Semi-OT: Red Dawn fan fic

[Matt Wiser]

To use Harpoon, you need a radar, and the A-10 has none. Not to mention the anti-ship mission is not the A-10's bread and butter. CAS and RESCAP are.

[Targan]

There was talk last year of fitting A-10s with synthetic aperture radar pods. Not sure if anything came of it.

[Matt Wiser]

Given the hostility the AF brass has had towards the A-10 Not a surprise that the SAR pod idea died. They were so fixated on F-35 that it took Congressional intervention to get them to retain the aircraft; finding out the AF was cooking the books to favor F-35 as a CAS platform didn't help their cause.

Will be posting a couple more fact files before going back to stories. So, in honor of Satellite Down, here's one on the Virginia-class CGNs:



The Virginia Class Cruisers in World War III



The Virginia class guided-missile cruisers were the largest class of nuclear surface combatants built for the U.S. Navy, until the postwar Puget Sound class strike cruisers. At the outbreak of war, they were the most capable nuclear cruisers in the U.S. Navy, primarily being employed as escorts for carrier battle groups. Planned as a five-ship class, only four were built, while the fifth, which was hoped to be equipped with AEGIS, was never funded.

The ships had an active war, escorting carrier battle groups, protecting their charges from air and submarine attack, and all four survived the war.


U.S.S. Virginia (CGN-38): Commissioned in 1976, she was active in the Atlantic Fleet at the beginning of the war, she had escorted the Eisenhower battle group on its last peacetime deployment. She remained with Eisenhower throughout the war, seeing combat during raids against Soviet-occupied Iceland, the liberation of Iceland, the Kola Raid, and operations in the Gulf of Mexico (GULF HAMMER and the reduction of the Brownsville Pocket). A brief yard period in 1986 had the oeFem Mods (accommodations for female officers and crew) added. Virginia participated in the sinkings of three Soviet submarines: the Victor-I class SSN K-147 off Norfolk on 27 November 1985, the November-class SSN K-60 during the Liberation of Iceland in May, 1987, and the Tango-class SS B-319 on 8 June 1989, during the transit from Norfolk to the Gulf of Mexico. Virginia, during Gulf of Mexico operations, also took SAM shots at Soviet aircraft engaged in the airlift to Texas and Mexico, scoring several kills in the process. She was overhauled and refueled from 1994-1997, and after routine deployments with both the Sixth Fleet and the Fourth Fleet in the Caribbean, Virginia was decommissioned and stricken in 2014, and has been sold for scrap after defueling and all nuclear components removed.


U.S.S. Texas (CGN-39): Commissioned in 1977, she was active in the Pacific Fleet at the outbreak of war, as part of the Carl Vinson Battle Group. The group had returned from a WestPac deployment when war began, and as soon as war began, deployed to protect the California coast, and conducted carrier air strikes against targets in Baja California. Later, Texas participated in operations against Soviet convoys on the Alaska run, and in strikes against occupied Alaska and the Kamchatka Peninsula, protecting the carrier from Soviet air, submarine, and missile attack on several occasions. A brief yard period at San Diego followed, with the oeFem Mods being added. Later, as part of the Vinson group, Texas also participated in the final reduction of the Soviet base at Cam Ranh Bay, before taking part in further raids against Kamchatka, the Kuriles, and Alaska, as well as covering the movement of forces into Alaska after the Soviet surrender in the Northern Theater in October, 1989. During the war, she sank three Soviet submarines: an unknown Whiskey-class SS on 24 March, 1986, the Juliett-class SSG K-63 during the Cam Ranh Bay strike, and the Charlie-I class SSGN K-25 on 6 October, 1989. (This was the last Soviet submarine sunk by USN surface vessels in the war) Overhauled and refueled in 1995-98, Texas resumed WestPac and Indian Ocean deployments with the Abraham Lincoln carrier group, before being decommissioned and stricken in 2015. She will be scrapped after defueling and all nuclear components have been removed.


U.S.S. Mississippi (CGN-40): Commissioned in 1978, she was part of the Nimitz carrier battle group in the Mediterranean when the war began, and she, along with the other escorts, was able to successfully defend the carrier against a oeFirst Salvo attack by the Soviet Mediterranean Squadron. The battle group then attacked the Soviet squadron, sinking several ships, before being diverted to attack targets in Libya, after the Soviet/Libyan occupation of Gibraltar. Mississippi then participated, with the battle group, in operations in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean for much of 1986-7, taking part in the Liberation of Gibraltar and strikes against Libya and Soviet naval facilities in Syria. She also participated in strikes against both Cuba and Occupied Iceland, before the Liberation of Iceland and the Kola Raid, serving as AAW oeGatekeeper to Nimitz. After Kola, a brief yard period followed, where she received the oeFem Mods for female officers and crew. Mississippi then served with the carrier during operations against Cuba, before the Nimitz shifted to the Pacific Fleet, but she remained in the Atlantic Fleet. During her time with the Nimitz group, she sank three Soviet submarines: the Juliett class SSG K-67 on 6 September 1985, the Echo-II SSGN K-22 during the Iceland campaign, and the Foxtrot-class SS B-2 on 7 August 1987. She next provided AAW cover for the amphibious force in Operation GULF HAMMER, and again during the reduction of the Brownsville Pocket. After supporting the Cuba Blockade, she was part of the Theodore Roosevelt battle group, before her nuclear refueling and overhaul from 1997-2000.

After her yard period, Mississippi became part of the America battle group, seeing combat in the Cuba intervention and in the Baja War, supporting operations against the Mexican Gulf Coast. During the fall of the Rump USSR, the America battle group went to sea after DEFCON-3 was called, but saw no action. Mississippi is expected to decommission in FY 2017, and then she will be defueled, have her nuclear components removed, and then scrapped.


USS Arkansas (CGN-41): Commissioned in 1980, she was active in the Pacific Fleet as part of the Carl Vinson battle group. She participated in all of the Battle Group's actions in the initial part of the war, before being shifted to the Enterprise Battle Group in 1987, and the oeFem Mods added during a brief yard period in San Diego. Arkansas participated in operations against Alaska, Kamchatka, and the Kuriles, and also covered the movement into Alaska after the Soviet surrender in October, 1989. The Enterprise group then participated in Operation FORAGER II, the Liberation of Guam from North Korean occupation in November-December, 1989. After the war, she resumed normal deployments to WestPac and the Indian Ocean, with occasional anti-piracy operations in both Indonesian and Chinese waters. During the war, she participated in the sinking of two Soviet submarines: the November-class K-11, on 5 June 1987, during a raid on Alaska, and the Echo-I class SSN K-259 during the Kamchatka Raid. Arkansas also fired Tomahawks in that operation, and during FORAGER-II, sank an unidentified North Korean Romeo-class SS.

After her refueling and overhaul from 1998-2001, she returned to the Pacific Fleet, joining the Nimitz Battle Group. Arkansas participated in the Baja War in 2010, supporting the blockade of Mexico's Pacific Coast, and firing Tomahawk Cruise Missiles against targets in Mexico. The battle group put to sea during the fall of the Rump USSR, but saw no action. Arkansas is expected to decommission in FY 2018. She will be defueled, have all nuclear components removed, and then scrapped.


Class statistics:

Displacement: 11,300 full load

Length: 585 feet

Beam: 63 feet

Draft: 29.5 feet

Propulsion: 2 steam turbines driving two shafts for 60,000 shp

Reactors: 2 GE D2G Pressurized Water Reactors

Speed: 30+ knots

Crew:

CGN-38: 565 (45 Officers and 520 Enlisted)

CGN-39: 572 (39 Officers and 533 Enlisted)

CGN-40: 613 34 Officers and 579 Enlisted)

CGN-41: 562 (39 Officers and 523 Enlisted)

Missiles:

2 twin Mk 26 launchers for Standard-MR SAM

2 quad Mk 141 Harpoon SSM launchers

2 quad ABL launchers for Tomahawk SSM/TLAM

Guns:

2 single 5-inch 54 Mk 45 guns

2 20-mm Phalanx CIWS

Several pintle mounts for .50 caliber machine guns or Mk 19 AGL

ASW Weapons:

ASROC fired from forward Mk 26 launcher

2 triple Mk 32 torpedo tubes for Mk 46 torpedoes

Radars:

SPS-40B air search

SPS-48A 3-D search in GGN-38, 39, SPS-48C in CGN-40, 41

SPS-55 surface search

Sonar: SQS-53A bow-mounted

Helicopter: VERTREP area only: helicopter hangar with elevator originally provided. Issues with elevators and keeping the hangar watertight resulted in the hangar being sealed, and Tomahawk ABLs installed.

Fire-Control:

1 SWG-2 Tomahawk FCS

1 Mk 13 Weapon-direction system (replaced by Mk 14 WDS)

1 Mk 86 GFCS with SPG-60 and SPQ-9A radars

1 Mk 74 Missile FCS

1 MK 116 ASW FCS

2 SPG-51D radars

EW:

SLQ-25 Nixie

SLQ-32 (V)3 EW

[pmulcahy11b]

To use Harpoon, you need a radar, and the A-10 has none. Not to mention the anti-ship mission is not the A-10's bread and butter. CAS and RESCAP are.

They did build an A-10 with radar (the ill-fated A-10B/NAW), but the radar and the WSO positions ate up a lot space for the cannon ammunition and fuel. A-10 drivers did not like this, and basically vetoed the radar and the second seat.

[micromachine]

Any kid for the 70's or the 80's had a love or hate relationship with the A-10. Air to mud is not sexy but is a needed mission. I am sure that there would have been a way to "pod" a surface search/surveillance radar and make the Harpoon a part of the inventory. Might not be the most agile, however, the standoff capability would be worth it. Barring that, the Penguin would be a useful option (as it is an infrared seeker) and perhaps at a stretch could be used like the Maverick AGM as a poor man's night vision.
Always loved the platform and it was a neat stable mate for Phantom. Both ugly mothers that got the job done.

[Matt Wiser]

Paul, here's the A-10's history in the Red Dawn timeline. Note the A-10B was built during the war and retained in the force structure after.


The A-10 Warthog in World War III


The Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, more popularly known by the men and women who fly or maintain it, along with the general public, as the Warthog, had a distinguished career in the Third World War, as well as in the Cuba Intervention and the Baja War. Indeed, the aircraft's war service was enough to promote export sales, as South Korea, Israel, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey became operators of the A-10 postwar, along with Canada. The following are the variants of the A-10 that saw service, initially with the USAF, and later on, with overseas customers.

A-10A: Initial production version for the USAF. Deployed to England, South Korea, and Alaska prewar as well as to wings in the Continental United States. Production continued during the war at the Fairchild-Republic plant in Hagerstown, MD, with production for FMS customers postwar.

A-10B: Prototype Night/All Weather two-seat variant. Initially rejected by the USAF prewar, the aircraft was put into production as a Forward Air Control platform in 1986. The aircraft was fitted for, but not with, the avionics for the Night and All Weather mission, until the LANTIRN pod system became available in 1989. Two squadrons so fitted flew against the Brownsville Pocket and also against Cuba, attacking Cuban transportation targets as prelude to the planned invasion.

A-10C: Upgraded A-10A with LANTIRN and digital avionics. JDAM capability added in 2005-7. Aircraft saw combat in both Cuba and Mexico. FMS upgrades continuing.

A-10D: Upgraded B with full LANTIRN and digital avionics as per the A-10C.


Users:

USAF

RCAF

Postwar users:

Israel

Republic of China

Saudi Arabia

Turkey


Seven A-10 pilots (four posthumously) won the Medal of Honor during the war. An additional seventeen others won the Air Force Cross (six posthumously) for wartime heroism.

[Olefin]

I drive by the old Fairchild production plant every day to get to work and I still cant believe that they shut down production on the A-10. Its probably been the single best attack aircraft of all time and has shown over and over again how useful it can be. We havent needed the F-22s or F-15s in quite a while but the A-10s are still kicking ass everywhere we have been.

[lordroel]

Paul, here's the A-10's history in the Red Dawn timeline. Note the A-10B was built during the war and retained in the force structure after.


The A-10 Warthog in World War III


The Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, more popularly known by the men and women who fly or maintain it, along with the general public, as the Warthog, had a distinguished career in the Third World War, as well as in the Cuba Intervention and the Baja War. Indeed, the aircraft's war service was enough to promote export sales, as South Korea, Israel, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey became operators of the A-10 postwar, along with Canada. The following are the variants of the A-10 that saw service, initially with the USAF, and later on, with overseas customers.

A-10A: Initial production version for the USAF. Deployed to England, South Korea, and Alaska prewar as well as to wings in the Continental United States. Production continued during the war at the Fairchild-Republic plant in Hagerstown, MD, with production for FMS customers postwar.

A-10B: Prototype Night/All Weather two-seat variant. Initially rejected by the USAF prewar, the aircraft was put into production as a Forward Air Control platform in 1986. The aircraft was fitted for, but not with, the avionics for the Night and All Weather mission, until the LANTIRN pod system became available in 1989. Two squadrons so fitted flew against the Brownsville Pocket and also against Cuba, attacking Cuban transportation targets as prelude to the planned invasion.

A-10C: Upgraded A-10A with LANTIRN and digital avionics. JDAM capability added in 2005-7. Aircraft saw combat in both Cuba and Mexico. FMS upgrades continuing.

A-10D: Upgraded B with full LANTIRN and digital avionics as per the A-10C.


Users:

USAF

RCAF

Postwar users:

Israel

Republic of China

Saudi Arabia

Turkey


Seven A-10 pilots (four posthumously) won the Medal of Honor during the war. An additional seventeen others won the Air Force Cross (six posthumously) for wartime heroism.

Nice, i remember a novel by Larry Bond called red phoenix where South Korean also operated the A-10.

[Matt Wiser]

OTL Fairchild-Republic tried to sell the aircraft to FMS customers, but a big problem was a crash at the '77 Paris Air Show. Imperial Iran, West Germany, Britain, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Israel, were all potential operators, but no orders came. After DESERT STORM there was some renewed interest, with a possible sale to Turkey of up to 50, but it fell through.

[Matt Wiser]

Guys, after a sabbatical that included being evacuated from the Creek Fire in California, the thread will resume in the coming days. One or two fact files will show, then more stories.

[cawest]

hope you and yours is okay.

[Matt Wiser]

Everything's fine at the house: was evac'd for ten days, but I've been busy with work.

And to get things started, a fact file on a vehicle introduced in the U.S. Army Vehicle Guide: the Cadillac-Gage Stingray:



The Cadillac-Gage Stingray in World War III


The Cadillac-Gage Stingray light tank was originally designed to meet a specification for a light, airportable tank that would be primarily used by units of the U.S. Army's Rapid Deployment Force as a replacement for the M551 Sheridan. Designed to be transportable by C-130 aircraft, but not air droppable, the program began in 1983 and the first prototypes were ready in 1984. Though the vehicle eventually lost out to what became the postwar M8 Buford Armored Gun System, the needs of wartime meant that the vehicle was put into production as a Sheridan replacement, and serving with U.S. Army Armored Cavalry Units during the Third World War, and was also used by several Canadian Army reconnaissance units when it was realized that heavier firepower was needed when dealing with Soviet and North Korean reconnaissance units.


Variants:

Stingray I: The baseline vehicle, adopted as a war emergency measure in 1985. The vehicle is equipped with a 105-mm L7A3 gun, with coaxial 7.62-mm and commander's M2 Browning .50 Caliber machine guns. Fire control consists of a gunner's sight with two-axis stabilization, a thermal imaging sight and laser rangefinder. Armor can withstand machine-gun rounds up to 14.5-mm.

Stingray Junior: A number of V-600 armored cars were fitted with the Stingray's turret when production of turrets outpaced that of the chassis. These vehicles were used mainly for rear-area security duties and convoy escort in areas where Spetsnatz attacks could be expected. The turret could also be installed on the M-41 Walker Bulldog, M-47, and M-551 chassis, but none were so fitted during the war. Cadillac-Gage offered it to foreign M-41 and M-47 users after the war, and a number of sales did follow.

Stingray II: An improved version developed to go against the M8 Buford when that competition was reopened after the war. Improved armor (capable of withstanding 30-mm cannon fire) with fitting for reactive armor, a new digital fire control system, and full NBC protection for the crew. Lost out (again) to the United Defense entry, which became the M8 Buford. Export sales to Thailand, Malaysia, Kuwait, and Jordan, though, did follow, along with customers for refurbished vehicles (see below).


Users:

U.S. Army: The Stingray was used by all of the Armored Cavalry Regiments activated during the war, as well as by the Army's Light Infantry Divisions to give them some armored firepower, especially in difficult terrain and in urban combat situations. Notable users included the 12th ACR (Light), which formed in 1986 as part of XVIII Airborne Corps, the reformed 150th ACR, which had one squadron operational prewar with the West Virginia NG, and the (in)famous 13th oeHell's Angels ACR, which used the Stingray alongside the LAV-25. The Stingray served for the rest of the war and for a number of years afterwards, being replaced beginning in 1999 by the M8 Buford AGS, but still served in the National Guard until 2010. The Stingrays were placed in storage, but Cadillac-Gage has refurbished a number to Stingray II standard for FMS sales to Morocco, Tunisia Brazil, and Taiwan (interim pending new production Stingray IIs)

Canadian Army: Canada adopted the Stingray in 1986, and several Canadian Army reconnaissance units used the vehicle alongside the Lynx as the lack of heavy firepower was apparent when confronting Soviet reconnaissance units equipped with not just the PT-76 or the BMP-1R, but MBTs in the divisional reconnaissance battalions. The 105-mm gun and the top speed of 43 MPH made the Stingray a valuable addition, and the vehicle served with the Canadian Army for a number of years after the war, being replaced by the M8 Buford beginning in 2005.

[Matt Wiser]

Guys, after a longer than expected sabbatical, the stories will be resuming shortly. First, though, a fact file about the Des Moines class cruisers in the war:

The Des Moines Class Heavy Cruisers in World War III



The Des Moines class were the last heavy cruisers built by any navy, were the only heavy cruisers in existence in 1985, and were the largest non-missile cruisers afloat. The class was originally planned as a 12-unit class, and only three were completed. The three units built were too late for World War II service, but saw extensive postwar service. Two were decommissioned in 1959-61, while the third unit was decommissioned in 1975 after extensive service in the Vietnam War. Two units were in Mobilization Category B, which meant available for reactivation within 180 days. The third unit had suffered an explosion in its No. 2 main turret in 1972, and had been stricken in 1978, but was retained in storage as a potential parts source for the other two in the event of their reactivation. A plan had been considered in 1981-2 to reactivate the two survivors as part of the initial defense buildup begun by the Reagan Administration, but had been turned down by Congress. However, once war began, orders were quickly issued to the Philadelphia Navy Yard to reactivate the two available ships.


U.S.S. Des Moines (CA-134): Laid down in 1945 and commissioned in 1948, she often served as a Fleet Flagship before being decommissioned in 1961. Placed in reserve at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, she was maintained as a mobilization asset available for reactivation within 180 days. The order to reactivate her was issued only three days after the outbreak of war in September, 1985. Recommissioned in April, 1986, the ship initially saw service escorting convoys from the Mediterranean to the East Coast, and in one famous incident, was covering Convoy AHN-30 (Alexandria/Haifa-Norfolk) when a Soviet convoy en route to Cuba was encountered, and escorts from both convoys engaged each other. The Soviet escorts were distracted by the American and British destroyers and frigates long enough for Des Moines to get into the Soviet convoy and sink five ships. She saw action supporting the Liberation of Iceland in 1987, and also supported the Kola Raid in company with her sister ship Salem, often getting in close to shore to engage Soviet defenses and formations at nearly point-blank range.

After the Kola Raid, Des Moines put into the Philadelphia Navy Yard for a brief refit. The 3-inch 50 AA guns were removed and two quad Mark-141 Harpoon launchers and two Super RBOC Chaff launchers being installed in place of the amidships guns. Two new lattice masts were installed to house new radars and ECM equipment, along with NTDS. The Phalanx system was also installed with two mounts taken from damaged ships, and CEC was installed in the former Flag spaces to control the Harpoons and the ECM equipment. In addition, the oeFem mods (crew spaces for female officers and crew) prepared. The ship was ready for sea in January, 1988, and Des Moines resumed convoy duty.

Her next combat was in support of Operation GULF HAMMER in 1988, providing Naval Gunfire Support to Marine landings along the Texas coast, and in support of Army and Marine forces operating within range of her guns. Des Moines then saw service interdicting shipping between Cuban ports, Brownsville, and Mexico, and also provided fire support during the final reduction of the Brownsville Pocket. She then participated in several bombardments of targets in Cuba that were intended as preparatory to the planned invasion of Cuba, and was tasked to provide fire support for Marines landing at Tarara Beach, east of Havana, but Castro's acceptance of the Armistice rendered the invasion plan moot.

Though considered for deactivation in 1991, events in the Middle East and Africa reared their head, and Des Moines was retained in service indefinitely. Deployments to Yemen and off the Somali coast followed, escorting shipping threatened by local pirates, and on occasion, bombarding pirate strongholds with her 8-inch guns. In one incident in 1996, a group of Somali pirates at night mistook the cruiser for a tanker, and tried to board her. The pirates were swiftly dealt with, and their mother ship (a captured fishing boat) was destroyed with 5-inch gunfire. Des Moines made her home port in San Diego, switching places with her sister, Salem, in 2000. Her most recent combat duty was in the Baja War in 2010. She is still in service, and when retired, it is planned to donate her to either Seattle or San Francisco as a war memorial.


U.S.S. Salem (CA-139): Laid down in 1945 and commissioned in 1949, Salem served not only as a Fleet Flagship at times during her active service, but also played the German Pocket Battleship Graf Spee in a 1956 movie about the Battle of the River Plate. She was decommissioned in 1959, and maintained at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Mobilization Category B alongside her sister ship Des Moines. She, too, was considered for reactivation in the early 1980s, but remained in mothballs until the outbreak of war, when she was reactivated in September, 1985. Receiving the same minor upgrade as her sister, Salem was recommissioned in May, 1986, and after working up with her sister ship, began duty as a convoy escort. She escorted convoys from the Mediterranean to the East Coast, before taking part in the Naval Gunfire Support Force for both the Liberation of Iceland and the Kola Raid. Salem was so close to shore that at one point, her 3-inch 50 AA guns were used against Soviet ground troops and light armor. After Kola, the ship received a refit identical to her sister, Des Moines.

Salem did not participate in Operation GULF HAMMER, as she was needed in the Pacific, and transited the Panama Canal to join the Pacific Fleet in January, 1988. She took part in several bombardment runs along the Alaska coast, and provided Naval Gunfire Support to the raid on the Kamchatka Peninsula, along with raider hunts in the North Pacific. Salem also took part in a raid on Itirup Island in the Kuriles, bombarding a minor Soviet naval base and a PVO airfield, with SEALS calling in the naval gunfire. She then participated in several bombardment missions along the Mexican Pacific Coast, before once again transiting the Canal and rejoining the Atlantic Fleet for the planned invasion of Cuba. After the Castro Regime's acceptance of the Armistice, Salem was sent back to the Pacific, for anti-piracy operations along the China Coast and in Indonesian waters.

Salem made several deployments to WestPac, with her Home Port at Pearl Harbor, before returning to the East Coast in 2000. She was involved in a number of anti-piracy operations, bombarding a number of pirate strongholds in her WestPac cruises. When she returned to the East Coast, Salem returned to deployments with the Sixth Fleet, with occasional service off of Somalia and Yemen. Salem did not see combat in the Cuban Intervention, or in the Baja War, but was at sea during the Fall of the Rump USSR, though she saw no action. She is still in service, and when she is retired in 2020, she will be donated to the city of Quincy, Massachusetts, as a war memorial, and close to her namesake city.


U.S.S. Newport News (CA-148): Laid down in 1945 and commissioned in 1949, she was the last heavy cruiser in commission anywhere when she was decommissioned in 1975. Serving as a fleet flagship, she saw service in the Sixth Fleet and during both the Cuban Missile Crisis and the 1965 Dominican Republic Crisis, then had three deployments to Vietnam between 1967 and 1972. An accidental explosion in her Number Two turret, resulting in the center gun being blown out, and nineteen men were killed and ten wounded. The damage was not repaired, and the turret was sealed off for the remainder of her service. Decommissioned in 1975, she saw no further service, and was used as a parts source for her two sister ships when they were reactivated in 1985. Newport News is still retained as a parts hulk, and is expected to be scrapped when the cruisers are retired. A request from the Mariner's Museum in Norfolk to retain parts of the ship, such as her bridge, as a memorial to the ship and crew is likely to be granted by the Navy.


Ship statistics:


Displacement: 17,000 tons standard, 21,500 full load

Length: 716.5 feet

Beam: 76 feet

Draft: 26 feet

Propulsion: Four GE steam turbines producing 120,000 Shaft Horsepower; 4 shafts.

Boilers: 4 Babcock and Wilcox at 600 psi each

Range: 10,500 Nautical Miles at 15 Knots

Top speed: 32 Knots

Crew: 1,800 (115 Officers and 1,685 Enlisted)

Armament (World War III):

9x 8-inch 55 Mark 16 guns in three triple turrets

12x 5-inch 38 DP Mark 32 guns in six twin turrets

12x 3-inch 50 AA Mark 27 in six twin mounts (removed Fall 1987)

8x Harpoon SSM launchers Mark 141 in four quad mounts (installed Fall 1987)

2x 20-mm Phalanx CIWS mounts (installed Fall 1987)

Several mounts for .50 caliber machine guns or Mark 19 Automatic Grenade Launchers

Helicopters: Pad only with no hangar. UH-1N or SH-2F embarked on occasion.