Ship Photo of the Day

[Randy Daytona]

The first US carrier built from the keel up was USS Ranger CV-4. Deemed less capable, she nevertheless provided service in the Atlantic rather than the Pacific during WW2.


USS Ranger underway at sea, 1930s


Ranger (bottom), Lexington (middle), and Saratoga off Honolulu, 8 April 1936


Aircraft on Rangers deck during Operation Torch

 

[Randy Daytona]

MH-1A Sturgis ( Mobile High Power Reactor Number 1A,) was a repurposed Liberty ship (SS Charles H Cugle) that became a floating nuclear power plant. Towed to its destination in Panama, its nuclear reactor provided 10 MW of electricity to The Panama Canal from 1968 to 1976.



SS Charles H. Cugle after conversion to nuclear barge Sturgis

SS Charles H. Cugle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Randy Daytona]

Continuing with ships being used as power stations, USS Wiseman DE-667 was a Buckley class destroyer escort. Commissioned in 1944, she completed a number of convoy escort tours before heading to Charleston for conversion into a floating electric station.

USS Wiseman arrived in Manilla on 23 March 1945 and began supplying the city with both electric power and purified water for nearly 6 months before returning home.

Sent to the reserve fleet, upon the beginning of hostilities in Korea, the CNO recommended that Wiseman be "reactivated at the earliest practicable [time] for distant duty including use as Electric Power Supply Ship." ending up being deployed to Pusan.


11 January 1945: Charleston, S.C. - USS Wiseman (DE 667) shown departing the Charleston Navy Yard enroute to the Pacific. She had been in the Yard since early December of '44 being converted into a floating power station. You can see her canvas covered cable reels just forward of the aft 40 mm gun mount.


1946: The United States Navy Buckley class destroyer escort USS Wiseman (DE 667) as converted to a floating power station. The big cable reels are in the torpedo tube position, but the bridge has not been modified. The quad 40 mm director aft has been shifted to a new pylon-like platform in order to clear the height of the cable reels. Note all guns and depth charges covered.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Further research revealed that the 12,000 HP turboelectric drive of the Buckley class destroyer escort proved to be a good match for generating electricity ashore. 7 ships of the class were converted to electric power ships: 5 ships in the US Navy and 2 transferred to the Royal Navy.

Here is RMS Hotham K-583 which after service in WW2 was modified and sent to Singapore in 1945 to supply power ashore, and after returning to the UK was then sent to Malta to again operate as a power station.


HMS Hotham in February 1944, photographed by an aircraft operating from Royal Naval Air Station HMS Osprey, Dunoon, Scotland.


Hotham at Malta, July 1948, as a floating power station; all guns have been removed and ports cut in the hull forward and aft. Power points in No.'s 3 & 4 Oerlikon positions and aft of the funnel.

 

[Randy Daytona]

While watching old school streaming (ie, my roof mounted over the air antenna) last night, the 1963 film PT-109 aired. The story of LtJg Jack Kennedy and his ship is a classic movie. I knew President Kennedy’s boat was an 80 ft Elco, I went back to see what Japanese ship rammed and sank the mosquito boat.

IJN Amagiri was one of the 24 Fubuki class destroyers. Armed with 6 (3x2) 5” cannons, it was also capable of 38 knots from 50,000 HP. It measured 367 ft long with a beam of only 34 ft, it displaced 2,000 tons. It took part in numerous operations including being part of the Tokyo Express in August 1943 when it sank PT-109. She was eventually sunk by a mine in 1944.

At the Presidential inauguration in 1961, the commanding officer of the Amagiri LCDR Kohei Hanama gifted a medallion to his old foe and the new US President.


Amagiri in November 1930


Destroyers Sagiri, Amagiri and Asagiriof the Type II of the "Fubuki"-class in exercises. The picture was taken from the Yugiri on 16 October 1941.


Pre-World War II USN file photo of Amagiri

 

[Randy Daytona]

Scharnhorst was the lead battleship of a class of 2. Commissioned on 01 November 1939, the ship had a full history of combat, including one of the longest range battleship hits in history as well as sinking the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious.

The ship was damaged multiple times in combat including being hit once by 5 bombs in a row - with the 2 HE 500 lb bombs exploding but fortunately all 3 1,000 lb armor piercing bombs being duds.

Scharnhorst also suffered from a bow design so severe that heavy weather in the North Sea flooded her A turret resulting in a new bow having to be redesigned.

The main armament was underwhelming: 9 (3x3) 11” main guns firing shells weighing only 660 lbs. There was a plan to upgrade her with 6 (3x2) of the same 15” guns on the Bismarck (1,800 lb shells) but this never happened.

Scharnhorst was sunk on 26 Dec 1943 with the loss of over 1,800 crewman. She survived 14 14” hits from HMS Duke of York but 4 torpedo hits slowed her down and more torpedoes sunk her. A tough ship.

Length: 770ft, Beam: 98 ft, Displacement: 38,000 tons at full load.

Propulsion: 3 steam turbines provided 159,500 HP for 31 knots.

Armor: Belt: 12.6”, Deck: up to 4.1”

Armament: 9 (3x3) 11” SK C/34 cannons, 12 (4x2, 4x1) 5.9” SK C/28 cannons, 14 4.1” cannons, 6 21”torpedo tubes.

 

[number9]

A long time ago, I was a guest on either the Enterprise or the Independence when she visited Fremantle. Based on these two rather low-quality photos, can anyone tell me which ship it was? I thought I had some more photos below deck that may have shown a hull number, but I can't find them at the moment.

I still remember the name of my host, a Lt (j.g.) Mark Freyhill. Wonder what he's doing now?

 

[Griz882]

A long time ago, I was a guest on either the Enterprise or the Independence when she visited Fremantle. Based on these two rather low-quality photos, can anyone tell me which ship it was? I thought I had some more photos below deck that may have shown a hull number, but I can't find them at the moment.

I still remember the name of my host, a Lt (j.g.) Mark Freyhill. Wonder what he's doing now?

“A long time ago” is kind of a broad historical line to follow…if it was 1983 it was the Big E. If I look at the first photo, squint my eyes and use a lot of imagination I think I see a lion on that F-14 tail, meaning VF-213 and they were onboard then. Am I close?

 

[number9]

“A long time ago” is kind of a broad historical line to follow…if it was 1983 it was the Big E. If I look at the first photo, squint my eyes and use a lot of imagination I think I see a lion on that F-14 tail, meaning VF-213 and they were onboard then. Am I close?

Unfortunately I don't know the year it was taken. But I'd guess between 1989 and 1993 or so?

 

[Griz882]

Unfortunately I don't know the year it was taken. But I'd guess between 1989 and 1993 or so?

In that case it is probably the Independence, ca. 1993/94. As far as I can tell, the Enterprise didn’t visit Perth in the time frame you note.

 

[number9]

In that case it is probably the Independence, ca. 1993/94. As far as I can tell, the Enterprise didn’t visit Perth in the time frame you note.

Thanks Griz! It was a different time; my dad and I went to see it from the quay. We were walking back to our car and a pair of officers in SDBs were walking next to us - I told my dad to ask them if they wanted a ride into town and they said "sure". They gave us the phone number to the quarterdeck - which was literally printed in the newspaper - and we went aboard the next day.

 

[hscs]

If it was pierside, definitely Indy.

 

[number9]

If it was pierside, definitely Indy.

If we needed to have taken a tender out to go aboard, I think I would have remembered that experience too. But I'm pretty sure it was tied up at the pier...

My father passed away earlier this year so I can't ask him.