Warbird Information Exchange

Well we went down to Hampton Roads to see the In-Laws this Christmas season. It was nice, we stayed at my last "Old Navy Base" Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) LittleCreek.

What sucked was that I didn't have internet access all week long. Man was I jone'sin for some WIX when I got back. Heck I was afraid "Lil" was gonna be finished and all put back together.

Being a "Green" Navy guy it was nostalgic to get back to LittleCreek and see a lot of my Navy Buddies.

Besides meeting with friends and family I did manage to get out and get some pictures of places and things. Not all that I had planned on but I'll be back over the successive months and years.

Here are a few:

I'm only guessing here but I'm betting this Huey belongs to MDSU-2 (Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two) for use in trianing. If I'm not mistaken they also had a hand in slavaging the USS Monitor.



Then I made my way to the Hampton Roads Naval Museum.

A-4 Skyhawk BuNo. 150058 I'm told this is the A-4 used in the Filming of Top Gun





And the icing on the cake the USS Wisconsin BB-64 "The Last of the BattleShips" (commissioned)

Here is an interesting fact. The Bow of the Wisconsin is in fact that of the un-commisioned USS Kentucky BB-66 (construction was suspended in 1947). Which was used to replace the Wisconsin's damaged bow in 1956












It would be nice, one day, to see a replica Kingfisher and catapult displayed on the Wisconsin's fantail. Perhaps also on display a CH-46 or a SH-60.

"The Lone Sailor" facing the USS Wisconsin





Shay
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Semper Fortis

nice photos, thanks for sharing.

quick couple of questions: first, is the flag on the bow at half-mast? if so, why?

lastly, is it the lack of stores/ammunition/fuel etc. that is causing the Wisconsin to ride high?

cheers

greg v.

The flag is at hast mast because of the passing of former President Gerald Ford.

Regarding the Half mast question. As Connery mentioned it was lowered in tribute to the passing of the Honorable Gerald Ford. These pictures were taken the day that the news of his passing was released.

Regarding the Wisconsin's draft. I noticed this when I was there and wondered the same thing. Although she is sealed to the public and maintained in a stored readiness condition I did noticed quite a bit of equipment missing above deck and one can only imagine what is missing below deck. All of her CIWS mounts have been removed.



Shay
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Semper Fortis

D'oh! I should have got that one....

cheers

greg v.

What was the damage done to the Wisconsin's original bow?

Neat sailor statue...

_________________
"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

BB64 the Wistucky

Collided with the destroyer USS Eaton DDE-510 in 1956 during fog.





http://www.usswisconsin.org/Collision/collision.htm

Ok so how can we get aboard..like those civilians in your photos?

Z

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Zane Adams
There I was at 20,000 ft, upside down and out of ammunition.
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Shay, excellent shots! Any shots of "The Lone Sailor" from the front? Thanks for sharing!!!

_________________
Civis Aerius Sum

I am a citizen of the Air

Well this is how we got aboard.



Just kidding of course. There is a walkway from the museum to the Wisconsin. You can see it in one of the pictures I posted.

The main deck and a the 1st two superstructure decks are open to the public. Bascially the interior is sealed, should she ever be called upon to serve her country again. Would be awesome to see her sail, but i doubt we will again.

Shay
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Semper Fortis

Sure do.

I took these because Scott had mentioned possibly starting up a Memorials section. I mean't to make to NAB Littlecreek's Pearl Harbor memorial but did't make it due to time constraints.

This is Wisconsin Square Memorial

































Shay
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Semper Fortis

Thanks for posting the pics of the USS Wisconsin Shay I came very close to enlisting in the Navy back in 1987 when they had a special program to enlist residents from Wisconsin to serve on board her. But I ended uo choosing the Army instead

John

Great pics, Shay!

I was especially interested in the memorial to those lost on USS Belknap. My uncle was on the ship during the collision, and has told me about that fateful night many times. He spent the night fighting the fires and helping pitch ammunition over the side. Of course, being a sailor, his stories get more dramatic as the years pass!


Cheers!

Steve

Oddly enough I had never heard of the saga of the USS Liberty, but the memorial plaque piqued my interest. I don't know how I could have not heard about it before, as there seems to be about half a dozen books on the subject as well as about three or four documentaries. I found this website with a huge amount of info, for better or worse:

http://home.cfl.rr.com/gidusko/liberty/

cheers

greg v.