NEMESIS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 604 Port Hueneme CA 93044-0604 December 2014 Vol. MMXIV: No. 4

DECEMBER LUNCHEON A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE Come join us for our Christmas luncheon. I hope this Christmas season will be a pleasant and hap- Place: CBC Bard Mansion O’Club py one for you. As we enter this joyous time of the year Date: Thursday, December 11, 2014 we all pray for peace throughout the world. Unfortunately the world doesn’t seem to be a very peaceful place. The Time: 11:30—13:00 Middle East is in turmoil with our troops still involved. The price will be $15 per person. The war against extremists now involves Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. is threatening to annihilate Israel. Egypt Come celebrate the holiday season and reunite with is still in turmoil. Russia is threatening to take over old friends at the Nemesis Alumni Association Christ- Ukraine. However, we can take comfort in knowing that mas luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 11 our Navy has played a very vital role in supporting our at the Port Hueneme Bard Mansion. efforts in this war torn region, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq. If it was not for the American presence in the There will be musical entertainment by TJ Zeiler , region, we would see a vastly different one dominated by presenting a mixture of oldies and Christmas mu- radical extremism. That is truly frightening. Our Navy is sic. And, of course, our legendary raffle! one of the most powerful and best equipped fleet that has the ability to fully support the United States foreign policy. To attend the $15 buffet luncheon please RSVP to Hopefully we can look forward to being able to continue Teri Reid at [email protected] or 805-861-6972 ; or our efforts to sustain and foster a more democratic environ- call Gerry Roberts at 805-642-6504 by Thursday, ment in that war torn region. We salute all those Navy personnel who are now stationed on board ships in the re- Dec. 4. gion. We should always remember and support those who put their lives on the line to try to make this world a friend- If you do not have base access please make arrange- lier place to live. So at this joyous time of the year, please ments to obtain a retiree identification card through the remember those who serve this nation by putting their lives NBVC Personnel Support Detachment or call Teri on the line in order to protect our liberties and freedoms. Reid or Gerry Roberts to arrange carpooling with Say a prayer of thanks for those who have sacrificed the drivers who have base access. ultimate and pray for those who return to their homes that they may know we honor and support them. The alumni association will have a table set up at the Bard Mansion to take luncheon payments. Please do not pay the Bard Mansion directly.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

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DID YOU KNOW OR REMEMBER Part 2 By Gerry Roberts Station Team Brings Ship Into Fleet This article will consist of two parts this time. Part 1 NSWSES Center of Excellence has played a major role in will cover the CNO Navy birthday message. Part 2 covers bringing the second AEGIS into the Pacific Fleet. the station’s participation in bringing the AEGIS Cruiser, USS VALLEY FORGE (CG-50) is undergoing Post- USS VALLY FORGE (CG-50) into the fleet. These two Shakedown Availability (PSA) at Todd Shipyard, San Pedro, articles were covered in our Interface Bulletin dated Octo- prior to joining USS VINCENNES (CG-49) with operational ber 3, 1986. forcers in the Western Pacific. Part 1 NSWSES engineers, technicians and logisticians have CNO NAVY birthday message: mailed postmarks from Pascagoula, MS, to Pearl Harbor as they worked to prepare the ship for operational readiness. On October 13 we will observe the 211 th anniversary of the founding of the Navy. On that day in 1775 the Conti- The NSWSES AEGIS Mobile Engineering Team joined nental Congress authorized the fitting out of a few tiny VALLEY FORGE for the Light Off sailing ships, armed with cannon and held together with (ALO) about two months after the ship’s christening. pitch, hemp, and wooden nails. It was a small fleet, but For the next 13 months the five-man team, under the di- even then it made a difference. rection of Project Supervisor Bob Kimbley of the AEGIS In the intervening years, we’ve come a long way from Combat Systems Branch, was an integral part of VALLEY cannons to rifled guns to guided missiles; from privateers FORGE through Builders’ Trials, custody transfer, transit to ironclads to dreadnoughts to carrier battle groups. from Pascagoula to San Diego and finally through the Com- bat Systems Ship Qualification Trials (CSSQT). But two things haven’t changed. The first is the influ- ence of sea power on history. All of us know the truth of Wrote Captain T.C. Lockhart , commanding officer of the prayer; “Oh, Lord, your sea is so great and my boat is VALLEY FORGE in a letter of appreciation to Kimbley ; so small.” The boat is small, but at its approach good men “VALLEY FORGE completed a very successful Combat rejoice and evil men think twice. Systems Ship Qualification Trial. Your contributions to th CSSQT were varied and significant; and, in fact, started 18 In our 211 year as in our first, the Navy has been par- months ago in Pascagoula, MS. ticularly active in defending – not territory, not property, but fragile, indelible ideas; an idea relighted this past sum- “During VALLEY FORGE’s construction at Ingalls Ship- mer in the upraising right hand of Lady Liberty. We have yard Division, you aided in the identification of potential been active, and we have been successful, as we must al- problems, conducted in-depth liaison and material expedit- ways be successful, because our country counts on us. ing, and insured the correct completion of numerous pre-PSA jobs. Your dedication to the task at and was and is, com- The second thing that hasn’t changed is the dedication mendable. Your obvious pride and commitment is the hall- of our Navy people. Life at sea is hard, and waiting at mark of a true professional and VALLEY FORGE is a better home is hard too. If on October 13 we were to take a glob- warship because of your efforts.” al birthday snapshot, what a wide variety of activity we would see; the tanker pilot, orbiting the carrier at night, Mobile Engineering Team members were Vince Yar- waiting for the next customer; the sounding and security bough , Joe Lara , Alva Maynor and Dave Kooeinga , all of watch, investigating a plant parameter for which he feels the AEGIS Combat Systems Department. personally responsible; after lookout, alone on the fantail, Lieutenant Rich Wilder was CSSQT officer-in-charge life ring at his side who will gladly search a thousand emp- and later was commended by Naval Sea Systems Command ty wakes in case someday he may be needed to rescue a for his efforts. Al Murray was the assistant officer-in- shipmate; the data processing technician thinking hard at charge. her keyboard, debugging a program that she wrote herself . . . the mural would be endless . . . operators, support per- VALLEY FORGE received high marks throughout her sonnel, loyal families, civilians, reservists; but in each face per-commissioning and post-commissioning tests. Her Trial we would see the confidence of good training, the determi- Charlie – the Hull, Machinery and Electrical tests – held in nation to do the job right, and a quiet conviction born of the Gulf of Mexico, were completed in 25 hours, the briefest love of country and pride in service. test time for an AEGIS ship. People make the Navy, and after 211 years the Navy is Kimbley noted that test team personnel on the beach took still great because you – yes, you! – are great. Happy on added importance during at-sea tests of the AEGIS cruis- birthday, and may God bless you all. er. C.A.H. Trost “Bunk space is at a premium,” he said. “Team leaders rode VALLEY FORGE. Other personnel had to be ‘coptered Admiral, U. S. Navy back and forth daily as they were required aboard ship.” Chief of Naval Operations

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DID YOU KNOW OR REMEMBER In addition to initial tests at the Island Beach, New (cont) By Gerry Roberts Jersey, and Fort Miles, Delaware, temporary sites, Camp Davis, North Carolina, was used for Operation He added that the beach support was especially im- Bumblebee from June 1, 1946, to July 28, 1948. Top- portant during CSSQT tests on the Pacific Missile sail Island, North Carolina, became the permanent Range.” “Our tactical analysis people were ashore at Bumblebee testing and launch facility in March 1947. Barking Sands and could review our data each night.” The Topsail Historical Society hosts the Missiles and More Museum at the site. Testing was transferred to TERRIER WEAPON SYSTEM Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and then to White Sands Missile Range in 1951 where EVOLUTION USS DESERT SHIP (LLS-1) was built as a prototype TALOS launch facility. By Bob Boulter The RIM-2 TERRIER, devised as a test vehicle, I thought it might be interesting to re-visit some of the evolu- became operational as a fleet anti-aircraft missile tion of Naval surface to air missile (SAM) development that led aboard USS BOSTON in 1955, and evolved into the to our current AEGIS systems. My first two articles took a look RIM-66 STANDARD. TERRIER missile testing the development of the TERRIER weapon systems from the BW began with STV-3 with follow on testing of TERRI- -0 through the STANDARD (ER). This article deals with the ER missile lots 0 through 4. Lot 4 is recognized as earliest development of SAMs that resulted in the “Three T” the first production version. Of note, Lot 4 intro- systems (TALOS, TERRIER, TARTAR). duced the first true super-hetrodyne receiver. Lots 0- 3 utilized a not to successful X-band quasi-super- Operation Bumblebee was a US Navy effort to develop hetrodyne which was susceptible to virtually any stray SAMs to provide a mid-range layer of anti-aircraft defense, be- X-band signal. At sea testing, beginning with Lot 4, tween anti-aircraft guns in the short range and fighter aircraft occurred aboard USS NORTON SOUND (AV-11, operating at long range. A major reason for the Bumblebee ef- before change to VM-1). TALOS became operational forts was the need to attack bombers before they could launch with the fleet aboard USS GALVESTON in February, standoff anti-shipping weapons, as these aircraft might never 1959, and saw combat use during the Vietnam War. enter the range of the shipboard guns. Ramjet knowledge acquired during the program aided development of the XB-70 Valkyrie and the SR-71 Bumblebee originally concentrated on a ramjet powered de- Blackbird. Solid fuel boosters developed to bring the sign, and the initial Applied Physics Lab PTV-N-4 Cobra/BTV ramjet to operational velocity formed the basis for (Propulsion Test Vehicle/Burner Test Vehicle) was flown in larger solid fuel rocket motors for ICBMs, satellite October 1945. The Cobra eventually emerged as the RIM-8 launch vehicles and the space shuttle. TALOS, which entered service on 28 May 1958 aboard the USS GALVESTON. As part of the development program, several other vehicles were also developed. One of these developed into the RIM-2 TERRIER, which gained operational status on the USS CAMBERRA on 15 June 1956, two years before the TALOS. The TERRIER was later modified as a short-range missile system for smaller ships, entering service in 1963 as the RIM-24 TARTAR. Together, the three missiles were known as the "3 T's".

Bumblebee was not the only early Navy SAM project; the SAM-N-2 Lark was rushed into production as a short-range counter to the Kamikaze threat, but never matured into an opera- tional weapon.

Navy ships were hit by air-launched Henschel Hs 293 glide bombs and Fritz X anti-ship missiles during 1943. A ramjet- powered anti-aircraft missile was proposed to destroy aircraft launching such weapons while remaining beyond the range of shipboard artillery. Initial performance goals were target inter- cept at a horizontal range of 10 miles and 30,000 feet altitude, with a 300 to 600 pound warhead for a 30 to 60 percent kill probability. Heavy shipping losses to Kamikaze attacks during the Battle of Okinawa provided additional incentive for guided RIM-8 TALOS test firing missile development.

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PRESIDENT’S CORNER NEMESIS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD By Doug McAvoy President: Doug McAvoy In September we had an interesting and informative Vice President: Karen Brower joint luncheon with the local chapter of the Navy League. Their Sea Cadet Program does a good job in keeping the Secretary: Gary Nuibe local communities aware of the Navy presence in the Treasurer: John Kerwien County. We will be using the club again for our holiday luncheon on December 11 th , so don’t miss it. See details Membership: Sal Ange elsewhere in the newsletter for cost & how to make a res- Programs: ervation. Publicity: Teri Reid Last December I predicted that our alumni contribu- tions to the Command observance of the 50 th anniversary Historical: Gerry Roberts would be a hard act to follow. As things have transpired Archive Director: Hank Morris at the Command, I was more right than I thought. I think 2015 will need a major focus on rebuilding. Our data base Newsletter: Bob Boulter of members is being updated using several initiatives. We Community Action: Gene Fisher very much need your ideas and creativity as we move into some new projects. Hank Morris and Jim Kirkpatrick Barbara Johnson have done great work on displays and rehabilitating two ship models. We also plan to reach out more to the Senior Jim Kirkpatrick Leaders and Managers Association. They funded the re- Larry Flickinger placement of two ship model display cases that form part of the John Beacher exhibit at the Command. Stephen McMahon I close this month’s column with another call for some MEMBERSHIP of you to serve on our Historical Committee which has several projects that need a few willing workers to make Sal Ange reports that our current membership is 620 active, them happen. In the programs area we are looking for 210 deceased, 5 associates, 2 honorary, 7 non-members, and 6 some additional help to broaden the appeal of our quarter- ly meetings. Contact me with your ideas. We need to hear surviving spouses. from you about your interests and jobs you would be will- ing to do. We need organizers, writers and researchers to PLEASE help us with the extensive collection of memorabilia we are attempting to organize. KEEP YOUR ADDRESS CURRENT Doug McAvoy Please be sure to keep your Alumni Association ad- [email protected] vised of any changes to your mailing address or your e- mail address. You may either e-mail them to Sal Ange at his e-mail [email protected] or send them to: NEMESIS Alumni Association IN MEMORIAM If anyone wishes to have a military funeral for some- P.O. Box 604 one who is a veteran, arrangements can be made by con- tacting the First Memorial Honors Detail at phone no. Port Hueneme, CA 93044-0604 805-236-0425 and discussing your request with the Officer In Charge, Jeffery F. Erskine Major USAF (Retired). ALUMNI ON THE WEB

Tell others to check out our website where they can find Arthur Dixon Mansfield NEMESIS Alumni information. September 6, 2014 The URL for this is: http//nemesisalumni.org Our webmaster is Lynne Nuibe and she does a terrific job! NEWSLETTER EDITOR

Robert Boulter

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