Thanks for that Bangorreg,some interesting articles!
Thanks for that Bangorreg,some interesting articles!
A good friend of mine,Richie Bradshaw,tells me that the HMS Illustious is due to visit Liverpool very soon, well here's a pic of her ancestor ,and in the background you can that other merseyside marvel,the HMS Ark Royal . The picture was in an old War Illustrated so it is a bit poor compared to modern pics.
BrianD
Don't make ships like that no more Brian. I was in Norfolk Virginia a while back and got some tours of the American fleet. Had a great day on the Nimitz and had a tour around the Missouri. I seen her in action in Lebanon. Mighty impressive. Love them old warships. Seen the results of her in Bekkaa Valley, jeez, glad I was on her side.
Hi Pablo I did a tour of the Missouri 18 months ago, she was moored astern of the wreck memorial Arizona in Pearl Harbour. A big, big ship. As you say, you would not have enjoyed being on the recieving end of those big guns.
I will be going to Norfolk Virginia next summer to visit some friends there, they live right on the river with views of the US Navy berths.
She is now having a $18,000,000 `make over` in dry dock.
off Google..............
'Mighty Mo' undergoing $18M preservation
By JAYMES SONG (AP) ? 3 days ago
HONOLULU ? Mike Weidenbach has walked across the historic teakwood decks and through the metal hallways of the USS Missouri countless times in the past decade. But he recently realized how massive the aging battleship is from a new perspective ? underneath.
"I touched the bottom of the ship," gushed Weidenbach, curator of the iconic World War II vessel that now serves as a memorial and museum.
The "Mighty Mo" ? the last battleship built by the United States ? is spending three months in dry dock at Pearl Harbor undergoing $18 million in maintenance and preservation.
"I want it to be here forever," Weidenbach said Thursday. "I want to die knowing we took care of the ship the best we were able.
"For me as curator, this is our primary artifact, so it's not like a normal Navy ship that has a life span of decades," he said. "This is supposed to be like the U.S. Constitution. It's supposed to be hundreds of years."
Weidenbach visited the ship at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and said it was challenging to capture the size and scope of the 887-foot vessel in a photograph.
"It was overwhelming," he said. "It's bigger than you can see. I've seen it above the waterline for 10 years, and I knew it was massive. But when you see the other half of it ... gosh."
The 65-year-old warship, now called the Battleship Missouri Memorial, is best known for hosting the formal surrender of Japan in 1945.
Four tugboats guided the Missouri two miles from its historic spot on Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor to dry dock on Wednesday. It has been moored for the past 11 years in Pearl Harbor, where a Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941, plunged the United States into World War II.
The 54,889-ton vessel now sits on 310 wooden blocks. The hull will be sandblasted and painted, besides preservation work on top. The ship is scheduled to return to Battleship Row on Jan. 7.
BAE Systems Ship Repair has been contracted for the work. Roger Kubischta, the company's president and general manager, said there's a tremendous amount of marine growth stuck to the hull that will need to be removed before it can be sandblasted and painted.
"There's corrosion in spots of the hull, but for the most part, the hull is mostly intact," Kubischta said.
In all, eight square miles of the boat's surface need to be preserved.
Kubischta said a major challenge will be to tent the entire 1,050-foot dock to prevent dust from leaving the area. The enclosure will need to be airtight with ventilation and air blowers.
Three hundred to 400 people will be working on the project almost around the clock. Ninety percent of the work force is from Hawaii, Kubischta said.
The Missouri was last in dry dock in 1992, just after it was decommissioned for the second and last time. It's been moored at Pearl Harbor for the past decade after local supporters beat out groups in Washington state, San Francisco and Long Beach, Calif., for the right to host the memorial.
The USS Missouri Memorial Association now operates the ship. More than 400,000 visitors tour the vessel each year and interest seems to be growing. The ship had a record 49,856 visitors in July.
The "Mighty Mo" was launched in 1944 and fought in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. It was decommissioned in 1955 but revived in the 1980s, after which it fired some of the first shots of the Gulf War in 1991.
Its home now is just a few hundred yards from the USS Arizona, a battleship that was sunk by the Japanese with more than 1,100 sailors and Marines on board during the Pearl Harbor attack.
Japan surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945, during a ceremony in Tokyo Bay. Gen. Douglas MacArthur signed for the Allied powers, while Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Chester Nimitz, signed for the U.S.
Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, signed for Japan.
Copies of the surrender documents are on display today on the deck where they were signed.
Weidenbach said the Arizona and Missouri are connected in history.
"The war started and it was a great tragedy with the Arizona, and it ended in peace on the Missouri," he said.
Thanks for that Captain. Hated the thought of her being broken up. When I was in Lebanon we were coordinating her firing. Never seen her then, but seen the damage she done. Her shells used to fly over and take the breath out of your lungs. Mighty impressive.
I did a gunnery course at Whale Island, HMS Excellent, in 1950 when I was a Sea Cadet.
Those fifteen inch guns can throw a two ton shell over 22 miles.some power.
I did a couple of weeks on HMS Duke of York, in Portsmouth ,she sank the Scharhorst, she had ten 14 inch guns.
That brings back some memories Brian, The Illustrious 'trooped' us out to the Middle Easy (Cyprus) in 1951, prior to our deployment to the Suez Canal Zone. All the aircraft were taken off her, and the attached photo shows some of the deck cargo, and also how we were accomodated in the Hanger Deck.Originally Posted by brian daley
hi Norm,That brings back some memories Brian, The Illustrious 'trooped' us out to the Middle Easy (Cyprus) in 1951, prior to our deployment to the Suez Canal Zone. All the aircraft were taken off her, and the attached photo shows some of the deck cargo, and also how we were accomodated in the Hanger Deck.
That looks a bit draughty!.gif "Cha (41)")
I never knew you were ex RN. Tell me more about them old ships. I love 'em.
Looks quite comfy Norm. Reckon they were spoiling you.That brings back some memories Brian, The Illustrious 'trooped' us out to the Middle Easy (Cyprus) in 1951, prior to our deployment to the Suez Canal Zone. All the aircraft were taken off her, and the attached photo shows some of the deck cargo, and also how we were accomodated in the Hanger Deck.
Hi Pablo,
No I am not Ex RN
When I was age 13 I joined the SEA CADETS, there used to be AIR CADETS, ARMY CADETS and so on. I stayed in there until I was 16 then joined the Merchant Navy. but it was good training, kept us off the streets two nights a week and some weekends, and learned discipline. every summer we went on traing courses to various RN ships, and shore establishments. A lot of my mates wouldnt join, but I enjoyed it. To be on battle ships, Carriers , submarines, and learning to fire the old Lee Enfield 303 rifles on the ranges, and in the Dome at HMS Excellent , Whale Island was fantastic, firing the Oerlikons, Pom Poms. at attacking German planes by film on the inside of the Dome, for a lad the Cadets was a fantastic experience. We learned to sail 32 FT CUTTERS AND 27 FT WHALERS, It was financed by the RN in those days, A good supply of Sailors for the RN, but today they have to subsidise themselves.
It made us better sailors when we went to sea, we could splice, rig blocks and tackle, do all the bends and hitches etc.
It would do a lot of kids today a lot of good if they joined a Cadet force.
Here is HMS Vanguard, HMS Prince of Wales, sunk in 1942 on th coast of Malaya by Japanese bombers, her sister HMS Duke of York I did training on and HMS Dido another I did training on in Portsmouth Harbour.
Me under the 14 Inch Guns of HMS DUKE OFYORK, the same guns that sank the Scharnhorst
Great pictures Captain. They don't make ships like them anymore. It must have been a great adventure in the Sea Cadets. I was in the Sea Scouts, this was for younger lads, similar to the Scouts. We used to go and visit the Warships when they came into Liverpool. It was a great experience, but we never did the things you done because of our age. Both my lads joined the cadets, one the Royal Marine cadets and one the Army cadets. They really do help to build character. Pity more lads don't go into them. Spose it's not acceptable these days for lads to use guns and learn a bit of discipline. It's a shame.
Any idea if any of them old ships are on show anywhere. The only one I know of is The Belfast in London.
All those battle ships were scrapped around 1958, they were built around the 1939 - 1941.
The King George V class, Anson, Howe, Prince of Wales sunk, Duke of York and KGV The Vanguard was completed after the war and lasted a bit longer then scrapped. Dido and all her class were scrapped. we only have the Belfast left from WW2.
The biggest Navy in the World and we saved one ship. Pitiful really. Shoulda had one in each of the major ports.
Wasn't the"Vanguard" the last battleship we built? You can see,what I'd think,was the American influence,in it's design! Though not around at the time,of course,I always think of the loss of the "Prince of Wales" and the "Repulse" being a particularly sad waste of life,they didn't stand a chance against those dive-bombers,and with no air cover of their own!
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