USS Winston S. Churchill greeted by
thousands in Portsmouth, England
By Ron Jensen, U.K.
bureau
George Chen / U.S. Navy
A restored WWII British Spitfire flies by the USS Winston S. Churchill as the ship enters
the harbor at Portsmouth, England. |
PORTSMOUTH, England — Slicing through a calm sea beneath a bright sky, watched by
thousands of Britons waving from shore and escorted by dozens of craft, large and small,
the USS Winston S. Churchill made a grand entrance to the English port of Portsmouth on
Wednesday, ending the first leg of its maiden voyage.
The U.S. Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer also was
welcomed by a Spitfire, Great Britain’s formidable World War II fighter, which made
several passes above the ship named for the country’s wartime leader and world
statesman. Alongside was a patrol boat used by Churchill and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to
inspect the D-Day armada before the invasion of France in June 1944.
Cmdr. Michael T. Franken, the man in charge of the ship, said he watched the commotion
from the bridge and said to the sailors near him, "This is the beginning of the
odyssey."
The $900 million ship, one of the most sophisticated ever built, will remain in
Portsmouth through the weekend, taking part in the International Festival of the Sea,
which ends Monday. It will make several port calls around the United Kingdom, although the
exact schedule is not released until a few days before each arrival.
Cmdr. Michael T. Franken
says his crew shares some of the admirable traits of his ship's namesake |
Although 16 U.S. Navy vessels have carried a foreigner’s name before, including
English nurse Florence Nightingale and the French soldier Lafayette, the Churchill is the
only currently active warship honoring a non-American.
"It’s high time," Franken said when asked about the naming of a U.S.
ship for the former British prime minister.
Franken has become an avid student of Churchill and called him the "savior of the
free world" and a man of honor, conviction and loyalty.
Those are traits, Franken said, a commander wants in a crew.
"Interestingly enough, I think they have those [traits]," he said of his own
crew.
That crew includes a sailor with the Royal Navy. Lt. Angus N.P. Essenhigh serves as the
ship’s navigator. He has a good pedigree. His father, Adm. Sir Nigel Essenhigh, is
First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, equivalent to the U.S. Navy’s chief of
naval operations.
Ron Jensen / S&S
Crew members of the USS Winston S. Churchill line the deck as the ship arrives at
Portsmouth |
The Churchill crew will always include a Royal Navy member.
When Franken was named commander of the ship in 1997 — the year before
construction started — he began receiving letters and e-mail messages from sailors
wanting to serve on it. Franken passed along some requests to the Navy’s assignments
office and some of the crew that arrived in England was chosen in that way.
The ship was christened in 1999, and it was commissioned five months ago.
The ship library has several books by and about the ship’s namesake, who died in
1965, before many of the crewmembers were born.
A Churchill quote is included in the daily planning log of the ship.
"They really encourage you to learn as much as you can," said Petty Officer 2
David Foley, 24, who was a World War II history buff as a youngster.
The ship is capable of sustained combat operations at sea, either alone or as part of a
carrier battle group. It can simultaneously defend itself against planes, ships and
submarines.
The Churchill has the most sophisticated radar system in the U.S. Navy.
"We are designed for warfare," Franken said. "Whatever complexion that
warfare has, we’re designed to fight it. We’re a valuable asset to the national
military authority because we’re multi-mission."
Ron Jensen / S&S
A sailor stands on the bow of the USS Winston S. Churchill as thousands of
people watch from shore. |
The nine-day ocean crossing from Norfolk included some training and some rough seas
along the way. But the Churchill rolled smoothly onward, sailors said.
It arrived fully tested. The sea trials were completed over three months earlier this
year. That included testing the ship against close explosions.
The ship was battered three times by controlled blasts, each comparable to 10,000
pounds of TNT, and each a bit closer than the one before.
"It rocked a little bit. It wasn’t bad," said Foley. "The equipment
held up great."
The ship has more training planned while on this side of the Atlantic, far away from
its home at Norfolk, Va. It will train with navies from Belgium, Germany, Holland and
others. It will also fire its 5-inch guns at shore targets on a Norway range.
But the crew will probably not soon forget the welcome it received at Portsmouth.
"It was wonderful," said Petty Officer 3 Sonia Suarez. "I could not
believe how many people were out here."
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