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Supercarrier going down


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The little boat in the foreground makes the whole pic look strange. I can’t imagine anyone intentionally being that close to a sinking structure. If it’s a stray lifeboat off the carrier maybe, but it looks idd nonetheless. 

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11 hours ago, Janissary said:

The little boat in the foreground makes the whole pic look strange. I can’t imagine anyone intentionally being that close to a sinking structure. If it’s a stray lifeboat off the carrier maybe, but it looks idd nonetheless. 

The little boat contained all the electronics for the demo charges, it was designed to float away when the ship sunk thus saving all of the electronic gear.

 

Watch the documentary on how they sunk the Oriskany, looks like the America was sunk the same way.

Edited by GW8345
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She was my home for nearly a year of my life. Aside from six weeks aboard the Roosevelt during shakedown (yeah I'm old), all my sea time was aboard America. The air conditioning only worked worth a damn when we were above the arctic circle, the freshwater was constantly fouled with JP-5 which lead to all sorts of weird skin rashes, and the showers ran somewhere between "live steam" to nothing to "ice cold" completely randomly (and often all three within a five minute period). But she took us to combat and got us all home safely. Better to go down like this than to the scrappers torch. RIP

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2 hours ago, CJ Martin said:

The air conditioning only worked worth a damn when we were above the arctic circle, the freshwater was constantly fouled with JP-5 which lead to all sorts of weird skin rashes, and the showers ran somewhere between "live steam" to nothing to "ice cold" completely randomly (and often all three within a five minute period). But she took us to combat and got us all home safely.

The Saratoga was the same way.

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5 hours ago, CJ Martin said:

She was my home for nearly a year of my life. Aside from six weeks aboard the Roosevelt during shakedown (yeah I'm old), all my sea time was aboard America. The air conditioning only worked worth a damn when we were above the arctic circle, the freshwater was constantly fouled with JP-5 which lead to all sorts of weird skin rashes, and the showers ran somewhere between "live steam" to nothing to "ice cold" completely randomly (and often all three within a five minute period). But she took us to combat and got us all home safely. Better to go down like this than to the scrappers torch. RIP

Argggg...all those old boats were the same. My one and only cruise was on board USS Coral Sea, the water always tasted like JP5. I drank nothing but Gatorade for hydration the entire 3 months (yup...joined up with the squadron halfway through 🙂 ). I did CQ dets on the Washington and Lincoln, the quality of life was a heck of a lot better.

Edited by 82Whitey51
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1 hour ago, 82Whitey51 said:

Argggg...all those old boats were the same. My one and only cruise was on board USS Coral Sea, the water always tasted like JP5. I drank nothing but Gatorade for hydration the entire 3 months (yup...joined up with the squadron halfway through 🙂 ). I did CQ dets on the Washington and Lincoln, the quality of life was a heck of a lot better.

 

I'm sorry, I just read this in a pirates voice after you started out with "Argggg...."  :rofl:

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So that's where all the D-model Corsairs went.  I always wondered why the retired Navy E-models were sold on the export market but never the USAF D-models.  Anyone know?

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2 hours ago, habu2 said:

So that's where all the D-model Corsairs went.  I always wondered why the retired Navy E-models were sold on the export market but never the USAF D-models.  Anyone know?

I assume they must have had cameras in the hangar deck to monitor conditions during the tests.   Would like to see what those pics look like.   

 

Maybe in another 50 years, Robert Ballard’s grandkid will find the boat and provide some great pictures.   

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On 8/6/2018 at 5:32 AM, GW8345 said:

The Saratoga was the same way.

 

That she was. I was in V4 before she went into the Philly shipyards for SLEP. We were always blamed for the JP5 tainted bug juice. You haven't lived until the AC goes out on the O3 level in the Caribbean and you're looking for a place to sleep on a sponson or having to use a head below the flight deck because the Snipes turned to hot water off to the Air Wing and Air Dept spaces for whatever the excuse was that day. I had hoped all those problems were fixed in the yards,  guess they didn't. When I heard that the Sara was going to be scrapped it felt like I lost a family member.

 

I can still remember how one of my HCS-5 buds was devastated when the America was sunk. I can't begin to understand how hearing that news felt. Are there any Forestal or Kittyhawk class ships left or are they all razor blades now? It's a shame that the Navy failed to allow at least one to be used as a museum. That was the plan for the Sara and we all thought it was going to happen until it was revealed that she had been left to rot and nearly anything that could be taken for other boats was long gone.

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6 hours ago, HCS-5 AO1 said:

I can still remember how one of my HCS-5 buds was devastated when the America was sunk. I can't begin to understand how hearing that news felt.

 

I'm on a different side of the house and can't imagine why that would be such a big issue.  I've had bases I've been assigned to closed; it is what it is.  I would think your bud would have preferred his boat to go down under a barrage of weapons.  Would he rather seen the boat being cut apart and sold off as scrap metal (more than likely going to China)?    Seems like an honorable way to close out a great career. 

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7 hours ago, 11bee said:

 

I'm on a different side of the house and can't imagine why that would be such a big issue.  I've had bases I've been assigned to closed; it is what it is.  I would think your bud would have preferred his boat to go down under a barrage of weapons.  Would he rather seen the boat being cut apart and sold off as scrap metal (more than likely going to China)?    Seems like an honorable way to close out a great career. 

 

Funny you'd say that as this was what a few of use said to more or less console him. Once the realization of the why it was done set in the guy began to feel better. At least information was gained to ensure the survival of our grandchildren should they choose to go to sea and it was quick. I myself would've liked that to have happened with the Sara instead of seeing her slowly being cut up, her Facebook group posted not only Google Earth positions during her last trip to TX but then in progress shots when the scrapping began.

It still is a mystery why the Navy couldn't have donated at least one Super Carrier each on the East and West coasts. Well, at least we don't sell our old flattops to other countries when we're done with them.

 

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4 hours ago, HCS-5 AO1 said:

It still is a mystery why the Navy couldn't have donated at least one Super Carrier each on the East and West coasts.

 

 

Because you have to find an organization that will accept the ship, locate an appropriate place to dock it for display, pay for ongoing upkeep, and maintain it in  a manner that it can be safe for the public to visit.  That is incredibly expensive for a ship of this size, and incredibly difficult for a private organization to do.

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I was just on the New Jersey three days ago...

 

IMG_20180806_133325239_HDR_2.jpg

...and I discussed the work/personnel hours involved (and cost) to keep her safe and available for public visitation with some of the staff and the numbers were "in general" but staggering. A Super Carrier would probably be double (or more) the cost of an Iowa Class Battleship to safely maintain. A nuclear powered carrier like the Nimitz would present a new problem for preservationists I would image in terms of its nuclear reactor. Could one even be made a permanent tourist attraction safely while being cost effective? I think I remember reading this was one reason why the Enterprise was scrapped rather then being turned into a museum.

 

Sad, but we can't keep every ship and like others have already written, if planners and designers can learn from sinking these ships and if marine life can benefit from them then better to go down sinking then gutted and ripped apart...IMHO at least.

 

Regards.

 

 

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The old battleship Texas has been a money pit. Outfitted with pumps to keep seawater at bay that came in through rust holes and sprung plates.  Quite a bit of money was spent to ensure she could make the thirty mile trip from her museum spot to Galveston for hull repairs.  She's already leaking again and plans are afoot to sink her in the slip like the Alabama.

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8 hours ago, Moose135 said:

 

Because you have to find an organization that will accept the ship, locate an appropriate place to dock it for display, pay for ongoing upkeep, and maintain it in  a manner that it can be safe for the public to visit.  That is incredibly expensive for a ship of this size, and incredibly difficult for a private organization to do.

 

The Saratoga did do all that and in fact had taken in enough donations, the total amount I don't know, but at the end of the day the Navy didn't keep up their end of the bargain. Instead of keeping her in a state of preservation as a ship  on the donation list she was systematically and quietly stripped of everything usable to support the fleet. I mean doors, watertight hatches, machinery, you name it and it was gone. Not only that there were places on her that had deteriorated during the time she was last inspected by former crew and the Navy's decision to remove her from the list citing safety reasons. It's hard for people to understand how much ships mean to her crew so when the chance to save it is presented these same guys who in their younger days would tell any and all  that they hated that big grey beast feel gut punched when that chance is gone. I don't know the whole story behind my own ship let alone the others so I and my Saratoga Shipmates have to accept what had been decided. 

 

That said, I love taking my family and friends to San Diego to visit the Midway. The idea of passing on what you know to your kids and grandchildren lacks words and look on the faces of people that would write you off a a fool that'll never get a 'real' job is funny beyond funny. I just want to know one thing, I'm not the only one that winds up with a crowd of strangers following after I start telling my friends and especially my family about how something is really done and why. I've got two trips planned for cooler weather, my grandaughter to the Midway and my long suffering childhood friend to the USS Iowa. 

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