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    The LCS collided with a Danish sailing ship

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    Ship collisions with other military and civilian units are not uncommon. In recent years, the collision of the Norwegian frigate KNM Helge Ingstad (F313) with the SolaTS tanker or the Japanese submarine Soryu with the ocean Artemis bulk carrier can be mentioned. The case of the USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21), a Freedom vessel, has a chance to go down in the annals as both comic and important lessons for the crews of port tugs.

    The accident occurred on September 11th at the Inner Port of Baltimore at 11:17 am local time. The Danish training sailing ship Danmark collided with the USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul moored at the wharf. No American sailor was injured, the LCS was not damaged. According to the local police, the Danes also came out unscathed from the collision. The blame for the collision is to be borne by two tugs taking the ship to the port. The cause of the accident is being investigated.

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    LCS 21 and Danmark attended the Maryland Fleet Week and Flyover Baltimore in Baltimore on September 7-13. In addition to them, the event was attended by units not frequently included in the reports, but quite interesting: the USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) Harpers Ferry landing dock, the USNS Newport (T-EPF 12) Spearhead fast transport catamaran and the Canadian coastal defense ship HMCS Kingston type Moncton (MM 708).

    In the case of the latter, the most interesting classification is because, contrary to the noisy name, it is a patrol boat with a displacement of only 1000 tons and a maximum speed of 15 knots. Kingston-class ships can take specialized mission modules locked in standard twenty-foot containers. Thanks to this, patrol ships can be adapted to the role of mine destroyers, hydrographic or search and rescue units.

    Danmark

    The port collision would probably not have had a loud echo in the USA if it were not for its Danish hero. Danmark is closely associated with the United States. The school unit with frigate sails entered service in 1933 and was used to train merchant navy officers. In 1939, she represented Denmark at the World Exhibition in New York. On the other side of the Atlantic, she was caught by the outbreak of World War II.

    The authorities in Copenhagen then instructed Captain Knud L. Hansen to stay in the USA. The sailing ship spent the next two years in Jacksonville, Florida. The Danish community in America helped to maintain it. When the United States entered the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Captain Hansen offered Washington to hand over the unit. The offer was accepted and Danmark became USCGC Danmark (WIX 283) – the US Coast Guard’s first training sailing ship. About 5,000 cadets passed through its deck.

    In 1945 the vessel was returned to Denmark, but the experience of its operation was so positive that it led to the USCG taking over the shoulder of Horst Wessel, a twin of Gorch Fock, drawn by the Americans for the division of captured German training sailing ships. It is still used today under the name USCGC Eagle (WIX 327).

    The return home did not end Danmark’s relationship with the US. It is not about the next school cruises. At the next World Exhibition in New York, this time in 1964, Danmark was honored to lead a ship parade to mark the event.

    Unlucky LCS

    The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul only entered service in May this year, but a minor collision with a sailing ship is not the first unlucky event in its short life. The history of the ship so far reflects the shortcomings of Freedom units. Apart from too weak armament and the lack of a concept for the use of LCSs, a design flaw was revealed on the Freedoms at the beginning of last year. It turned out that the bearings in the reduction gear that connects Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbines with Fairbanks Morse Colt-Pielstick PA6B STC diesel engines driving the main propeller shaft wear out faster than expected. This caused dangerous vibrations as the ships exceeded speeds of 35 knots.

    Repair of the defective gears fell on the shoulders of the manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. Here the problem began, how to replace the transmission on already finished or almost finished units. Together with the US Navy and the gear manufacturer, the German company Renk, Lockheed has developed three methods. The first required cutting a hole in the fuselage, the second, unapproved, involved replacing the bearings without removing the gearbox. A third method could be used for the not yet completed USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul. The gear was moved to the mission deck and from there it was taken outside through the aft boat door.

    Such a successful settlement did not mean the end of trouble. The repair was carried out at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Wisconsin, and the trials were conducted in Escanaba, Michigan. Therefore, all activities were carried out on Lake G贸rne. The US Navy hoped that the works and tests would be completed before winter, when freezing would make it impossible to move the unit to the Atlantic.

    However, this did not happen, the ship was handed over to the navy on November 17 last year, when it was too late to leave the Great Lakes. This resulted in the extension of handover tests. The ship did not fly the flag until May 21. Commissioning was delayed for a year due to transmission problems.

    See also: Changes to the rotation of US armored units

    Wolfgang Fricke, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported

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