4 Elderly Retired, but Historic Grande Dames...

[darrylcn]

If you get to see the ex-USS Saratoga here in Newport, she is the test-bed for a lot of different hull paints. The ship has about 15 different color paints all over the hull and it looks like it's painted in really bad urban camo from the 1980's. So, while the ship may not in service, that's not to say it can not be useful.

Hey Helolumpy, wife and I are going to a Red Sox game in July and we're turning it into a day trip around a few states. Gonna check out Westover AFB/Barnes field for some airplane action (I hope) and make our way down to RI for an overnight. We're (I'm )hoping to see Sara, it looks like you can get fairly close, is that true?

Thanks

 

[Hozer]

when I was in RI in '04, the closest you could get to Sara was about 100'. I peste red a guard about it and he said they don't let anyone near or on it. They (Forrestal was still there) looked pretty rough.

 

[darrylcn]

Thanks Hozer (is that name an elaborate setup cause I'm Canadian ?), it'll be the closest I've been to a carrier in a loooong time so it'll still be pretty cool.

 

[BusyBee604]

Hoser, here's your "Big John" in Philly, with FORRESTAL alongside just across the pier. JFK appears to be in...by far, the better shape of the two.
BzB

 

[Fog]

It would be a great tourist attraction if Pensacola & the State of Florida could bring one of these here as a floating site, either at NAS or at the new Maritime Park. I have no idea what it would cost. Do we have any retired CVAs on the East Coast available? I have fond memories of time spent on both the Independence & Constellation.

 

[BusyBee604]

It would be a great tourist attraction if Pensacola & the State of Florida could bring one of these here as a floating site, either at NAS or at the new Maritime Park. I have no idea what it would cost. Do we have any retired CVAs on the East Coast available? I have fond memories of time spent on both the Independence & Constellation.

CVs on the east coast: FORRESTAL & JFK in Philadelphia, and SARATOGA in Newport.

Cost is astronomical, initial investment: moving, refurbishing, port preparation, environmental impact studies, finding display A/C, volunteers, ongoing fund-raising and much more. Then continual standard periodic hull & topside maintenance. It's a monster undertaking!

The MIDWAY Museum in SanDogg is a colossal success. Presently by far, the most popular tourist attraction in a 'tourism Mecca', boasting attractions such as Sea World, Wild Animal Park & the world class San Diego Zoo & great beaches. It didn't come quickly, easily, or cheaply, but it's running in the black due to great leadership, volunteerism, and generous donors even in a down economy.
*Not too many CVs where you can sip a dry Martini in a comfy chair just outside of Flight Deck Control!

BzB

 

[helolumpy]

It would be a great tourist attraction if Pensacola & the State of Florida could bring one of these here as a floating site, either at NAS or at the new Maritime Park. I have no idea what it would cost. Do we have any retired CVAs on the East Coast available? I have fond memories of time spent on both the Independence & Constellation.

Yorktown is in
Charleston SC. http://www.patriotspoint.org/

 

[ea6bflyr]

Yorktown is in
Charleston SC. http://www.patriotspoint.org/

Yep! And she looks in pretty good shape!

 

[Fog]

CVs on the east coast: FORRESTAL & JFK in Philadelphia, and SARATOGA in Newport.

Cost is astronomical, initial investment: moving, refurbishing, port preparation, environmental impact studies, finding display A/C, volunteers, ongoing fund-raising and much more. Then continual standard periodic hull & topside maintenance. It's a monster undertaking!

The MIDWAY Museum in SanDogg is a colossal success. Presently by far, the most popular tourist attraction in a 'tourism Mecca', boasting attractions such as Sea World, Wild Animal Park & the world class San Diego Zoo & great beaches. It didn't come quickly, easily, or cheaply, but it's running in the black due to great leadership, volunteerism, and generous donors even in a down economy.
*Not too many CVs where you can sip a dry Martini in a comfy chair just outside of Flight Deck Control!
View attachment 10908.
BzB

Thanks. It would be great to get the JFK (last non-nuke CV? or was that the America?) to P-cola. There's no way we could afford it, so it would have to be a Florida undertaking. Nevertheless, Pensacola, as the Cradle of Naval Air, is a logical & appropriate place to have a tourism CV. And it would be the only such attraction on the entire Gulf Coast. It could be a great project for the city, region and naval aviation.

 

[helolumpy]

Thanks. It would be great to get the JFK (last non-nuke CV? or was that the America?) to P-cola. There's no way we could afford it, so it would have to be a Florida undertaking. Nevertheless, Pensacola, as the Cradle of Naval Air, is a logical & appropriate place to have a tourism CV. And it would be the only such attraction on the entire Gulf Coast. It could be a great project for the city, region and naval aviation.

JFK was CV-67. Commissioned in 1967
AMERICA was CV-66. Commissioned in 1965

 

[insanebikerboy]

And it would be the only such attraction on the entire Gulf Coast.

Well, not quite, unless you mean the only carrier. The USS Alabama is over in Mobile and it's a pretty cool museum in it's own right.

 

[MIDNJAC]

That and the Lex, in Corpus Christi. Not a big carrier, but a CV none-the-less.

 

[Pags]

Don't forget intrepid in NYC.

 

[Fog]

I was referring to carriers on the Gulf Coast, but forgot about the Lex in Corpus. Thanks.

 

[ATCS]

Thanks. It would be great to get the JFK (last non-nuke CV? or was that the America?) to P-cola. There's no way we could afford it, so it would have to be a Florida undertaking. Nevertheless, Pensacola, as the Cradle of Naval Air, is a logical & appropriate place to have a tourism CV. And it would be the only such attraction on the entire Gulf Coast. It could be a great project for the city, region and naval aviation.

USS America (CV-66) was a Non-Nuke. It presently resides at the bottom of the Atlantic. I think about 8 to 10 years ago.