> Just as a comparision, the link below is US
> Navy ships that have been stricken, and will
> be scrapped. It's a long list, and it
> doesn't even include all the old
> "liberty ships" and merchant type
> ships the Navy is disposing of.

> Boyd

Scrolling down to the SSBN section of the stricken list, I was surprised to see some of the "other kind of U-boats" I once worked on-- 688-class subs Omaha, Groton, New York City. I helped weld those things together. Seems like only yesterday (or at least the day before yesterday)!!


hpincus@mindspring.com

I could only find the preserved list-where's the stricken list? And in reading the preserved list, I was sorry to see that only 1 of the 3 CA-class "big gun cruisers" (as I call them) is listed for preservation. I remember seeing these in the mothball fleet at Philly, and from the deck up, they have guns in almost every space imaginable-not too hard to see a resemblance to the Imperial cruisers in Star Wars. Also, at that time two of the New Jersey-type battleships were in mothballs (this was 1984, when the ship I was stationed on, the USS FULTON {AS 11} limped into Philly with a seized propellor shaft. It's now razor blades, I suspect).

The other two CA's were Salem (CA-139), now preserved at Quincy, MA, and Newport News (CA-148), with which I shaved in 93 and 94.

kevin.r.gillespie@verizon.net

The Fulton was disposed of for scrapping in 1995.
See link below:

Boyd

AS-11 Fulton
bowens@rypn.org

> The Fulton was disposed of for scrapping in
> 1995.
> See link below:

> Boyd

The Fulton was for years, the last pre-Dec. 7th, 1941 ship in commission in the USN. She was berthed for years (70s) at State Pier in New London as a sort of annex to the Sub Base, just 1/4 mile from Central Vermont's roundhouse. Fulton had classic lines, like a 20s steamship.

It would be nice to see some of these ships preserved, but I can only shudder at the thought of maintaing something as big as a cruiser, etc. in decent condition. Any railroad restoration pales in comparison to the sheer size of the ships... and you can't get them into a polebarn or Butler building, either.

hpincus@mindspring.com

> The other two CA's were Salem (CA-139), now
> preserved at Quincy, MA, and Newport News
> (CA-148), with which I shaved in 93 and 94.

The USS Salem is looking better and better, a tremendous job being done by some very dedicated people. She was in danger recently of losing her home, but that controversy seems to have subsided.


SJHussar@aol.com

The stricken list is at the link below (http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/S_B_09.htm):
Also, since some interest has been shown in the CAs, below is a photo of the Des Moines (CA 134) as it is today waiting for a new home.

Boyd

Stricken List

bowens@rypn.org

> The Fulton was for years, the last pre-Dec.
> 7th, 1941 ship in commission in the USN. She
> was berthed for years (70s) at State Pier in
> New London as a sort of annex to the Sub
> Base, just 1/4 mile from Central Vermont's
> roundhouse. Fulton had classic lines, like a
> 20s steamship.

I served on Fulton from 1984-1987 (a great opportunity to volunteer at RMNE and the Valley Railroad-I had a blast), and its classic lines included a stern more like something from the Spanish-American war. It had a great machine shop-lathes, etc-wish all of that was made available to preservationists, but I don't know.

> It would be nice to see some of these ships
> preserved, but I can only shudder at the
> thought of maintaing something as big as a
> cruiser, etc. in decent condition. Any
> railroad restoration pales in comparison to
> the sheer size of the ships... and you can't
> get them into a polebarn or Butler building,
> either.

The British yard in Portsmouth, England, has big indoor graving docks. They look like airship hangers.

It isn’t the topside you worry about, it’s the hull. Yes, all the same issues that affect a "park" engine are present, but the hull is sitting in a very corrosive liquid, sea water and added to corrosive issue is the cathodic potential between the hull and the ship’s propellers. The active ships have sacrificial zincs that corrode away. The zincs have a design life of five years and after that, the hull material starts dissipating into the sea. When I was on the New Jersey’s dry docking in ’86, the zincs had failed and it took something like 10,000 hours of clad welding to return the bottom to acceptable thickness. Each hull penetration has a “waster” spool at the hull which needs to be inspected and replaced as necessary at each dry docking or else water will start getting into the “people tank!” But for the museum crowd, most ships that are laid up, have a plug inserted into each hull opening by a diver which saves some worry.

Ed

The issue of the hull corroding is a very real one; and that is why many preserved vessels have had a breakwater built around them, which is then filled with concrete or fill. (I would think concrete would be best; since fill will still allow moisture to make contact with the hull and cause corrosion.)

Some examples (which I have listed as "Display/plinthe" in my "Surviving World Steamship" CD-ROM include the whaleback freighter S.S. Meteor and the Japanese dreadnought HIMJ Mikasa. I believe this was recently done to the USS Alabama as well; along with the submarine Seawolf and another vessel in Seawolf Park in Galveston, Texas.

Of course smaller steamboats are dragged up entired on land; they are listed as "Display/plinthe" as well.

The Battleship Texas is an example of a vessel that is still floating in water; and it had to undergo a major underwater restoration a few years ago.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

> It isnÂ’t the topside you worry about, itÂ’s
> the hull. Yes, all the same issues that
> affect a "park" engine are
> present, but the hull is sitting in a very
> corrosive liquid, sea water and added to
> corrosive issue is the cathodic potential
> between the hull and the shipÂ’s propellers.
> The active ships have sacrificial zincs that
> corrode away. The zincs have a design life
> of five years and after that, the hull
> material starts dissipating into the sea.
> When I was on the New JerseyÂ’s dry docking
> in Â’86, the zincs had failed and it took
> something like 10,000 hours of clad welding
> to return the bottom to acceptable
> thickness. Each hull penetration has a
> “waster” spool at the hull which needs to be
> inspected and replaced as necessary at each
> dry docking or else water will start getting
> into the “people tank!” But for the museum
> crowd, most ships that are laid up, have a
> plug inserted into each hull opening by a
> diver which saves some worry.

> Ed


Surviving World Steamships
james@survivingworldsteam.com

All four of the Iowa class battleships are being preserved as museums:

Wisconsin in Norfolk, VA
Iowa in Suisun Bay later, San Francisco
Missouri in Honolulu, HI
New Jersy in Camden, NJ

The Cruiser Salem in Salem, MA
The Cruiser Little Rock in Buffalo, NY
The Cruiser Olympia in Pholadelphia, PA

Ted miles


ted_miles@nps.gov

A dry berth may be better in the long term than to leave a steel hull sitting in salt water, but in the case of the Meteor, she has probably suffered more hull corrosion from being embedded in dirt on Barker's Island than she would if they had left her floating in the fresh water of Duluth/Superior harbor.

The Northeastern Maritime Historical Foundation
rjenkins@railfan.net

below is a photo of the Des Moines
> (CA 134) as it is today waiting for a new
> home.
> Boyd

When I saw the Des Moines on the stricken list I wondered what sort of ship it was. Can anyone tell us why it is configured that way?

Also, I noticed the USS Saratoga is still on the list despite the fact that it is already on-site in Rhode Island. Is the list out-dated or is there some formal transfer waiting to happen.

And thanks to the moderator for letting this thread go way, way, way off topic!


http://www.saratogamuseum.org/photo_album2.html
SJHussar@aol.com

I carefully stepped through the stricken list last night, and compared it to another source on the web.

Some museum ships are listed in the "stricken" catagory, but the status states that it is on hold for preservation.

At least two ships that are long gone (one blown up in gunnary training; the other went to Taiwan) are still listed as pending. Their records were last updated in 1976.

I ended up adding a lot a destroyers and frigates I did not know were steam powered to my "Surviving World Steamship" CD-ROM. Unfortunately, nearly all were either scrapped, or stored awaiting scrapping.

Most depressing was the status of U.S.S. Guadalcanal (LPH-7). Apprently there were attempts to have it preserved as a museum, both of which failed. It is now slated to be sunk as a target.

Hopefully sister ship U.S.S. New Orleans (LPH-11) will fare better.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

> below is a photo of the Des Moines

> When I saw the Des Moines on the stricken
> list I wondered what sort of ship it was.
> Can anyone tell us why it is configured that
> way?

> Also, I noticed the USS Saratoga is still on
> the list despite the fact that it is already
> on-site in Rhode Island. Is the list
> out-dated or is there some formal transfer
> waiting to happen.

> And thanks to the moderator for letting this
> thread go way, way, way off topic!


Surviving World Steamships
james1@survivingworldsteam.com

> Can anyone tell us why it is configured that
> way?

I'm guessing you are referring to the "domes" covering the gun emplacements. They are just to protect the unenclosed gun mounts during long term storage. When/if the ship becomes a museum (currently plans are for it to go to Milwaukee, WI, if I remember correctly), the "domes" would be removed, I'm sure.

Boyd

bowens@rypn.org