Thread: USS Zumwalt hits the water as largest Navy destroyer ever

USS Zumwalt hits the water as largest Navy destroyer ever

By Cheryl K. Chumley
The Washington Times
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

See the Navy's biggest, baddest, destroyer

US Navy's largest destroyer gets ready to set sail.

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  12 PhotosSee the Navy's biggest, baddest, destroyer

The USS Zumwalt, a massive 610-foot modern-day destroyer with an advanced rocket system, launched into the water off a Maine dock on Monday, in a surprisingly quiet ceremony, given the vessel’s record-breaking size and unusual shape.It’s the largest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy, and it’s notable for its angular profile, The Daily Mail reported.

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PHOTOS: See the Navy's biggest, baddest, destroyer

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“It’s absolutely massive,” said Amy Lent, the executive director of the Maine Maritime Museum, in The Daily Mail. “It’s higher than the tree line on the other side. It’s an absolutely huge ship — very imposing. It’s massively dominating the waterfront.”

The ship has a 155 mm “Advanced Gun System,” with rocket-propelled warheads that can shoot 100 miles.

And due to its high-technology component, it only requires half the normal amount of sailors to operate.The ship was set for a huge fanfare launch earlier this month. But plans were scaled back, due to the government shutdown.

On Monday, it hit the water for the first time in the Kennebec River off Maine.Bath Iron Works craftsmen will keep working on the ship in the water. Workers hope to christen it this spring, and send it along for some trial sea runs in the fall of 2014.

It will then be delivered to the U.S. Navy in 2015.“The Zumwalt is really in a league of its own,” said defense consultant Eric Wertheim, in The Daily Mail.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...#ixzz2j9UOz9zZ

Captain Kirk to command new Navy destroyer

The commander of the sleek new USS Zumwalt, which launched late last week in Maine, has a name to match its space-age look...

Yahoo News 59 mins ago

Captain Kirk to command new Navy destroyer

By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo News1 hour ago

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The commander of the U.S. Navy's sleek new guided-missile destroyer, which launched late last week in Maine, has a name to match its space-age look: Captain Kirk.

Captain James Kirk, the prospective commanding officer of USS Zumwalt, will lead the 610-foot vessel, the Navy's largest destroyer and first of three new Zumwalt-class ships "designed for littoral operations and land attack," the Navy said.

Kirk, a native of Bethesda, Md., was commissioned at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1990 and has served in a variety posts as a "surface warfare officer," according to his online bio. "Ashore, Captain Kirk has served as Executive Assistant to the Navy’s Chief of Legislative Affairs and as an Action Officer on the Joint Staff."

Kirk obtained a master's degrees in national security studies at the U.S. Naval War College and U.S. Army War College, where he undoubtedly heard more than his share of "Star Trek" jokes.

The ship, which was moved from dry dock in Bath, Maine, to a pier on the Kennebec River on Friday, is loaded with new technologies, including "radar reflecting angles, a striking inward-sloping tumblehome hull" and advanced gun system.

The lead ship and class are named in honor of former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo R. "Bud" Zumwalt Jr., who served as chief of naval operations from 1970 to 1974.

According to the Navy, construction on the first Zumwalt is "more than 87 percent complete," with remaining work on the hull scheduled to be completed before delivery in late 2014.

So who will serve as Capt. Kirk's "Spock" on the Zumwalt? According to the Navy, it's Cmdr. Jeffrey W. Hickox, who was named prospective executive officer of the ship.

http://news.yahoo.com/captain-kirk-n...135551630.html