Some BBs along the way.

Well, it sounds like Sarge represented the gang quite well at Saturday's get together.  Like most of us, I wish we could have been there.  Woulda been fun.

However, as promised I have some photos to post, and rather than in chronological order, I think I'll post them in by types rather than location.

Having been on a lot of ships in my life, to include my first voyage at less than one year old and a couple of sails on Blue Ridge and Coronado, I thought I'd start with "Ships for 100, Alex".

One of the things I realized on the drive back home from the USS Texas stop, was while all different, there was an identifiable lineage in the 3 Battleships I'd "Seen" on the trip.  I say "Seen", because one of them, USS Louisiana, was only a large scale model.  The current USS Louisiana looks like this when she's underway.

Source

However, the USS Louisiana (BB-19) was a Connecticut Class Battleship commissioned in 1906. Her big claim to fame in her 14 year career was participation in the round the world cruise of the "Great White Fleet".

USS Louisiana (BB-19) Source

Her armament was 4 x 12" guns, 2 forward and 2 aft and difficult to see in the above photo, as well as 8 X 8" and 12 x 7" guns along the sides as well as 4 X 21" torpedo tubes along the sides.  She spent WWI as a gunnery training ship, was decommissioned in 1920 and sold for scrap in 1923.

Here's the model

But she sets the baseline for my point.  The next ship, chronologically, is USS Texas (BB-35).

Huge, too big to get in one shot, so panorama was needed. Ergo, a bit of distortion.

USS Texas is a New York Class Battleship, and is the sole surviving battleship that fought in both WWI and WWII.    She is huge!  Her armament included 10 x 14", 21 X 5" guns as well as 4 X 21" Torpedo tubes.

USS Texas is part of the San Jacinto monument park.  The park and monument commemorate the Battle of San Jacinto, an 18 minute battle fought on April 21, 1836 where the Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexican Army led by Santa Anna.  He escaped after the battle, but was captured the next day and held captive until the Leader of the Mexican Government (did I mention that Santa Anna was also President of Mexico at the time?) signed the Peace Treaty granting Texas its Independence.

Funny, how negotiations are easier when your boot is on their neck.

Stay on Target, juvat!

Target Aye! ¡Mi viejo sargento de la Fuerza Aérea con un ojo biónico!
 

The similarity is in the emplacements  (barbettes) directly above the rust spots on the hull

So having visited the USS Kidd museum the previous day and viewed the model of the USS Louisiana, when I started to board the USS Texas and took the above picture, I was struck by the similarities.

Specifically, the 5" gun emplacements along and recessed into the sides.  They very much reminded me of similar emplacements on Louisiana.  

Boarding was delayed for a few minutes as a Cub Scout Pack that had overnighted on board held a flag raising ceremony.  I thought it was cool.

With the ship officially opened, we boarded and started walking around.  This truly is a museum ship and very few things were "don't touch".  There were some off limits areas, primarily 3 decks down and given what I've read about the ship and its maintenance problems, I was ok with that.

But as I said, very few things were "don't touch".

So the 3 inch gun mounts, which you and a partner could traverse and elevate, were prime real estate for the Cubs.  No, Murphy, I don't think they actually fire, although, if anyone can make that so, it would be you.

But, while I wanted to try, Mrs J wouldn't stop laughing, so I gave up.

The 5" gun emplacements from the inside.

The ready rack for the guns.  These were loaded manually although there was a hoist that brought them up to the gun deck from storage.

Moving forward, from the midships and on to the Main Deck

The San Jacinto Battlefield,  Santa Anna's men were basically at the monument, Sam Houston's men started from the foreground in the picture.

Mrs J is taking a picture of me taking a picture.

The main battery turrets also show the lineage back to the USS Louisiana.  2 barrels per turret (albeit a couple of inches bigger).  But if you notice on either side and slightly above the main turrets are a weapon platform that shows further evolution (and eventual demise) of the battleship.

Anti-aircraft platforms.  USS Texas was the first battleship to receive and test Anti-Aircraft on board.  She was also one of the first BB's to have an Aircraft itself on board.  It, however, was used for Observation and gunfire control rather than protection.

WWI for USS Texas was spent mostly in convoy duty while in WWII she was initially assigned to the Atlantic. Prior to US entry in the war, she again performed convoy escort.  After Pearl Harbor, her armament was changed somewhat to increase the AAA coverage.  She provide gunfire support during Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa as well as the Normandy Invasion.  Specifically she was tasked with providing the gunfire support for the Ranger attack on Pont Du Hoc. Ironically, the commander of that attack was James E. Rudder, Texas A&M class of '32.

Following replenishment, USS Texas returned to support the attack on the port of Cherbourg.  During this attack, the Texas came under fire from the batteries around the port and sustained a hit which wrecked the pilot house killing the helmsman on duty, Christen Christensen, the only combat fatality USS Texas sustained.

USS Texas as seen during the invasion of Southern France from USS Arkansas.  A miss is a as good as a mile, I guess.

She further provided support for the invasion of Southern France before being transferred to the Pacific where she provided support for the invasions of Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

Quiz question #1:  What is this and what is it used for?

All in All, I'm glad I got to visit her.  I sincerely hope she returns to some venue where she can be explored.  I think San Jacinto is symbolically a good place, but I guess the water environment isn't conducive to her longevity.

As we were walking back to the car, I glanced back at the ship.  Thought this was an interesting shot.

This was playing in the Officer's Wardroom on board.   The chaplains story of the German Artillery hit is dust raising.

The 3rd BB to talk about was in fact the first we saw.  Way back in the early portion of the road trip, we stopped at Mobile and visited Battleship Park.  Since it was only a couple of hours from Baton Rouge and the Stalinist prison camp hotel room, we went directly to the park arriving around 11:30.  It was Alabama...in August.  It was warm, but again, at least it was humid.

So. juvat, an excellent opportunity to realistically experience, if only for a brief while, life on a battleship in the South Pacific. I mean, how much more realistic can it get? 102° on the Truck thermometer,  heat index of 112 according to the news, and a 36000 ton hunk of metal that's been out in it for years.

My antiperspirant failed.


But...

The park itself is very cool and has quite a few one of a kinds.

Not the least of which is the star of the show.

There was no place I could get to where I could get a full shot of her

USS Alabama (BB-60), was the last of the South Dakota class of Battleships.  I was struck by the similarity to the Missouri, but noted that she seemed smaller.

Well...Congress....Money....War Coming, but..."OK Navy, you can have more battleships, with bigger guns, but no more tonnage."  So, with additions and changes to the design based on lessons learned at Pearl Harbor, she is quite a bit more cramped than Iowa class.  That having been said, she was "Yuge",  Texas is just "Huge".

Cost a bit to get into the Park Museums ($25 for Mrs J and I with our Senior/Veteran discount, pick one, they're both the same amount), but worth it.

Came aboard and strolled back to the aft deck.  Took a picture for a Japanese couple visiting the ship and enjoyed the irony of that.  I was enthused about this ship, because I had no real knowledge of what she had done during the war.

Well, she was initially assigned to the Atlantic after commissioning in August of '42.  However, by summer of '43, she was transferred to the Pacific, which was a pretty dark time in that theater.  However, she was a new battleship and the last of her class and a new class was coming into service, and there were carriers and other ships, in short, the tide was turning.

You got that feeling when you walked on board.

9 battle stars. The Gilberts, Marshals, Truk and other raids, Hollandia, Marianas, Carolines, Leyte, Okinawa, and Operations against Japan itself.

One of Buck's "I had no ideer" 's but this made a lot of sense. (After I read the captions.) with a wartime crew of ~2500, no one could know everyone, so these buttons were worn on uniforms and specified duty stations and shifts.  At a glance you could tell where and when someone was supposed to be.

STxAR's favorite room.  (The radio room)

The main gun casemate which provide structural support and protection for the loading and firing process.

BTW the lug on the right is 6'

 Which was a big deal when you're loading these little things.  Right after that picture, I had the thought that those guys in the turrets weren't tiny.

"When I joined the Navy, I was a 90Lb weakling, look at me NOW!"

But somehow those shells had to get maneuvered onto these lifts for loading.  Quickly, when it's hot, humid, and loud.  Over and over.

Then there was the 5" rounds also.

All so these things could go boom when they were supposed to.  BTW, when I counted, there were 45 weapons of various sizes I could see from this position.  I don't think I got them all in the shot, however, 

Source

Quiz Question #2  What was this used for?

So that rounds out the BB's we encountered.  And we learned a lot.  I did have one moment I'll remember for quite a while.

My Country's Flags were all at half-staff/mast.

It bothers me when I see that.  It means we've lost countrymen.  It irritates me when it happens for no apparent reason.  It annoys me when some idiot publishes some manifesto trying to justify their actions.  Finally, I am infuriated when somebody tries to make political gain out of it and blame it on devices, not people, and tries to pass laws that prohibit or restrict my/our ability to protect our lives and those of people we love.  I worry about our future.

Dedicated to Alabama Military and First Responders who have lost their lives since 9/11

Then sometimes something happens that says I might just be wrong about that.