Navy’s largest destroyer heads out to sea for trials
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The USS Zumwalt, the Navy’s new guided-missile destroyer, made it way down the Kennebec River as it headed out to sea, today, in Bath, Maine. The new destroyer, which was built at Bath Iron Works, will undergo final builder trials before the ship is presented to the Navy for inspection.
BATH, Maine » The nation’s largest and most expensive destroyer headed out to sea today for final builder trials before being presented to the Navy for inspection.
Engineers and technicians at Bath Iron Works are going to focus on propulsion, mobility and safety aboard the future USS Zumwalt to ensure everything is shipshape before the next trials, in which the Navy will perform a pre-delivery inspection.
Rear Adm. Peter Fanta, director of surface warfare, said he likes what he has heard from the ship’s commanding officer during the first trials in December.
“He was extremely impressed with the stability of the ship, particularly in hard turns, particularly in its seakeeping ability,” he told The Associated Press.
The 600-foot ship is unlike anything ever built for the Navy. It features an angular shape to deflect enemy radar, a wave-piercing “tumblehome” hull, electric propulsion and new guns. Automation allows it to operate with a smaller crew than existing destroyers.
But those innovations come at a high cost. The Zumwalt, the first of three ships in the class, will cost at least $4.4 billion.
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The price ballooned to the point some in the Navy tried to kill the program. Instead, the program originally envisioned for 32 ships was truncated.
The ship, which will be based in San Diego, stands to play a role in the Obama administration’s “rebalance” of resources to Asia and the Pacific, where China is flexing its military muscle in the South China Sea. But Fanta said he’ll want a full assessment of capabilities before determining exactly how the ship will be used.
More than 200 Bath Iron Works employees and Navy personnel are participating in the builder trials with an aim of delivering the ship to the Navy this year.
After that, there will be even more assessments, including rough-weather tests to determine the performance of the unusual hull that gives the ship a pyramid shape.
“We go to find the most miserable places in the ocean and drive at various sea stages,” Fanta said.
The Navy believes it knows how the ship will perform, but it won’t know for sure until all tests are completed, he said.
This will be the second time the ship has gone to sea. The “alpha” trials in December, which gave engineers their first opportunity to test systems at sea, were deemed a success even though repairs were needed on one of the ship’s 12 motor drives.
28 responses to “Navy’s largest destroyer heads out to sea for trials”
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When war comes, if it does, bulk matters more than finesse. and costs the same, if you look at World War two’s records. The German subs were wiping out shipping to GB then Pres Roosevelt gave Churchill, I think the number was 150 destroyers. It was pin point location that defeated the german subs, which numbered in total around 1500 subs.
Quantity has a quality all its own – Stalin
YEAH…IN WW2, OUR TIN-CAN SHERMAN TANKS OUTNUMBERED THE VASTLY SUPERIOR GERMAN PANZERS BY MORE THAN 10 TO 1.
It may no longer be required reading at MIT, but the point of Arthur C. Clarke’s science fiction short story “Superiority” still rings true today.
My father taught mechanical engineering at the USNA, and I remember Clarke’s novel being on his recommended reading list for his midshipmen.
You forgot the Allies had radar to search for subs in the ocean. Worked great at night, other times when the Germans least expected it.
Is this bigger than a Battle Ship? How big is a Battle Ship? How many Escorts is this ship gonna have? Just curious!
Battleships are very small, as u can sink them. Remember the game?
A Battle Ship is bigger than an ordinary Destryer. I’m thinking 40 years ago!
Bdpapa, depends on what era you’re referring to. If you limit yourself to battleships at their zenith during World War II, then the Imperial Japanese Navy Yamato-class battleships were 862′ long with a 127′ beam and displaced about 71,000 tons. The U.S. Navy Iowa-class battleships (of which the Missouri is one) were 887′ long with a 108′ beam and displaced roughly 52,000 tons. Had the aircraft carrier not become ascendant, then the U.S. Navy would have next launched a Montana-class battleship which would have been 921′ long with a 121′ beam and nearly 65,000 tons.
thanks for the info, thats what I was looking for. Spent a lot of time on sea duty and was trying to remember the size of these ships.
the yamato was am amazing ship….
Yes, an 18.1-inch (462mm) shell weighing 3,200 pounds hurled up to 26 miles does get your attention. Though they never met in battle, naval game players endlessly pit the Yamato (or her sister ship, Musashi) against the pride of the U.S. Navy, the Iowa-class battleships with their 16-inch guns firing 2,700 pound shells up to 24 miles. Hard to say which warship would emerge victorious in a one-on-one duel (that seldom happened in real life). The Iowas were faster and had arguably better fire control. Yamato’s armor was generally more formidable and her nine 18.1-inch guns hit harder and were longer ranged. I think in simulations the victor is usually the ship that gets off an accurate salvo first. Though they were never built, the planned Montana-class was expressly configured to counter the threat of the Yamato and her sisters.
They are all talking proud however, remember “The Titanic”. Also it will cost at least $4.4 billion? We got u guys beat, as we have something that will cost at least $6.57 billion. Thanks a lot Mufi.
MUFFLE MUFI.
AKA the Samoan Gorilla
Can’t compare the civilian ship Titanic to a military battle ship. Battleship is built to take hits, multiple water tight sections, better trained and equipped damage control people. Civilian ships have none of this as it costs to much, reduces profit.
Well, I thought that picture was a damn building, so it already passes for deception.
one exocet rocket ,,,,,,
The Chinese don’t use the Exocet’s they use the Silk Work Anti-Ship Missile! Ka-Booooom, you sunk my destroyer!
Ahhh Silk Worm LOL!
yeah I know they don’t but doesnt mean only the good guys have it…my point is ..the sheer cost of the ship can be nullified by a relatively cheap missle/s….
laser anti missle tech
Or just the good ol’ phalanx system.
We should be more concerned about P-700 Granits than silkworms, sunburns or exocets.
Oh puhleeze. “P-700 Granits than silkworms, sunburns or exocets” are all “clay pigeons” for the Navy’s new rail gun. Smaller versions will be added to the ships for CIWS as it can fire multiple rounds per minute at Mach 5.
Can you say “Pull!!!”
Uh, a rail gun will have an exceedingly hard time hitting a supersonic sea skimmer. Especially ones that can be jury rigged to fire from fishing boats.
Furthermore, we are still quite far away from railguns capable of sustaining multiple rounds a minute, much less an hour.
Design kind of resembles the old CSS Virginia (USS Merrimack). USS Zumwalt:
Type: Stealth guided missile destroyer
Displacement: 14,564 long tons (14,798 t)[3]
Length: 600 ft (180 m)
Beam: 80.7 ft (24.6 m)
Draft: 27.6 ft (8.4 m)
“He who rules the seas rules the world.” We need to revitalize our Navy to neutralize the growing threat that China poses. Word to the wise: They have much bigger territorial ambitions than just the South China Sea.