Aircraft Carriers III

USS Essex is Third Amphib Being Modified for F-35B Operation

The Navy is modifying its third “big-deck” amphibious assault ship to operate the Marine Corps’ F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter (JSF).
USS Essex (LHD 2) is going through modification in San Diego with a scheduled completion time of March. The ship will join USS Wasp (LHD 1) and USS America (LHA 6) as ships with the capability to deploy with the F-35B.
“The JSF upgrades to the LHD 1 class are categorized into two primary areas: Cornerstone and External Environment (EE),” Christianne Witten, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command, said in an e-mail response to Seapower.
“There are seven modifications for JSF integration with LHD Class ships that are incorporated into a package known as “cornerstone” alterations,” Witten said. “Cornerstone alterations consist of infrastructure modifications which provide upgrades for AC and DC electrical power supplies, expanded weapons handling and storage, provisioning for the JSF Autonomic Logistics Information System, construction of secure access facilities and relocation of the flight deck tramline for safety concerns.
“In addition to the ‘cornerstone’ alterations, there are 14 EE alterations,” she said. “Many were developed as a result of developmental testing and the main engine exhaust plume of the F-35B that were identified in October 2011. These modifications provide shielding or relocation of topside hull, mechanical and electrical equipment, combat and warfare systems, structural modifications to the flight deck, lithium ion battery stowage and charging facilities and aircraft shops /services space modifications.”
The F-35B will make its first operational deployment in late 2017 onboard Wasp, Lt. Col. Tom Fields, F-35 Patuxent River Government Flight Test director in Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23, said in an Oct. 31 Navy release. Fields in leading the Developmental Test III at-sea period for the F-35B onboard America.
Wasp, currently deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, is scheduled to replace USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) as a forward-deployed ship in the Western Pacific next year. Wasp will embark F-35Bs assigned to the Marines’ first operational Lightning II squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, which will deploy to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, in January.

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F-35B flight ops with USMC off USS America are underway

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Obi Wan Russell said:

Secondly it was interesting to see the battle group sailing in Battle formation (for the cameras to be fair), with the 'Battlecruiser' in the van, two DDGs in flanking positions and the remaining ships in trail.

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B.I.B. said:

I was hoping someone could have come up with the explanation as to why the Kuz smokes so much. .....

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EJ, I remember once you explained why ships belch BLACK exhaust. Well the old Russian carrier is always belching black exhaust. Can you explain why??. Thanks!

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Geeze - the whole gang is here! Good to be back in the Q.

Yeah, As an old snipe from the fossil fuel days -

Well, oil fired, steam turbine driven ships, the color of the stack gas was directly related to the optimum mix of oil and air in the combustion chamber of the boilers. The stacks on the older ESSEX class carriers (My Ship - USS ESSEX) was divided into sections. Each of the eight boilers had it's own section. We had a man stationed on the 02 level, aft of the stack, in an old gun tub. He was the "Smoke Watch". Communicating on sound powered phones, he could tell which boiler was "making smoke" so it could be corrected. A neutral haze was the optimum smoke permitted, especially during air opreations - no white smoke or black smoke. White smoke meant too much air in the mix, black smoke (lots of soot) - not enough air. By adjusting the blower speed, these corrections could be made. Some ship's boiler room crews were very very good at this, some not so much. British and especially Russian ships (no offense) often were "smokers". The big trick was to anticipate the correct blower speed when ships speed was changed, based on the number of burners lit and the size of the burner barrel plates. Really good boiler watches were able to get it just right, like a dance. Speed changes were the challenge, just watch any tin-can when she takes off. There is usually a puff or two of black smoke until the blower speed catches up to the increase in oil injected into the boiler combustion chamber.

It was a matter of pride for the engineering groups to steam regularly with no smoke - hence the saying "30 knots - no smoke".

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TheNavigator said:

ITS Cavour with most of its air wing on deck

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Franklin said:

Latest air ops from the Admiral Kuznetsov.

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bd popeye said:

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Jeff Head said:

Be nice in the future to see all of those Matadores turn into F-35Bs...and I believe we will.

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bd popeye said:

Popeye's Russian Rant.

I liked the video of the ADM"K" operating it's air wing. Kinda slow motion...Virtually no crew men on the deck...WTH??!! No LSO, no firefighters, nobody watching that arresting gear, No aircraft directors or handlers. No grapes(re-fuelers)..no ordies(ordancemen)...no aircraft maintenance men i.e.trouble shooters to quickly fix pesky problems...nuthin'. It's like a floating AIR FORCE BASE. I wonder what their sortie rate is? Maybe 7-10 a day.....Definitely NOT Hi-Tempo ops like ..well..you know who.

A aircrfat carrier the size of a Forrestal class with only 15 attack aircraft? Heck when I served aboard Midway in '74-'75 VA-115 had 15 A-6E in their squadron..

Hey, can the Russians operate that carrier at night?

Rant over.

That stated, this is an aircraft carrier.. USS Midway(CVA 41) in 1985 or so... this was the USN 31 years ago.....Does anyone else ..except the French come close? Nope.

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