Military News - Military Times

Details of the inspection reports

Here are highlights from the Board of Inspection and Survey reports on the cruiser Chosin and destroyer Stout.

Chosin

Last deployment: April-September 2007

* AN/SPS-49 and AN/SPY-1B radars severely degraded by multiple issues.

* 26 percent of the vertical launch system cells had hatch timing problems and were operationally unusable.

* Two of three fire control directors were 19 years old and beyond their 15-year depot overhaul requirement.

* Aviation facility had enough discrepancies to preclude safe flight operations. Aviation demonstration scored an UNSAT .58.

* Ship could not properly connect shore electrical power.

* Pilot’s ladder was unsafe for use and too short.

* General ship’s lighting was inadequate; “upgrade of lighting fixtures would enhance the ability of personnel to operate and maintain the ship’s systems.”

* Secondary rescue boat could not be secured for sea.

* Nine Departure From Spec listings were in excess of 180 days without being repaired; one item — shaft plastic coating — dated from April 2001.

* All 25 Mk 1 life preservers and all 29 Kapok life preservers failed visual inspection.

* 46 of 51 Kevlar lifelines failed visual inspection.

* 95 percent of the external ladders were rigged with the wrong securing pins or had missing handrail safety pins.

* Communications demonstration scored an UNSAT .57, as did the Environmental Protection demonstration.

Stout

Last deployment: July-December 2007

* Aegis AN/SPY-1D power output was reduced by about 75 percent.

* Two of three Mk 99 missile illuminators were inoperable.

* Aft vertical launch system magazine unusable due to fuel tank leakage.

* Close-In Weapon System was inoperable.

* Neither of two triple torpedo tube mounts could be quickly trained to firing position.

* The Mk 45 5-inch gun couldn’t fire due to corrosion in the gun cradle.

* Search-and-rescue swimmer gear would not permit operations in water colder than 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

* An intermittent problem with the Mk 39 Gyro Data Converter, causing unreliable data to be fed to the Aegis weapon control system and gun fire control system, had been reported in March 2006 but still not repaired.

* Food service was degraded: The ship’s walk-in freezer and nine of 13 reach-in reefers had problems; neither single tank dishwasher worked, nor did all three waste disposal units. Only one of four steam kettles was operating.

* 26 of 77 watertight closures inspected were not watertight.

* The ship scored an UNSAT .51 for the anti-air warfare demonstration.

* Only three gas turbines were in operation, precluding the ability to conduct a full-power demonstration.

* The flight deck status lighting system was inoperable due to corrosion.

* The deck demonstration received a .50 score, UNSAT.

* The aviation demonstration received a score of .59, UNSAT.