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Good find.
Cussler was... notorious for poorly researching subjects outside of his sphere of competence.Note: In the real world, the UK Coastguard (Her Majesties Coastguard) is a purely land based service which is concerned with performing shoreline rescues and co-ordinating other assets for naval based rescue operations. They do not operate ships on their own behalf. It appears the authors thought that the service was similar in function to the US Coast Guard.
Cussler was... notorious for poorly researching subjects outside of his sphere of competence.Note: In the real world, the UK Coastguard (Her Majesties Coastguard) is a purely land based service which is concerned with performing shoreline rescues and co-ordinating other assets for naval based rescue operations. They do not operate ships on their own behalf. It appears the authors thought that the service was similar in function to the US Coast Guard.
I found Cussler to be quite entertaining for the most part but some of the storylines did begin to blur. Was it the Phoenicians who got to Mexico first or was it the Aztecs that made it to North Africa?But he (and his later collaborators) produced some 'rattling, good yarns'...
Or is Canada a part of the United States...I found Cussler to be quite entertaining for the most part but some of the storylines did begin to blur.But he (and his later collaborators) produced some 'rattling, good yarns'...
Day dawned. The day of the suicide bombers. "Zombies". The divine wind of heaven. Depending on which side you were on.
Somehow, wearied, calling on his reserves of strength Randall took her through it. There was no need to hide his tiredness - the faces around him were all the same. Randall saw many things that day and most of them he never forgot. But it was the Zombies, the Kamikaze Kids, who seared themselves into his memory.
I distinctly recall one character as coming from "Royal Navy Dockyard Grimsby". Think it was in Vixen 03 where they shell Washington DC with a reactivated New Jersey battleship.Cussler was... notorious for poorly researching subjects outside of his sphere of competence.Note: In the real world, the UK Coastguard (Her Majesties Coastguard) is a purely land based service which is concerned with performing shoreline rescues and co-ordinating other assets for naval based rescue operations. They do not operate ships on their own behalf. It appears the authors thought that the service was similar in function to the US Coast Guard.
It was sort of like the opposing air strikes at midway. The fleets passed each other.I found Cussler to be quite entertaining for the most part but some of the storylines did begin to blur. Was it the Phoenicians who got to Mexico first or was it the Aztecs that made it to North Africa?But he (and his later collaborators) produced some 'rattling, good yarns'...
She looks like kinda... small for 1850s steam sloop. Even the third-rate paddle sloops were usually almost twice longer (Merlin-class was 50 meters long). I daresay, even for gunboat 24.4 meters is too small.HMS Splendid
Steam Sloop (Sidewheel)
Length: 80ft (24.4m)
Armament: 4x 12pdr guns (2 x fwd, 2x aft)
Hull: Wooden
Note: At the time this part of the story is set (1858), there was no ship of this name in the Royal Navy, the previous holder was launched in 1597, the next, an S Class Destroyer (WWI) was launched in 1918.
Agreed, but those are the dimensions the author gave her. Here is the relevant piece of description from when it was first published.She looks like kinda... small for 1850s steam sloop. Even the third-rate paddle sloops were usually almost twice longer (Merlin-class was 50 meters long). I daresay, even for gunboat 24.4 meters is too small.HMS Splendid
Steam Sloop (Sidewheel)
Length: 80ft (24.4m)
Armament: 4x 12pdr guns (2 x fwd, 2x aft)
Hull: Wooden
Note: At the time this part of the story is set (1858), there was no ship of this name in the Royal Navy, the previous holder was launched in 1597, the next, an S Class Destroyer (WWI) was launched in 1918.
ACV 'Battlecraft'
Air Cushioned Vehicle
Hm, wouldn't RMG-59 Taurus (fired from bow Terrier launchers) be a more probable candidate?If this is indeed the case then the bombardment mentioned in the novel is carried out by using RIM-8 Talos Missiles fitted with conventional warheads in surface-to-surface mode .
Thanks for the suggestion, I'd never heard of the abandoned RGM-59 Taurus project.Hm, wouldn't RMG-59 Taurus (fired from bow Terrier launchers) be a more probable candidate?If this is indeed the case then the bombardment mentioned in the novel is carried out by using RIM-8 Talos Missiles fitted with conventional warheads in surface-to-surface mode .
Hm... then maybe she was equipped with bombardment rockets? Mk-105 launchers, like on IFS-1 Carronade?Simply that it's a rocket bombardment.
Also an interesting suggestion. But again, what few clues the author provides suggests an armament fit out fairly close to the original USS Long Beach (CGN-9). Nor is there any suggestion that anything extra has been fitted for this mission. I'm applying a fairly conservative rule for the extrapolated armament in this case.Hm... then maybe she was equipped with bombardment rockets? Mk-105 launchers, like on IFS-1 Carronade?Simply that it's a rocket bombardment.
Well, then Taurus are the most likely solution. As far as I know, conventional (not anti-radiation) Talos missiles actually did not have land-attack capability; onboard ballistic computer could work only with nuclear-tipped ones for such purpose. Of course, it was theoretically possible to hit any target that reflected beams of fire control radar, but if I recall correctly, in anti-surface mode the fuze was not active (because it would react on the ground below), so... Not practical.Also an interesting suggestion. But again, what few clues the author provides suggests an armament fit out fairly close to the original USS Long Beach (CGN-9). Nor is there any suggestion that anything extra has been fitted for this mission. I'm applying a fairly conservative rule for the extrapolated armament in this case.
Jack Terral, SEALS: Battlecraft, 2006
United States
ACV 'Battlecraft'
Air Cushioned Vehicle
Length: 40ft (12.2)
Width: 20ft (6.1m)
Engine: 1000hp Gas Turbine (Made in Argentina) driving 2 x 8ft 6-bladed variable-pitch propellors for thrust and 1 x 10ft 12-bladed fan for lift. Steering is provided by air vanes and rudders.
Speed: (As built): 90mph (144.84kph, 78.21 knots) (As modified): 97mph (156.11kph, 84.3 knots)
Crew: 4 (1 x Navy SEAL 'Commander', 3 x Navy 'Weapons Officer' 'Helmsman' & 'Engineer') Can also carry up to 22 personel in addition to the crew in cramped accomodation.
Armament: 1 x 30mm chain gun (Most likely the Bushmaster II), 2 x AGM-119 'Penguin', 2 x AIM-9L, 2 x M158 missile pods (Hydra 70 unguided missiles). Also fitted with Chaff and flare launchers.
Electronics: Radar and guidance systems for the weapons carried. No autopilot is fitted initially but one is added later in the story.
Description of fittings (As built): "The cabin offers excellent all-around vision and has such amenities as a head, a triple-tiered bunk, and a small but functional galley that contains a microwave oven and small refrigerator. The engine room is located in the aft portion of the cabin. Two semi-rigid dinghies are mounted on the sides of the hull..."
(As modified):An additional bunk is added to the cabin. The dinghies are replaced by two FC470 'Zodiac' Combat Rubber Raiding Craft.
Not specified if armour has been added to the vehicle.
Note: Constructed as an air cushioned barge pusher (Able to push 40tons at 45mph) named 'Waterflyer' by two 'good ole'boys' named John & Harry DuBose, the vehicle has been loaned to the US Navy for evaluation as the basis for a possible ACV combat vehicle.
USS Dan Daly (LHX-1)
Amphibious Assault Ship, class not specified
Length: 390ft (118.9m)
Beam: 55ft (16.8m)
Displacement: 20,000tons
Speed: 30knots
Crew: 455 (5 Officers, 450 Enlisted)
Can carry a "...full battalion of Marines..." though the ship would be rather crowded if that were the case.
Has a floodable dock capable of handling one of the two LCM-6s the ship carries at a time.
Has internal space for 80 'vehicles' (Defined as "...track and wheeled vehicles')
Has deck space for 12 CH-46 Sea Knight Helicopters, not equipped for fixed wing operations. (In the novel 'SEALS: Rolling Thunder' (2007) it's mentioned she's carrying three CV-22 'Osprey' Tilt Wings, but what else is being carried is not specified.)
Armament: 2 x "eight tube Sea Sparrow launchers" 2 x 5inch Mk. 45 guns, 2 x Phalanx CIWS.
Fitted with "...a dispensery of hundred and fifty beds for the treatment of casualties. Medical personnel beyond those normally allotted to a small crew were only available when the ship carried troops."
No other specific details are provided in regards, armament/sensors.
Note: Described as being "...designed and built in a concept so new and untried, the Navy couldn't decide whether to put an 'A' for general purpose or a 'D' for multipurpose on her designation."
Oman
Harbi-min-Islam (eng. 'Spear of Islam' (Authors translation).)
Province (Dhofar) Class FAC
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Historically the Omani's purchased four of these ships from the UK in the 1980s. This fictional unit is the fifth. Pennants ran B10-14, therefore this unit would be B-15 although this is not stated in the novel. The unit is renamed Shams-min-Oman (eng. 'Sun of Oman' (Authors translation)) at the end of the novel, presumably it was named something else prior to the commanders defection to al-Mujahideen Katal.
Unnamed
6 x 'Spica Class MTBs'
Details as per the real ships
Note: The Swedish Spica Class were in service 1966-1989 and were all either decomissioned or scrapped. In this 'Universe' the ships were sold to Oman after their Swedish service where their Omani crews were suborned by al-Mujahideen Katal.
(Note: All of these ships above form the Zauba Fast Attack Squadron, a renegade Omani unit in the service of the al-Mujahideen Katal (aka 'Warriors of Fury', e.g. Generic Saudi-Backed Islamic Terrorists.))
Republic of the Phillipines
'Patrol Boat 22'
Ex-British River Class? Minesweeper
Details as per the real ships, not specified if armament has been altered.
Note: Speculated class assignment is based on the history the author gives which mentions that it had only spent 10 years in RN service which better fits the River Class of Minsweepers rather than the Ton Class. However none of the class members were transferred to the Phillipines.
Plot summary: A team of Navy SEALS is assigned to assist in trials of a ACV being evaluated for US Service.
Note: This book is the third of a series of at least six 'gung-ho' action novels built around the US Navy SEALS. The author while writing a reasonably good story makes a several 'interesting' mistakes, as Charles Ryan did in 'The Capricorn Quadrant' (1990) they seem to think that MM-40 'Exocet' missiles are AAW capable, to which is added a statement that Gibraltar is part of Spain... It's also clear that whatever source they were using for the Royal Omani Navy was not a copy of 'Janes' as they demonstrated little real knowledge of just what the Royal Omani Navy is equipped with.