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Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ship AOPS

Underway said:
Nope. Fake news. 2m thick ice is obviously slush breaking. These things are terrible and will never sail in ice. /sarcasm


Had a nice briefing from Cdr Gleason commissioning CO of Harry DeWolf the other day. Some tidbits from their historic circumnavigation of North America.

  • with embarked DRDC folks and HDW deployed TRAPS as a trial. It is the most northern usage of a towed ASW sonar array from a ship in RCN history and given some research no other NATO ship has used a towed array that far north either.
  • HDW was supposed to take on fuel twice on their trip. The first time the refueling ship had a mechanical issue and couldn't make it. The second time they were stopped by weather. HDW did all of their missions and traveled from Halifax to Esquimalt on a single tank of gas. Apparently, the fuel economy estimations were conservative. It was a very pleasant surprise as it allowed HDW to carry on with the mission despite the challenges and reduces operating costs for the ship quite a bit.
  • At no time was Cdr Gleason worried about the safety of the ship through the ice they encountered. The trials in Feb 2021 proved the ship can handle just about anything ice-wise during that time of year.
  • They had CCG helicopters do touch and go for trials.
  • The trip to Esquimalt including stops for their missions (amphib operations with Rangers, community outreach, TRAPS, RMP, etc...) took 53 days (again single tank of gas). The facilities onboard were sufficient and the crew was pretty comfortable. Apparently, they converted the OPS room into a games room, and despite being at sea for that long on some really boring stretches they didn't get to stir crazy.
  • The embarkation of USCG folks for OP Caribbe was a success, with lots of space available for the boarding team and their gear.
  • There were some lessons learned about cooling in the Carib. It's a bit uneven on the ship (the bridge wore sweaters, some parts of the ship were quite warm). There are some EC's submitted to look into that. Interestingly the ship didn't have heating issues in the arctic.
  • They took on three Humanitarian Relief containers in the US to trail the process.

Those are the high points I could remember. Really a very interesting briefing. So far the ship generally is performing at expectations with some pleasant surprises and some things that need fixing. RCN seems excited about what capabilities they are getting with the ship as its potential is being explored.
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They fueled in Nuuk Greenland as a matter of fact.
 
Underway said:
Iqaluit is getting its new jetty finally sorted out. If Churchill had been viable it would have been viable already. It's cheaper and more effective to refuel ships by sending other ships to meet them in the arctic than it is to detour all the way away from the NWP to Churchill. There is no need to "build stations" when you can be mobile. That's the entire point of the AOPS. It's a mobile "station".
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The issue is that we are prohibited in fueling above 60 for RAS and Asterix due to insurance reasons cannot travel above 60. Of course in time of war all of that goes away.
 
Underway said:
Long way from Nuuk to Esquimalt! That's more range than was anticipated for the class. Which is excellent.
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If they didn't get fuel they would have ran out at Dutch Harbour. The ship uses around 2% a day.
 
So the port in Iqaluit is getting finished but will be busy with sea lift activity, a few hundred million from the feds could easily expand that to a separate DND jetty and tank farm and home of the future RCN Arctic Squadron. Just need the will to do so.
 
This picture is from 2021. A offshoot benefit from this project, is a number of people and companies that have learned from their mistakes (hopefully) and further Arctic port projects will proceed faster and better. There is also upgrades to the small boat dock and basin on the other side of the harbour.

1650052747257.png
 
KevinB said:
25mm Training Practice Tracer will go through a Leo1 turret - most parts of a T-54/55 turret.
AP or HEI are much more effective on actual real world targets...

While it wouldn't be my choice for a primary armament - it will easily deal with anything that isn't a major surface combatant.
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Funny but with 15 years at sea I don't ever remember seeing a T54/55 out there. I have seen lots of large ships with huge hulls and very wide bridges.
 
AirDet said:
Funny but with 15 years at sea I don't ever remember seeing a T54/55 out there. I have seen lots of large ships with huge hulls and very wide bridges.
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You just need to get out more :giggle:

P88pZZfDzutBqvTzeobysyfrZtD0o47Cvh9jclpwvpQ.jpg
 
It was a great time, I do a post on it. Growing up the fleet used to come in and do open houses on a regular basis. Everyone wants it to happen again.
 
After all the images I've seen of these ships, I just noticed that the bow anchor(s) well (or whatever it's called - not a sailor) is right down at the waterline. It seems that it would be right in the middle of the bow wave and be susceptible to ice damage. Just curious if there is a reason or if it really matters.
 
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