Ship Photo of the Day

[Griz882]

The ships would have been impressive…

Impressive on paper but I doubt the USSR ever had the capability. I had a grad school buddy who is a Soviet Navy expert and he noted that they constantly dragged their feet on Stalin’s ambitions because they simply didn’t have the capacity or technology. Even after the war Soviet plants proved incapable of making cemented armor plates over 9 feet long and they were forced to use inferior face-hardened plates as a substitute for all thicknesses over 8 inches thick - it would have been quite the patch-work ship. The Soviet navy always looked better underwater.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Currently visiting family and friends back home in Columbia, South Carolina so a few more photos of USS Columbia, CL-56 (the second of the Cleveland class of light cruisers)

Website for the USS Columbia association

index.html

With Cruiser Division 12


Hit by a kamikaze on 19 January 1945

USS Columbia (CL-56) Hit by Kamikaze | The World War II Multimedia Database

worldwar2database.com

Have a copy of this photo both in my office at work and at home in my library


Very nice model at the South Carolina Military Museum (downtown Columbia)




Memorial in downtown Columbia

 

[Max the Mad Russian]

The Soviet navy always looked better underwater

And just due to the German technologies captured in 1945, all subs delivered to the Navy before and during WWII were clearly the third-best to German, US, UK and even Italian boats. And then nuclear race came. Don't forget, Hyman Rickover was born in then-Russia?

 

[Randy Daytona]

Well, the plan was to go to Wilmington and see the USS North Carolina (BB-55) while back in SC on vacation - but the timing did not work out. Maybe next year. Anyway, a few more photos.

The North Carolina was the first of the US “fast battleships” capable of 28+ knots. Although not the first US battleship to mount 16” rifles, these were the first class to use the new Superheavy armor piercing shells (2,700 lbs vs 2,200 lbs on the 16” guns of the previous Colorado class). What might have been even more important was that while many navies were mounting 6” anti-surface guns and separate anti-aircraft guns, the North Carolina mounted 20 (10x2) highly effective dual purpose 5”/38 caliber secondaries. Also while many navies mounted the scout planes amidships in a vulnerable hangar, US policy was to leave airplanes exposed on catapults on the rear.











For those who really enjoy naval history, I highly recommend the following books:

Norman Friedman’s US Battleships (technical)

Amazon.com

and Wayne Scarpaci’s book on the contemplated conversions. Interesting that since the North Carolina class was 50 ft longer than the the subsequent South Dakota class, the North Carolinas were thought to offer more opportunities.

Amazon.com

 

[Randy Daytona]

The IJN battleship Mutsu, sister ship of the Nagato was one of Japan’s most powerful battleships. Armed with 8 (4x2) 16” guns, she was a slightly faster contemporary of the US Colorado class.

Completed shortly after WW1, the Nagato and Mutsu were the first battleships in the world armed with 16” main guns. The ship was rebuilt in 1941 as war clouds began to gather.

On 8 June 1943, Mutsu was moored in the Hashirajima fleet anchorage. At 12:13 the magazine of her No. 3 turret exploded, destroying the adjacent structure of the ship and cutting her in two, killing over 1,100 crewmen. The cause was never determined: sabotage by a disgruntled crew member, an explosion from the 16” incendiary anti-aircraft shells, or an over-abundance of flammable material catching primers on fire in the magazine were the likely suspects.

In the Mutsu’s entire career, it only fired 4 shells at a single airplane. Like Nagato, Yamato and Musashi, it seems to have been held in reserve until it was far too late.

Explosion and Loss of the Battleship Mutsu

A Japanese sketch of the broken Mutsu on the bottom. A Japanese sketch of Mutsu’s No 3 main gun turret as found. Gun, turret and barbette were later salvaged and are currently exhibited. Mutsu&#821…

weaponsandwarfare.com

Mutsu’s original 41 cm No. 4 turret at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, Eta Jima in 1947.


Mutsu about 1922


Mutsu at sea after her reconstruction

 

[Randy Daytona]

Don’t know what made me look this up, but it is an actual ship. The Kobayashi Maru is a bulk carrier registered in the Marshal Islands. The ship has a length of 200 meters, a beam of 32 meters and was built in 2019.

Currently off the coast of China and headed to Ecuador at 13.8 knots.

If this ship ever breaks down in the South China Sea after the Enterprise is commissioned…

KOBAYASHI MARU, Bulk Carrier - Details and current position - IMO 9847011 - VesselFinder

Vessel KOBAYASHI MARU (IMO 9847011, MMSI 538008176) is a Bulk Carrier built in 2019 and currently sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands.

www.vesselfinder.com

 

[Griz882]

If this ship ever breaks down in the South China Sea after the Enterprise is commissioned…

While there is no solution to that problem, the skipper of the Big E can always cheat.

 

[Gatordev]

I can't count how many "something" Maru named ships I've seen flying SSC, but I never bothered looking up why "Maru" is used.

Japanese ship-naming conventions - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Pags]

I can't count how many "something" Maru named ships I've seen flying SSC, but I never bothered looking up why "Maru" is used.

Japanese ship-naming conventions - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Japanese naming convention that denotes a merchie. Sort of like SS or MV.

 

[Jim123]

I can't count how many "something" Maru named ships I've seen flying SSC, but I never bothered looking up why "Maru" is used.

Reminds me of the time we snuck a fake ship name into the nightly ops brief on the slide listing contacts of interest in theater. There was a pattern to several of the names and the fake name we added was an obvious (we thought) abbreviation of a famous basketball player's name. With probably 70 other slides, nobody noticed. Somebody printed out the slide and taped it up at the TAO's station in CIC (smart thing to do, with or without the joke name). One of the DESRON people noticed the list and was like hey, that's a good idea, mind if I get a copy? Sadly, the joke fizzled out from there. We were really really hoping one of the DESRONites was going to RFI the fleet commander on this particular vessel, ideally using a voice circuit for the widest possible audience but at least one of the MIRC chat rooms instead of a private chat window.

 

[Pags]

Reminds me of the time we snuck a fake ship name into the nightly ops brief on the slide listing contacts of interest in theater. There was a pattern to several of the names and the fake name we added was an obvious (we thought) abbreviation of a famous basketball player's name. With probably 70 other slides, nobody noticed. Somebody printed out the slide and taped it up at the TAO's station in CIC (smart thing to do, with or without the joke name). One of the DESRON people noticed the list and was like hey, that's a good idea, mind if I get a copy? Sadly, the joke fizzled out from there. We were really really hoping one of the DESRONites was going to RFI the fleet commander on this particular vessel, ideally using a voice circuit for the widest possible audience but at least one of the MIRC chat rooms instead of a private chat window.

USS George Freeman Young (GFY) often showed up in tactics briefs as a notional ship.

When I was on the LHD there were two USNS ships in the Pacific that had different Captains Kirk. The first time it showed up in the RAS brief the CO thought it was a joke and he was assured it was really the Master's name. Then we RASd from the other ship and the CO thought it was a cut and paste error. "Nope Cap'n, different guy. Not a joke, we checked." It then became a joke with lots of Kobayashi Maru and Captain Pike references. But this was the same CO who took a picture with the CIC team with them all wearing Star Trek uniforms.

 

[Jim123]

USS George Freeman Young (GFY) often showed up in tactics briefs as a notional ship.

When I was on the LHD there were two USNS ships in the Pacific that had different Captains Kirk...

Reader's Digest "Humor in Uniform" used to be one of my favorite things to read, growing up.

Turns out the real life version often lived up to expectations.

 

[Pags]

Reader's Digest "Humor in Uniform" used to be one of my favorite things to read, growing up.

Turns out the real life version often lived up to expectations.

One of my other favorite LHD stories involved a PALCON that some marine had put "typical LCPL graffiti" on. This PALCON would show up all the time; coming up and down the el, going on and off of helos, being moved around by CC on forklifts. It was a fun distraction and the result of lots of revelry in tower whenever the box of dicks showed up.

Or the inevitable thievery that would occur during VERTREP when pallets would bust open or somesuch. A busted soda pallet with cans rolling around was a windfall for the CC Marines and ABHs. But one time we busted a pallet of FFV and we saw some Marine stuffing heads of lettuce into his shirt. We imagined the CC Marines assembling in troop berthing that evening to compare and pool their pilfered goods with one guy having a couple packs of soda, one guy with some cope rolls, and Carl with his heads of lettuce.

 

[Griz882]

and Carl with his heads of lettuce.

Maybe he thought he could stuff it in his helmet for camo!

 

[Randy Daytona]

"Drachinfel" has been mentioned previously as a great youtube channel for looking at ships of the 1900-1950 time frame. Another channel that I thought many would like is the huge number of youtube videos produced by Ryan Szimanski who is the curator of the USS New Jersey. Here is a sample.

The proposed King / Nimitz Iowa class upgrade

The Iowa class vs the Kirov class