louisiana2000

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf is reportedly considered the worse oil spill in history. The disaster killed 11 workers in the initial explosion and continued to dump 170 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over a period of 3 months before the flow of oil could be stopped. 1,000 miles of shoreline was affected; birds and other wildlife along the Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida coastlines were replaced by tar balls and oil slicks rolling up to the shores. The environmental effects will Read the rest of this post »

The ICBM changed world history. Being able to launch missiles from submerged submarines re-wrote the texts on warfare. Nuclear powered submarines could remain underwater, almost invisible o the enemy and launch nuclear missiles at targets thousands of miles away. The East and West faced off underwater, on the alert, waiting for the dreaded command to launch. Beginning with the Polaris missile the United States Navy saw a progression of giant submarines, armed with up to 24 missiles, on station offshore, guarding, ready to respond to the Nation’s call. Read the rest of this post »

Five ships have been named in honor of the State of Louisiana. All have born the name proudly with distinguished service records. The first USS Louisiana was a New Orleans built sloop of war that protected the State’s coast during the War of 1812. The city was protected by the ship’s cannons and when the wind died down, and the British troops had advanced out of range, the crew labored to tow the ship to a position Read the rest of this post »

If it’s nautical history you’re looking for, what better place than Louisiana to indulge? If you’re planning a visit to the big Lou you’ve got to use your http://get.wildblue.com/internet-provider/lou satellite to plan a trip and hit up one of these nautical cities in order to learn more about the past, present and future of the nautical industry here
New Orleans – The obvious choice, there’s a lot to learn here about ships Read the rest of this post »

Few warships served Union forces better than the USS Louisiana during the Civil War. From the time it was purchased by the United States Navy in July, 1861 and commissioned in August, 1861, the propeller-driven iron hull steamer became a thorn in the side of Confederate forces.

The USS Louisiana was first used to used to block the passage of Confederate blockade runners and attack their bases. It was part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and patrolled the Read the rest of this post »

The nuclear-powered USS Louisiana (SSBN-743) is an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine designed for extended deterrence assignments. The vessel was built in 1992 in Connecticut, launched on July 27, 1996, and commissioned on September 6, 1997 at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia.

Upon review of the United States nuclear policy in the 1990s, the recommendation was made to decrease the number of ballistic missle submarines. On October 12, 2005 the vessel was transferred to the Pacific Fleet and stationed at Naval Base Kitsap in Bangor, Washington.

Weighing over 18,000 tons and Read the rest of this post »

There have been four warships that have served the United States while bearing the name of the state of Louisiana. The original USS Louisiana, launched in 1812 at New Orleans, helped save its home port from British invasion. Supporting General Andrew Jackson’s right flank from the Mississippi river, the original Louisiana bombarded Redcoats as they tried to advance on the city during the Battle of New Orleans. The second USS Louisiana, a steamer launched in 1861, was noted for her actions in defense of Washington Read the rest of this post »

If you’ve uttered those words yourself or wondered how they came to be included in our lexicon, this entry might be of interest to you. According to history, the dying words of Captain James Lawrence were said to be “Don’t give up the ship” while Captaining the frigate USS Chesapeake. After leaving port on June 1, 1813 Lawrence engaged in fierce battle while blockading the Royal Navy frigate HMS Shannon. Although the Shannon was slightly smaller than Lawrence’s Chesapeake, the British ship successfully disabled the US ship via gunfire within the first few minutes of onslaught. Captain Lawrence was mortally wounded by small arms fire but ordered his officers “Don’t give up the ship. Fight her till she sinks.” As his men carried him below after uttering these words, the crew was overwhelmed by a boarding party of British sailors. Lawrence died of his wounds a few days later on June 4, 1813; and we can only hope that he was never fully cognizant of the fact that his ship had not only been given up, but that she was soon to serve in the Royal Navy under the name of HMS Chesapeake until she was broken up for salvage and sold in 1820.

Have you ever wondered how ships get their names? Sometimes it seems like a random pattern, but other times not.A look at how and why US Navy ships received (and continue to receive) their names might answer some lingering questions.Through an act of Congress in 1819, the responsibility for assigning names to the Navy’s ships was placed in the hands of the Secretary of the Navy, a prerogative which is still exercised today.This act stated that “all of the ships, of the Navy of the United States, now building, or hereafter to be built, shall be named by the Secretary of the Navy, under the direction of the President of the United States, according to the following rule, to wit: those of the first class shall be called Read the rest of this post »

Unlike its predecessors, the fourth LOUISIANA is an Ohio-class submarine.The USS LOUISIANA (SSBN-743) was awarded construction in December 1990 and launched in July 1996 at the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay at Kings Bay, Georgia (which upped the complement of ballistic missile submarines to a total of 10 at Kings Bay).Significantly, the four stars on the submarine’s bow indicate that she is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name.She was built by General Dynamics Electric Boat Division out of Groton, Connecticut and has a one nuclear reactor propulsion system.She is 560 feet long with a beam of 42 feet, a draft of 36.5 feet, and a speed of 20 knots.She currently houses 17 officers, 15 Chief Petty Officers and 122 Enlisted (two crews).Interestingly, the USS LOUISIANA is the fourth U.S. Naval vessel to be named in honor of the eighteenth state admitted into the union, and is the eighteenth and last Trident Submarine to be commissioned.She is currently stationed in Bangor, Washington on Kitsap Naval Base.