Warbird Information Exchange

Great news for the 'ol Mighty Mo...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091016/ap_ ... p_missouri

Gotta keep them 'ol Iowas in shape case we need them again....even tho now they're supposedly 'retired'....

Mark

_________________
Mark Morris

That is Great News ! .........USS Texas recently ( 9 years ago) went to dry dock and had some very well deserved maintenance done on her Hull . I am glad to the the Mighty MO getting this done now ! The Battle Ships are one of the main reasons that Naval Aviation got its start ............as Scout planes to locate the opposing enemy fleet . Dec -7 -1941 change all that and the Battle of Midway ushered in the new form of Combat with the Carriers taken the lead.

_________________
Always Keep Em Flying !

Glen

Lookie Capt Jim! Wham! Wham! ...............................Termights

Nice to see a British owned company carrying out the work. Glad we could be of assistance.

_________________
MY BLOG and other ramblings This is where most of my photos will appear in future.

The Shuttleworth Collection Facebook Page

Still need to find a good, permanent home for the Iowa. The other three have homes. Wish the folks in San Francisco would pull their collective heads out of their ****.

Dang! I thought you meant the whole state. I was thinking for a minute that it might be worth going back to Creve Coeur.

no way, I'd like to see it in San Diego next to the Midway. The Wisconsin is in such a nice place, and the New Jersey....well, not so much. San Diego is so gorgeous, it would be well-visited there I'm sure.

Rich

_________________
Rich Kolasa
www.crystalgraphix.com

Here's an old question, Iusually forget to ask, but what is the aircraft carrier i have heard about which is nnow landlocked, and filled in around? I understand they used it for a car commercial some years back, and it was a museum, but no longer floating.

I don't think it was the Yorktown, which is at Patriots Point in Charleston, SC, because, while it is settled on the bottom, it is still surrounded by water...

Robbie

Was Iowa's no. 2 turret ever repaired?

What exactly is the current status of the Iowa?

_________________
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

I don't believe any of the museum carriers (Yorktown, Intrepid, Hornet, Lexington and Midway) are landlocked and "filled in around".

Yorktown IS firmly planted in the mud at Patriots Point (a lesser person might even use the term "sunk"). She's actually down about five degrees at the bow due to the mud she's sitting in having shifted around during Hugo.

The Intrepid, Hornet and Midway are definitely afloat - although Intrepid had to be dredged, then redredged out of her berth for her recent drydocking. I don't know about Lexington, per se.

Cleaned out, but not fully repaired. The parts necessary to repair her are stored in Turret 2.

Struck from the NVR, sitting with the reserve fleet in Suisun Bay, Calif in a state (per statute) that would not preclude her from being reactivated.

Although that will never happen.

As of yet, there is no organization that is both willing and able to fund turning her in to a museum ship. She was towed, at taxpayers' expense (thanks DiFi!) from Newport, Rhode Island to the San Fran area so that she COULD become a museum.

She was supposed to be berthed down by Fisherman's Wharf, but then San Fran City Council decided to use her to make a political statement.

As it stands, she's deteriorating with every passing day. Not really threatening to her existence, but the delay in finding her a home is driving up the costs associated with a restoration. It's really a vicious cycle. No money = longer delay. Longer delay = more money.

I wonder if any scars remain from this attack on the Mighty Mo?



Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

As I recall from touring her in the early '90s when she visited Fremantle, she still carried the damage/dent. Toured her again in early August of this year and can recall seeing a display about the kamikaze hit but can't remember identifying the exact spot. She had stuff all over as she was getting ready for the dry-docking.

_________________

http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/

Re: Lexington

When the Lex was parked in Corpus Christi Bay they had tugboats wash out a long trench. The Lexington was backed into the trench and her bottom decks were flooded with deionized water. When she hit bottom the tugs washed the sand back in around her, effectively pinning her in place.

I believe she is still marked as the Coast Guards base of operations in the event of a hurricane. We were told on one of our many overnighters that it would take a 30 ft storm surge to float her. Their current base at Coast Guard Corpus is on the old seaplane ramp on the edge of Corpus Christi NAS. They would be one of the first to go under as the water came up.

Hurricane Ike produced an 18 ft surge to put that into perspective.

_________________
"You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass..."
Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto