Military forms of address…
Granted I’m older than I lot of the kids, but back in the day the reply all and PSA were ‘slightly’ different…
And this was the comparison made back in the day off Lebanon… They were using Volkswagons as car bombs, and so was the USS New Jersey!
Sadly, the battleships are gone, due to costs issues with maintaining them, a set of dinosaurs that stretched back into history…
In the day, gunnery was about crew skills. Nowadays, the missiles are all abut computers.
And now the Navy can’t even make a 6″ gun work. How the mighty have fallen.
I love the closing scenes of “Battleship”.
My Dad was on the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) during Korea. He told me once that between powder and shell, each round fired was equal to the cost of a new Cadillac back then. He said they were doing AA practice once and shot the cable between the plane and the target. He said the pilot landed and refused to tow another one for them.
Before he passed, he told me his 4 years in the Navy was the greatest time of his life. I asked him why he didn’t stay in; and he said my Mom didn’t want him to (They got married about a year before his hitch was up). I had always thought my Dad ruled the roost and finding out my Mom could tell him what to do was like someone telling me the sun rises in the West!
Dad was Navy during WWII and stay reserve for many years/ One of his favorite “Old Chinese Proverb” was:
Man who say he master in own house also lie about other things!
I did not know there was a God’s Flashbulb Round for the 16″ guns.
Philly Shipyard did part of the reactivation for the Wisconsin, and I took advantage of her being in Drydock #4 to walk beneath her from port to starboard while she was on the blocks.
I also got a chance to go with her to sea when she did her post overhaul sea trials.
No shooting during the sea trial period, and we left her in Norfolk after three days aboard.
I still feel a tingle to remember that I was at sea aboard the worlds newest battleship.
Only two of the four Iowa class ships were equipped for them. They had a special loading port in the deck, and special secure storage for the nuclear rounds.
The Iowa was one of them, and I forget which other ship could carry them.
Wisconsin is still in Norfolk (downtown, not on the base) as a Museum. One of the displays in Nauticus (the museum building that the ship is docked next to) is a balance scale with a 16 inch shell on on side and a Volkswagen bug on the other.
It’s a nice museum with lots of information about the Wisconsin and BBs in general. Worth a visit if you’re ever in town.
Steaming off the coast of SoCal as part of a Battle Group exercise. USS Missouri was 5000 yards astern of us. They did a full broadside. USS Lewis B. Puller FFG-23 rang like a bell for what seemed like 2 minutes. Awesome display of power.
Second scariest moment for troops calling in Naval gunfire support on a formation 1000-2000 yards away was hearing in the reply “you are danger close …”
I retired from the AF to Astoria, OR, and was there when the USS Missouri was towed in for cleaning up before being towed to Hawaii. I was born in Missouri, so naturally I took the opportunity to get up on the deck, and took photos, one of which is now inside my mouse pad.
Early 1970’s the Missouri was docked in Bremerton, WA and the deck area where the surrender ceremony took place was open to the public. My parents, for whom WWII was a vivid memory, were visibly moved by their visit. All I could envision was how much work the sailors aboard had on their hands.
Flying a helicopter recon mission, I called for a report to avoid artillery fire. The report came back that we’d need to fly outbound over the South China Sea to avoid cover fire by the New Jersey. So we got “feet wet” about ten miles in four single-engine helicopters to avoid the NJ’s fire, and witnessed her “broadside”.
Damn! How I wish I had a video camera that day.
They needed the money to build the Little Crappy Ships. What a waste of time, money and resources.
I think the timing is off on that idea. I think they were just victims of the post Cold War draw down.
In the early 1990s the US Naval Institute Press had published an article about a proposed refit to the USS Iowa after the turret explosion. Using a formula that juggled destructive power, range of said power, and personnel required to support said power, the proposal was to land a few more of the 5/38s (they take a LOT of guys to run) and replace them with more missile batteries, then part out “C” turret to refurbish the damaged “B” turret, and remodel the stern area to add a deck area for VTOLs and helicopters.
The modified ship would offer a combination of air support and coastal bombardment capabilities, a thing that heaves into view and says “Good Morning, it is 04:00 local and we are here to LIGHT UP YOUR DAY…”
The projectile standing beside the ‘Bug’ kicked in another recall.
The day after President Kennedy announced the Cuban Missile quarantine, my aircrew and I were loading up for a patrol flight. We were about ready to go then the Duty Officer came to us and said to move back over to the hanger. About that time trucks started coming to our aircraft loaded with Marines armed with M-1’s. They all then formed into squads along the St. John’s River seawall. Then other trucks started to show loaded with some bulky items that the duty officer said were nukes. The P2V-7 Neptune had
four rocket stations under each wing plus a pretty good sized bomb bay. Once they were all mounted and loaded, their inspector checked it all out, and gave a thumbs up. Then they off loaded them back onto the truck, called in all of the Marines and left. During that time we were always loaded with conventual weapons but we knew the nukes were ready.
All- Thanks for the comments. Bob, you’re the ‘second’ person to mention that onload check to me… Interesting…
That era was one of the most dangerous periods in our history. Not just to America and the Soviets, but the whole world.
Uncle Jim (USACE) came out of Chosin.
“How far to the the coast?”
“Don’t worry. If we get within 20 miles of the coast we’ll make it.”
A Navel forward observer (wearing a khaki summer hat held on by a wool scarf) was surrounded by a platoon of Marines. He called down a FFE (Fire For Effect) barrage of 16″ inch shells with proximity fuses. One salvo took out one ChiCom Division.
Range of 16″/50 destructive power … there was also a design for a 13″ subcaliber sabot round, 100 mi range, that could mount a laser seeker. Might only be 1000-1200 lbs. Think Copperhead, but with a much larger bite.
They have a prototype sub-caliber munition onboard the Iowa.
Thanks.
I’ve come up with a new fantasy.
I want to see what a 1/2 dozen full salvos of the “Firecrackers” would do.
Never saw the “Forms of Address” meme before, so I’m swiping it!
Ahhhh….my beloved Iowa-class ships.
Glad you got to go aboard, NFO!