USS Milwaukee breaks down right off the lot
Stars & Stripes reports that the newest ship in the Navy, the USS Milwaukee, broke down just 20 days after the Navy drove it off the lot and had to be towed 40 miles to Little Creek, VA to be repaired;
Initial indications are that fine metal debris that collected in the lube oil filter caused the system to shut down, but the cause is not known, the Times reported.
“Reporting of a complete loss of propulsion on USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) is deeply alarming, particularly given this ship was commissioned just 20 days ago,” Sen. John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee who has voiced serious reservations about the [littoral combat ship (LCS)] program in the past, said in a statement to the Times.
“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.”
At the time of its commissioning critics said the $437 million ship still hadn’t met expectations.
Category: Navy
I told them to never buy a vehicle from anywhere near the front gate. (Galaxy of Cars on Yadkin)
“We Finance E-1 And Up”. They probably threw in a cool set of hubcaps to sweeten the deal.
Nah… they threw in an 8-track system
Anyone check the fuel gauge? Maybe Bernasty fueled it.
Dang, that was mighty funny.
Are we sure that there was not any cheese crumbles in that lube oil filter either???
Any mooslimes working there? try sabotage!!
1 – Did not meet expectations at time of commissioning.
2 – Has parts that don’t work properly and it breaks down within a short time.
3 – No warranty supplied by the manufacturer.
It’s a lemon. Apply the lemon law and get a refund or buy the Japanese version.
The USS ZUMWALT is the one I’m expecting to see reports of trouble from, possibly even capsizing in stormy seas.
And all I can think of is this
should of used Fram oil filters…
Motorcraft
AC-Delco Filters for your genuine GM car.
This is why the Operator’s Manual says to not drive your new vehicle faster than 50 mph for the first 500 miles and make sure you change the break-in oil and filter at about the 2000 mile mark. Just because it’s synthetic oil doesn’t mean you can run it out to 7500 miles before the first oil change.
Let’s just hope the filters caught enough of those metal particles to save the bearings in the propulsion system. If not, I’m guessing Uncle Sam’s about to be out another $10M to $50M for a major overhaul of the ship’s powerplant and/or drive systems.
“The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.”
– Capt. Montgomery Scott
There’s a reason that those in the fleet refer to the LCS as “Little Crappy Ship”.
There’s been nothing but trouble from all of them in this class, yet those in “leadership” have bet the farm on them and keep pushing them through, keep throwing large wads of precious shipbuilding funds at them. It’s beyond disgusting.
The LCS class is pure lemon, and the DDG-1000 (Zumwalt) class will be a frikkin’ money pit. Both of these classes were pushed through by starry-eyed admirals who decided (against history and better judgement) that “revolutionary” shipbuilding was better than “evolutionary” and our Navy is going to be reamed for years to come because of these two white elephants.
We’ve been discussing this situation for more than 10 years at CDR Salamander’s blog, as well as the USNI blog. Just peruse the archives there if you want more background and factual reporting about why these ships are not needed and so frikkin’ wasteful.
You are correct sir.
So, when the Navy real needs ships, recommissioning of the moth balled fleets will take place I will go back on active duty.
A crappy design built by the lowest bidder… What could go wrong?
Oh, Neptune, PLEASE don’t let these clowns build submarines!! EVER!!!!
Don’t forget USS Guitarro SSN665. Sunk along side the pier while transferring ballast fore and aft.
Mare Island Ship Sinkers Association
Take Her Down
A serious question from an Army guy. Does a BGB (Big Grey Boat) really need to be stealthy? I mean, how can you hide the presence of them, stealthy or not.
Its kinda like the cammo uniforms the crew wears…find the BGB and you find the crew…you’re not going to find the crew and then find the BGB…unless they fall overboard and then no one can find them.
As an Army guy I also always found “stealthy” navy vessels somewhat puzzling.
I mean they’ve had “ultra-stealthy” boats since WW 1. They’re called “submarines.”
There yeh go. That’s what our navy really needs.
Submersible battleships! and submersible aircraft carriers! and probably some submersible cruisers and such like too!
Don’t laugh. The Japanese had submersible aircraft carriers. Why can’t we?
And just think of the navy wide morale boost. Finally, the bubbleheads wouldn’t be able to smack talk about the skimmers.
That’d be better than issuing everyone a new hat!
The Navy like most services has a rank problem. the higher the rank the further removed they become from the primary mission, Kill people and break things.
Thus the LCS, Welcome the Navy’s first Politically Correct Ship. Its a floating video game designed to do everything so there for it does nothing well.
Sounds to me like the LCS class of ships is the Navy’s version of the M561 Gamma Goat.
Is Harbor Freight one of the parts suppliers?
Somehow, All Points Logistics has to
gsa ehave their fingerprints on this.Please change to read “Somehow, All Points Logistics has to have their fingerprints on this”. Hack Stone Publishing regrets the error.
It’s OK buddy, we all know you are worried about the mail box door. fixed it for ya
Finally, I learn your name.
I had you pegged as a Theopolis not a Wesley.
Pleasure to finally learn your name!
Sounds like they over loaded up on too much of Milwaukee’s Best before launch.
I wonder how many current pols the builders bribed (*OOPS*, donated heavily to) in order to keep building these floating lemons?
Oh and don’t forget the F-35 is coming online so we won’t need the A-10 Warthog anymore.
They must all be scrapped immediately…
Heard about this yesterday, sounds about right for this naval Yugo. They can’t fight, can’t stay at sea, can’t even stay underway for 3 weeks. That’s gonna work so well when the Red Chinese or Comrade Vlad decide to come out and play!
As a side note, aren’t the LCSs being reclassified as frigates? And why is an LCS named “Milwaukee?” Jesus Christ, can’t they just pick one system of naming ships and stick with it?
Carriers (and LHAs/LHDs) should be named after great battles or heritage names: United States, Constellation, Enterprise, Hornet, Wasp, Saratoga, Yorktown, Lexington, Bonhomme Richard, Belleau Wood, Kitty Hawk, Valley Forge. No presidents, except *maybe* Washington, Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan. Definitely no senators.
Cruisers (why don’t we have cruisers anymore?) should be named after cities, with the legacy name USS Brooklyn in there somewhere.
Battleships (still say they should merge the Montana-class design with the arsenal ship concept–6-9 16″ guns, plus an assload of VLS behind battleship armor; I give you the BBG, at less cost than a Zumwalt) should be the only hulls named for states.
Destroyers and frigates should be named for heroes.
Subs should be named after marine life.
Logistics ships can be named after presidents, just like how they used to do with troop ships.
And don’t name so much as a toilet seat after activists who didn’t even like being in the Navy.
Umm… TOW, there is a naming system in place. Sometimes, it’s ignored by idjits who have no concept of the meaning of ‘tradition’.
Subs should be named after marine life.
People vote, fish don’t.
Sounds like these new ships should be named after coral reefs. It’ll save them the trouble later…
“Subs should be named after marine life.”
SO THEN would naming a Sub the “USS GREAT WHITE SHARK” be waaaayycist? 😀
*Ducking in to low crawl in an attempt to avoid an ass-kicking*…
There was a USS Shark, Porpoise-class diesel sub. The Yamakaze sunk her in 1942.
http://www.subsowespac.org/world_war_ii_submarines/uss_shark_ss_174.shtml
How did sea trials go? Or was this it?
So, the ship goes through several types of sea trials and shake downs before being delivered.
Then the Navy will do several of their shake downs and tests.
This sounds to me as one or the other and a precautionary measure to reduce damage and reacting to indications …the Skipper and crew did the right thing. Calling a sea going tug takes leadership and perhaps speaks to a better story here!
IAW Engineering Emergency Operational Procedures, a rise in bearing temperature across a Main Propulsion Reduction Gear in excessive of say some odd high degree from sump to pump, strainer, bearing and cooler if installed, is an immediate trigger to slow engine (not stop) and shift and inspect Main Engine Lube Oil Strainers (MLOS). The inspection includes a visual, magnetic and lube oil analysis. If there is anything in the lube oil, it is a huge issue. Typically lube oil is always clear, with no BS&W.
So, in my opinion, this is either a catastopic failure of a main bearing, gear and or associated pump OR a precautionary move by Skipper and Engineering department that caught a more minor issue.
Either way, the story tells me the crew did a damn good job shutting the engine down ’til the shipbuilder can identify and fix the problem.
But what do I know …
Throttleman
MMOW
BTOW
Oil King
EOOW
MCPO
Out and OVER!
I didn’t see here where anyone disparaged the crew. Great info on the SOP for such an event. Looks like he crew did their job in great fashion. Over.
I wonder a few things about the shipyard that built that Warship, did they try to just get by with using the absolutely cheapest parts they could? That, and do they employ the cheapest labor they can versus hiring the most capable and qualified? THAT can make a huge difference in the quality of their product.
Makes you wonder exactly how much Babbitt metal they found in those strainers.
I been on a few small boys to know when you loose power it sucks!!! Its hot as hell and forget about the chow.
Y’all just don’t understand the concept. When the contractor turns a ship over to the Navy, their top brass stand on the dock and wave bye-bye as the ship gets underway. The ship is of course under warranty and as long as the ship’s captain can see the brass waving bye-bye in the rearview mirror the warrant is valid. After than, Uncle Sugar is on his own. It is called the “Lippy Espenda” warranty originated by a used car dealer in Honolulu in the late 60’s.
Wrong!
Merry Christmas!
Car commercial?
Reminds me of this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpDe7EZempo
What we used to call in the car business long ago a “50-50 Arkansas warranty – if it breaks into two pieces, you own both of ’em”
I worked for Fairbanks Morse Engine when they provided the prime mover for LCS-1. I met with the engineering crew and was amazed how few of them there were. Those ships are highly automated and basically the “engineering” section just runs them. I saw the same thing later when I worked on MRAP training and the mechs knew how to change a tire and do some basic stuff, but had no real grasp of mechanics. They couldn’t even troubleshoot a basic circuit. Seems we have handed over everything to contractors so the military people don’t have to mess with the repair functions. What happens when you have no support or tow available? Just founder until you sink?
But the Navy do prepare for towing, you just don’t see it often.
I remember as far back as 1991, when assigned to an MLRS unit in Germany, we rolled with civilian “tech-reps” every time we went to the field. We’ve been slowly taking the keys from the troops for quite some time…
I’m surprised that the Soldiers even knew how to break track.
Watched ISIS driving MRAPs, tanks, and arty on the news tonight. How can they do that without the civ logistics tail that we have. Guess it could just be a momentary video and things broke seconds later. Curious what you folks that have been there say.
So the inevitable question remains: Who subcontracted to All-Points Logistics?
I was a pipefitter for 7 years after retirement and worked in Shipyard Construction and Naval Repair.
When a new class of ship comes out it takes YEARS to work out the bugs.
This ship is a baby.
As far as the “warranty” Issue. Whoever handed this ship over got a fat ass, sweet contract. They will be more than happy to step in and do what they have to to make it right. The Contract probably allows for them to be paid for warranty work.
Navy contract and repair work is a huge bone for shipyards. You DO NOT want to get excluded from that gravy train.
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A retired Navy guy told me a story something like this in 1981. Seems some sailors wanted to visit a port. Put sand in the main shaft bearings. Worked. They visited the port. Navy sent in 3 undercover guys and 3 crew members got a court martial. Maybe someone didn’t want to go to San Diego?