Another Warrior Headed to the Scrapyard

[70bigblockdodge]

I half to agree with you about carriers they are well represented tin cans can use some love and preservation to show a different way of life in the navy, I would have to think their biggest problem is they where disposable I know the USS Hepburn I was on had hull thickness problems under the evaporators in the eighties when I was there she was only 20 years old.

 

[tbm3fan]

May 13th is Top Gun Day.

I lived about 10 miles from NAS Miramar between 1968-78. Once I turned 16 and could drive every now and then I would drive up to the base and park outside the gates to watch the F-14s take off for training. They operated 18 hours a day and the only thing out there was scrub brush and jack rabbits. The base has since been turned over to the Marines because once houses moved up near the fence line people complained that they didn't know there was a base there. Yeah, right and you were deaf when you bought your house. While I was never on a carrier my younger brother did 6 years as a Aviation Machinists Mate with one tour on the Midway while my nephew did six years as Nuclear Engineering Machinist Mate and served on the Vinson.

Anyway here's the opening scene of the movie. Truly a corny movie with one of the all time great opening sequences. PUMP UP THE VOLUME!

[video=youtube_share;UVRUxtPKK-w]http://youtu.be/UVRUxtPKK-w[/video]

 

[tbm3fan]

I half to agree with you about carriers they are well represented tin cans can use some love and preservation to show a different way of life in the navy, I would have to think their biggest problem is they where disposable I know the USS Hepburn I was on had hull thickness problems under the evaporators in the eighties when I was there she was only 20 years old.

These are the ships I would like to see saved. At least one of them. This is a US Navy Fleet Ocean Tug and she was commissioned in 1944 as the USS Moctobi. These ships were real work horses during WWII moving ships, towing ships, rescuing ships all over the Pacific. True unsung heroes of their day. Many stayed in service right up to the end of the 70's This one, and a sister, were found over at the old Kaiser Shipyard No.3 in Richmond CA, by me back in 2006 or so. They were thought to be in Marin County until I ran across them and alerted people who keep track of all Navy ships. They were sold to a private party who had ideas for them. Oh oh doesn't that sound familiar. Sir, that car that has been sitting in your yard for 15 years would you be interested in selling it. No, I'm going to restore it. Well that is what happened to these two over the entire decade. The owner stopped paying his bills, power to the ships was cut off and in 2011 the Quapaw sunk at the pier right next to Moctobi. Luckily the water is only about 8 feet deep. She has since been raised and I believe both are still there. I personally love these little things.