My family and I were among the lucky few that got tickets for the tour. They sold out in
45 minutes. This is the newest class of Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). It is a 418 ft,
aluminum trimaran, with two conventional diesel engines, each driving a water jet, and
two gas turbines, each driving a second set of water jets. Yes, there are a total of four
water jet propulsion systems. Today they said she can reach speed in excess of 50 knots.
We were taken just about everywhere, bridge, CIC, advanced weapons, flight deck,
launch bay, in the chopper, the remote submersible, even small and large handheld
weapons.
My son sat on the pilots seat, in the chopper, sat in the captains chain on the bridge, sat at
a CIC station, and handled some rather large, 'small handheld' weapons.
I have about 100 pictures, here is the first one, many more to follow.
Check back regularly.
Results 1 to 18 of 18
-
09-05-2011 05:31 PM
-
09-05-2011 06:45 PM
Very different from ships we seen in the past. Would like to see this ship under power in some big water.
-
09-05-2011 08:13 PM
The ship was amazing, and they treated us like I was a 5 star, fleet admiral.
We had a LCDR (Lieutenant Commander) escorting us through, and at each
station, they had various specialists to explain stuff (within reason). Just a
few times they smiled and said, sorry we can not answer that.
They did tell me not to take any pictures of the consoles in CIC.
This ship had a crew of only 43 persons on board, and at present 3 of them are female.
Many more pictures to follow, stay tuned.
click here for19 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
overview, so far
big gun on bow
four jet drives, center 2 are gas turbines, outer 2 are diesel
stern
click here for 19 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
Many more pictures to follow, stay tuned.
-
09-05-2011 10:10 PM
I have some friends who work for Raytheon who also got the tour.....friggin cool !
Parabellum FJ²B
-
-
-
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Posts
- 677
09-06-2011 12:20 AMTHANKS FOR SHARING !!!!! AWSOME
i like the jet setup, just think its way to exposed for a WAR ship like this !!
Hydraulics and such !?
-
09-06-2011 10:13 AM
As promised here is another batch of pictures. I have many more, but need to do 'real'
work today. I will try to get another batch up after work today.
This ship was built by General Dynamics in Mobile, Alabama.
USS Independence (LCS 2) has an overall length of 418-ft., maximum beam of 104 ft.
and full load displacement of 2,637 tons. The seaframe is based on Austal's all-aluminum
design for the Benchijigua Express passenger/car ferry. Two General Electric LM2500 22
MW gas turbines and two MTU 20V8000M90 9100 kW diesel engines are the prime
movers, powering four large steering and reversing Wärtsilä-Lips 2 X LJ160E and 2 X
LJ150E waterjets.
click here for 37 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
overview
portable self contained vault storage for ?
they smiled and nodded when we asked about this one
go-fast boat
down to the engine room
click here for 37 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
Many more picture to follow. Stay tuned.
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- West Michigan
- Posts
- 37,870
- Blog Entries
- 45
09-06-2011 10:16 AMThat is just way cool.....
Thanks Frank....Getting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- Worldwide
- Posts
- 15,480
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- Worldwide
- Posts
- 15,480
09-06-2011 08:16 PMThanks for the pics Frank, where were these taken??
Some where in Kenya a village is missing an Idiot!
-
-
09-06-2011 09:19 PM
As promised here is another batch of pictures. I have many more, and will get some
more up tomorrow.
No we are getting to the good stuff.
This ship has the Raytheon Evolved SeaRAM missile defense system installed on the
hangar roof. The SeaRAM combines the sensors of the Phalanx 1B (Sea-Wiz gatling
gun) close-in weapon system with an 11-missile launcher for the Rolling Airframe
Missile (RAM), creating an autonomous system.
click here for 49 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
overview
chopper on deck
our son along side a well armed patrol (M14 & 9mm Beretta)
our son, in pilots seat
Raytheon Evolved SeaRAM missile defense system
to watch over and protect our sailors
big landing deck and lots of garage space
click here for 49 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
-
09-07-2011 02:11 PM
Featured in this batch of pictures is the arms locker. I still have more pictures, next set includes the bridge, so stay tuned.
click here for 57 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
overview
the meat ball
our son with a M16A2M203 over and under
click here for 57 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
I still have more pictures, , next set includes the bridge, so stay tuned.
-
09-09-2011 10:19 AM
Sorry for the delay, I have been very busy in my office.
Featured in the batch of pictures is the bridge.
I still have more pictures, so stay tuned.
click here for 65 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
overview
looking out the bridge
total ship control from one console
overlooking the bow, room for a vertical launching system (VLS)
our son in control
click here for 65 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
I still have more pictures, so stay tuned.
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- West Michigan
- Posts
- 37,870
- Blog Entries
- 45
09-09-2011 10:52 AMCool stuff Frank...
I'm waiting for the first joystick, high-performance, offshore boat......Getting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!
-
09-09-2011 06:32 PM
Great shots thanks for the pics.
-
09-11-2011 03:24 PM
A few more, hangar deck, the submersible and the outside of the ship.
We really enjoyed our tour, and I hope you enjoyed this photo tour.
click here for 81 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
overview
back end of the submersible
STBD side from aft ramp
looking forward
looking down the tunnel
looking back, as we depart
click here for 81 USS INDEPENDENCE photos so far
We really enjoyed our tour, and I hope you enjoyed this photo tour.