The modern US Navy has a host of massive aircraft carriers
and large destroyers designed for open ocean sea control and power projection.
However, not all combat operations occur in the open sea. The navy has a need
for a warship capable of amphibious operations in shallow water, water too
shallow for the big destroyers and frigates. To meet this need the USN developed
the littoral combat ship program. To manage this program the navy took a lesson
from the past history of naval aviation. Before World War Two both naval
aviation and the US Army Air Corp, later USAF, used the same procedure to get
new aircraft. They would send out operation requirements and invite various
aircraft manufacturers to prepare designs to compete for a government contract.
Usually when the winning design was chosen only that manufacturer received the
contract. It was tough luck for the losers. Sometimes the navy was burned by the
process, hence the Brewster Buffalo. However, sometimes two company’s designs
were selected for production, allowing for an operational comparison. One
example is that the B-29 Super Fortress and B-32 Dominator were produced.
“Dominator? What’s a Dominator?” you may ask. It was a competing design
against the Boeing heavy bomber but was only produced in limited numbers.
For the littoral combat ship program employed the same process but took it a
step closer to the aircraft design bidding process. The ships would not be built
by federal navy yards, such as the huge
Norfolk
yard, which give birth to massive nuclear carriers. What’s more the
competitors were name familiar with aviation enthusiasts, Lockheed-Martin and
General Dynamics. The design requirements for the new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)
were for a ship of an exceptionally high speed, shallow draft and large
capability for vehicles and troops. Two designs, not one were chosen to be
produced so the navy could compare the designs in actual operations, as it is
the operational experience of a design, which brings out in time the true
strengths and weaknesses of any design. Instead of the old process of winner
takes all, because of the huge expense of developing and producing a new
warship, even the design proving less efficient would receive follow up orders
but in fewer numbers than the winner.
Lockheed-Martin, famed for the Lockheed P-38 Lightning and
Martin PBM Mariner of World War Two, received the first order and the result was
USS
Freedom LCS-1. The result was a more traditional single hull
design but General Dynamics marched to the beat of a different drummer for USS
Independence LCS-2. Instead of the traditional single hull
construction, the
Independence
was designed with a trimaran, triple hull design. Anyone who has sailed a
catamaran knows the benefits of a multi-hull design. You can get a large deck
space and hence lift capability and minimize under water surface area and hence
resistance, allowing high speed and heavy lift. The design was based on the
three hull Benchijigua
Express built by the Australian company of Austal, a member of
the General Dynamics consortium.
The design for the Independence
class ships allows for he 418-feet (127m) ship with a crew of only 40 to travel
at a sustainable speed of 50-knots (60mph/90kph) with a huge range of 10,000nm
(19,000km) with a 15,200 square feet (1,410 square meter surface area, which a
greater lift capability than a large destroyer. With a designed payload volume
of 11,000 cubic meters, the
Independence
is designed for execution of multiple missions without need to refit the ship.
The modules are custom tailored for the intended mission. The volume allows for
the inclusion of two separate mission modules. The 11,000 square feet flight
deck can support two SH-60 Seahawk helicopters, one CH-53 Sea Stallion or many
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) like the Predator. The wide flight deck afforded
by the triple hull design allows for flight operations even in heavy seas.
After loading mission modules container in 20-feet shipping containers, the
Independence still has room for four lanes of Stryker combat vehicles or armored
HumVees, which come in through a side door ramp for Roll On/Roll Off (Ro-Ro)
capability. The ship has an elevator so shipping container mission modules can
be loaded by air even when the
Independence
class ships are at sea. Even the armament of the ship can be custom tailored
based upon the missions and helicopter weapons packages of torpedoes and
missiles allow for anti-shipping, anti-submarine, radar picket, airlift, rescue
and other missions.
Although not officially classified as a stealth ship the superstructure is
angled back to reduce the radar signature of the ship. In addition to reduction
of the radar signature the
Independence
class has further defensive systems. On the crown of the hangar is the SeaRAM
missile defense system, which is a multi-platform system consisting of Phalanx
1B CIWS and sensors and an eleven canister Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM)
system. Other permanent armament is a turret mounted Mk 110 57mm gun and four
.50 machine guns. Of course additional armament can added through mission module
packs. Not only is the exterior appearance radical and futuristic but even the
interior is different. Conning the ship uses a joystick not a wheel. Like
submarines the
Independence
class has gold and blue crews, which alternate allowing the ship to stay at
sea. The power plant is also totally unique with two gas turbines and two diesel
engines, each of which has its own drive shaft and steerable jet thruster with
another bow thruster for maneuvering. While the USS
Freedom LCS-1 attains high speed through massive horse power,
Independence
LCS-2 uses her three hull design to achieve the same speed. General Dynamics
has touted the fact that the
Independence
uses only two-thirds the fuel of USS
Freedom. The company says that this makes their design more cost
effective over the life span of the ship compared to that of Freedom.
However, the Congressional Budget Office has rained on General Dynamics parade
by pointing out that fuel costs amount to 18% of the life time costs of a ship
and that the higher cost of the
Independence
over the Freedom
would probably counteract any savings in fuel.
After receiving the contract for LCS-2 in July 2003,
General Dynamics turned it its Austal for the actual production at the
company’s Austal
USA
facility in
Mobile
,
AL
, which received their contract October 14, 2005. The
Independence
was laid down January 19, 2006 and launched April 26, 2008. She was christened
on October 4, 2008 and began builder’s trials July 2, 2009 in
Mobile
Bay
and in the
Gulf of Mexico
. Builder’s trials finished October 21, 2009 and USN acceptance trials started
November 19, 2009. She was accepted by the navy on December 16, 2009
commissioned at
Mobile
on January 16, 2010. The budget savings claims of General Dynamics were much
impacted by the fact that
Independence
was more than 100% over-budget. The USN contemplated a ship unit cost of $220
million but the
Independence
weighed in at $704 million. Ouch!
A second member of the class was canceled on November 1, 2007. However, this
ship was reordered May 1, 2009 and is the USS
Coronado LCS-4. The
Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, was contracted as the lead
team for construction of the
Coronado
.
Coronado
was laid down at
Mobile
on December 17, 2009 and is scheduled for delivery in May 2012. For FY 2010 the
two designs Freedom vs
Independence
would have a bid off with the winner getting contracts for two ships and the
loser a contract for one unit. Partners in construction of the Coronado
include Austal USA of Mobile, AL for the actual construction, BAE Systems of
Rockville, MD,; General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems of Fairfax, VA,;
L3 Communications Marine Systems of Leesburg, VA, Maritime Applied Physics
Corporation of Baltimore, MD, and Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems of
Baltimore, MD. The Navy wanted a second source for bidding for series production
of the class, so in February 2010 Austal and Bath Iron Works so that
Bath
Iron Works could compete as the second source for series production, although
their partnership for building the
Coronado
continued. Austal submitted an offer to build ten ships of the
Independence
class on July 12, 2010. On January 6, 2011 did win a contract to build up to
ten
Independence
class ships. The third ship in the series for FY2011 is scheduled to be laid
down early in 2012 for delivery in 2015. The value of the contract is estimated
at 432 million dollars for the 3rd ship in the class. 2011 is being
used to expand the Austal construction facility in
Mobile
and to develop a larger work force. Lockheed Martin received a similar contract
for possible construction of up to ten Freedom class ships with the construction
of the second ship for FY2011estimated at 437 million dollars. So the
competition between the two designs still continues, as part of government plan
to keep the competition going in order to keep costs down. Long term naval plans
contemplate building 55 littoral combat ships.
Coronado
is still under construction in
Mobile
with anticipated delivery in 2012.
Cyber-Hobbies/Dragon 1:700 Scale USS
Coronado LCS-4
Considering that the USS Independece
was just commissioned slightly under a year and a half year ago, the release of
the Independence class kits have been
remarkably fast. Released under the Cyber-Hobbies
mark, the
Coronado
kit is produced by Dragon. The
Cyber-Hobby
Coronado
has some differences from their
Independence
kit. The actually ship is unlike any other ship afloat and Dragon has produced a comprehensive kit. It can be built full hull
or waterline as Dragon lower hulls
for both formats. The long narrow forecastle resembles the beak of a bird of
prey with break and down turn at the bow. Tumblehome is back! The USS
Coronado LCS-4 superstructure slopes inward sharply as the
superstructure rises giving the ship a very marked tumblehome. However, unlike
the tumblehome of French predreadnought battleships, this new reincarnation of a
classic naval architectural design characteristic, this tumblehome is not with
seductive curves but with sharp angles needed to reduce the radar signature.
Along the hull sides are closed circular windows and square windows with
shutters. These could be opened when necessary but closed to reduce radar
return, as open portholes would reflect a radar pulse more readily. At the stern
are open roll on/roll off doors to embark and disembark vehicles. A small alcove
for a life raft canister fitting is just aft of the Ro-Ro door. A separate Ro-Ro
ramp is included so the modeler has the option of modeling
Coronado
at sea or loading/landing vehicles. At the top of the superstructure is a row
of navigation windows for the bridge. In looking at the plan view the forecastle
appears to have some type of loading position raised above the deck. There are a
couple of additional square fittings and the locator hole for the 57mm mount.
There is a bow anchor well at the top of the centerline cutwater, as this design
actually has three cutwaters. The crown of the superstructure has more of the
small square fittings, a locator well for the exhaust structure and a well for
the CIWS mount. The aft half of the deck is the broad flight deck spanning all
three of the hulls. More of the square fittings run along the deck edge. The
lower hulls slant inward as they run to the waterline, further enhancing the
remarkable appearance of this vessel. With either hull the very thin outrigger
hulls is evident. The full hull lower hull also makes the design remarkable. The
forefoot juts forward like a Habsburg chin with thruster wells on each side. The
hull pieces for
Coronado
are the same as used in
Independence
.
Four plastic sprues are included, which is two more than came with the CyberHobby
Independence
. Unlike the
Independence
kit in which only a few generic parts were used off of one of the sprues, all
of the parts on the four
Coronado
sprues are used in assembly. All of the parts of sprue C are used, as this is
the ship specific sprue not a generic modern USN weapons and equipment sprue.
This same sprue was found in the CyberHobby
Independence.
The aft face of the superstructure contains the hangar doors. Dragon
has included the option to have the doors open or closed. If you model the
hangar as open, then there is a separate hangar floor that fits into the upper
hull. On the edges of the hangar face are detailed closed personnel access
doors. The front face of the superstructure is also a separate piece and
features a single access door offset to the starboard an excellent bridge
windows. Atop the superstructure is the shrouded exhaust structure. This
structure also slopes inward as it rises with exhaust vented through louvers.
The outlines of the louver fittings are present but not the louver detail. The 2nd
largest piece, after the hangar floor is the transom stern. Since it spans all
three hulls, it is wide. The stern juts rearward as it rises from the waterline.
On the centerline, over the middle hull, is another vehicle/cargo loading
opening but instead of having downward folding loading ramps like the side
doors, it has two doors that swing outwards. Again Dragon has provided optional parts to depict the doors as open or
closed.
Among the smaller parts there are a host of unique items such as the 57mm gun
mount that has an almost triangular appearance. The barrel itself has a hollow
muzzle, which is unheard of with 1:700 scale plastic barrels, especially a
barrel as small as a 57mm. The SeaRAM launcher is another fine piece with the
missile canister openings. The sole bow anchor is also unique as it fits within
the bow well. Other fittings include the life raft canister fittings, flight
deck lamp fittings, bow thruster shrouds, four port stern thruster piece, mast
assembly, and radar/commo domes. Three new sprues are included with the
Coronado
kit. With the
Independence
kit a generic modern USN sprue was included solely for the purpose of providing
a MH-60S helicopter. Instead of providing a MH-60S, a separate sprue provides a
MH-53E helicopter, a larger beast than the MH-60S. This sprue, labeled G,
carries only helicopter parts. Has 13 plastic parts for one 1:700 scale
helicopter. Six of the fifteen parts are just for the well detailed fuselage.
Then you throw in two rotors, a tail stabilizer, three wheels and a fuel probe
and you come up with a kit within a kit. But wait!! There’s more!! This
listing doesn’t even include the optional brass parts for the MH-53E included
on a new brass photo-etch fret included in
Coronado
. There is also is a new sprue F, which provides a MQ-8 small drone helicopter.
The plastic sprue only has the two halves of the fuselage, as the rest of parts
come in brass photo-etch. The third new sprue, labeled H, includes a MK-105. The
MK-105 is a magnetic mine sweeping sled, which can be towed by the large MH-53E
helicopter. Besides the stand parts, one additional part is included, an
optional MK 41 VLS deck lid.
The Cyber-Hobby Coronado
includes two brass photo-etch frets, instead of one fret found in
Independence
. They are relief-etched. The fret common with the one in the
Independence
fret is dominated by the flight deck edge safety netting. Other brass parts
include curved bulkheads used at the edge of the hangar and hull, a forecastle
fitting of some sort, CIWS forward face, Ro-Ro door fitting and railing for the
small open alcoves on each side of the stern. The new second photo-etch fret
provides details for the two helicopters and the sled. For the MH-53E is an
alternate brass main rotor, an alternate brass tail rotor, a sled tow bar, a
tail skid, and two small probes. The MQ-8 drone gets a brass main rotor, tail
rotor and landing skid. The MK-105 skid gets four hydrofoil legs in two
different patterns and a top brace/gantry. A full decal sheet is also included.
The sheet includes flight deck markings, forecastle anti-skid walkways,
helicopter markings, hull numbers, and multiple draught markings.
Dragon provides their standard fold
out sheet of instructions. One back-printed sheet fold to provide six pages.
Page one is a parts laydown. Page two has assembly of the bridge, CIWS, flight
deck bulkhead, forward turret and life canister assemblies. Page three has
assembly for forward superstructure, aft superstructure and transom stern. Page
four has lower hull assembly, flight deck detail and stand. Page five covers the
assembly of the three smaller craft included in the
Coronado
kit, the MH-53E, MQ-8 and MK-105. Page six has the profile, plan, bow and stern
views with painting instructions and decal locator guide.
Verdict
The CyberHobby/Dragon 1:700 scale kit
of USS Coronado LCS-4 is not
just a replay of their USS
Independence LCS-2 kit. Yes, most of the parts are identical with
those provided in the Independence
kit, but also there are three new plastic sprues and a second photo-etch fret
that provide detailed miniature models of new equipment such as the MH-53E heavy
helicopter, MQ-8 drone helicopter and MK-105 aerially towed anti-mine sled.
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