IDF
13-10-2004, 02:58
It was a dull bleak day at the Haifa building yards in IDF. There were hundreds of onlookers who came to see this sad, but historic event. There was complete silence with the exception of the harbor tugs announcing their presence.
The attention quickly went to another ship announcing it's precense. The ISS Constellation CV-64. She was IDF's 1st carrier in the Navy. Her origins were dating back to the 1950's when she was built for the US Navy and after a successful career there sold to the IDF Navy where she served for 20 good years.
She was acquired when IDF came on to the world spotlight. For a few years her battlegroup made up the whole Navy that had since become one of the world's strongest.
The Connie as she was called, began service with the IDF Navy after a refit that allowed her to survive 20 more years. She saw service in the Al Anbar War where she was the primary IDF asset to fight the invasions of other Gulf States.
After the war, she was used in strikes against Cyprus during the war against the nation of Greece & Cyprus and also struck Fascist White States during the war against that threat to world peace.
After those few wars, her role changed. The IDF Navy had grown larger and was becoming a nuclear carrier fleet. The Connie was moved to Med operations and the reserve fleet.
After undergoing a refit 10 years ago, her role changed to that of a ship used to train midshipmen.
She did her job well, but now that time had come to a close. 40,000 cadets trained in her during those years that had gone.
Now she was edged to the pier at the Haifa building yards. For the second time in her long and proud life she was being decommissioned.
Adm. Jason Rich (Ret.) her 1st IDF CO cried as he read a speech and poem about his great ship. She was truly great. Her technology may have been outdated, but damn she was still a beautiful girl and he would give anything to command her for just one more day.
At the conclusion of the speeches and the Marine band's rendition of "Hatikvah," the IDF National Anthem, her commissioning pennant was lowered.
The ship was too costly to turn into a museum. She was to be scrapped in 2 weeks. Her reactor had already gone offline and the plans for her destruction were written up.
With a proper refit the Connie could live to 100 years old, but that just wasn't going to happen. This brave girl was not being allowed to live. With the pull of a string her life had been extinguished for a second time. It would be a sad day in the IDF Navy's history. But, it was a sign on progress and sometimes blood had to pave the way for progess, even if the blood was just an analogy for the death of this ship.
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/histories/cv64-constellation/con030912.gif
The attention quickly went to another ship announcing it's precense. The ISS Constellation CV-64. She was IDF's 1st carrier in the Navy. Her origins were dating back to the 1950's when she was built for the US Navy and after a successful career there sold to the IDF Navy where she served for 20 good years.
She was acquired when IDF came on to the world spotlight. For a few years her battlegroup made up the whole Navy that had since become one of the world's strongest.
The Connie as she was called, began service with the IDF Navy after a refit that allowed her to survive 20 more years. She saw service in the Al Anbar War where she was the primary IDF asset to fight the invasions of other Gulf States.
After the war, she was used in strikes against Cyprus during the war against the nation of Greece & Cyprus and also struck Fascist White States during the war against that threat to world peace.
After those few wars, her role changed. The IDF Navy had grown larger and was becoming a nuclear carrier fleet. The Connie was moved to Med operations and the reserve fleet.
After undergoing a refit 10 years ago, her role changed to that of a ship used to train midshipmen.
She did her job well, but now that time had come to a close. 40,000 cadets trained in her during those years that had gone.
Now she was edged to the pier at the Haifa building yards. For the second time in her long and proud life she was being decommissioned.
Adm. Jason Rich (Ret.) her 1st IDF CO cried as he read a speech and poem about his great ship. She was truly great. Her technology may have been outdated, but damn she was still a beautiful girl and he would give anything to command her for just one more day.
At the conclusion of the speeches and the Marine band's rendition of "Hatikvah," the IDF National Anthem, her commissioning pennant was lowered.
The ship was too costly to turn into a museum. She was to be scrapped in 2 weeks. Her reactor had already gone offline and the plans for her destruction were written up.
With a proper refit the Connie could live to 100 years old, but that just wasn't going to happen. This brave girl was not being allowed to live. With the pull of a string her life had been extinguished for a second time. It would be a sad day in the IDF Navy's history. But, it was a sign on progress and sometimes blood had to pave the way for progess, even if the blood was just an analogy for the death of this ship.
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/histories/cv64-constellation/con030912.gif