While I've previously written about the process by which ship are kept running during normal operations, warships in particular often operate in ways that are far from normal. This involves a set of what are known as "Conditions", which apply to both the crew and the ship itself, and which are worth looking into.¹

Sailors man the bridge of Gerald R. Ford during a General Quarters drill

The most famous of these is General Quarters, more popularly known as Battle Stations (or Action Stations for the Brits) and also called Condition I. As the name implies, this is what the ship does when action is imminent, or in any other circumstances when the ship needs to be ready to deal with problems on a moment's notice. This is typically announced with a klaxon and a call of "General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands man your battle stations. Forward and up to starboard, down and aft to port. Set material condition 'Zebra' throughout the ship." Every member of the crew is to drop whatever they're doing² and head for their assigned station, following the "forward and up to starboard, down and aft to port" directions to avoid major traffic jams. Read more...

In the aftermath of WWI, navies worldwide looked to the rigid airship to augment the light cruisers traditionally used for scouting. Despite the failures of the German airship force in the North Sea, the allure of a fast, long-range scout with a great view was strong, particularly in the United States. Some of this was the American fascination with new technology, but it probably owed much to the chronic USN shortage of light cruisers due to a decade of Congressional preference for buying battleships and destroyers.

R34 lands on Long Island

Initially, the plan was to build the force around a pair of German Zeppelins that the US was slated to receive as war reparations, with later units built in the US. However, the German crews, in the finest traditions of their navy, chose instead to sabotage them. To replace those as its nucleus, the USN turned to the British. The Air Ministry had decided to shut down the British military airship program due to the financial crisis facing Britain and repurpose the existing airships for commercial use. Despite the successes of the commercial program, most notably the first round-trip crossing of the Atlantic by air in July 1919 with R34, the existing airships under construction were to be scrapped, at least until the USN agreed to buy R38 from them. Read more...

Today, the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China controls the world's second most powerful navy. A quarter-century ago, it was essentially a coastal-defense force, focused on keeping China's maritime frontiers safe from outside interference. Today, it is a true blue-water force with global capabilities, and it continues to develop into a true rival for the US Navy. This progress has been the deliberate result of strategic choices to emphasize Chinese maritime power in the face of increasing reliance on the oceans for trade and resources, as well as concern about Taiwan and the threat of US naval power. Now, it is focused on operations past the "first island chain", stretching from Japan to Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Liaoning, symbol of China's new naval power

Serious operations past the first island chain began in the mid-90s, when the People's Liberation Army Navy began annual visits to other countries, including a 1997 cruise to Hawaii, San Diego, and Latin America. Over the next decade, the tempo of deployments increased, and Chinese ships showed the flag on every continent except Antarctica. But the real sea change took place in 2008, when China joined the UN-sponsored antipiracy patrols off Somalia. Since then, they have kept two surface combatants and a replenishment ship continually deployed, and the mission has served as a crash course in the lessons necessary to operate as a true blue-water navy. Issues faced and overcome ranged from logistics and personnel issues to communications and command structures to the heat and sand of the Gulf of Aden. Today, these deployments usually involve about 4 months of antipiracy duties,³ followed by two months of port visits and exercises with other navies. Read more...

32 years ago today, while conducting gunnery exercises off the coast of Puerto Rico, Turret II exploded aboard Iowa. 47 members of her crew were killed. Every year, a memorial ceremony is held for them, and I was able to attend in 2019 and honor the men who died.

• Tung Thanh Adams - Fire Controlman 3rd class (FC3) Alexandria, VA
• Robert Wallace Backherms - Gunner's Mate 3rd class (GM3) Ravenna, OH
• Dwayne Collier Battle - Electrician's Mate, Fireman Apprentice (EMFA) Rocky Mount, NC
• Walter Scot Blakey - Gunner's Mate 3rd class (GM3) Eaton Rapids, MI
• Pete Edward Bopp - Gunner's Mate 3rd class (GM3) Levittown, NY
• Ramon Jarel Bradshaw - Seaman Recruit (SR) Tampa, FL
• Philip Edward Buch - Lieutenant, Junior Grade (LTjg) Las Cruces, NM
• Eric Ellis Casey - Seaman Apprentice (SA) Mt. Airy, NC
• John Peter Cramer - Gunners Mate 2nd class (GM2) Uniontown, PA
• Milton Francis Devaul Jr. - Gunners Mate 3rd class (GM3) Solvay, NY
• Leslie Allen Everhart Jr. - Seaman Apprentice (SA) Cary, NC
• Gary John Fisk - Boatswains Mate 2nd class (BM2) Oneida, NY
• Tyrone Dwayne Foley - Seaman (SN) Bullard, TX
• Robert James Gedeon III - Seaman Apprentice (SA) Lakewood, OH
• Brian Wayne Gendron - Seaman Apprentice (SA) Madera, CA
• John Leonard Goins - Seaman Recruit (SR) Columbus, OH
• David L. Hanson - Electricians Mate 3rd class (EM3) Perkins, SD
• Ernest Edward Hanyecz - Gunners Mate 1st class (GM1) Bordentown, NJ
• Clayton Michael Hartwig - Gunners Mate 2nd class (GM2) Cleveland, OH
• Michael William Helton - Legalman 1st class (LN1) Louisville, KY
• Scott Alan Holt - Seaman Apprentice (SA) Fort Meyers, FL
• Reginald L. Johnson Jr. - Seaman Recruit (SR) Warrensville Heights, OH
• Nathaniel Clifford Jones Jr. - Seaman Apprentice (SA) Buffalo, NY
• Brian Robert Jones - Seaman (SN) Kennesaw, GA
• Michael Shannon Justice - Seaman (SN) Matewan, WV
• Edward J. Kimble - Seaman (SN) Ft. Stockton, TX
• Richard E. Lawrence - Gunners Mate 3rd class (GM3) Springfield, OH
• Richard John Lewis - Fire Controlman, Seaman Apprentice (FCSA) Northville, MI
• Jose Luis Martinez Jr. - Seaman Apprentice (SA) Hidalgo, TX
• Todd Christopher McMullen - Boatswains Mate 3rd class (BM3) Manheim, PA
• Todd Edward Miller - Seaman Recruit (SR) Ligonier, PA
• Robert Kenneth Morrison - Legalman 1st class (LN1) Jacksonville, FL
• Otis Levance Moses - Seaman (SN) Bridgeport, CN
• Darin Andrew Ogden - Gunners Mate 3rd class (GM3) Shelbyville, IN
• Ricky Ronald Peterson - Seaman (SN) Houston, MN
• Mathew Ray Price - Gunners Mate 3rd class (GM3) Burnside, PA
• Harold Earl Romine Jr. - Seaman Recruit (SR) Brandenton, FL
• Geoffrey Scott Schelin - Gunners Mate 3rd class (GMG3) Costa Mesa, CA
• Heath Eugene Stillwagon - Gunners Mate 3rd class (GM3) Connellsville, PA
• Todd Thomas Tatham - Seaman Recruit (SR) Wolcott, NY
• Jack Ernest Thompson - Gunners Mate 3rd class (GM3) Greeneville, TN
• Stephen J. Welden - Gunners Mate 2nd class (GM2) Yukon, OK
• James Darrell White - Gunners Mate 3rd class (GM3) Norwalk, CA
• Rodney Maurice White - Seaman Recruit (SR) Louisville, KY
• Michael Robert Williams - Boatswains Mate 2nd class (BM2) South Shore, KY
• John Rodney Young - Seaman (SN) Rockhill, SC
• Reginald Owen Ziegler - Senior Chief Gunners Mate (GMCS) Port Gibson, NY

They came to the Navy as strangers. Served the Navy as shipmates and friends and left the Navy as brothers in eternity. - George H.W. Bush

While the Americans were the first ever to operate manned lighter-than-air devices from ships, they abandoned the idea after the end of the Civil War, and didn't return to the LTA arena until quite late. Their first naval blimp, DN-1, was ordered in 1915 and took two years to build. It's first flight failed completely, with the craft sinking into the water, and it was only after extensive work to lighten it that it was able to get into the air. Even then, it was less than successful, and it was quietly retired after the Navy accepted delivery.

DN-1 is maneuvered into its floating hangar

However, another class was already on order, and the so-called B-class, very similar to the British SS class, proved quite successful. 9 of the 16 envelopes were built by Goodyear, who would remain at the forefront of lighter-than-air aviation in America to the present. The B-class patrolled the American coast and gave valuable service as trainers for the burgeoning American naval airship arm. Kite balloons were also developed in the US, with trials on the battleships Oklahoma and Nevada souring the US on the concept of using them with the fleet. Most likely, the British method of simply servicing the balloons ashore was seen as unworkable for the USN, who expected to fight much further from its bases. The kite balloons and early blimps gave good service after the outbreak of war, countering the German U-boat offensive in the western Atlantic. Read more...

It's time for our regular open thread. Talk about whatever you want, so long as it's not culture war.

The big news this week is that my appearance on Russell Hogg's Subject to Change podcast is out. If you want to listen to an hour of me rambling about Yamato, the Japanese Navy in general, the French Fleet, the obsolescence of the battleship and the future of the aircraft carrier, then it can be found here. Thanks to Russell for having me on. He's also done interviews with other interesting people,

Overhauls for 2018 are Early Dreadnoughts, ASW in WWII Forces, Sensors and Weapons and my review of Iowa. 2019 overhauls are A Brief History of the Destroyer, my review of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum, the Iowa Class, Shells Part 1, Sea Story - Black Oil and Falklands Part 13. 2020 overhauls are Container Ships, Coastal Defenses Part 1, O'Callahan and the Franklin and French Battleships in WWII.

In 1940, the French fleet was the 4th-largest in the world, and the French defeat raised the very real possibility that it would fall into German and Italian hands, tipping the balance of naval power in Europe. The French were determined that this would not be allowed to happen, and evacuated as many ships as they could to their African colonies. But Churchill wasn't willing to accept their assurances, and on July 3rd, took more forceful measures to make sure the French ships didn't become a threat to British interests. Ships in British ports were seized, while a task force arrived off Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria, with an ultimatum for the ships there to either join the British or be sunk. The French chose the latter option, and the British opened fire, sinking two battleships and badly damaging a third, Dunkerque.

Andrew Cunningham

This caused major problems for the last major French force within easy reach of the British, Force X at Alexandria, sent to aid the British in protecting the eastern Mediterranean. The British commander, Andrew Cunningham, received orders to give his French counterpart, Rene-Emile Godfroy, the same ultimatum that had been delivered at Mers-el-Kebir, but the two men agreed that no actions would be taken that day, despite both sides receiving orders over the radio that would have caused a massacre. Tensions remained very high on the 4th, and Cunningham ordered his ships to stop aiming at the French, while Godfroy insisted that his crews adhere as closely as possible to normal peacetime routine. The sight of French sailors scrubbing the decks, painting, and even swimming did as much as anything to lower the risks of shooting breaking out. Read more...

The Fall of France put British mastery of the seas in grave jeopardy. Already overstretched by the efforts required to contain Germany and Italy, the Royal Navy now faced the potential that the French fleet would be added to the ranks of its enemies, bringing immediate disaster. Admiral Darlan, the chief of the Marine Nationale, did his best to make it clear in the days before and after the armistice that he would never allow his ships to be taken by a foreign power, and he was able to evacuate the vast majority of them to the French colonies in Africa, where the Germans and Italians seemed content to let them sit out the war.

Charles de Gaulle attempts to persuade his fellow Frenchmen via the BBC

Winston Churchill, however, was unwilling to let the situation develop, probably because he thought a decisive action was needed to boost morale and signal that he was not deterred by the loss of the French. Instead of even considering waiting for the ships to be moved back to German-controlled ports, the biggest concern for the British, they immediately began to take steps to neutralize them.⁴ The first was to approach French units about carrying on the war as part of Charles de Gaulle's Free French, but the response was almost unanimous. These officers saw the government now settling in at Vichy as the legitimate government of France, and breaking to join De Gaulle would be mutiny. The main effect of these overtures was merely to antagonize Darlan and other French admirals. Churchill ordered more dramatic measures taken. Read more...

Apologies for the lack of Aurora this week. I've been busy, and to make up for it, I offer something else.

Top Gun was on Amazon Prime, and while I've seen it before, I figured it was worth watching again for your benefit. First, the title is wrong. As Neptunus Lex says, the name is TOPGUN. One word, all caps, don't ask. We start with some fairly nice carrier ops footage. Besides a rather silly soundtrack, I'd also accuse them of erasing everything that isn't an F-14.

And then we get to the black-painted F-5s. They're very clearly F-5s. This is almost Pearl Harbor levels of bad. And why does that display show a 360° sweep? That is not how most aircraft radars work. And then they're called MiG-28s. That's a very odd-looking transport, to say nothing of what it's doing trying to dogfight with an F-14. (Until quite recently, all Soviet/Russian fighters had odd numbers, while some attack aircraft and transports had even numbers.) And then we get into dogfighting, which is done at ludicrously close range. Also, there's no way to tell that someone has locked on with an IR missile, and I don't think most radar-homing missiles work at that range.

And then we have "Cougar", the pilot with a tragic skin condition who panics. The USN is pretty good at screening for that. There's no way the LSOs don't wave off a plane that's gyrating that much, and I'm pretty sure that disobeying an order like Tom Cruise did gets you grounded, not sent to TOPGUN. Read more...

In 1940, France's fleet was the 4th-largest in the world,⁵ and had proved a valuable ally to the British during the opening months of the war, protecting the sea lanes and helping in the battle for Norway, as well as taking responsibility for the eastern Mediterranean when Italy looked posed to enter the war. Unfortunately, this power also made it a potential threat to the British if it ended up in unfriendly hands.

Francois Darlan

This scenario became terrifyingly real to London in June 1940. Even after the stunning German successes in Belgium and Northern France, which ultimately forced the British to evacuate their troops from Dunkirk and destroyed many of France's best units, the French planned to fight on. The Germans began to attack south at the beginning of June, and the French initially fought well, raising hopes that they would be able to hold out. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and French defenses began collapsing within a few days. Admiral Francois Darlan, chief of the Marine Nationale, attempted to preserve the fleet as best he could, ordering evacuation of all ships from the threatened Atlantic ports, scuttling of any ships which couldn't be evacuated, and destruction of shore facilities to deny them to the Germans. Read more...