OT USS IOWA

[Bill@Interstell]

Re: OT USS IOWA

From the air April 9th, 2011

[spinner]

Re: OT USS IOWA

cool pix Bill. Thanks

[AirDOGGe]

Re: OT USS IOWA

Dang, I was hoping to see the Iowa leave. Does anyone know where in SF they are moving it to? I knew she was leaving but couldn't find any info when. Had I known, I would have taken the day off.

Will

Not San-Fran... Pier 3 in Richmond:

The first step in a journey that will bring the historic USS Iowa battleship to San Pedro went off without a hitch Thursday, with the ship set to be towed this morning to a Northern California dock where exterior restoration work will begin.

On Thursday morning, the 887-foot-long vessel was successfully towed out of nearby Suisun Bay, where it has been part of the U.S. Navy's "ghost fleet" for almost a decade.

It was towed to Benicia Car Dock, arriving at around 3 p.m. After an overnight stay, it was scheduled to be towed another 18 miles today to Richmond Pier 3.

Thursday's initial tow required the ship to pass beneath three bridges, including a railroad bridge that was raised to allow the vessel through. A 10-by-19-foot U.S. flag - custom made for the Iowa by Seaborn Canvass in San Pedro - flew from the ship as it made its milestone journey out of storage.

"It was awesome," said Robert Kent, president of the Pacific Battleship Center, the nonprofit organization that was awarded the ship by the Navy in September. "We had people lined up on the bridge, boats all around us escorting us."

Early next year - in January or February - the ship will be ready to make the three-day tow south to Los Angeles, where the Iowa will become a permanent exhibit on San Pedro's waterfront.

Work on the ship will continue once it arrives in the Port of Los Angeles. Tentative plans will be to open the USS Iowa for at least limited tours on July 4.

[Ramjets]

Re: OT USS IOWA

[QUOTE=BUD_XXX;96388]One other ship to grace the Suisun anchorage, although not nearly as historic, in a military way, would have been the Glomar Explorer.
The vessell Howard Hughes built to support the secret recovery of a russian sub that had been lost...I believe in the Pacific somewhere...

...They drug her off to the Gulf of Mexico, to actually do some of the geological research she was alleged to have been built for...and I think she is still in service in that roll...I haven't heard...QUOTE]

Just for a fun FYI..."GSF Explorer is currently on hire to a consortium led by Marathon Oil, to drill offshore Indonesia until March 2012"

[RAD2LTR]

Re: OT USS IOWA

Another cool ship that you cant see that is tied up out there is the Lockheed Skunkworks Sea Shadow stealth boat. Its hidden away in the barge at the other end of the row where the Iowa was. I knew it was here in the Bay area someplace.

The Hughes Glomar Explorer, built for Project Azorian in 1974. The goal was to raise the K-129 wreck without being seen from the outside. The wreck was about 16000 feet deep. They only managed to salvage about 1/3 of the sub due to a mechanical failure that caused parts to break off and fall back to the sea floor.

I remember seeing the H.G.E. tied up out there in the '80s.

Will

[Ramjets]

Re: OT USS IOWA

Another cool ship that you cant see that is tied up out there is the Lockheed Skunkworks Sea Shadow stealth boat. Its hidden away in the barge at the other end of the row where the Iowa was. I knew it was here in the Bay area someplace.

Will

And, that "barge" they've got the Sea Shadow stored in is the original GHE "Accessory" Barge used to place the K-129 parts in. The barge was submersible and the roof of the barge opened like huge hangar doors. I remember seeing it over there in Redwood City Harbor for years and years until it ended up over in Susuin.

[FuryFan]

Re: OT USS IOWA

"They only managed to salvage about 1/3 of the sub due to a mechanical failure that caused parts to break off and fall back to the sea floor."
I often wonder if that is really what happened, or if they "threw a bone" to the Soviets so they wouldn't cry too hard. Maybe in about a hundred years all the facts of that mission will be revealed.....somebody knows.....

Kevin

[440_Magnum]

Re: OT USS IOWA

Very well said. I too have walked the deck of the Missouri at her berth on battleship row in Pearl Harbor. The sense of history on that ship is palpable. Particulary moving to me is the fact that Missouri is berthed approximately 1/4 mile from the USS Arizona memorial. Amazing to realize that the two naval vessels most associate with the beginning and end of the United States participation in WWII are located so close to each other....

That was a very deliberate decision. And very appropriate. My whole visit to Pearl was a very moving event, I'll never forget it. The fact that those two ships are arranged the way they are plays a huge part in the feeling of closure you get in moving from one to the other.

[AirDOGGe]

Re: OT USS IOWA

"They only managed to salvage about 1/3 of the sub due to a mechanical failure that caused parts to break off and fall back to the sea floor."
I often wonder if that is really what happened, or if they "threw a bone" to the Soviets so they wouldn't cry too hard. Maybe in about a hundred years all the facts of that mission will be revealed.....somebody knows.....

Kevin

I tend to wonder if they really did recover all the important stuff, adding the statements of losing some of it to throw the "Ruskies" off a bit.

But I doubt it. That sucka was HEAVY, especially full of water. The story that some of the grapples of the huge, make-shift grasping fixture (built without full knowledge of what exactly was left to pick-up down there) breaking off makes perfect engineering sense anyway.

With big governments and their inane secrecy, you never know WHAT to believe or dis-believe.

[Tibia]

Re: OT USS IOWA

Looking forward to stepping foot on those teak decks next year. Spent a few hours aboard the New Jersey just prior to her decommissioning.

So much larger than the fletcher and gearing class cans I rode.

Bob

[RAD2LTR]

Re: OT USS IOWA

Here is another link to photos of the mothball fleet. http://aheiden13.squarespace.com/gal...othball-fleet/ There are some cool pictures on there.

Will

[Desertdawg]

Re: OT USS IOWA

Here is another link to photos of the mothball fleet. http://aheiden13.squarespace.com/gal...othball-fleet/ There are some cool pictures on there.

Will

Will,

Thanks for that cool link.

[RAD2LTR]

Re: OT USS IOWA

Thread revival... The Iowa will be castsing off from Richmond pier on Sunday May 20th sometime around noon, passing under the Golden Gate sometime between 2 and 4pm. I was aboard yesterday, I'll post some pics a little later.

Will

[RAD2LTR]

Re: OT USS IOWA
















After seeing what little of the insides they had open, the ship is in really good shape inside. I don't think they have done any work inside the ship, mostly just external work. I wish I could have seen more of it.


Will

[RichH]

Re: OT USS IOWA

Awesome pics RAD2LTR... thanks for posting!

Here is another link to photos of the mothball fleet. http://aheiden13.squarespace.com/gal...othball-fleet/ There are some cool pictures on there.

Will

"Two .50cal machine guns on U.S.S. Tulare (AKA-112) of the Mothball fleet at Suisun Bay. These guns shot 2,100 feet per second. "

"On April 8, 2010, crane assistance was required for the removal of the 9-ton twin .50cal guns from U.S.S. Tulare of the Mothball Fleet."


LOL! Well at 9 tons, that is a bit larger mount than twin .50s...