Pennsylvania Naval Militia (alternate universe)

I was going to post this in alternate universe but seeing how I am still a beginner I decided it would be better to post here. First off this drawing isn't mine originally. It's sailor82's HMNZS Canterbury of the New Zealand Navy. I used that person's design as a starting point and made some modifications to the design including shortening of the helicopter deck by extending the hangar. This modified version of the Canterbury for my alternate universe Pennsylvania Naval Militia includes visually attempting to correct some of the short comings with the original design. Additionally there is a new color scheme, and some slight additions, as well as take aways to remedy the defaults of the original design such as where the RHIBs are stored. I created a watertight door around the RHIB storage area that can be opened and closed during foul weather or for RHIB launch or recovery. I've also removed the landing craft medium because they caused several problems for the Royal New Zealand Navy.

The extended helicopter hangar is an attempt to evenly distribute more weight and balance during operations in rougher seas to improve sea keeping.

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The original Canterbury was only armed with a 25mm cannon, and two M2 MG's. This modified design features a Bofors 57mm MK3 as the main gun, a 35mm millennium gun as a CIWS and for small fast speedboats, a SeaRam CIWS as a backup, and four M2's instead of just two.

My inspiration for heavy armament was Singapore's Endurance class LPD's which given their nature function very well in secondary ocean patrol and maritime security operation roles. They deployed several of them to the Gulf where they performed wonderfully. The Canterbury is used for ocean patrol but let's face the fact her light armament limits the kinds of patrols and scenarios she can be put in.

This modified design is an attempt to correct that short sight.

The embarked helicopter comes from the Pennsylvania State Police Aviation Section.

Here's some background information about this futuristic alternative universe naval militia and it includes a preview of some of the other ships that I am actually going to start from scratch on. I want to thank Sailor82 for a well done design that was easy to modify:

"A lot had changed in the time the gas companies came to Pennsylvania. The natural gas fracking boom sent a depressed Pennsylvania to become a very rich state. Fracking although dangerous to the environment brought jobs and income to the cash strapped state.

There had been one problem. There was no way to move the gas to international and national markets. Most of it had to be moved by truck. Construction of several pipelines had been defeated by aggressive tactics by environmentalists including terrorism. The Gas Companies finally came up with a novel solution to move gas from Northern and Central Pennsylvania to international and national markets.

A canal. The companies struck quickly. In the middle of the night at the beginning of the Republican dominated congress of 2013 Congress and President Romney removed the power of state and Federal courts to decide environmental issues on waterways.

Governor Tom Corbett with the support of most of the General Assembly agreed to allow and expedite construction of a canal as long as it was privately funded. A coalition of energy, gas, oil, maritime, construction, private equity, and foreign investment raised a record ten billion dollars to finance construction of a canal from Philadelphia to a natural gas refinery in Cressona, Pennsylvania. The permits were granted quickly and eminent domain quick.

The Federal government steamrolled community and environmental opposition with expedited approval of permits and environmental assessments for the building of the canal; since the Schuylkill River was dammed in places and ran along major population centers an ingenious system of dredging the river, building an entirely new canal system with caisson locks, underground tunnels, record breaking (in size, length, and depth) navigable water bridges, and traditional locks.
A project involving 25,000 workers started in January of 2013 in record timing. They finished despite threats of lawsuits, and environmental protests and terrorism within just three years. Additionally the Delaware River was dredged up to Trenton to meet pipeline in that area. The Schuylkill Gas Canal was 75% owned by an American consortium called Schuylkill Navigation run by the coalition of businesses and investors who built the canal. Another 25% was owned by the State government . Cities and towns scrambled to develop port facilities and berthing for ships. Schuylkill Navigation also invited pleasure and recreational craft to use the canal; a separate system of canal inclined planes, and boat lifts was developed for smaller craft. Schuylkill Navigation agreed to lease canal and facilities management to the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. With on average 45 feet channel the canal and deepened portions of the river would allow for some commercial ships mostly LNG carriers to make the journey up to Trenton and Cressona for natural gas.

Since the canal was private and the Army Corps of Engineers had no role in building it there was controversy over whether the coast guard should protect the waterway. Governor Corbett vowing to protect the canal’s security and the safety of all vessels commercial and pleasure reestablished the Pennsylvania Naval Militia with its specific mission to protect the waterways of Pennsylvania.

The Naval Militia with Federal funding purchased three patrol cutters, and two coastal patrol vessels; all ships were named after famous Pennsylvanian naval heroes. These included two Damen Stan 4207 patrol cutters the USS Barney P01 and USS Perry P02, the Damen Stan 5009 patrol ship USS Brutsche MP1, the USS Hazelwood PO3 which was a Trinity Offshore 60m fast patrol vessel, and the USS Hill PO4; a Trinity Offshore 60m coastal patrol vessel.

Additionally Corbett authorized the funding for, the building, and chartering of two multipurpose vessels, for a period of ten years with an option to renew or buy at the expiration of the charters. These vessels would be owned by shipyard where they were built who would be responsible for the maintenance and support of the vessels with assistance of militia personnel. The charters highly favored the state of Pennsylvania and saved several hundred million dollars.
The first vessel was designed by BMT Defense Services in the UK. The MPV named USS Pinchot MP1 was crewed by naval militia and navy reserve personnel. The Pinchot was 85 meters long, had a range of 5,000 nautical miles, and was customizable to a wide variety of mission modules.

The Pinchot was the largest vessel in continuous use by the naval militia. It conducted regular training cruises, and environmental survey missions into the Delaware Bay, and Atlantic Ocean for the State of Pennsylvania. It was based on the COHORT EEZ Management Vessel concept. The design was slightly modified however, instead of a forward container storage bay there was a magazine for a MSI DS25 stabilized naval gun system with a 25mm bushmaster cannon. Additionally two M2 .50 caliber machine guns were mounted on the port and starboard sides on the fore end of the flight deck.

Additionally the militia had its own marine rifle company composed of US Marine Corps reservists, and a few direct enlisted men. They were based out of the old Marine Barracks in Philadelphia. Corbett chartered Aker to build a modified version of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Canterbury. This ship incorporated design changes and modifications based on the lessons learned from the first vessel. Both the Binder and Pinchot were built to commercial standards. Internal layout was also somewhat different.

This ship was named the USS Binder MP2, and was capable of deploying the militia’s Marine rifle company anywhere it was needed in the world. It was also the flagship vessel of the militia. When not in use it was kept in reduced operating status in Philadelphia. Unlike the Pinchot or the Canterbury which shared common armament, the Binder reflecting the need for secondary jobs such as ocean patrol, and maritime security operations was more heavily armed than her sister the Canterbury.

Instead of a 25mm bushmaster cannon for a forward gun, the Binder was equipped with a Bofors 57mm MK3 gun instead. The two .50 machine guns remained above the bridge. Additionally there were two more .50 caliber machine guns port and starboard sides of the ship above the cranes. The ship also sported a 35mm Millennium Gun for airborne and small fast moving surface targets. As a backup option she carried a SeaRam CIWS."

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Pennsylvania Naval Militia (alternate universe)

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