Latest U.S. warship features distinct British flair

BATH – Standing on the bridge in his regulation jumpsuit, the navigator of the U.S. Navy’s newest destroyer looks like any other crew member as he works at a chart table next to the captain.

Look closely, however, and you’ll see the British insignia on the collar, the Union Jack on his sleeve and the “Royal Navy” on his pocket. And when Lt. Angus Essenhigh speaks, his British accent is a dead giveaway.

In a nod to the special relationship between the United States and Britain, a Royal Navy officer has been assigned permanently to the Winston S. Churchill, which heads to sea for the first time with its crew Tuesday.

Named for the prime minister who led his country through World War II, the Churchill has a decidedly British flavor.

Many of the officers quote Churchill, and the ship’s motto comes from him: “In War, Resolution. In Peace, Goodwill.”

“The enthusiasm for what the U.S. Navy has done in naming this vessel after Churchill is fantastic,” said Essenhigh, who has a team of sailors and the latest computer technology assisting him as navigator.

The 9,200-ton warship was built at Bath Iron Works and delivered to the Navy in October. While shipbuilders made revisions and adjustments, the crew moved aboard in December to begin training.

From Bath, the ship travels to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and to New York City before being commissioned next month in Norfolk, Va.

The 345-member crew has been training on an accelerated pace because of a busy schedule that includes a goodwill tour of Great Britain and the International Festival of the Sea in Portsmouth, England. There’s even talk of the 510-foot ship steaming up the River Thames to the Millennium Dome in Greenwich, England.

When it is commissioned March 10, the USS Churchill will become the only active U.S. warship named after a foreigner. Sixteen previous U.S. Navy vessels have been named for foreign heroes, including five Britons.

When the ship was launched in April 1999, Lady Soames, Churchill’s only living child, joined then-U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and then-British Defense Minister George Robertson for the ceremony.

At the launching, Cohen made the surprise announcement that a Royal Navy officer would be stationed permanently aboard the Churchill.

Essenhigh, whose father is Britain’s First Sea Lord, the equivalent of the U.S. chief of naval operations, quickly discovered that life aboard a U.S. destroyer is not unlike that aboard a Royal Navy warship.

But there are differences. For example, off-duty Royal Navy officers can socialize at onboard bars replete with tasty ales on tap. Off-duty sailors typically have a daily ration of three cans of beer while at sea.

U.S. Navy sailors thirsty for a beer after a day’s work can only dream: alcohol is not permitted on U.S. warships.

Essenhigh misses having an ale at the end of the day but said some Yanks have the misguided impression that beer flows freely whenever the urge strikes in the British navy. “Needless to say, this is untrue,” he said.

The navigator also had to get used to coffee instead of tea. He never expects to make peace with another American brew, iced tea: “Ghastly cold tea with lemon in it and not a drop of milk in sight!”

Before coming aboard, Essenhigh boned up on Churchill trivia by reading some biographies. But he is surprised at how well-versed other crew members are on Churchill, a larger-than-life symbol of British resolve who was prime minister during World War II and again from 1951 to 1955.

The Americans consider it good sport to try to stump Essenhigh on minute details of Churchill’s life.

“They ask the most obscure questions,” he said.

Churchill was a soldier and later the First Lord of the Admiralty before serving as prime minister. Not everyone knows, however, that he was a pilot, farmer and amateur painter. His mother was American, and he became an honorary U.S. citizen in 1963, two years before his death.

His favorite hobby? Bricklaying, Essenhigh answers.

For many Americans, Churchill is best remembered for his stirring oratory, which rallied Britain during its darkest hours as a Nazi invasion appeared imminent in 1940. Later, he correctly predicted the Cold War and first used the term “Iron Curtain” in 1946.

Consistent with Churchill’s ideals, Cmdr. Michael T. Franken, the ship’s captain, hopes its numerous missiles, torpedoes and other weapons are never fired in anger.

“Winston Churchill’s legacy was as a man who pushed for peace through strength,” he said. “He tried to bring the two sides together, but was certainly bullheaded when it came to war.”