New $360 million Navy ship breaks down

[Suzanimal]

(CNN)One of the Navy's newest ships had to be towed more than 40 miles to port after it broke down Friday less than a month after it was commissioned into service.

The littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee, which boasts a $360 million price tag, broke down Thursday evening, days after the ship's crew discovered "fine metallic debris in the port combining gear filter system," the Navy said in a news release. The crew later discovered similar debris in the ship's oil filter.

The Navy described the breakdown as a "loss of propulsion."

The ship is now undergoing a full inspection in Little Creek, Virginia. The incident was first reported by the Navy Times.

The breakdown happened as the ship was on its way to its home port of San Diego after it was commissioned in Milwaukee. The long journey took it through the Great Lakes and Halifax, Canada. It was scheduled to stop next in Florida.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain called the ship's "complete loss of propulsion ... deeply alarming, particularly given this ship was commissioned just 20 days ago."

U.S. Navy ships are built with redundant systems to enable continued operation in the event of an engineering casualty, which makes this incident very concerning" McCain, an Arizona Republican, said in a statement.

McCain added that he expected the Navy to "conduct a thorough investigation into the root causes of this failure, hold individuals accountable as appropriate, and keep the Senate Armed Services Committee informed."

Cmdr. Tamsen Reese, a spokeswoman for the Navy's Surface Force, Pacific Fleet, told CNN she is working to obtain an update on the Milwaukee's status.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/14/politics/uss-milwaukee-breaks-down/index.html?sr=fbCNN121415uss-milwaukee-breaks-down0755PMVODtopLink&linkId=19576571

[fisharmor]

They talk about $360 million like that's a large amount of money.
After all, that's only the cost of two F-35's.

[ZENemy]

Government is basically a failed business propped up by murder and theft.

[Dr.3D]

Sounds like a bearing broke down. Could be in the oil pump itself.

[r3volution 3.0]

The Littoral Combat Ship...

...another great DoD boondoggle.

The whole concept for the ship is stupid.

It's incapable of operating in the littoral of any serious foe.

While it's massively overqualified for what is probably going to be it's real job: policing dipshit pirates and the like off the Bumblefuckistani coast.

[donnay]

That's okay, the drones are doing a bang-up job for the DoD.

[alucard13mm]

Sounds like a bearing broke down. Could be in the oil pump itself.

Made in china?

[Anti Federalist]

Made in china?

Betcha good money on that.

The pump, bearings and gears themselves.

[Anti Federalist]

While it's massively overqualified for what is probably going to be it's real job: policing dipshit pirates and the like off the Bumblefuckistani coast.

Or rounding up outbound defectors off the North Carolina coast.

:eek:

[Dr.3D]

This is why we always kept a can of relative bearing grease in our supplies.

[oyarde]

Sounds like a bearing broke down. Could be in the oil pump itself.

Ya , I dunno how they are getting metal shavings that fast . They got screwed for sure .

[sparebulb]

What makes Insane McCain a maritime expert?

He is an aviation expert through the firsthand loss of four aircraft.

Oh, wait. He does have street cred.

He almost sank the Enterprise.

https://clockworkconservative.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/1969-uss-enterprise-fire.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/USS_Enterprise_(CVAN-65)_fire_1969_burning_aircraft.jpeg

http://www.insensitivemunitions.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/enterprise-2.jpg

[Dr.3D]

Ya , I dunno how they are getting metal shavings that fast . They got screwed for sure .
Ships have been getting screwed for years. :D

[oyarde]

Betcha good money on that.

The pump, bearings and gears themselves.

We still have a couple places around here that make small bearings , high quality , I cannot imagine anything on that thing that you mentioned that was not made outside of the US . Hard to believe , I would never buy a gear that was essential that was not made here ....

[CaptUSA]

You see????

This is why we need moar military spending! These cuts have been devastating!


/sarc

[oyarde]

You see????

This is why we need moar military spending! These cuts have been devastating!


/sarc LOL , they should have talked to me , I could get someone to make it better for less .

[phill4paul]

Or rounding up outbound defectors off the North Carolina coast.

:eek:

Cross that one of the list.

[oyarde]

I hate to be the one to break the news , but chinese steel is crap . US steel may break , may wear out eventually .Chinese steel will snap. Always been this way .

[Dr.3D]

I hate to be the one to break the news , but chinese steel is crap . US steel may break , may wear out eventually .Chinese steel will snap. Always been this way .
Probably heard somebody say they wanted the bearing made with Babbitt metal and confused it with rabbit.

[XNavyNuke]

We still have a couple places around here that make small bearings , high quality , I cannot imagine anything on that thing that you mentioned that was not made outside of the US . Hard to believe , I would never buy a gear that was essential that was not made here ....

As with most things in today's military, as long as it's from a NATO country it good. In the case of the LCS reduction gears, they are made by FLSmidth Maag AG in Switzerland. Lots of sources of metal debris found in the main lube oil strainer and none of them good. The entire system will have to be broken open and visually inspected. Lots of time and money. As to The Right Honourable Sen. McCain questioning the lack of a backup system, there are no back up reduction gears and no backup lube oil system, there are however a second pump as well as filter so that the system can remain operational as filters are cleaned/pump is maintenanced. Redundant components, not systems. I suspect there is the ability to cross-connect with another lube oil system in the event of battle damage.

XNN

[fisharmor]

I hate to be the one to break the news , but chinese steel is crap . US steel may break , may wear out eventually .Chinese steel will snap. Always been this way .

My experience has been different. I got turned around on Chinese steel about 10 years ago now. Back then I needed a three quarter inch drill bit and I bought one made in the USA and one made in China because the Chinese bit was only $3. I ended up getting the whole project done with the Chinese bit with no problem. It did wear out after something like three dozen holes and 3/8 inch plate. But if I had a proper sharpener I could have kept using it.

The problem with anything coming out of China these days is the same problem with items coming out of India. In some cases, like the phone I am dictating this post on, you have incredibly technical items that are made to very exacting specifications that work just the way they're supposed to.

A lot of the tools you see at Northern and in Harbor Freight were made by people who did not have the right specifications or the oversight necessary to do it correctly. But the steel? It's not just as good as US Steel. It's all there is at this point.

Steel is way less complicated than a modern cell phone. They've got the Steel figured out at this point. They just don't know what to do with it all the time.

[tod evans]

LOL , they should have talked to me , I could get someone to make it better for less .

Don't forget all the graft that goes along with any government contract........

[nobody's_hero]

Sounds like someone forgot to fill something up with oil or grease before it left the factory.

[buck000]

Yay, US!

"Truly unstoppable" is purportedly how Commander Mark Haney described this ship.

From here (http://www.navy.mil/navydata/people/secnav/Mabus/Speech/USSMilwaukeeDiscoveryWorld13Sep11final.pdf):



The LCS not only provides the Navy an affordable and effective way to expand the fleet,
it also supports our shipbuilding industrial base in a way that encourages competition, rewards
dedication and innovation and supports the American workforce.


http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user92183/imageroot/2015/12/Tow_0.png

[Dr.3D]

Maybe somebody forgot to count his tools after working in the reducing gearbox. A pulverized tool can look like what they have found too.

[asurfaholic]

Or rounding up outbound defectors off the North Carolina coast.

:eek:

Shit

[Anti Federalist]

As with most things in today's military, as long as it's from a NATO country it good. In the case of the LCS reduction gears, they are made by FLSmidth Maag AG in Switzerland. Lots of sources of metal debris found in the main lube oil strainer and none of them good. The entire system will have to be broken open and visually inspected. Lots of time and money. As to The Right Honourable Sen. McCain questioning the lack of a backup system, there are no back up reduction gears and no backup lube oil system, there are however a second pump as well as filter so that the system can remain operational as filters are cleaned/pump is maintenanced. Redundant components, not systems. I suspect there is the ability to cross-connect with another lube oil system in the event of battle damage.

XNN

Good info, thanks.

I wonder of the Swiss are machining and heat treating the internals "in house" or outsourcing them?

We have had issues with "US made" thrusters that were, for all intents and purposes, made in China.

[idiom]

How does any single system breaking down leave a navy vessel dead in the water? Its not like its rudders fell off.

[Ronin Truth]

The new $370 million one works somewhat better. ;) :D

[kcchiefs6465]

USS Anderson?

[Anti Federalist]

How does any single system breaking down leave a navy vessel dead in the water? Its not like its rudders fell off.

Turbine Electric.

Twin turbines spool the main drive genset, linked with a common reduction gear shaft.

Lose that common shaft to the drive system genset and you'll lose main drive propulsion.

We have more redundancy in a DP2 system.

[Uriel999]

They talk about $360 million like that's a large amount of money.
After all, that's only the cost of two F-35's.

I literally lol'd...The F-35 is massive disaster and flop.

Honestly though regarding the new ship breaking down...it is actually fairly common for new ships to have all sorts of fun quirks from simple things like why did the AC go out in the berthing? to a little more scary...why did they take a part FROM our AC in the berthing because they needed to ghetto rig critical systems?

I was on the USS New York on my first deployment. The New York is an LPD (landing pad dock). It has a big back door in the rear that opens up and floods a rear section of the ship so AAV's and hovercraft can enter and depart. Our back door broke down on it's first deployment. We spent a week in Naples before they got it fixed. The higher ups actually was surprised they got it fixed. We thought we might be headed back to the states during our first month!

Long story short is that it doesn't surprise me.

Here's a fun fact...The reason the Enterprise never missed a deployment...well lets just say we can probably expect to here GLOWING reports about the long term health of all of its crew over the last 20 years or so.

[Weston White]

Don't all modern ships have dual-shafts and all military vessels two engines per shaft, both port and starboard, forward and aft? So, either run on one shaft and hobble to port at less than half-speed or switch MRG' to aft if the stripped gear is located forward and run on both shafts, with forward afflicted shaft locked in place.

First they decommission the battleships, are in the process of decommissioning the remaining super-carriers, and now are churning out fifi ships and jets?

[paleocon1]

Maybe somebody forgot to count his tools after working in the reducing gearbox. A pulverized tool can look like what they have found too.

or maybe someone had evil intent.

[XNavyNuke]

Don't all modern ships have dual-shafts and all military vessels two engines per shaft, both port and starboard, forward and aft? So, either run on one shaft and hobble to port at less than half-speed or switch MRG' to aft if the stripped gear is located forward and run on both shafts, with forward afflicted shaft locked in place.

That is so "old school". The LCS is CODAG. A diesel power plant from low speed operations and a pair of gas turbine for high speed. Both are coupled to the reduction gears and a coo on output goes through a splitter to drive the paint of screws. In this case, bits of metal in the main lube oil system shuts down the whole thing.

http://i2.wp.com/news.usni.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Screen-Shot-2015-12-14-at-10.06.32-AM.png

XNN

[Anti Federalist]

That is so "old school". The LCS is CODAG. A diesel power plant from low speed operations and a pair of gas turbine for high speed. Both are coupled to the reduction gears and a coo on output goes through a splitter to drive the paint of screws. In this case, bits of metal in the main lube oil system shuts down the whole thing.

http://i2.wp.com/news.usni.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Screen-Shot-2015-12-14-at-10.06.32-AM.png

XNN

I'll be damned, I figured for sure they would be turbine/electric like the new "Zumwalt" class.

[Danke]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InBXu-iY7cw

[FindLiberty]

They should incorporate the Toyota Prius powertrain design to add some extra complexity
and give it the ability to detect cavitation earlier when traveling through low-grade waters.

[Dr.3D]

They should incorporate the Toyota Prius powertrain design to add some extra complexity
and give it the ability to detect cavitation earlier when traveling through low-grade waters.
And all this time I thought the extra complexity was so people would have to take it back to the dealership more often.

[Weston White]

http://i2.wp.com/news.usni.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Screen-Shot-2015-12-14-at-10.06.32-AM.png

XNN

...And apparently so will a single well placed missile or mine.

[enhanced_deficit]

Is it same ship that was recently Christened by Mrs Michelle Obama?

[XNavyNuke]

Is it same ship that was recently Christened by Mrs Michelle Obama?

Nope! She was christened by Leon Panetta's wife back in 2013.
XNN

[A Son of Liberty]

They talk about $360 million like that's a large amount of money.

Well, to be fair, have you seen the ship?

http://forward-now.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Poor_rowboat.jpg

Ya get what ya pay for, eh?

[Suzanimal]

Second Navy Combat Ship Goes Down Because Someone Forgot To Check The Oil

By Jonah Bennett The USS Fort Worth, a Navy littoral combat ship, has suffered extensive gear damage while docked at a port in Singapore. The Navy is blaming the incident on a crew error.

According to reports, the crew failed to use sufficient lube oil, leading to excessively high temperatures on the gears. Debris also found its way into the lubrication system, which also contributed to failure, Defense News reports. The crew did not follow standard operating procedures.

[dcquiz] Immediately following the incident, ship repair experts arrived on the scene to assess the damage. Until the investigation wraps up, the ship will remain at the Changi Naval Base in Singapore.


“We have the right resources in place to conduct the necessary inspections, determine the extent of the damage and required repairs, and return Fort Worth back to operational status,” Lt. Cmdr. Matt Knight, a spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet, told Defense News. “USS Fort Worth has been a model of reliability for more than one year while deployed in the US 7th Fleet. We are working diligently to minimize the operational impact of this maintenance casualty.”

...

http://truthinmedia.com/second-navy-combat-ship-goes-down-someone-forgot-check-oil/

[presence]

For reference Iran could build and arm a thousand 100mph Bradstone Challengers with c704 armor piercing cruise missiles for the cost of one of these boats.

[Suzanimal]

Damaged warship to head to San Diego for repairs: Navy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The USS Fort Worth, a U.S. warship that suffered damage to its combining gears in Singapore in January, will travel to San Diego under its own power for extensive repairs at a General Dynamics Corp shipyard, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday.

The new coastal warship, built by Lockheed Martin Corp, will use its gas turbine engines to travel to its homeport of San Diego this summer from Singapore, where it has been deployed since December 2014, the Navy's Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

The trip is expected to take about six weeks. The cost of the expected repairs to be carried out by General Dynamics at its NASCCO shipyard was not yet clear, a Navy spokesman said.

General Dynamics last year won a contract to perform maintenance of the Navy's two different types of Littoral Combat Ships, including the steel monohull version built by Lockheed.

The Navy last month removed Commander Michael Atwell as commander of the Fort Worth after an investigation into the Jan. 12 incident, which has been linked to crew error.

The issue occurred during an operational test of the ship's port and starboard main propulsion diesel engines, when a lack of lube oil triggered high-temperature alarms on both sets of gears, a Navy official has said.

Combining gears allow the Fort Worth to configure different types and combinations of engines for propulsion at sea. The ship left San Diego in November 2014 and was on a 16-month deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet.

The Navy said it decided to complete full repair of the combining gears in San Diego due to maintenance timelines, the efficiency of repairs and available docking space at the shipyard. Doing the repairs during a previously scheduled maintenance period would reduce the overall cost, it said.

The Navy's newest class of warships, which were designed to carry out a range of missions, including hunting for mines, submarines and surface warfare, have suffered a series of technical issues in recent years.

The accident occurred just weeks after Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to end orders of the LCS class ships at 40, instead of ordering 52 ships as previously planned.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/damaged-u-warship-head-san-diego-repairs-u-192146028--sector.html?nhp=1

[tod evans]

The Navy's newest class of warships, which were designed to carry out a range of missions, including hunting for mines, submarines and surface warfare, have suffered a series of technical issues in recent years.

High tech complex mechanical systems placed in the hands of people who were unable to find gainful employment in the private sector...

What could possibly go wrong....

[jmdrake]

Or rounding up outbound defectors off the North Carolina coast.

:eek:

LOL. Don't give away your location AF!

[Ronin Truth]

Just hit it with one of those $600 DoD hammers. :p :rolleyes: :D