Ship Photo of the Day

[Randy Daytona]

Today is Feb 19th, 73rd anniversary of the invasion of Iwo Jima. The flagship of the invasion force was USS Eldorado (AGC-11) carrying Vice Admiral Turner and General Holland Smith. The invasion force numbered several hundred ships, to include 12 fleet carriers, 17 escort carriers, 14 battleships and 20 cruisers. Yes, we owned the seas.

Length: 459 ft, Beam: 63 ft, Displacement: 7,350 tons Capable of 16 knots
Armament: 2 x 5"/38 cal guns
Commissioned: 25 August 1944, Decommissioned: 8 Nov 1972





Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal and operation leaders watch invasion activities from on board USS Eldorado (AGC-11) off Iwo Jima, 20 February 1945. Those present are, from left to right: Secretary of the Navy Forrestal; Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith, USMC, Commander Expeditionary Troops; Vice Admiral Richmond K. Turner, USN (largely hidden behind Smith), Commander Joint Expeditionary Force; and Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill, USN, Commander Attack Force. In the rear - LCDR. Arthur Train and LT.David Hopkins.

 

[Gatordev]

So what's going on with that specific paint job? Is the intent to make using a stadimeter/periscope reticle harder to use?

 

[Pags]

So what's going on with that specific paint job? Is the intent to make using a stadimeter/periscope reticle harder to use?

It’s either Measure 31, 32, or 33. The difference between those three measures is largely academic; they’re all dazzle paint jobs.

Per Wikipedia:
“ Dazzle camouflage of warships was adopted by the U.S. Navy during World War II, following research at the Naval Research Laboratory. Dazzle consists in painting obtrusive patterns on vertical surfaces. Unlike some other forms of camouflage, dazzle works not by offering concealment but by making it difficult to estimate a target's range, speed and heading. Each ship's dazzle pattern was unique to make it more difficult for the enemy to recognize different classes of ships. The result was that a profusion of dazzle schemes were tried, and the evidence for their success was at best mixed“

 

[Renegade One]

LT General Holland Smith.


View attachment 18216

Maybe this belongs in the Flight Jacket thread under "History of Non-Aviators Sporting Flight Jackets".

 

[Gatordev]

but by making it difficult to estimate a target's range, speed and heading.

That's exactly what I was getting at. Fast-forward to today and car manufacturers do something similar, albeit more to hide the car's shape.

 

[Pags]

A few ship artifacts seen at WNY with a bonus Pic of the original rail gun (circa WWI):

 

[jmcquate]

Was there a few months ago. That collection needs to be moved so it can be seen without a CAC card.

 

[Flash]

Was there a few months ago. That collection needs to be moved so it can be seen without a CAC card.

The Army is building its museum at Ft Belvoir and I'm pretty sure it'll be accessible to everyone like the Cathedral to the USMC at Quantico, the Navy needs to get with the program sooner or later.

 

[RobLyman]

A few ship artifacts seen at WNY with a bonus Pic of the original rail gun (circa WWI):
View attachment 18220
View attachment 18224

Don't know why, but this is the first thing that came to mind when I saw those pics.

 

[jmcquate]

The Army is building its museum at Ft Belvoir and I'm pretty sure it'll be accessible to everyone like the Cathedral to the USMC at Quantico, the Navy needs to get with the program sooner or later.

Guessing one of the issues may be that the Navy's collection of historical artifacts other than aircraft, art, and models, has been relegated into private or other U.S. Government hands, with the exception of the collection at the Navy Yard and the Constitution.

 

[Randy Daytona]

One of the Hercules class 74 gun third class ship of the line, HMS Thunderer was commissioned in 1760. She defeated the 64 gun French ship Achille during the Seven Year's War in 1761, but was lost along with many British ships and 40 French ships in the Caribbean from the Great Hurricane of 1780 - estimated to be the most powerful hurricane of all time with sustained winds of 200+ mph.

Length: 166 ft, Beam: 47 ft, Displacement: 1609 tons





The hurricane wrought heavy losses on both navies, over forty French ships were sunk, taking around 4,000 lives with them. Meanwhile, a British fleet off St. Lucia was also devastated, permanently reducing the British naval presence in the region.

https://www.newhistorian.com/1780-deadliest-hurricane-ever-ravaged-caribbean/7363/

 

[Griz882]

Guessing one of the issues may be that the Navy's collection of historical artifacts other than aircraft, art, and models, has been relegated into private or other U.S. Government hands, with the exception of the collection at the Navy Yard and the Constitution.

Not really. The navy has been busy consolidating her historic collections in Richmond VA. Moreover, it is important to note that the service maintains control over certain real property like historic ships. So, if the NPS decided to get rid of the DD at Charlestown Navy Yard (USS Cassin Young) the Navy would have final say on her disposition. Truth be told, the Navy has a very strong collection.

 

[Griz882]

Guessing one of the issues may be that the Navy's collection of historical artifacts other than aircraft, art, and models, has been relegated into private or other U.S. Government hands, with the exception of the collection at the Navy Yard and the Constitution.

Yes, the Army Museum at Belvoir will be open to the pubic requiring no base entry.

 

[Max the Mad Russian]

One of the Hercules class 74 gun third class ship of the line, HMS Thunderer was commissioned in 1760. She defeated the 64 gun French ship Achille during the Seven Year's War in 1761, but was lost along with many British ships and 40 French ships in the Caribbean from the Great Hurricane of 1780 - estimated to be the most powerful hurricane of all time with sustained winds of 200+ mph.

3rd class BB - AFAIK, one of those where the XO (then called "first Lt" in RN) have been the only officer of the Lt rank and been called also "master and commander", right?

 

[Randy Daytona]

3rd class BB - AFAIK, one of those where the XO (then called "first Lt" in RN) have been the only officer of the Lt rank and been called also "master and commander", right?

Good movie...

The French battleship Bretagne. Commissioned in WWI, she stayed mostly in the port of Corfu to guard against the Austrian-Hungarian fleet. In WWII, she was caught in port and sunk by the HMS Hood, HMS Resolution and HMS Valiant as Prime Minister Churchill made the very difficult decision to sink them as he could not afford letting 4 French battleships fall into German hands.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Mers-el-Kébir

Length: 545 ft, Beam: 88 ft, Displacement: 26,000 tons. 4 steam turbines produced 29,000 HP and gave 20 knots
Main armament: 10 (5x2) 13.4" rifles throwing 1,268 lb shells, 22 (22x1) 138.6 mm secondaries.
Commissioned: 10 Feb 1916, Sunk: 03 July 1940








The sinking of Bretagne
Jacques Mulard - phototèque personnelle de l'auteur