genec

My old ship just turned 50. And it apparently is one of the oldest operational ships afloat.

https://www.businessinsider.com/blue...-years-2020-11



BTW she looked nothing like that when I was aboard... We had guns, Basic Point Defense, and big HF antennas...




BOHICA
9/75-6/78

Hondo Gravel

WW2 aircraft carrier is docked in Corpus Christi Bay I cant remember the name but touring the ship was awesome! I was thinking this is all from the 1940s. You could feel the energy that this ship was in major combat it brings the feeling to you. The Lexington! Will not post the response without saying the name of the ship. Seeing the WW2 fighter planes on the ship was great. Makes it feel as real as possible for a regular tourist.

skijor

Gator freighter?

StupidlyBrave 

The Intrepid, also an Essex-class carrier, is a museum in NYC. I went to see it a few years back when I accidentally spent the day in Manhattan. A buddy of mine served on her during the Vietnam war.

Darth Lefty 

It’s younger than all the B-52’s...

genec

Well, we did carry embarked Marines, during operations, as well as flag staff. Admirals and Generals both... they had their own special hardened CIC and Bridge... "flag country." (Well "above" "officer country." Their "non battle" spaces were carpeted and wood paneled)

It was a very interesting "parallel" world. All of these spaces were unoccupied outside of operations... which made the ship feel "roomy" at times. On the other hand, when Marines were "embarked" they tended to get to the chowline first... made the lines long and slow.

However, in heavy seas, Marines were rarely seen in on the mess decks.

I worked in several different radio rooms throughout the ship... one in "officer country," which brought interesting conflicts with junior officers that thought they were hot sh*t. One other space was up high near the bow... in heavy weather, it would do this crazy figure 8 movement that was guaranteed to make you seasick if you were susceptible... we would send new guys up there to retrieve some imaginary object during heavy seas... "Jimmy... I need some 'relative bearing grease,' it's in the locker in Trans 1... can you get it for me."

I enjoyed the heavy seas, and would go up there into that radio room and "ride" the swells. It would not be safe to work on equipment then... but it was fun, none the less.

ooga-booga

cool! am i the only one that clicked on the thread thinkng it was an ibm tribute...?

Deal4Fuji

I did, that or Kentucky basketball....or a local hardware store

Deal4Fuji

Speaking of decommissioned aircraft carriers, it's a shame the USS Kitty Hawk is too big to get it down the Cape Fear River in Wilmington NC to sit alongside the USS North Carolina. The Kitty Hawk has a long history (2nd longest active) including the pick-up of many returning NASA astronauts.

genec

Hey, I was just as surprised to see a news article on "the ole boat." 50 years is a long time... and for me, that was 45 years ago.

(and tens of thousands of bicycle miles ago... I started bike commuting right after I left the ship... but that's another thread.)

ooga-booga

we've got the midway aircraft carrier museum here in san diego. definitely worth checking out. it was feared that it would possibly turn into an unsightly
rust-bucket because of the intensive upkeep but they've done a nice job keeping it looking good. the addition of the dozens of different aircraft on the flight deck
makes it essentially a two for one museum.

as big as it is, the midway pales in comparison to the newer carriers which are stationed just across the bay.

genec

I always meant to visit the Midway... have yet to do so, in spite of the large amount of time I spend in SD. I also had several chances to visit the Arizona Memorial, for free (in uniform) and failed there too.

On the other hand, I have visited the Star of India, on the SD water front, and those other nearby ships too... and my brother in law and I both went into the diesel boat on the SF waterfront, the USS Pampanito... damn tight spaces... he was a machinist mate on a diesel boat back in the day.

And of course, back in the day, I also went on other ships for one reason or another... the USS Tarawa was brand new (LHA-1) back then... now decommissioned. That was an interesting visit. "So modern..."

DiabloScott

Pampanito is a fun exhibit- staffers are bubble heads... if you know the secret hand shake they'll let you write in the b*tch book.

Zinger

And those are re-set to retire in 2050.

Darth Lefty 

I took my kid on a Cub Scout sleepover on the SS Jeremiah O’Brien last winter. It’s right next to the Pampanito. Grim history. There was a big fire on the wharf this spring. Lots of crab pots burned up but the ships and arcade were ok.

Zinger

Hey I turned the new bronze bushing on the prop shaft for the Comfort hospital ship for San Diego Marine in about '88 or so. That's a 60 ton cigar. The rudder shaft is nearly as big but it went to somewhere in LA for it's bushing. Took two "Link Belt" cranes to put it into the lathe and take it out. No micrometers for that diameter. We measured with pipe tape.

It had started out as a tanker and it must've been one of the VLCC super tankers that NASSCO built in it's drydock area in the '70s. I worked there as a burner then shipfitter around then but on the ways building their Exxon Valdes class single hull tankers. The place was bustling all three shifts then and building all crude oil tankers. They were doing Navy repair in the late '80s as was San Diego Marine.


The deadliest battle for the US Navy was one in which there was no enemy surface fleet within 200 miles and no opposing carriers. It was the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. The casualties actually passed those of either the Marine or the Army casualties on the Island. It was Kamikazes that took the toll. Navy personnel killed in the battle were 4907.

Darth Lefty 

I’ll put it on my calendar. Is it going to be before or after the James Webb telescope launches?

ooga-booga

isn't/wasn't the tarawa an amphibious assault carrier? no. 1? worked at the fish market resto for a few years on the bay there and it was always cool to see it boogie past.
we had the peleliu no. 5 there for a while as well. the aircraft carriers seemed to come and go every few years. early 90's, it was the ranger cv-61, the independence cv-62
and the constellation cv-64. the kitty hawk cv-63 was there for a spell as well. eventually, the stennis, vinson, nimitz and reagan got stationed. i think the lincoln and roosevelt
had done/are doing time in sd but haven't kept up with it. seem to remember the uss missouri visiting briefly in the early/mid 90's which was definitely cool since battleships are a
thing of the past and the lines were gorgeous. such history. would bring out the jane's fighting ships book a few times a week for guests that expressed enought interest in a passing
or moored us navy vessel. lucky enough to get onto a private uss reagan tour (in the post-9/11 times) with a small group arranged by one of the well-connected owners of the
previously mentioned resto. fascinating but with still many similarities to an roughly 60-year older ship/class like the midway. since all the tour attendees worked in a restaurant, we
all wanted to see the galley and work out the details/execution of multiple meals daily. our tour guide was a little taken aback at our requests (maybe the first and last time he ever
rolled through the galley with a group) but obliged. extensive condiment placement/inclusion/options involved on every table but you probably already knew that.

early 90's were sweet to be working on the bay with a view of the navy vessels as well as the 1992 america's cup/louis vuitton challenger's cup in the area. all the syndicates
sailed their crafts in the bay to/from practice/competition with several based in coronado or nearby. exquisite crafts with the largest (if i remember correctly) sails/spinnakers
to date to compensate for the light and variable san diego breezes. there was the "big boat" vs stars and stripes catamaran challenge as well. maan...if you blinked, that
catamaran was gonzo.

ooga-booga

dunno if you've ever hit the pima air museum adjacent to tucson, az but thinking you'd dig it if you haven't.

genec

Have not seen it, but likely worth a visit.

I did go to the Titan Missle site south of Tuson. That was quite interesting... both to see, and to learn about how it was built... incredible.

ooga-booga

agreed. did both the titan missile site and the pima air museum on a big history day trip a few years back. either is definitely recommended for those that haven’t been.