In the North Carolina town of Wilmington is the aptly named USS North Carolina.
Its the namesake of the North Carolina class of battleships (there were 2), the first modern US battleships and took part in the battle of the Coral sea. This one was retired after the end of WWII and was only upgraded in small ways - it is basically in stock configuration. It has had been opened up to self guided tours. I was able to go into the engine rooms and also the magazine.
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| look how thick the wall is |
I would have tried to take a picture of the full length of the ship but it's dock has been dredged out of the swamp and there were alligator warning signs up - not worth it! These battleships are smaller/shorter than the Iowa class with shorter length main armament but still look awesome.
After this I drove to Charleston, South Carolina where the USS York Town carrier is located
This was another excellent museum exhibit. Below decks were mostly turned into a WWII Pacific history lesson with beautiful models made of a lot of the major ships of the war and major actions. I am assuming that it was only retired in the mid 70's because of the significance of it's name and had been upgraded a few times including a major flight deck reconfiguration
I'm glad I wasn't born a submariner. This sub had its WW2 style tower replaced with this more modern one but it was really cramped. Extra rations and being able to wear a beard in the navy would not make up for this job
Wow, they are fantastic shots of the carrier. Love the shot with the aircraft in the foreground, and the bridge behind. Might have to check that one out on the web.
ReplyDeleteRe: your small update, thats awesome that ride-to-eat is working out well. Gotta say, those pulled pork fries and ribs looked particularly good :D