Sailors aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) completed a major step in its overhaul and saved the Navy nearly $500,000 when all four catapults of the Lincoln’s flight deck were removed, along with their bottom sheathing Jan. 18, due to the effort of 30 V-2 division Sailors.
“Not only is the catapult removal process unprecedented for ship’s forces during an RCOH period, but we also did it quickly,” said V-2 Division officer Lt. j.g. Matt McCauley.
V-2’s Sailors also removed the catapult’s sheathing bands and panels.
“That is almost 18 tons of steel in total, as well as the insulation or ‘lava-rock’ from the catapult’s trough,” said Senior Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) Frank Bartanowitz, V-2 division.
V-2 division’s teamwork with Huntington Ingalls Industries – News News Shipbuilding shipyard workers allowed them to begin their inspection for structural corrosion beneath the catapult troughs sooner. In all, Lincoln’s V-2 Division saved 4,800 man-hours of labor from shipyard workers, saving the Navy $480,000.
“It’s difficult to remove more than 20 years of hardened grit in bad weather,” said Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (equipment) Salvatore Gumina. “Pure teamwork is what makes this group of Sailors work so well, on or off land, underway or during RCOH.”
And that teamwork is a hallmark of V-2, according to one of its Sailors.
“Whether people believe it or not, this is what we do. Teamwork is what we do day in and day out,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 2nd Class Joshua Smith.
V-2 Division is now taking on the task of removing the side sheathing in each catapult’s trough, which will save the Navy and the shipyard even more money.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, February 1, 2013