Ship Photo of the Day

[Malo83]

Coming into the Philippines the USS Ranger docked on the Subic side, a day later a Phil Navy destroyer docked next to us, that thing had to be a ww2 vet, looked exactly like the pic, she was armed to the teeth with 20mil and 50 caliber guns, this was back in 91 coming out of the Persian Gulf.

 

[Randy Daytona]

The Lexington Class carrier. A carrier mounting as much artillery as a heavy cruiser: 8 x 8" cannons. Although later removed, the guns are a definite reminder of the Lexington and Saratoga's battlecruiser beginnings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington-class_aircraft_carrier

Rear Admiral David W. Taylor (left), Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, and Rear Admiral John K. Robison (right), Chief of the Bureau of Engineering, hold a model of the battlecruiser above a model of the proposed conversion to an aircraft carrier at the Navy Department on 8 March 1922.

Lexington (top) and Saratoga alongside the smaller Langley at Puget Sound Navy Yard in 1929

A painting that depicts the Lexington class' definitive design, 1919

 

[Gatordev]

What are the circles on the flight deck for? Obviously not helo spots in 1929.

 

[Pags]

What are the circles on the flight deck for? Obviously not helo spots in 1929.

Autogyros? Zeppelins? Some other steampunk thing from the 20s?

Good question, report back when you have an answer.

 

[Renegade One]

What are the circles on the flight deck for? Obviously not helo spots in 1929.

Not sure, but my vote right now goes to designated mooring stations for airships. Here's a photo of USS LOS ANGELES tying up in January of 1928. Note the circular array of cables in the vicinity of the aft circular spot:

 

[jmcquate]

Best guess is they're visual landing aids. Both ships were equipped with forward arresting gear for foul deck recoveries accounting for the circle on the bow of the Sara(?).

 

[Hozer]

No float coats. Check.
No hearing protection. Check.
Range safety?.....yeah, whatever.
Dixie cups and 8 inch fam fire.
Awesome.

 

[Gatordev]

Autogyros? Zeppelins? Some other steampunk thing from the 20s?

Good question, report back when you have an answer.

I like the blimp answer, so therefore no further research required. Although an aim point on the deck for F/W sounds legitimate, as well.

 

[Flash]

Too bad she's slowly sinking in to the mud of the Delaware. Right across from her in lovely Camden is USS New Jersey. And elsewhere on the Pennsy side of the river is the SS United States. I grew up outside of Philly and never realized Olympia was part of the water front until long after I had left.

They really ought to permanently drydock her like the HMS Victory or put her in concrete like the Mikasa.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Just rewatched "55 Days at Peking" with Charlton Heston, David Niven and Ava Gardner which is historical fiction of the Boxer Rebellion. One of the ships that brought reinforcements was the protected cruiser USS Newark, (C-1). Steam AND Sails - perhaps a precursor to the Green Fleet??? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Newark_(C-1)

 

[Griz882]

An old left over from WWI...made of concrete...is seeing her last days off the California coast. The SS Pablo Alto, built as a tanker as looming shortages of steel increased the need for different ideas.

 

[Pags]

An old left over from WWI...made of concrete...is seeing her last days off the California coast. The SS Pablo Alto, built as a tanker as looming shortages of steel increased the need for different ideas.
View attachment 16690

There's 9 concrete ships that function as a breakwater and HVBSS training aid off of Kiptopeke State Park on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

 

[Rockriver]

More concrete. USS Selma in Galveston Bay, Texas. Only 12 were built and we have accounted for 11 here so far.
http://www.crystalbeach.com/selma.htm

 

[Randy Daytona]

The fastest liner to cross the Atlantic: SS United States. Averaged 35.59 knots on the New York to UK run back in 1952. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_United_States

 

[Flash]

The fastest liner to cross the Atlantic: SS United States. Averaged 35.59 knots on the New York to UK run back in 1952.

I remember reading several times that her engines were similar to or were the basis for the engines on the Forrestal-class carriers, not sure of the veracity of that.