USS Independence (LC-2), Philippine Sea
Lieutenant Commander Janet Dewey asked the aircrew to do a pass over the ship prior to landing so Shake and Chan Dwyer could get a look at the sleek new vessel that was rapidly becoming the show pony of the surface Navy. As the helo circled and banked they could see by the turbulence at her stern that the ship was making considerable speed but didn’t seem to throw up any bow wake at all. Dewey explained some of that over the headsets the helo crew chief had provided for the passengers.
“It has to do with her configuration. Independence has a forward bow thruster so you don’t see that old ‘bone-in-her-teeth’ deal when the ship is at speed. And she can do upwards of forty knots all day long.”
“That’s what, more than fifty miles per hour land speed?”
