What were they thinkin' ??

[Conny]

Remember gentlemen, everyone has a moment of stupidity every once in a while. These guys had all theirs at the same time.

[dond]

Hey Ron,
If you remember, the 5" 54's weren't very reliable in those days, especially during rapid fire. If I remember correctly, I believe they were supposed to fire twenty rounds per minute. I don't think we ever made it past eight before something screwed up. At one point (while on the line), both mounts, ASROC and the torpedo system were down at the same time! Our only protection were the two .50 cals. and whatever the gunner-mates could muster up (WW2 M1's, .45's, etc).
We also had a "hanger" on the gun line. The LTJG in charge of the mount IMMEDIATELY ordered the gun crew to "FLUSH IT" against their wishes. It caused untold damage to the gun and mount. Forever after, he was known as "The Flusher"!!!
Best Regards, Don

[Ron Smith]

Don,

It seemed like the junior Officers always had panic attacks at the worst possible times. The Navy's habit of always having to find a scape goat didn't help matters much.

Ron

[Daddydogg]

Dond,

Your picture of the Buchanan looks like it saw the business end of a Hapoon antiship missile.

Daddydogg

[Daddydogg]

Correction

Harpoon

[dond]

Hey Daddydogg,
Found the following link on her demise on the Buchanan's Home Page...The Final Mission. There is a super cool poem there. She was indeed a gallant ship and definitely a really tough old gal.
Best Regards, Don

http://sinkex.uss-buchanan-ddg14.org/

[dond]

UPDATE

Found this photo on the military.com site. On the site, the title is "Navy Destroyer Sinks Pirate Mother Ship". The link is "Photo Shows US Navy Sinking Pirate Skiff". The USS Farragut (DDG-99) is actually a Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG) and not a frigate. She was christened in 2005.
Judging from the photo, it must have been one helluva "skiff"!!!
Wonder what's up?
Best Regards, Don

[azlaw]

I recall that the Navy press release said the "skiff" and "mothership" were "disabled" by unspecified gunfire from the DD. I can only imagine the conference on the bridge between the CO, XO, and GO about which weapon to use - bet they went with the 20mm. The press release was also a bit vague on pirate casualties - a hail of "20 mike mike" is bound to ruin somebody's whole day - maybe a bit of fish chum out there, but hey, at least they left the thing floating, for a minute anyway.

H

[dond]

There seems to be a lot of inconsistencies in this whole affair. Maybe two different events melded into one in different reports. Was going to post the article that accompanied the smoke photo, but it is copyrighted and and it stated that it could not be redistributed. Below is the link:

http://www.military.com/news/article...ml?ESRC=dod.nl

In the "Comments" section (many responses) several readers stated that the photo was "obviously faked"! I'm confused!!!
Cheers, Don

[Ron Smith]

Don,

I'm not sure what's going on, but the incident involved the Nicholas, not the Farragut.


Ron

[dond]

Hey Ron,
Think this might clear up the confusion. It seems there were THREE incidents that occurred around the same time. Found the below article while Googling the Nicolas.


US destroys skiff, captures six more pirates

The US action on Saturday was in retaliation for an attack by the skiff on the Ashland, an amphibious dock landing ship, at around 5 am, the Bahrain-headquartered Navy said in a statement.

* By Habib Toumi, Bahrain Bureau Chief
* Published: 23:35 April 11, 2010

* The US action was in retaliation for an attack by the skiff on the Ashland, an amphibious dock landing ship, at around 5 am, the Bahrain-headquartered Navy said in a statement.
* Image Credit: Supplied

Manama: The US Navy has destroyed a skiff and seized six pirates in the Gulf of Aden, around 330 nautical miles off the coast of Djibouti. The Navy has now 21 pirates in its custody.

The US action on Saturday was in retaliation for an attack by the skiff on the Ashland, an amphibious dock landing ship, at around 5 am, the Bahrain-headquartered Navy said in a statement.

“During the attack, the Ashland received small arms fire on the port side from the six man crew of suspected pirates aboard the skiff. The Ashland, in accordance with her rules of engagement, returned fire,” the Navy said. “Ashland fired two rounds from her MK-38 Mod 2, 25mm gun and the skiff caught fire.”

The suspected pirates were brought on board the Ashland where they received medical care. There is no apparent damage to the Ashland and there were no injuries to any members of her crew, the statement said.

“Three events over the past ten days have allowed the US Navy to capture a total of 21 suspected pirates. Two of these events were precipitated by attacks on the U.S. vessels, while the third was in response to a fellow mariner's call for help. USS Nicholas (FFG 47) was attacked late in the evening by pirates on March 31, resulting in the capture of five, while the attack on the Ashland netted an additional six,” the Navy said.

“In the third event, McFaul responded to the distress call from M/V Rising Sun on April 5 and helped thwart the attack and capture an additional ten suspected pirates. The US Navy is now reviewing multiple options regarding these suspected pirates' legal dispositions.”
This is the link to the above article with a closer pic of the burning "skiff (it wouldn't copy here).

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrai...rates-1.611224

I suppose that three incidents in ten days with 21 captured pirates is the reason the accounts have been skewed! Note that the Faragut isn't even mentioned in this one. Very confusing!
All the Best,
Don

[Curly1]

I say "RELEASE THE KRAKEN!' on the scurvy pirates!

[jamese]

The U.S. Africa Command said the five pirates seized Thursday would remain in U.S. custody on board the frigate for now.

Make them swim back home.......

[Bucknut]

As they say, there is no cure for stupid!