When the picture was taken, we were eating our lunch, seated on a bench along the starboard rail next to the equipment behind the bridge (just above the airplane's propeller). Debby scored us the best bench seat in the house (seating surfaces were hard to come by).
The second shot shows our flotilla juxtaposed with a Washington State Ferry. Our flotilla consisted of the BHR, two guided-missle destroyers, and three Coast Guard cutters. An Air National Guard show squadron made sure all observers would recognize the BHR as the star of the day's show, by flying circles and generating a smoke wreath above the ship.
The BHR is a 40,000 ton, 844' amphibious assault ship deployed in support of the Marines, providing a launch pad for aircraft support, equipment and personnel transport, and providing up to three turbine-powered fan-driven landing craft called LCACs.
Harrier jets launch from the flight deck, as do AH-1W Super Cobra attack helos, MV-22 Osprey (300 knots max speed) and CH-53 Super Stallion heavy lift/transport helos, and SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk multi-mission support helos (the Navy variant of the Army Blackhawk, modified with a hinged tail section to enable shipboard storage).
The following picture from the ship's home page shows the BHR entering Elliot Bay with the Seattle skyline as backdrop. On the flight deck, clockwise from the lower left, are a Sea Hawk, Super Stallion, Osprey, and Super Cobra.
BHR, aka LHD-6, is a $billion+ piece of equipment, one of eight Navy Wasp-class LHDs (Landing Helicopter Deck). It contains a 600 bed hospital with six operating rooms and can transport 1900 Marines in addition to its Navy crew of 1100. It is used for disaster relief support as well as combat. The BHR assisted the tsunami relief effort in Malaysia.
The following pictures are from Debby's iPhone. The first picture shows the stern of the ship. We boarded via the gangplank up to the starboard elevator and into the hanger deck. Our day began with a guided tour. Our guide was an NROTC student of mechanical engineering from Penn State. After the end of the tour, we had complete freedom to wander the hanger and flight decks and to crawl over, under, and through the various pieces of equipment on display.
Some 25 members of the various branches of the services were honored with a Naturalization Ceremony on the hanger deck during lunch. What a great way to become a citizen.
Our Dockside Welcoming Party
Sea Hawk on Hanger Deck
Osprey on Flight Deck
Lunch Call on Flight Deck
A highlight of the cruise was the launch of the two LCACs on board. These are very powerful and noisy beasties. Up to three can be stored on the well deck below the hanger deck. To launch them, the ship takes on aft ballast to slightly submerge the well deck that has opened to the sea by the large aft door, seen in the dockside picture above. An LCAC is designed to carry a single 60 ton M1 Abrams tank, and also to ferry all smaller equipment and personnel ashore, such as the LAV-25 eight-wheeled reconnaissance vehicle that was tied down on the well deck for us to observe.
Each LCAC is manned by a crew of five. One LCAC remained afloat alongside the BHR for a couple of hours, doing various acrobatic wheelies to exhibit its great maneuverability, being able to go forward while being completely sideways, and pivoting around while never moving ahead. They generate a large roaring fan sound and transmit very noticeable vibration throughout the ship when exiting and returning to the well deck.
Rainier was very clear through our polarized sunglasses, but the iPhone didn't see with the same acuity.
Our only negatives for the day were encountering a full parking lot in the AM, necessitating my finding street parking in the area, a near impossibility and a long hike. Also, it was a tiring day on aging backs, with hardly any place to sit and rest. But overall, it was a fun and rewarding experience. We learned a lot. Debby compared the ship to a bee hive, with navy personnel continually popping in and out of various doors and scurrying somewhere to do something or other.
*The images from the Seattle Times photographer above are lo-res proofs. To order full-res pictures, visit the photographer's commercial website.
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