WRIGHT BROTHERS

This Day in Coast Guard History – Dec. 17

1897-The Overland Expedition, consisting of three officers from the Revenue Cutter Service, departed from the cutter Bear off Nunivak Island to rescue 300 whalers trapped in the ice at Point Barrow, Alaska.  The rescuers were First Lieutenant D. H. Jarvis, Second Lieutenant E. P. Bertholf (later a commandant), and Surgeon S. J. Call.  The rescuers had to travel over 1,000 miles overland to reach the whalers. 1903-Life-Saving Service personnel from Kill Devil Hills Life-Saving Station helped carry materials to the launch site for the first successful heavier-than-air aircraft flight by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and then assisted the brothers in their flights that day. The life-savers were John T. Daniels, W.S. Dough and A.D. Etheridge. 1942-CGC Natsek, part of the Greenland Patrol, disappeared in Belle Isle Strait. There were no survivors.  It was thought that she capsized due to severe icing.  1942-The Navy credited the CGC Ingham with attacking and sinking the submerged U-boat U-626 south of Greenland. 1951-President Harry Truman presented the Collier Trophy to the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense and the "helicopter industry" in a joint award, citing "outstanding development and use of rotary-winged aircraft for air rescue operations."  Coast Guard Commandant VADM Merlin O'Neill accepted the trophy for the Coast Guard. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

LCAC 91 Achieves High Speed on Algal Blend

The U.S. Navy successfully concluded its final alternative fuel demonstration for the year today with the Dec. 7-9 operational tests of the 50/50 algae-derived, hydro-processed algal oil and petroleum F-76 blend in a Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) amphibious transport vehicle at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City.   The tests also marked the fastest speed achieved to date by a U.S. Navy surface craft using alternative fuel blends

Crowley-Managed MARAD Ship Headed to New Orleans

The Crowley-managed aviation logistics support ship SS Wright has been activated by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) to respond to the crisis in the New Orleans area brought about by Hurricane Katrina. The ship is sailing from Baltimore today, and upon arrival in New Orleans next week, will be used as housing for more than 300 people who will be involved with infrastructure restoration The SS Wright, a MARAD-owned vessel operated by Crowley, is one of two

Curtiss-Wright Awarded $14.6M in Contracts

Curtiss-Wright Corporation announced it has been awarded $14.6 million of contracts from Northrop Grumman Newport News to design and manufacture engineered pumps for use on the United States Navy's next generation CVN-21 Class aircraft carriers. The pumps will be manufactured by Curtiss-Wright's Flow Control segment located in Phillipsburg, NJ, and delivered in 2008 and 2009. Construction on the first aircraft carrier is scheduled to begin in 2007

Curtiss-Wright Acquires Nu-Torque

Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) has acquired substantially all of the assets of Nu-Torque, a designer and manufacturer of electric and hydraulic valve actuation and control devices primarily for U.S. Navy ships. The business will become part of Curtiss-Wright's Flow Control segment. Curtiss-Wright Chairman and CEO Martin R. Benante said, "Nu-Torque also provides the opportunity to expand our presence in the U.S

Melding The Old With The New

It's a timeless piece of history that is the newest deal going on in the cruise ship industry - the deal between the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. and Atlantic Marine, which calls for the building of two U.S. Coastal flag ships inspired by the former Fall River Line Vessels which ran from 1847 to 1937. It was the age in which water transportation was the only mode of distance travel. Henry Ford and the Wright Brothers had not yet become household names and the horse and carriage reigned as the

Is Navy Mulling New Cuts?

According to a Reuters report, the U.S. Navy has proposed cutting a Lockheed Martin Corp. missile program and a Northrop Grumman Corp. amphibious assault ship in its fiscal 2008 budget, but Pentagon leaders will make the final decision, analysts said. Navy officials declined to comment on its spending proposal for 2008, saying the Pentagon and White House must still review all proposals. The Bush administration is expected to send its massive government-wide budget proposal for fiscal 2008

Prince of Wales Visits Seagen at Strangford Lough

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales has visited Marine Current Turbines’ SeaGen, a marine current and tidal stream technology that is deployed in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough and generating power into the local grid on a daily basis.   On May 13, HRH was greeted by Mr David Lindsay the Lord-Lieutenant for County Down and went on to meet Mrs Arlene Foster MLA Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment

Nichols Brothers to Build Second WSF 144-Car Ferry

US Fab Contracts Nichols Brothers Boat Builders to build the second 144-Car Washington State Ferry Superstructure. At their Seattle facility, US Fab, a subsidiary company of Vigor Industrial will partner once again with Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Freeland, Washington to build the second 144-Car Washington State Ferry. The Vessel is the second to be built in the Olympic Class for Washington State Department of Transportation Ferries division

Vane Brothers, Alban Tractor Aid Oil Spill Clean-up

Vane Brothers closed a deal with British Petroleum (BP) to supply six tug boats which would maneuver six 50,000 barrel barges next to the skimmers that are collecting the oil from the gulf before pumping the oil out of the skimmers for transport to a disposal point at an oil refinery. While Vane Brothers, a marine transportation company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, was definitely supportive of the task, the commission from BP could not have come at a more inopportune time for the