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In Naval Aviaton, the post war Essex class carriers, heavily modified from their original design, were often colloquially referred to as 27C, pronounced “twenty seven charlie.”

The term came from the Ship Characteristics Board, or SCB, which not surprisingly, laid out the characteristics for Navy ships. Each series of designs would have a numerical designation, often with a letter suffix.

Though the Essex class carriers were often called 27C, in fact, there were a wide variety of modifications applied to the class postwar.  The last Essex carrier in service was USS Oriskany, decommissioned in 1976.

Click to embiggen.

As Congress wrangles over the National Defense Authorization Act, which President Barack Obama has threatened to veto, one of the provisions remaining is a directive to the Secretary of Defense to lay out the way forward for U.S. Special Operations Command’s AH/MH-6 Little Bird fleet.

Under Section 142 of House bill H.R. 1735, he is directed to: “…submit to the congressional defense committees a strategy for replacing A/MH-6 Mission Enhanced Little Bird aircraft to meet the rotary-wing, light attack, reconnaissance requirements particular to special operations.”

via Congress Concerned About AH/MH-6 Little Bird’s Future | Defense Media Network.

The Little Birds have been in service for a long, long time. They’ve been continuously upgraded, of course, and will continue to be upgraded. The problem is, upgrades cost weight, and there’s only  so much room for improvement before performance suffers unacceptably. That drives a strong temptation to use a bigger helicopter, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the Little Bird.

I have a suspicion the eventual replacement for the MD530 series will be another MD series, but we’ll see. For now, the Little Birds A/MH-6 are expected to stay in service for at least another decade.

I’ve toyed with the idea, but really, it’s up to you and the co-authors. You, because you’re the audience. We do try to please you. The co-authors, because it is an investment in time.

If we DO a podcast, what would you like it to focus on?

Kinda.

DALLAS – Gunfire was reported just after midnight Saturday outside the Dallas Police Department headquarters.

According to News 8’s Rebecca Lopez, police sources say a suspect fired numerous shots at DPD headquarters from a van then led officers on a chase.

The chase apparently ended on Interstate 45 at Interstate 20. I-45 was shut down and Dallas SWAT was called in.

Police have surrounded the suspect’s van near Hutchins.

via Updates: Gunfire reported at Dallas police headquarters.

WTH, Dallas? Video at the link.

So, a Marine in Okinawa got drunk, was on Kadena Air Base, somehow got into a hangar, and then set off the fire suppression system.

Hat tip to @aggierican

On a narrow strip of heavily wooded land, ringed with beaches and jutting out six miles from the coast of Northern New Jersey into the Atlantic Ocean, sits a remarkable secret.

At first, it looks like the top deck of an aircraft carrier. An old iron barbed wire fence surrounds the giant slab of concrete, which is hidden in layers of undergrowth. Faded yellow-painted markings, what looks like long rusted bay doors, are embedded into the floor. Old loudspeakers and disused arc lamps mark the perimeter.

This was one of the most highly classified, top secret locations in the United States, a Nike missile base called Fort Hancock. If you were caught anywhere near it in the last 50 or so years, the heavily armed patrols had orders to release their vicious attack dogs and shoot to kill on sight. Now in ruins, these forgotten remnants were New York’s last line of defense against Soviet nuclear attack.

via The Rusted, Rotting Remains of A New Jersey Missile Base | Atlas Obscura.

Of course, Fort Hancock started out as a Coast Artillery post, first begun as a Third Scheme fortress, then as a proto-Endicott period, and finally with most of its batteries being Endicott.  Here’s a nice picture of the main gun conducting a practice firing in 1941.

It’s also a good opportunity to share one of the better resources on our nations forts, Fortwiki.

Mind you, the jet has only a minimal fuel load on board and no passengers or cargo.  She’s not quite as sprightly with a full load.