Launch the ready Byron ....

Job security Shipmate. Via Chris Cavas,

The upper part of the mast on the destroyer Gravely broke off Sunday while the warship was underway off the northern Florida coast, the Navy has confirmed.

“While underway conducting routine operations Feb. 13, USS Gravely (DDG 107) experienced structural damage to the mast mounted antenna. No personnel were injured during the incident,” Cmdr. Elissa Smith, a spokesperson for the Second Fleet in Norfolk, said in a Tuesday e-mail to Navy Times. “USS Gravely’s crews took immediate action and secured the damaged mast-mounted antenna. The cause and extent of the damage is unknown.

“The ship safely returned to Mayport, Fla. at approximately 10 a.m. local yesterday and is undergoing assessment.

Hat tip URR, photo coltoncompany.com.

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UPDATE: One of my industrial spies sent along the technical SME details. For the record - this is not from Byron (who is should be known is recovering from a biological warfare attack, but is much better thanks to the highly effective doggy-luv treatment including moist nose applications, frequent ear licking, and the strategic placement of hair on all opposite color furniture and clothing. The dogs do something too, but I am not sure of the details).

What failed was the foundation for the stick mast that gets bolted to the top of the pole mast. As a foundation it is not on the structural drawing for the mast but on a separate foundation drawing for that design zone. As such, i.e. foundation not structure, the weld is considered noncritical and is therefore only subject to visual inspection (VT).

SUPSHIP reviews all UT and above welds, i.e. critical, but looks at only a random sample of VT welds. This should have been caught by the shop foreman. The weld, as executed, was not in accordance with the drawing for that foundation. It is 1" aluminum plate that was to be beveled to 50 deg angle. Note the weld attaching the foundation to the top of the pole mast....the failed weld should have been the same weld.