If this picture isn't in the front hall of the Aviation Boatswain's Mate "A" School HQ, it's criminal.
That right there is some righteous deck rigging.
You may be good, but are you chaining-a-squadron-of-fighters-down-to-withstand-40°-rolls-in-a-typhoon good?
(To be fair to today's Absolutely Fabulous Rainbow Navy, this was back when not running into everything else afloat was seen as par for the Bridge Officer's & Watchstander's course 24/7/365, rather than something to earn you an efficiency "E" on the superstructure. And they didn't have any 85# female ABs. So don't feel bad about yourselves. You've been hobbled by institutional stupidity. But get out before there's a shooting war, I beseech you.)
In the early 80's I was on a submarine at periscope depth that collided with another submarine on the surface. The junior officer manning the periscope observed the other boat's running lights and determine it was opening distance, not closing. Fortunately no one was injured on either boat but only because the collision point was aft on both ships.
ReplyDeleteDon't remember what happened to that junior officer...he's probably an admiral now...
Well, on a submerged submarine such things can be more difficult, I guess.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there seems to be no excuse for surface vessels in any Navy (Yes, Norway, I'm looking at you too) to collide with other surface vessels.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-06-25/us-combat-ship-collides-canadian-freighter-montreal-0
ReplyDeleteAnother collision, this time the American ship hit a *berthed* freighter. Someone in the comments said it's the same as hitting a parked car. At least, this time, nobody got hurt or killed.
I have a family member going through the Navy's OCS. We, the family, have done our best to prepare and warn them about this kind of thing. Hopefully they don't go down the same path as other screw-up officers; or get killed by a screw-up. It's a different world today versus the picture you posted.
I saw that pic on another website earlier and thought the same thing you did about the rigging and tie downs.
ReplyDeleteOne of my ships collided with a berthed ship in Esquimault, BC Royal Canadian Naval Base back in 1977. It was HMRCS Provider at the pier and the USS Shasta at fault. I was on the fathom-meter in the chart-house and could hear the Captain arguing with the harbor pilot; couldn't hear the words, but the Captain was trying to bring our ship alongside the Provider and the pilot was against it. I could also hear the bridge-wing bearing-takers on the phone circuit; the guy on the port-side was saying, "We're gonna HIT the sonuvabitch!" (Boom) "We HIT the sonuvabitch!" The main damage was to the aft flight-deck of the Canadian ship; rolled the starboard side right up. Since we were tied up outboard of the Provider and would have to cross their quarterdeck to get ashore, NONE of us went ashore.
ReplyDeleteThis was the same Captain who carved a channel in the mud at Manila Bay, permanently bending one of the blades on our single prop. I was on the fathom-meter for that one too. "Attention on the bridge! ZERO feet under the keel!" When we got back to home-port, the Captain got moved up to Commodore and assigned a desk at squadron HQ.
@Crew - no difference in difficulty between a submerged submarine looking through a periscope and a surface ship. If you see a ship and the lights are green to the left and red to the right...that ship is coming toward you. Pretty basic seamanship. Or in today's navy I guess that would be called seapersonship.
ReplyDeleteGlad I was an airdale... Did a few months on Coral Maru back in the day, and they could have passed that test! 12 point tiedowns on ANYTHING that could move either on the flight deck or hangar deck.
ReplyDeleteI talked with the Navy Recruiter and asked if I could get a job that doesn't go to sea... he and the Marine Recruiter looked at me and laughed. Why I went Army. I would have puked so much those tie downs would have worthless.
ReplyDeletethat's a baby carrier, even more daunting a task
ReplyDeleteSaw this Thursday AM on Big League Politics via Anonymous Conservative.
ReplyDeleteSee the comment of people with "unknown disease" in private hospital with military guards W-T-F is this about no information allowed out.
Needed to get this to you so posted this here
Forgot to add the link
ReplyDeletehttps://bigleaguepolitics.com/texas-medical-professional-migrants-quarantined-with-unknown-disease-10-year-old-girl-found-with-20-types-of-semen-in-her/
My Dad was a pilot on the Essex during WWII. He told me he "had seen green water on the flight deck..." . That picture gives me some perspective on what that might entail.
ReplyDeleteI'll second several points above; yes that was the WWII Navy, though of course one of those Admirals got a fifth star after running through a typhoons losing ships and men (yeah YOU halsey) so like the Esquimalt story we of the past were not blameless, but we were generally better mariners than today.
ReplyDeleteI experienced a 43-degree roll to starboard on a watch, did wonder if the ol bitch was gonna recover, though obviously she managed. "Secure for sea" is just part of the deal, like avoiding collision and grounding.
Boat Guy
did 30 to 40 degree rolls along with a fore-aft pitch for 3 days in the north atlantic. november 1981. like a 3 day funhouse
ReplyDeleteSkybill here!!
ReplyDeleteBack when... 1970..PR-2, V-6 Div. Paraloft.. USS OKINAWA LPH-3 on our way from Hawaii to NZ with a bunch of A-4 "Skyhawk's" all "Cacooned" in that spray on foam stuff" "LASHED!!" to the fwd flight deck along with the ship's helo (CH-46) encountered a TYPHOON off PAGO PAGO for 5 daze because Comode-DOOR LaCava saidd to the Navigator,"I think you are wrong, change course 90 degrees!!" and we were in for it... 75% of the crew was seasick from the pounding!! I puked my guts out to mucus.. and lost an honest "15 pounds in 5 days!!" I went from 175 lbs to 160 lbs.!!!!! "NO SHIT!!!@!"" Every piece of radio and radar was knocked out of commission from the pounding! Finally after 5 daze the storm pitched us to it's outer perimeter!! two of the ship's Helo pilots crawled up the flight deck to the helo, turned on the radio and contacted New Zealand that sent a P-2 out looking for us and pointed us in the direction of NZ!! Because everything was out of wack and because of the overcast we couldn't even shoot a fix on the sun!!!!!!! 'Limped into NZ spent the better part of a week there getting patched up, off to Subic, spent at least a week there getting patched up they couldn't do it all. had to go to Sasebo Japan to that major western pacific shipbuilding fac. to get the finishing touches and finally "Battle Ready!!" made it to Vietnam to relieve the ship waiting for us!! All this at the cost of Millions of U.S. TAX PAYER DOLLARS compliments of the "Comode-DOOR!!!"... He did not make admiral, they told him,"Don't let the door bang you on the ass on the way out!!!!"
skybill
PS Got photos in the cruise book in my archive!!! The A-4's all made it!!!!!!!!
I'm in, and I'm not getting out. Damn it, someone has to keep this shit on the rails.
ReplyDelete