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Ship Photo of the Day

SMS Goeben was a Moltke class battlecruiser of the Imperial German Navy. Commissioned in July 1912, she was ordered to the Mediterranean, bombarding French positions in North Africa. She encountered the British battlecruisers Indefatigable, Indomitable and later Inflexible just hours before the UK entered WW1. Fantastic story of the chase back and forth across the Med in Ronald K Massler’s masterpiece “Castles of Steel”.

Goeben escaped to Constantinople and was sold to the Ottoman Navy as Yavuz Sultan Selim. It survived WW1 and WW2 - and was offered for sale to West Germany as a museum in the 1970’s. but again, yet another nation made a short-sighted decision to not save the only surviving battlecruiser - she was sadly scrapped in 1974.

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Yavuz Sultan Selim alongside USS Missouri in 1947

 
SMS Ostfriesland was a Helgoland class battleship commissioned on 01 Aug 1911. Although it fought in all major battles of WW1, it was famous for being sunk by Billy Mitchell’s bombers in 1921; although ironically the ship wasn’t modern enough nor considered enough of a threat to be interred at Scapa Flow but rather allowed to remain in Germany after the war.

The Army’s attacks included 2 bombing runs with 230 lb bombs (8 hits did no significant damage), the next two attacks used 600 lb bombs of which the 5 hits registered had no effect against the 2.5” deck armor, but the near misses caused 5 deg of flooding through the hull.

The next day started with 1,000 lb bomb attacks, of which 3 hit. Again, the hits caused little damage but the shock from the near misses caused increased flooding. The next attack used 2,000 lb bombs (which the Navy did not know about) - none hit but the shock from 3 near misses was so severe that flooding increased rapidly resulting in the ship rolling over and sinking, 21 July 1921.

Length: 548 ft, Beam: 93 ft. Displacement: 24,700 tons at full load.

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Ostfriesland in 1915 with a zeppelin overhead

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Ostfriesland at anchor prior to the tests

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A bomb explodes off Ostfriesland's port bow

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Ostfriesland sinking by the stern
 

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USS Massachusetts “Big Mamie” BB-59 is a South Dakota class battleship and sister to the Indiana and Alabama. Commissioned on 12 May 1942, she served in Operation Torch where she silenced the still under construction French battleship Jean Bart. Oddly enough, Big Mamie also managed to sink a dry dock in the harbor as well.

After Torch, she went to the Pacific serving as a bombardment ship and anti-aircraft escort to the fleet carriers. Decommissioned in 1947, she was transferred to the State of Massachusetts in 1965 where you can see her at Battleship Cove. On my bucket list of places to visit!

www.battleshipcove.org

USS Massachusetts BB59 | Battleship Cove

History of the veteran battleship USS Massachusetts BB-59. Named Big Mamie, she was awared 11 Battle Stars in World War II, and now is a Memorial and Museum.
www.battleshipcove.org www.battleshipcove.org


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Massachusetts off the coast of Point Wilson, Washington, c. July 1944

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Massachusettsrefuels two Fletcher-class destroyers, 1944

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Massachusetts at Battleship Cove

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The CIWS of its day, the powered 20mm Oerkilon “Thunderbolt” quad mount was produced at the end of the war for last ditch air defense. Massachusetts was one of the few ships to receive it.
 
The U.S. taxpayers certainly got their money's worth when they paid to construct the Iowa class BBs. Here's the New Jersey (BB 62) in November 1950 coming out of reserve in the Korean war buildup. BB 62 was laid down in September 1940, launched in December 1942 and commissioned in May of 1943. New Jersey was active from 1943-48, 1950-57, 1968-69 and finally 1982-91.
 

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Llarry said:
The U.S. taxpayers certainly got their money's worth when they paid to construct the Iowa class BBs. Here's the New Jersey (BB 62) in November 1950 coming out of reserve in the Korean war buildup. BB 62 was laid down in September 1940, launched in December 1942 and commissioned in May of 1943. New Jersey was active from 1943-48, 1950-57, 1968-69 and finally 1982-91.
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The New Jersey and her sisters could have been used for a number of missions in Vietnam that the Navy and Air Force sent wave after wave of aircraft to attack- unsuccessfully - at a substantial cost of machines and men lost - and the target would have been within range of the New Jersey’s main battery. The Thanh Hoa bridge - 12 miles inland - for example.

www.historynet.com

The North Vietnamese Bridge That Took Seven Years to Destroy

The road and railway bridge at Thanh Hoa south of Hanoi spanned the Ma River and was a vital link in the movement of communist troops and supplies. For the better part of a decade, U.S. Navy, Marine and Air Force aviators braved the flak-filled skies over North Vietnam on missions to destroy the...
www.historynet.com www.historynet.com

If you didn’t know it, Battleship New Jersey is a great youtube channel.


Edit: Good video on why New Jersey was the first choice for Vietnam, and then picked first again in the 1980’s.

 
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USS Norfolk, DL-1 was the first Destroyer Leader built for the US Navy. One of the first ships designed and built after WW2, it used a light cruiser hull but was primarily an anti-submarine ship.

One of the interesting items was that the biggest cannon it carried was not 5” but rather the smaller but much faster firing 3”/50 cal and later the 3”/70 cal. This twin mount weapon was developed to late as it was (in some reports) designed to replace the ubiquitous 5”/38 on some warships. A comparison shows the 5”/38 fires a 55 lb shell up to 22 RPM out to 17,000 yards while the 3”/70 shot a 36 lb shell at a blistering 100 RPM out to 19,000 yards. Unfortunately the 3”/70 cal water cooled weapon had problems and was removed from fleet after a short service life.

Length: 540 ft, Beam: 53’ 6”, Displacement: 5,600 tons

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USS Norfolk (DL-1) underway in the mid-1960s

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USS Norfolk fires deadly ASROC missile at Ket West, Florida during evaluation tests. Navy photo 710735. From the collection of CDR Thomas B. Ray (USS Essex CV-9).


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Fully completed with twin 3"/70 caliber main armament and super-firing Weapon As both fore and aft, the Norfolk heads out to sea. Undated.

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Note the water hoses for the cooling jackets and the two case ejection ports at the bottom front of the mounting.
 
Here's a photo of the unfinished Kentucky (BB 66) in 1958 before being broken up. The Illinois (BB 65) and the Kentucky (BB 66) -- the fifth and sixth BBs of the Iowa class -- were never completed. The Illinois was cancelled in 1945 when 22 percent complete. The Kentucky was suspended when 73 percent complete but launched; she made her contribution in 1956 when her bow was removed to repair USS Wisconsin (BB 64) after a collision and her steam turbines were removed and subsequently used to power USS Sacramento (AOE 1) and USS Camden (AOE 2), following which Kentucky was broken up.BB 66.jpg
 
Llarry said:
Here's a photo of the unfinished Kentucky (BB 66) in 1958 before being broken up. The Illinois (BB 65) and the Kentucky (BB 66) -- the fifth and sixth BBs of the Iowa class -- were never completed. The Illinois was cancelled in 1945 when 22 percent complete. The Kentucky was suspended when 73 percent complete but launched; she made her contribution in 1956 when her bow was removed to repair USS Wisconsin (BB 64) after a collision and her steam turbines were removed and subsequently used to power USS Sacramento (AOE 1) and USS Camden (AOE 2), following which Kentucky was broken up.View attachment 39228
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You may like Wayne Scarpaci’s book on battleship conversion projects:


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One of my favorite is the Kentucky with 4 quad 8” turrets capable of long range anti-aircraft defense:

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Anti-Aircraft Battleship USS Kentucky BB(AA) 66 mounting 16 8" smoothbore guns in four quad turrets to fire the guided rocket powered Arrow projectile.
 
13 November 1942 was the day USS Juneau CL-52, an Atlanta class anti-aircraft light cruiser, was sunk. Already hit by 1 torpedo during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the Japanese submarine I-26 managed to hit the ship with a Long Lance in the exact spot of the first torpedo- breaking apart the Juneau and sinking the 8,300 ton cruiser within mere seconds. Out of a crew of 687, all but 10 died including the 5 brothers of the Sullivan family of Iowa.

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USS Juneau in February 1942.

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USS Juneau in June 1942

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Juneau underway during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942

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The Sullivan brothers on board the Juneauon her commissioning date. From left to right: Joseph, Francis, Albert, Madison, and George Sullivan
 
Continuing with the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 14 November 1942, the battleship USS South Dakota BB-57 which took heavy damage. Battleship X as she was known could be recognized from her sisters by having 1 less dual 5” turret on each side the extra space being used for flagship duties.

Aboard South Dakota during the battle (and wounded) was the youngest sailor to enlist during the war, Calvin Graham, who signed up st the age of 12.

www.militarytimes.com

How a 12-year-old tricked the Navy into letting him fight in WWII

Calvin Graham enlisted at 12 but was discharged when his real age was discovered.
www.militarytimes.com www.militarytimes.com

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Randy Daytona said:
Continuing with the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 14 November 1942, the battleship USS South Dakota BB-57 which took heavy damage. Battleship X as she was known could be recognized from her sisters by having 1 less dual 5” turret on each side the extra space being used for flagship duties.

Aboard South Dakota during the battle (and wounded) was the youngest sailor to enlist during the war, Calvin Graham, who signed up st the age of 12.

www.militarytimes.com

How a 12-year-old tricked the Navy into letting him fight in WWII

Calvin Graham enlisted at 12 but was discharged when his real age was discovered.
www.militarytimes.com www.militarytimes.com

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Thanks for doing these, I learn something from every post.
 
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