2 old relics

Gather App
(Ya mind if I join in?--it's kinda on topic)

Another really old relic which the Texas members will recognize as BB-35--USS Texas--the only remaining dreadnaught battleship left in the world. (There's another not-quite-as-old relic on the far left of the pic-me)
usstexas.jpg

By syncrotex at 2012-07-09

I took the pic July 3, 2011.
Not nearly as fast or as powerful as the Iowa Class, but when she was commissioned in 1914, she was the fastest and most powerful ship afloat. She was the flagship at Omaha Beach on D-day, and again at the shelling of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Ten 14" main guns, she is berthed about 8 miles from where I grew up and I have been aboard this ship scores of times in my life. When I was a kid, i would ride a bicycle, cross on the Lynchburg ferry, and spend the whole day on this ship for 50 cents. Much of it is now closed off to visitors because of danger to the public, ongoing preservation work etc, but back then, you could go anywhere unattended--and I did.

I took this one when I hosted our Texas Pontiac Fiero show in 2009, and included BB-35 as part of the cruise. Those are Fieros in the foreground.

bb35sm.jpg

By syncrotex at 2012-07-09

Near and dear to my heart as well, the First Marine Division was formed on the deck of the Texas.
(I'm an old jarhead.)
 
VanC":23dhy35y said:
I'd have preferred more shots of the Missouri and less of Cher. I've been fascinated with the Iowa class battleships ever since I was a little kid. I swear someday I'm gonna go see one. Probably the Wisconsin which is now in Norfolk. Here's a picture of all four of them steaming together in 1954. Lot of history there.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/konabish/6497548649/
Click to expand...
Id prefer to watch a bisquit get hard,, over cher
 
3waycross":2t11b5n6 said:
Heck i am disapointed. I thought this was a thread about me and Texasbred! :lol2:
Click to expand...


:nod: :nod: :nod:

rel·ic (rlk)
n.
1. Something that has survived the passage of time, especially an object or custom whose original culture has disappeared: "Corporal punishment was a relic of barbarism" (Cyril Connolly).
2. Something cherished for its age or historic interest.
3. An object kept for its association with the past; a memento.
4. An object of religious veneration, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of a saint.
5. or relics A corpse; remains.
 
Again, I'll apologize for interjecting my thoughts--I tend to get a bit nostalgic and long winded on rainy days......
I've heard this story several times, and have no idea if it is true or not. The 2 different times I heard it {1973-and again in 1976}, it involved a fast little coastal inderdiction patrol gunboat, the USS Asheville PG-84. Their job as a high speed, shallow water defense off South Vietnam was to intercept and engage unauthorized NVA vessels attempting to run into bays and harbors to set mines and other disruptions to shipping and US Naval activities. Armed with only a 3" gun, a couple of dual 40s and several 50s, she was kinda light for the job, but plenty fast enough to get in and back out of trouble. I was attending Gas Turbine school in '76, and there was a crewmember from Asheville that transitioning from the PG's LM 1500 gas turbine engines to the bigger LM2500 in order to go aboard the new Spruance Class destroyers. He had done a tour on PG84 off Vietnam and related the story in first person. According to him, Ashveille was operating off coastal Vietnam one dark foggy night and encountered a large but unknown radar signature return. I would have written it off as one of those tales that always begins with "Now this is a no sheeter.." meaning ya should pull on your rubber boots cuz the feces is fixin to get deep, but I had already heard the same story from an old LCU landing craft skipper when I was down in Cuba in late 1973. Asheville was working off Vietnam from '67 to '72 and BB-62 was operating in the same waters from '67-'69 so it could have been true. It's also unusual for a crew to just make up embarassing stories about their own vessel which the guy from Asheville would have been doing, so I tend to give it a bit of credence:
(as I remember it being told):
In the Vietnam War the Asheville was stationed off the coast on picket duty. So we're steaming back and forth off South Vietnam on night making sure nothing went in and nothing came out thru the fog, when a radar target appears on the surface search radar screen. The Officer of the Deck tried to make contact.

OOD-"Unidentified Contact, this is US Navy Warship, Please identify yourself"


Silence

OOD- "Unidentified Contact, this is US Navy Warship USS Asheville, Identify yourself!"

(Asheville goes to GQ (battle stations)

Silence and this went on for some time as the range got closer.
Too close.
OOD- "Unidentified Contact, this is US Navy Warship USS Asheville, Identify yourself our we will commence firing upon you!"

To which a calm, lazy voice was heard over the radio to say,

"Asheville, this is battleship USS New Jersey. You may fire at will". :tiphat:
__________________
Click to expand...
:D
Now, with the advent of the internet, I also have seen the same story about the New Jersey, but involving an un-named US destroyer off Won Son during the Korean War. So, take both stories with a grain of salt I suppose, tho I have reservations about New Jersey blandly considering a tin can's multiple 5" mounts and deck launched torpedos no threat at all--assuming either event actually took place of course.
 

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