the USS New Jersey battle ship.

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I spent 2 days on the USS Iowa battleship roughly 2 months before the deadly 16" gun explosion. Awesome ship and firepower. I went down in one of the gun turrets and watched them open the breach of that gun. It was scary freaky down there. Skull and crossbones painted on the bulkhead next to the gun. I also was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnessed the 16" guns fire from the deck. Once I recovered from the blast, I could see the projectile going down range briefly as a black dot in the sky. That ship was the finest example of Naval gunnery firepower I saw in my entire career. I do hope it is preserved until they are brought back again. : )
 
ocdart said:
I've toured the USS Iowa (BB-61) here in SoCal. Absolutely amazing.
The old battleships may be outdated, but those big guns are truly intimidating...

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I have that same photo. As I recall that was a 15 gun broadside blast of both 16" and 5" guns. Strictly business going on there. A great part of history.
 
Nice! VERY NICE!

Where is it docked at when in NI?

I did make the battleship North Carolina in Willmington on a visit to my sisters. I swear you can here 40’s music and voices going on.

Beautiful ships that were born to do dirty deeds back in those that dished it out first. Awesome ships. Way way Brave men! Big BIG balls of steel!
 
jos51700 said:
Unless your enemy has no air force, battleships are nothing but floating targets. There simply aren't enough land-based enemy targets within range of the shore, and any major naval opponent has aircraft carriers.

That said, I certainly wish we still had stuff like that.
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There's a great online article that's not hard to find that in one paragraph basically says that, but in the next, tells how useful they could be if upgraded to the next level of rail gun technology and how easy it would be to do to those big guns. With all of the money this country sends to pukes who hate us, it would be easy to come up with funding by eliminating that nonsense.
 
DC 340 said:
I have that same photo. As I recall that was a 15 gun broadside blast of both 16" and 5" guns. Strictly business going on there. A great part of history.
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There are online "experts" who've said of that photo that the motion of the water does not indicate the ship is being moved over by the blasts of the guns. That it's simply the percussion of the guns on the water. I think the picture speaks for itself. I think the "experts" are full of ****. That ship is moving.
 
RustyRatRod said:
There's a great online article that's not hard to find that in one paragraph basically says that, but in the next, tells how useful they could be if upgraded to the next level of rail gun technology and how easy it would be to do to those big guns. With all of the money this country sends to pukes who hate us, it would be easy to come up with funding by eliminating that nonsense.
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Here's an article from 2019...

The Battleship Comeback: How the U.S. Navy Could Bring Back the 'Big Guns'
 
Car Nut said:
If battleships could talk, the stories that could be told.
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Absolutely. Some time ago here on FABO random pictures thread, I found this picture described as the USS New Jersey passing through Panama Canal in 1984. Just awesome.

USS New Jersey in Panama Canal 1984.jpeg
 
Honestly, I thought the Missouri and Iowa were already stricken from the Navy records leaving the Wisconsin and New Jersey still on the Navy registry. Funny, during the ceremony, it was mentioned thT while the New Jersey was in dry dock, the navy was going to take it back for recomissioning.
I don't think it will ever happen. As mighty as a battleship is, it is obsolete in today's warfare. Could it still be used? Sure, but the man power to operate it exceeds the need.
I was still in high school when they were decommissioned but would loved to have served on one. I have an article from Time magazine from early 80s when the New Jersey was shelling Beruit and President Reagan said something about he will not present a loss to the American people. That is what started my love for the Iowa class Battleships.
 
gliderider06 said:
I have an article from Time magazine from early 80s when the New Jersey was shelling Beruit and President Reagan said something about he will not present a loss to the American people.
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a co worker was on i forget what **** and got to witness the new jersey doing that. he said it was incredible.. he wasn't allowed to take pictiures though..
 
I actually have two cool USS Missouri stories from Daddy's Navy days. Daddy was aboard the USS Hilbert DE742 Destroyer Escort from its commission to its decommission all through WWII. It served in both Atlantic and Pacific theaters. It's quite a decorated ship. Saw lots of action. Earned 8 battle stars. Look it up. It's all here: USS Hilbert - DE742 - Destroyer Escort - World War II - US Navy

Anyway, Daddy sometimes told the story of how they were tied off to the USS Missousi passing mail and supplies and such. Now, the Hilbert was just over 300' long. The Missouri almost 900'. Uh huh. Daddy said the sea was bouncing the Hilbert around like a toy, but the boys were on deck of the Missouri playing basketball. LOL

Anyway, as the story went, the Missouri got a call that someone needed Firepower somewhere, so it had to get outta town. Now Daddy said that the ropes they were tied together were so big, they were referred to as lines. He said they were about "that big around" forming about a 5" diameter circle with his hand and said "there was five or more of them".

He said after the last bit of mail and such was passed, rather than disconnect the "lines" the Missouri just gave it full speed ahead from a dead stop and snapped every one of those lines. He said had it taken off normal, it would have towed them. He said in less than 15 minutes, the ship was gone from the horizon and they couldn't even see exhaust smoke anymore. Buddy, that's moving for an almost 1000' long ship.

Missouri story #2.

Daddy would tell the Panama Canal story every now and then. There were two versions. A family rated version and the "not so family rated" version which included some of the activities they got to do while on shore leave down there. It included lots of "working gals" use your imagination.

Anyway, he said they entered the Atlantic side and unknowingly, were not very far behind the USS Missouri. Well, I'm sure the bridge crew knew it. lol As the Missouri was slowing for its approach into the locks later, the Hilbert was able to catch up and they got to see the Missouri go into the lock. The Iowa Class battleships were designed with a 108' beam (width) so that they could navigate the Panama canal. Once they were through, they were granted shore leave where the shenanigans I spoke of earlier took place. lol

Going online, I can find a good picture of the USS Missouri in the Panama canal "about" the time Daddy spoke of. I've always wondered if I could magically blow that picture up, if Daddy's little ship wasn't behind it. I bet it was.
 
DC 340 said:
Absolutely. Some time ago here on FABO random pictures thread, I found this picture described as the USS New Jersey passing through Panama Canal in 1984. Just awesome.

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If i remember right, the Iowa class BB's had about six inches clearance per side, going thru some of the canal locks. They were designed to be the maximum ship that could still use the canal.
 
I used to pick up plywood at the docks in Camden, right next door to the South of the Battleship. I could stand on the edge of the dock and look straight at it.

Always wanted to tour it, but never had the time. Maybe one day I'll get to see it.

Tom
 
I went to see the Mighty Mo, in Sydney, Australia when she was here many years ago.
 
If you are ever on the Gulf Coast, stop by and tour the USS Alabama in Mobile Alabama. For one reasonable price, you get to tour the battleship AND a WW II Submarine. The entire time I was on the battleship, I kept thinking, "How does this thing float?" I understand the science behind it, but it is so HEAVY and so big. The WW II submarine is so SMALL inside. Talk about claustrophobia. I could never have served on one. They look much bigger in the submarine movies.
 
PROSTOCKTOM said:
I used to pick up plywood at the docks in Camden, right next door to the South of the Battleship. I could stand on the edge of the dock and look straight at it.

Always wanted to tour it, but never had the time. Maybe one day I'll get to see it.

Tom
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Remember the USS North Carolina is in Willmington North Carolina open for tours. Your the town, great place.
Bewy said:
I went to see the Mighty Mo, in Sydney, Australia when she was here many years ago.
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No kidding! That must have been cool as heck.
 
harrisonm said:
If you are ever on the Gulf Coast, stop by and tour the USS Alabama in Mobile Alabama. For one reasonable price, you get to tour the battleship AND a WW II Submarine. The entire time I was on the battleship, I kept thinking, "How does this thing float?" I understand the science behind it, but it is so HEAVY and so big. The WW II submarine is so SMALL inside. Talk about claustrophobia. I could never have served on one. They look much bigger in the submarine movies.
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I'd love to. I want to attend Mopars at the Battleship badly, but it simply will never be in our budget and that's ok. I have the internet. I can see it on there.
 
harrisonm said:
The WW II submarine is so SMALL inside. Talk about claustrophobia. I could never have served on one. They look much bigger in the submarine movies.
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i was on the uss deleware a few years ago (one of the newer Virginia-class subs) which is much larger (377 feet long) then a WWII sub and its still small feeling inside..lol
 
Our own @greymouser7 was on the USS Wyoming SSBN742 for a long time as a nuclear missile tech. I have much respect. Thanks for your service, John.
 
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