenews.com/intercepts/2013/11/go-aboard-uss-gerald-r-ford-cvn-78-the-newest-aircraft-carrier/)

Pretty good pictures of the great ship in build, its in the graving dock at Newport News. Very impressive. Has now been floated up and will be moved to make space for the new USS JFK (CVN 79), which is already in prefabricated form and will be assembled shortly.
The pictures remind me of my time spent on ships in various states of repair or refit. For every dockyard matey actually doing something (like welding) there are about fifty aimlessly walking around, or standing in small groups, ditting on. Look!

[Willard Whyte]

One heartily approves of the fact that "US law requires the military to maintain 11 aircraft carriers..."

(US Navy christens costly new carrier, USS Ford (http://news.yahoo.com/us-navy-christens-costly-aircraft-carrier-uss-ford-192733854.html))

Would that the to55ers in our pathetic excuse for a government had written such a law into the statute books.

[Hangarshuffle]

To WW
Yes its hard to be positive about our efforts now. I finally concede its looking very grim. What a mess it became. All that effort people have made and yet it all seems to be falling apart even before even one of the ships is complete.
I also tried to upload some close up detailed pictures of the new Chinese J-15 Carrier Fighter. They are on
http:/globalmilitaryreview.********.com
I tried to upload the link but failed dismally.

Drifting onto the Chinese military....about 23 years go I watched a documentary made by the BBC about their military. The flight school involved the students walking and talking to each other as they would as pilots in formation (whilst still on the ground). I mean like children playing - arms outstretched like wings, walking around in formation, taking off and landing etc. a bizarre sight but really only what is now called visualization training I suppose. Thinking back then it mildly amused me, as outside my window I could hear real naval aircraft and aircrew who were actually training properly, with real planes and helicopters (I lived onboard at Yeovilton).
Not laughing now. The Chinese are way, way full ahead hard with their military programs - question to me is - why?

And further edited- on this day of all days I truly pray that the USS Ford and the J15 never ever have to fire a shot in anger in their future working lives.

[Stendec5]

Magnificent. The epitome of of air/sea power. But we'll show 'em when our two
big carriers, erm, finally enter service. With the erm, aircraft that we'll erm, be
putting on them. Err, sort of.
Oh yes, if Red Dave doesn't sort it, then Comrade Millibandski sure as hell will.
Sleep tight now.

[Hangarshuffle]

To Stendec
Yep its looking bad. I don't think any of our politos of any shade are going to come up looking good. Have they not all meddled about with it? It seems to have dragged on for years now doesn't it? They just don't get it.
I've been reading Austerity Britain 1945-51 by David Kynaston and what a mighty tome it is. How Labour under Attlee tried to cope with the demands of that era in Government - very sobering to see/read of the problems they faced. But we got through it. Maybe things will turn out okay once more.

[Ken Scott]

Whilst it's hard not to admire the commitment to defence shown by our American cousins the simple fact is can they afford it? Have a look at:

http://http://www.usdebtclock.org/

This website tracks US spending and debt, which currently stands at $17 trillion, a whopping $54 000 per citizen. Whilst it's nice to have a large set of the latest toys at some point they are going to have to reduce spending. Each carrier is $13 billion and they're building 11 of them.

Whilst the UK also has a hefty debt our government is trying to rein in spending, even if they're doing a pretty poor job of it.

[Boy_From_Brazil]

Remind me -exactly how many USN carrier groups are in port at the moment?

Very sad fact, but only a few are active!

[Bevo]

Aircraft carriers are very complex systems. The USN aircraft carriers are required to balance three goals. This RAND study looks at how those goals can be traded-off.

Cycles and Operational Availability

Given a fixed number of months for maintenance, deployments, and time between deployments (consistent with personnel quality-of-life goals), Navy planners face a three-sided trade-off in setting ship schedules. They must balance goals of

- deploying carriers and generating forward presence
- holding a carrier in reserve and keeping it surge-ready to meet emerging needs
- maintaining the materiel condition of the ship.

This is a zero-sum trade-off in which improving the ability to meet one goal can adversely affect the ability to meet the others.

Under the current 32-month, one-deployment cycle, for example, in which both the deployment and maintenance periods typically last six months, a carrier is deployed 19 percent of the time, able to surge within 30 days 46 percent of the time and within 30-90 days an additional 11 percent of the time, and in depot maintenance 24 percent of the time. A shorter, 18-month cycle would see a carrier deployed 31 percent of the time, able to surge within 30 days 15 percent of the time and within 30-90 days 18 percent of the time, and in depot maintenance 36 percent of the time.

A longer, 42-month cycle featuring two 6-month deployments would see a carrier deployed 29 percent of the time, able to surge within 30 days 44 percent of the time and within 30-90 days 9 percent of the time, and in maintenance 18 percent of the time. A longer cycle would help meet the “6+1 fleet” goal of having at least six carriers deployed or able to deploy within 30 days and an additional one able to deploy in 90 days. It is not clear, however, whether required depot maintenance can be completed in one 6-month period every three and a half years……………………….

On balance, our analysis suggests that shortening the one-deployment cycle will increase the forward presence of the carrier fleet but reduce its ability to meet the 6+1 fleet goal. Shorter cycles can also help level workload at the shipyards. Longer, two-deployment cycles will increase forward presence while sustaining higher levels of readiness for longer periods of time only if the workload management challenges they raise are addressed. As noted, the Navy needs to perform engineering studies to examine the impact of increased maintenance demands in two-deployment cycles. Table 1 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of each notional cycle mentioned above over the current 32-month cycle.http://www.rand.org (http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9316/index1.html)

[dat581]

I wish the USN would stop naming new carriers after presidents or admirals, the names are not particularly inspiring. Would anyone want to see a USS Obama?

[500N]

dat

It could be worse.

USS Barack Hussein Obama

[Willard Whyte]

Would anyone want to see a USS Obama?

No worries, ain't gonna happen.

[500N]

Willard

Has that already been decided ?

[racedo]

Correct me if wrong but USN carriers named after people are named after people with military experience.................mmmm then thinking of CVN Ronald Reagan.

[KKoran]

One heartily approves of the fact that "US law requires the military to maintain 11 aircraft carriers..."

(US Navy christens costly new carrier, USS Ford (http://news.yahoo.com/us-navy-christens-costly-aircraft-carrier-uss-ford-192733854.html))

Would that the to55ers in our pathetic excuse for a government had written such a law into the statute books.
You realize that the law can be changed at any time.

[Willard Whyte]

Woooosshhhhh.....

[Willard Whyte]

Correct me if wrong but USN carriers named after people are named after people with military experience.................mmmm then thinking of CVN Ronald Reagan.

Why not think of John C. Stennis?

At least a POTUS is de facto CinC, and RR was at least a serving officer.

Not sure how Abe Lincoln's military career stacks up either.

[Willard Whyte]

Has that already been decided ?

Yes. :rolleyes:

[NutLoose]

Considering they're blowing 3.5 billion on a Destroyer!!!!!! 13 billion isn't bad for a Carrier, even the yanks have baulked at the 3.5 billion for the Destroyers and have cut them back from 20 to 3. :eek:

US Navy gets largest and most expensive destroyer ever ? RT USA (http://rt.com/usa/navy-destroyer-largest-zumwalt-921/)

Mind you, it beats these, I wonder if BAe had a hand in the design

Pentagon admits: Navy's newest warship can't survive combat ? RT USA (http://rt.com/usa/combat-ship-navy-freedom-163/)

[vascodegama]

My question would be "was it within budget?"

[Hangarshuffle]

Ford was a serving USN officer. Cant remember what Carter did, but think he served. LBJ was also in the USN (I think, or maybe Army) as some sort of made up number for the war at some point, but did fly in a dangerous combat mission in the Pacific.

Obama would make it onto my carrier list, no problem. He's clever, cold, calculating and very ruthless, has no problem doing whatever it takes to get his and the USA's way in the world. He's kept a concentration camp going, carried on with a war, led and helped start or try and start new wars (Libya and Syria and possibly in the future the Ukraine, Taiwan, Yemen, N Korea, Somalia, N Ethiopia, Pakistan) spied on his allies, carried out repeated drone strikes (now practically worldwide) on his enemies regardless of the by-catch. Good record so far. Surely up there from a what, nasty winning at all cost sort of bloke? Got to be on the list from a military winning waypoint>?

If you get one for being a 20th C prez, why isn't Carter on it? (the carrier list). Why not LBJ? Are they deemed as failures and not worthy?

What's in a name anyway? Ours are what, HM the Queen (increasingly very harmless gentle much loved but occasionally slightly waspy old lady whose done her duty to the max), and Prince Charles (is that the one that will be instantly mothballed? I'm not going there).

Think I would have been tempted to have called one of them HMS Trumpton, to reflect upon harmless gentle make believe nostalgia that reflected on a long ago, long gone Britain. (Google Trumpton, cousins).

[jolihokistix]

It wouldn't be christened USS Barack Hussein Obama, but surely propheted.

[peter we]

I wonder if BAe had a hand in the design

BAe bought the QE class design from the French

[vascodegama]

I thought one had to be dead to have a warship named (exception Bush but there is time) so Carter misses out for the moment. I think the QE referred to was the 1st but could be wrong and PoW refers to the generic position (the last ship so named was sunk in 1941 after a short and not very sucessful career).

[kluge]

USS Johnson could be an interesting double entendre.

[air pig]

Jimmy Carter was an engineer on nuclear submarines.

[Agaricus bisporus]

Quote:
Would anyone want to see a USS Obama?
No worries, ain't gonna happen.

Why the heck not? Ford was the wettest President in a century, dead from the neck up and spineless below it. Who even remembers him?

Obama ain't so bad.

[peter we]

Ford was the wettest President in a century, dead from the neck up and spineless below it.

He served on an aircraft carrier in WW2.

Later, he became President.

[Hangarshuffle]

Ab
Yep - I don't like the man but I could argue he will put the USA first and foremost above every other nation on the planet. Maybe that's why they name all of them after the Prez. anyway?

What about the USS William Jefferson Clinton then? In fairness to him then that should be like er, a nursing ship, hospital ship manned by fit trim specimens of the USAs finest military females?:p And maybe with a bit of R+R capability for the troops thrown in? A party ship? Relax the alcohol rule.....free 30 minute laundry...
Bet they'd be no fiscal hang-ups funding that.:ok:

In counter we can have HMS......John Major. HMS Prescott. HMS Blunkett. HMS Boris Johnson. HMS Milligan (higher proportion of the gender diverse, transsexual, gay and lesbian military community to volunteer for that one I think). A whole new class of ship and nothing that we don't deserve.
Enough. Po face mode back on again.

[Madbob]

Does anyone know if CVN 78 is under/on/over budget?

Also, what is the cost (excl air group) of one US super carrier versus one QE2 class one either outright cost or tonne for tonne?

I know that US CV's are all nuclear powered, (hence the N!) and that ours won't be but what difference will that make in use (apart from being able to visit nuclear free zones such as NZ) in terms of running costs. (i.e. an mpg equivalent).

As an ex- crab I must say that had the RN had serious FW flying to offer (in 1979) I might have been tempted to chose a dark blue suit rather than the light blue variety! Good luck to those starting their careers in 2017; I hope we can afford to keep them going and still have a Royal Navy for the next 50 years!

MB

[SASless]

Nuke vs Conventional power.....Endurance!

Our big Carriers can off load fuel to Escorts if no Oiler is nearby.

Yours will be dependent upon Oilers themselves.

Ability to generate Electrical Power for Disaster support purposes.

Not visiting New Zealand is not a huge loss now is it?

Quite a bit of difference really.

[newt]

Why is it rusty before it's even delivered?

One would not accept a new car with rust so why accept a ship?

[Hangarshuffle]

Newt
The rust on the bow? That had gone, I noticed in a picture of the official "launch" the other day. The bow was tight up on the Casson to a few inches so maybe it had been recently whacked by a close moving vehicle or similar docky thing? Rain got in, bit of rust developed?
There will be a lot more slap put on that thing before final acceptance. You never get them gleaming anyway, even from new.
Although when I was on HMS Daring for a shortie from new that was gleaming, beautiful, buzzing with power. That felt brand new.(Top Captain and ships company-what a difference).

[Hangarshuffle]

The RFA hasn't even got the tankers for the RN CV program yet. They are still in build in Korea/Orient last I heard and then have to come here as hulls to (Barrow? Birkenhead?) for fitting out. This lack off was yet another piece of verbal crap I had to deal with from the miserable bearded RFA monkies on one of their precious f&ckin ships I was actually on (and which they actually think they and their "company" owns.:mad: rather than HM the Queen and her loyal taxpayers.:mad:

[Not_a_boffin]

Quote:
I wonder if BAe had a hand in the design

BAe bought the QE class design from the French



Sorry Peter, that's about as far away from the truth as you can get. The basic design of the ship was undertaken by BMT - albeit under contract to Thales UK. Subsequent iterations have been a joint endeavour under the Aircraft Carrier Alliance.

However, HMG did manage to sell the QE design to the French government in around 2006/7 for £100M (reportedly). Allegedly the French chief naval arch had a fit (and not in a good way) when he saw what they'd paid for (problem being the lack of detail at that stage, not the actual design).

[peter we]

HMG did manage to sell the QE design to the French government in around 2006/7 for £100M

Ah, so its all good then!

[Flap Track 6]

Jimmy Carter was an engineer on nuclear submarines.

and has a Seawolf class SSN named after him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Jimmy_Carter_(SSN-23)

[dead_pan]

Nice ship, not so sure about the name though - as some have already noted, he wasn't exactly the most inspiring prez. Maybe they should start using VP's names instead e.g the USS Dan Quayle.

Is there one named after Ford's predecessor?

[NutLoose]

Take some nails, bits of board, nail them together and call it Ford..

With Boris Airport in for some £49 odd billion, it would be cheaper to buy one of these and anchor it in the Thames. :ok:

[Willard Whyte]

Obama ain't so bad.

In your world maybe, not mine.

[SpazSinbad]

ON previous page: http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/527500-new-usn-carrier-uss-gerald-r-ford.html#post8145066 'Hangarshuffle' had indicated the J-15 photos. In URL below substitute 'blog' for the "blag" in the URL to go to the original photo:

http://4.bp.blagspot.com/-5B_QXZoC_aA/Un8EzdBcEhI/AAAAAAAAfuk/xJvvxso1i1U/s1600/Chinese+J-15+Flying+Shark+Carrier+Borne+Naval+Fighter+Jet+which+can+ca rry+SD-10A+PL-12+BVRAAM+along+with+YJ-83C-803+Anti-Ship+Missiles+export+pakistan+sold+operational+(2).jpg http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l261/SpazSinbad/NewerAlbum/th_ChineseJ-15FlyingSharkCarrierBorneNavalFighterJetwhichcancarrySD-10APL-12BVRAAMalongwithYJ-83C-803Anti-ShipMissilesexportpakistansoldope.jpg (http://s98.photobucket.com/user/SpazSinbad/media/NewerAlbum/ChineseJ-15FlyingSharkCarrierBorneNavalFighterJetwhichcancarrySD-10APL-12BVRAAMalongwithYJ-83C-803Anti-ShipMissilesexportpakistansoldope.jpg.html)

In the zoom pic below we see the vertical GREEN, ORANGE & RED lights for the PLAN LSO to gauge aircraft at Optimum Angle of Attack during a night approach particularly.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l261/SpazSinbad/NewerAlbum/J-15carrierApproachLightsVerticalGreenOrangeRedZOOMforum.png~o riginal (http://s98.photobucket.com/user/SpazSinbad/media/NewerAlbum/J-15carrierApproachLightsVerticalGreenOrangeRedZOOMforum.png.h tml)

[GreenKnight121]

Ford was a serving USN officer. Cant remember what Carter did, but think he served. LBJ was also in the USN (I think, or maybe Army) as some sort of made up number for the war at some point, but did fly in a dangerous combat mission in the Pacific.


Ford received a commission as ensign (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensign_%28rank%29#United_States) in the U.S. Naval Reserve (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_Reserve) on April 13, 1942. On April 20, he reported for active duty to the V-5 instructor school at Annapolis, Maryland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annapolis,_Maryland). After one month of training, he went to Navy Preflight School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_Hill,_North_Carolina), where he was one of 83 instructors and taught elementary navigation skills, ordnance, gunnery, first aid and military drill. In addition, he coached in all nine sports that were offered, but mostly in swimming, boxing and football. During the one year he was at the Preflight School, he was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant,_Junior_Grade) on June 2, 1942, and to Lieutenant in March 1943.
Applying for sea duty, Ford was sent in May 1943 to the pre-commissioning detachment for the new aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Monterey_%28CVL-26%29), at New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden,_New_Jersey). From the ship's commissioning on June 17, 1943, until the end of December 1944, Ford served as the assistant navigator, Athletic Officer, and antiaircraft battery officer on board the Monterey. While he was on board, the carrier participated in many actions in the Pacific Theater (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Theater_of_Operations) with the Third (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Third_Fleet) and Fifth Fleets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Fifth_Fleet) in late 1943 and 1944.
Although the ship was not damaged by Japanese (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_Japan) forces, the Monterey was one of several ships damaged by the typhoon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon) that hit Admiral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiral) William Halsey's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Halsey,_Jr.) Third Fleet on December 18–19, 1944 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Cobra_%281944%29). The Third Fleet lost three destroyers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroyer) and over 800 men during the typhoon. The Monterey was damaged by a fire, which was started by several of the ship's aircraft tearing loose from their cables and colliding on the hangar deck. During the storm, Ford narrowly avoided becoming a casualty himself. As he was going to his battle station on the bridge of the ship in the early morning of December 18, the ship rolled twenty-five degrees, which caused Ford to lose his footing and slide toward the edge of the deck. The two-inch steel ridge around the edge of the carrier slowed him enough so he could roll, and he twisted into the catwalk below the deck. As he later stated, "I was lucky; I could have easily gone overboard."
Ford, serving as General Quarters Officer of the Deck, was ordered to go below to assess the raging fire. He did so safely, and reported his findings back to the ship’s commanding officer, Captain Stuart Ingersoll. The ship’s crew was able to contain the fire, and the ship got underway again.[31] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Ford#cite_note-31)
After the fire the Monterey was declared unfit for service, and the crippled carrier reached Ulithi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulithi) on December 21 before continuing across the Pacific to Bremerton, Washington (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremerton,_Washington) where it underwent repairs. On December 24, 1944, at Ulithi, Ford was detached from the ship and sent to the Navy Pre-Flight School at Saint Mary's College of California (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mary%27s_College_of_California), where he was assigned to the Athletic Department until April 1945. One of his duties was to coach football. From the end of April 1945 to January 1946, he was on the staff of the Naval Reserve Training Command, Naval Air Station, Glenview, Illinois (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Station_Glenview) as the Staff Physical and Military Training Officer. On October 3, 1945, he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. In January 1946, he was sent to the Separation Center, Great Lakes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Station_Great_Lakes) to be processed out. He was released from active duty under honorable conditions on February 23, 1946. On June 28, 1946, the Secretary of the Navy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Navy) accepted Ford's resignation from the Naval Reserve.



Actually, while Carter did serve aboard diesel subs, it seems he never actually served aboard a nuclear-powered sub, having resigned his commission before the first nuclear-powered sub in the world was launched.

He did help create the training program for nuclear power engineers, however.
After high school, Carter enrolled at Georgia Southwestern College (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Southwestern_College), in Americus, Georgia. Later, he applied to the United States Naval Academy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Naval_Academy) and, after taking additional mathematics courses at Georgia Tech (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Institute_of_Technology), he was admitted in 1943. Carter graduated 59th out of 820 midshipmen at the Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree with an unspecified major, as was the custom at the academy at that time.[13] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#cite_note-DeGregorio2005-13) After serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific U.S. Submarine Fleets, Jimmy Carter attended graduate school majoring in reactor technology and nuclear physics.[14] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#cite_note-14)[15] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#cite_note-15)
Carter served on surface ships and on diesel-electric submarines in the Atlantic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Atlantic_Fleet) and Pacific fleets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Pacific_Fleet). As a junior officer, he completed qualification for command of a diesel-electric submarine. He applied for the US Navy's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy) fledgling nuclear submarine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_submarine) program run by then Captain Hyman G. Rickover (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover). Rickover's demands on his men and machines were legendary, and Carter later said that, next to his parents, Rickover had the greatest influence on him. Carter has said that he loved the Navy, and had planned to make it his career. His ultimate goal was to become Chief of Naval Operations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_of_Naval_Operations). Carter felt the best route for promotion was with submarine duty since he felt that nuclear power would be increasingly used in submarines. Carter was based in Schenectady, New York (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenectady,_New_York), and worked on developing training materials for the nuclear propulsion system for the prototype of a new submarine.[16] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#cite_note-16)
On December 12, 1952, an accident with the experimental NRX reactor at Atomic Energy of Canada's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_Energy_of_Canada) Chalk River Laboratories (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalk_River_Laboratories) caused a partial meltdown. The resulting explosion caused millions of liters of radioactive water to flood the reactor building's basement, and the reactor's core was no longer usable.[17] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#cite_note-17) Carter was ordered to Chalk River, joining other American and Canadian service personnel. He was the officer in charge of the U.S. team assisting in the shutdown of the Chalk River Nuclear Reactor.[18] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#cite_note-18)
Once they arrived, Carter's team used a model of the reactor to practice the steps necessary to disassemble the reactor and seal it off. During execution of the disassembly, each team member, including Carter, donned protective gear, was lowered individually into the reactor, where he could stay for only a few seconds at a time to minimize exposure to radiation. They had to use hand tools to loosen bolts, remove nuts, and take the other steps necessary to complete the disassembly process.
During and after his presidency, Carter indicated that his experience at Chalk River shaped his views on nuclear power and nuclear weapons, including his decision not to pursue completion of the neutron bomb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_bomb).[19] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#cite_note-19)
Upon the death of his father James Earl Carter, Sr., in July 1953, Carter was urgently needed to run the family business. Resigning his commission, he was discharged from the Navy on October 9, 1953.

USS Nautilus (SSN-571) is the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine.
Laid down: 14 June 1952 Launched: 21 January 1954Commissioned:30 September 1954Completed: 22 April 1955


LBJ is another story (is in, a story he made up, and which MacArthur fell for):

After America entered World War II (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II) in December 1941, Johnson, still in Congress, became a commissioned officer in the Naval Reserve (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_Reserve), then asked Undersecretary of the Navy James Forrestal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Forrestal) for a combat assignment.[19] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson#cite_note-19) Instead he was sent to inspect the shipyard facilities in Texas and on the West Coast (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_of_the_United_States). In the spring of 1942, President Roosevelt needed his own reports on what conditions were like in the Southwest Pacific (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_West_Pacific_theatre_of_World_War_II). Roosevelt felt information that flowed up the military chain of command needed to be supplemented by a highly trusted political aide. From a suggestion by Forrestal, President Roosevelt assigned Johnson to a three-man survey team of the Southwest Pacific.
Johnson reported to General Douglas MacArthur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_MacArthur) in Australia. Johnson and two Army officers went to the 22nd Bomb Group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22nd_Bomb_Group_%28Red_Raiders%29_5th_Army_Air_Force) base, which was assigned the high risk mission of bombing the Japanese airbase (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbase) at Lae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lae) in New Guinea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Guinea). A colonel took Johnson's allocated seat on one bomber, and it was shot down with no survivors. Reports vary on what happened to the B-26 Marauder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-26_Marauder) carrying Johnson. Lyndon Johnson said it was also attacked by Japanese fighters but survived, while others, including other members of the flight crew, claim it turned back because of generator trouble before reaching the objective and before encountering enemy aircraft and never came under fire, which is supported by official flight records.[20] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson#cite_note-autogenerated1-20) Other airplanes that continued to the target did come under fire near the target at about the same time that Johnson's plane was recorded as having landed back at the original airbase. MacArthur awarded Johnson the Silver Star (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Star), the military's third-highest medal.[20] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson#cite_note-autogenerated1-20)
Johnson reported back to Roosevelt, to the Navy leaders, and to Congress that conditions were deplorable and unacceptable. He argued the South West Pacific urgently needed a higher priority and a larger share of war supplies. The warplanes sent there, for example, were "far inferior" to Japanese planes, and morale was bad. He told Forrestal that the Pacific Fleet had a "critical" need for 6,800 additional experienced men. Johnson prepared a twelve-point program to upgrade the effort in the region, stressing "greater cooperation and coordination within the various commands and between the different war theaters." Congress responded by making Johnson chairman of a high-powered subcommittee of the Naval Affairs committee. With a mission similar to that of the Truman Committee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_Committee) in the Senate, he probed into the peacetime "business as usual" inefficiencies that permeated the naval war and demanded that admirals shape up and get the job done. Johnson went too far when he proposed a bill that would crack down on the draft exemptions of shipyard workers if they were absent from work too often. Organized labor blocked the bill and denounced Johnson. Still, Johnson's mission had a substantial impact because it led to upgrading the South Pacific theater and aided the overall war effort immensely. Johnson's biographer concludes, "The mission was a temporary exposure to danger calculated to satisfy Johnson's personal and political wishes, but it also represented a genuine effort on his part, however misplaced, to improve the lot of America's fighting men."[21] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson#cite_note-21) Later in 1942, Roosevelt ordered all active duty Congressmen to return to Washington.