NationStates Jolt Archive

I like the planes, but my heart has always been a fan of the ships of the sea (a bit strange as I was born and raised in a desert, but oh well).

So, tossing this open to any and all vessel that has ever kissed water, what ship do you believe was the best in her service, spesification, events, battles, what have ya?

For me, I will go with the USS Enterprise CV-6, the most decorated carrier of WWII that partisipated in just about every major battle in the Pacific, earned 20 battle stars and the first Presidental Unit Citation given to a carrier as well as a host of other honors.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/jusenkyoguide/ouemo.jpg
http://cv6.org/

How about you?

Hmmm, from the earlier days, it'd probably be the duo Goeben (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Goeben) and Breslau (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Breslau).

They are always good for a story (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pursuit_of_Goeben_and_Breslau) or two.

As far as modern ships are concerned, it'd probably be modern submarines, like the US Virginia Class, or the big Soviet Typhoon.

I'm an Anglophile, so HMS Warspite (1913). Her actions in Jutland, however inadvertent thy were, saved HMS Warrior from certain destruction.

And she, of course, is credited with the best gunnery hit in history. :)

The Yamato was awesome.

I'm an Anglophile, so HMS Warspite (1913). Her actions in Jutland, however inadvertent thy were, saved HMS Warrior from certain destruction.

And she, of course, is credited with the best gunnery hit in history. :)
Ok, I haven't heard of that one, what happened?

I can't beleive no one has yet mentioned:

The SS Minnow! A gorgeous ship with a great crew.

http://www.gilligansisle.com/minnow.html

;)

I can't beleive no one has yet mentioned:

The SS Minnow! A gorgeous ship with a great crew.
Well, I've always wondered how the Professor could make so many damn things out of coconuts but couldn't fix the blasted ship. ;)

yes i like nice new frigates, but don't you ever feel the master and commander or pirates of the caribbean nostagia for http://www.torrington-cavaliers.co.uk/images/Victory/Victory1.jpg

best damn ship i've been on. its amde me want to become a student shiphand during my gap year

http://davidszondy.com/future/Flight/KM_ekanroplan.gif

That is the KM or as it's also known, The Caspian Sea Monster. It was built in the 1960s and it's half-boat half-airplane. Specifically, it is a ground-effect vehicle that can cruise 20ft above the surface of the water at speeds over 350 knots! It's about 310 ft. long and weights about 540 tons!

In the 1960s until the early 1980s, the Soviets messed around with ekranoplanes as they are called. They can haul massive cargo at incredibly high speeds. They had a few flaws. The one that really doomed them was corrosion from the sea spray was causing massive maintenance issues.

There's been a rebirth of ekranoplane technology lately as new composite materials make this less of an issue.

Myself, I prefer the Black Pearl.

Ok, I haven't heard of that one, what happened?
In the Battle of Punta Stilo in 1940 she engaged the Italian battleships and scored a hit on the Giulio Cesare. The distance was 26,000 yards.

In the Battle of Punta Stilo in 1940 she engaged the Italian battleships and scored a hit on the Giulio Cesare. The distance was 26,000 yards.

Sweet!:eek:

King Henry VIII's Mary Rose - nice ship, pity it sunk itself.

i didnt like the mary rose though, ive seen it been to the museum and know about it, but i just didnt like it, didnt have the same feel as the beloved victory

yes i like nice new frigates, but don't you ever feel the master and commander or pirates of the caribbean nostagia for http://www.torrington-cavaliers.co.uk/images/Victory/Victory1.jpg

best damn ship i've been on. its amde me want to become a student shiphand during my gap year

Yeah i've being on board the HMS Victory. Amazing ship. None of that advanced technology malarky, all run on skill, sweat and determination!

i didnt like the mary rose though, ive seen it been to the museum and know about it, but i just didnt like it, didnt have the same feel as the beloved victory
No biggie, I feel the same about my fav frigate, Old Ironsides herself, the USS Constitution.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/Anabasis/001372.jpg
I always liked Dar Mlodzeizy. A Polish sail training ship, she was at the Tall Ships in Newcastle this summer, before going on a world cruise. Can you imagine sailing into Rio Bay on that beauty?:)

HMS Warspite:

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/images/b103.jpg

http://www.hampshirecam.co.uk/dday/warspite.jpg

I kinda liked the hull design of the titanic before it sunk. Pitty it sunk due to ignorance and wishfull thinking.

I also liked the hull of her sistership, Britanic(a?)

I kinda liked the hull design of the titanic before it sunk. Pitty it sunk due to ignorance and wishfull thinking.

I also liked the hull of her sistership, Britanic(a?)
Brittanic, I think.

I'm just going to name ships that intrest me.

USS Enterprise
USS Iowa
Yamato
USS Constitution
Bon homme Richard

And spanish galleons as well as galleon designs in general.

The Caspian Sea Monster!


Though... for aesthetic reasons, I prefer the lun.

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/aerodynamics/ground-effect/lun01.jpg

I really like the shape of the Titanic; really elegant looking.

I like the planes, but my heart has always been a fan of the ships of the sea (a bit strange as I was born and raised in a desert, but oh well).

So, tossing this open to any and all vessel that has ever kissed water, what ship do you believe was the best in her service, spesification, events, battles, what have ya?

For me, I will go with the USS Enterprise CV-6, the most decorated carrier of WWII that partisipated in just about every major battle in the Pacific, earned 20 battle stars and the first Presidental Unit Citation given to a carrier as well as a host of other honors.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/jusenkyoguide/ouemo.jpg
http://cv6.org/

How about you?Love the Aircraft Carriers. but I also love the battleships. The Mighty Mo and even the Yamato (tho it never saw combat.) :(

http://www.morrellimelvin.com/page52_files/SF125_PlayStationJumping.jpg

My first cats and traps were on the USS Lexington. If you look at the area just aft and port of the island, you will notice that it's got a patch over a hole in the deck. My A6 put that hole there during a refueling operation. The right main wheel managed to find a soft spot in the wooden deck and crashed right through. We were fine, but there was a guy in the berthing compartment below that got a hell of a surprise! He was okay, too, just a little edgy for the rest of the cruise.

http://www.thecityofcorpuschristi.com/escape/usslexingtoncorpuschristi.jpg

I don't have a favorite naval vessel. I do have a soft spot for the USS Constitution, though. Anyone visiting Boston should tour that ship.

I've had my eye on a Grand Banks rowing dory to row out at the lake, though.

even the Yamato (tho it never saw combat.) :(

Yeah it did. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Yamato

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/USS_Constitution_1997.jpg

USS Constitution.

I really like the shape of the Titanic; really elegant looking.

Its the big fucking hole down the side that does it for me too.

Sending the fleet back to port *bump*

Call me crazy, but I'm a little partial to the ill-fated Bismarck.

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/germany/gersh-b/bismarck.htm

http://www.deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/webpages/Segelschulschiff_Gorch_Fock.jpg

The IX-529 Sea Shadow

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/images/SeaShadow-DNSC9400409.JPG

The IX-529 Sea Shadow

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/images/SeaShadow-DNSC9400409.JPG

Isn't that the stealth ship from the Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies"?

The one and only, the greastest Warship to sail the Seas

HMS VICTORY

http://www.hms-victory.com/

Isn't that the stealth ship from the Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies"?

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/sea_shadow.htm

A little more info on the Sea Shadow for ya... :)

I recall that when the ship's existence was first made public, there was a lot of speculation that the ship was of a new class, that was to be modified to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles.

While the Sea Shadow is extremely seaworthy, it is also extremely slow and expensive, so those plans were scrapped.

Its the big fucking hole down the side that does it for me too.
Ok, so it looked good before the big hole;)

http://www.hsandven.com/titanic/images/titanic.jpg

The queen of the seas was the battlewagon for decades, of which the most impressive were the Bismarck, the Iowa, and the Yamamoto. The most famous, is the Missouri, where the signing of Japan's unconditional surrender was held. I rearmed the New Jersey at sea years ago, and ths ight of a battle ship at sea is impressive, as you know this ship was designed to do one thing, and one thing only - hunt and kill.
Now, the era of the battleship is gone. The supercarrier and submarine rules the waves of today. Neither have the grace and elan of the battleship, but then again, war never was about looking good....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v419/msarzo/3mast.jpg

The U.S.S. Constitution. The bane of the Royal Navy's existence between 1812 and 1815.

My favorite ships:

USS Constitution
USS Enterprise
USS Missouri

http://www.tribulation.com/images/typhoon.jpg

My favorite ships:
USS Enterprise
Which one? There's been 8 ships in the US Navy to bear the name Enterprise.

Leonstein, what's the names of the ships you've posted?

Leonstein, what's the names of the ships you've posted?
Well, the SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau, the sail boat is the Gorch Fock, where the modern German sailor learns the ropes (so to speak), and the sub is a Typhoon Class Soviet Boat, but I don't know any specific names.

Which one? There's been 8 ships in the US Navy to bear the name Enterprise.

Leonstein, what's the names of the ships you've posted?

CV-6!

CV-12, the USS Hornet. Essex class carrier. Docked at the former Alameda Naval Air Station.

http://www.scoutway.net/unit/pack6/hornet1.jpg

I must admit, though, as far as ships go, the Iowa class battleships are beautiful.

I love the way the battle cruisers of WWI, both British and German looked, even though as warships they had some pretty horrible weaknesses.

The USS Constitution is a great ship, too.

I've always had a soft spot for the ships of the U.S. Navy during WWII. That being said, while I detest Nazism in general, I can't dispute that they made some damned elegant and effective ships. One of my favorite is the Scharnhorst-class battlecruisers: elegant, with a phenomenal range and excellent combination of speed, armor protection, and firepower that would have made them devastating had they ever truly gotten into the open sea and Hitler's short tether.

http://www.scharnhorst-class.dk/index.html

CV-12, the USS Hornet. Essex class carrier. Docked at the former Alameda Naval Air Station.
She was a fun ship to tour. Especially as your first sight of her is so unexpected.

Being told by the ship's chaplin that he'd marry my fiancee and I on board right then and there was a wee bit much though.

I've always had a soft spot for the ships of the U.S. Navy during WWII. That being said, while I detest Nazism in general, I can't dispute that they made some damned elegant and effective ships. One of my favorite is the Scharnhorst-class battlecruisers: elegant, with a phenomenal range and excellent combination of speed, armor protection, and firepower that would have made them devastating had they ever truly gotten into the open sea and Hitler's short tether.

http://www.scharnhorst-class.dk/index.html
It's pretty clear from the Pacific war that carriers would dominate any war at sea scenario. If the German navy would have been turned loose into the Atlantic, they would have been chopped to pieces by Allied air.

Now, the interesting thing would have been how the Allies handled the submarine threat. That wasn't such a factor in the Pacific.

She was a fun ship to tour. Especially as your first sight of her is so unexpected.

Being told by the ship's chaplin that he'd marry my fiancee and I on board right then and there was a wee bit much though.

See, since I grew up in Alameda (I now live at college), the ship has been, for some time now, a very expected part of the base. She looks prettiest at sunset, in my opinion, and yes, the Hornet does seem to appear rather suddenly.

It's too bad that the museum doesn't make much money. It was a struggle to keep the ship from getting scrapped, and keeping the museum going apparently is quite a struggle as well. They might have to move her to San Francisco proper, I've heard.

If the German navy would have been turned loose into the Atlantic, they would have been chopped to pieces by Allied air.
Agreed, but they also built their own aircraft carriers.

http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/germany/pages/aircraft_carriers/graf_zeppelin.htm

my favorite would have to be the USS lexington but that's only because my grandpa served on it during WWII.

I love boats. They are my passion.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you ... the Cutty Sark:

http://www.zaglowce.ow.pl/bosman/fotografie/cs2000/01.jpg

Give me sails any day.

Agreed, but they also built their own aircraft carriers.

http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/germany/pages/aircraft_carriers/graf_zeppelin.htm
What action did the carriers see? Did pilots even launch and recover from them?

What action did the carriers see? Did pilots even launch and recover from them?
Well, they were never finished. :D

The Gref Zeppelin did see action though. The Soviets used it as target practice after the war...

CV-12, the USS Hornet. Essex class carrier. Docked at the former Alameda Naval Air Station.

http://www.scoutway.net/unit/pack6/hornet1.jpg

You do know that the Original Hornet was sunk at the Battle of Guadalcanal I hope. The Hornet here was originally Kearsarge. It goes by its more informal name of the USS Hornet II.

I must admit, though, as far as ships go, the Iowa class battleships are beautiful.

Amen.

I love the way the battle cruisers of WWI, both British and German looked, even though as warships they had some pretty horrible weaknesses.

As the HMS Hood proved in World War II.

The USS Constitution is a great ship, too.

The scurge of the British Navy :D

It's pretty clear from the Pacific war that carriers would dominate any war at sea scenario. If the German navy would have been turned loose into the Atlantic, they would have been chopped to pieces by Allied air.

Now, the interesting thing would have been how the Allies handled the submarine threat. That wasn't such a factor in the Pacific.

Depends on which period in the war. Unlike the Tirpitz-class, the Scharnhorst didn't have the rudder problems that ultimately spelled the end of Bismarck, and unlike the Deutschland-class pocket battleships, she didn't have paper mache for armor either. Combine that with her speed, and she presented a fairly difficult target for British torpedo bombers to take out. Later on, the Brits managed to get some semblance of a dive-bombing corp together, but still, they would have had a hard time repeating the feats that their American counterparts did to the Japs against the Germans.

Moreover, you forget the fact that the Brits were never anywhere near as effective with their carrier groups as we were with ours: in point of fact one of Scharnhorst's greatest exploits was the sinking of the carrier HMS Glorious, when she got the drop on it and absolutely ganked her and her escorts. The Royal Navy in the Atlantic relied heavily upon their surface fleet to contain the German raiders rather than aircraft, and in that respect, while the Scharnhorst was overmatched by the larger battleships in the RN, she nevertheless aquitted herself quite well in any surface engagement.

my favorite would have to be the USS lexington but that's only because my grandpa served on it during WWII.

I read abook about the USS Lexington. Fascinating book. Learned alot from it. Was he there at Coral Sea?

Well, they were never finished. :D

The Gref Zeppelin did see action though. The Soviets used it as target practice after the war...
I see ... Vaporware.

I wonder how the Soviet carrier is working out. Not the POS Kiev, but the one that was going to be called the Tbilisi until Georgia revolted. It was for fixed wing with an angle deck and everything.

I read abook about the USS Lexington. Fascinating book. Learned alot from it. Was he there at Coral Sea?

he was there from 1942,I'd ask him but he died when I was little

Not the POS Kiev, but the one that was going to be called the Tbilisi until Georgia revolted. It was for fixed wing with an angle deck and everything.
The Chinese own it now...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_aircraft_carrier_Kuznetsov

he was there from 1942,I'd ask him but he died when I was little

Then he was at Coral Sea if he was there in 1942. Unless he left the ship before May and the actual battle.

Fascinating.

The Chinese own it now...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_aircraft_carrier_Kuznetsov
At least the Russians followed us around in AGIs trying to learn how we did carrier ops. I just laugh to think about Chinese pilots trying to get the line-up, angle of attack, and glideslope all right at the same time.

Or as the LSO says "Power, POwer, POWER...WAVE IT OFF!".

I just laugh to think about Chinese pilots trying to get the line-up, angle of attack, and glideslope all right at the same time.
I'm not sure whether they actually use it as a weapon. I think one of them was supposed to be a casino...
While you Yanks sit there drooling over big guns they'll be beating you at capitalism and buy your shit up! :D

Anyways, just because the pilots were born in a different part of the world does not mean that they can't become capable pilots. Obviously China didn't have the chance to practice, but they'll be catching up, rest assured.

It's too bad that the museum doesn't make much money. It was a struggle to keep the ship from getting scrapped, and keeping the museum going apparently is quite a struggle as well. They might have to move her to San Francisco proper, I've heard.
That's a damn shame. Every time I go aboard there's a new section that's opened up and new stories to hear. I hope they keep her going as a museum ship.

You do know that the Original Hornet was sunk at the Battle of Guadalcanal I hope. The Hornet here was originally Kearsarge. It goes by its more informal name of the USS Hornet II

Yes, I was aware of that. The one that was sunk was CV-8 I believe, and its claim to fame was the Doolittle air raid on Tokyo, during which they launched B-25's off the carrier deck.

USS Hornet, CV-12 served later in the war (naturally). Some of the planes that sank the Japanese battleship Yamato were launched from the USS Hornet if I recall correctly. Anyway, most of the little fame that our Hornet has comes from recovering the astronauts of Apollo 11

And yes, NERVUN, it is quite a shame. Hornet doesn't get much press, though, for whatever reason, and museum ships are expensive to keep going. I won't mind if they move her to the City, though, if it means she'll stay afloat.

I love most war ships, but am especially fond of diesel submarines.

The Chinese own it now...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_aircraft_carrier_Kuznetsov

Actually, the Kuznetsov is still ours. She is rusting away in Severomorsk now, I presume.

Actually, the Kuznetsov is still ours. She is rusting away in Severomorsk now, I presume.
True, true. The Chinese bought the other one.

HMAS Melbourne. The old girl sank one Australian destroyer & one USN destroyer, but never saw combat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Melbourne_%281945%29

http://www.navy.gov.au/spc/history/ships/melbourne2.htm

I love boats. They are my passion.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you ... the Cutty Sark:

<image snippage>

Give me sails any day.
Damn straight. It's a pity that the Cutty Sark is stuck in a dry dock, they should put her on permanent cruise.