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July 5th Photos Page |
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Recently I had the chance to go aboard the Heavy Cruiser USS Des Moines (CA-134). She currently sits in the former Philadelphia Navy Yard where she has been waiting to be adopted since the mid-sixties. For the past several years it looked like Milwaukee had gotten its act together and was going to be awarded the ship to operate as a museum, but the deal fell through and the Navy has decided to finally send her to be scrapped. Before scrapping her the Navy invited other museum ships to send groups to the yard to retrieve items they can use on their ships. I was given the chance to go as part of the USS New Jersey's group on July 5th to try and salvage brass items for use on Big J. Myself and another Brass Team member had a great day searching for useable brass items and exploring the ship, photos from our day are below. For a guy like me this was a dream trip, the proverbial "A" Ticket, and I enjoyed every minute of it! I'm even trying to go again before our window of opportunity closes next week. It was sad to see this once great ship in such poor shape, especially when it looked like she was going to be saved from the scrap yard, but I guess we can't turn them all into museums... One of the other museum ships that was well represented today was a group from the USS Salem (CA-139), a sister ship of the Des Moines, those guys were in Hog Heaven! |
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| Shot taken from across the basin, she looks so peaceful and quiet... |
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| Shot taken as we approach from the pier. |
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| Anchor Windlass Room down on Deck 2. |
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| Equipment in ships Machine Shop, greased and ready to go. |
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| Ships Galley area. |
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| Sorry Chief, no coffee brewing today, that's not a good sign... |
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| Operating Table in Operating Room next to Sick Bay. |
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| Dentists Chair and equipment at the ready. |
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| This was the Barber Shop. look familiar to anybody? |
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| Look at this antique Printing Press in the Ships Print Shop! |
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| Racks stacked 3 high in Crews Living Spaces. Too close for my comfort... |
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| Weapons racks for M-1 Carbines in the ships Small Arms Armory. |
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| Ships Laundry. |
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| Main Battery Plot Area, everything looked brand new down here! |
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| Ships Gyro Compass in compartment across from Main Battery Plot. |
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5-inch mounts on deck may look rusty, but the Upper Handling Rooms and Magazine Spaces below decks were well greased and ready for service. |
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| Upper Handling Room for one of the 5-inch Mounts. |
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| Teletype equipment in the ships Radio Room. |
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| Generator in Aft Diesel. |
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| Generator Control panel in Aft Diesel. |
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| Main Engine Control panel in one of the ships four Engine Rooms. |
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| One of the ships four Main Engines. |
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| Plot Area just aft of the Navigation Bridge on O4. |
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| Portion of the ships Conning Station in the armored portion of the Bridge. |
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| Other
part of the ships conning station being moved by block and
tackle. It was claimed by another ship and will likely escape the scrap yard. |
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| Ships Navigation Bridge on O4, green panels cover up bridge windows. |
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| Open Bridge area on O5, one deck above Navigation Bridge in photo above. |
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| Open Breech of one of the ships nine 8-inch guns. |
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| An
Analog Firing Solution Computer, very similar to those found in the Battleship's 16-inch turrets, with the outside cover removed, revealing the maze of gears and relays that made it work, truly amazing! |
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| Hoists several decks below the 8-inch turrets to send powder up to the guns. |
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| Shell hoist on one of the shell decks of one of the 8-inch turrets. |
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| Dummy shells stacked around the inner wall of one of the shell decks. |
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| Shot looking from the bow of the ship toward turrets #1 and #2. |
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| Shot
taken standing directly in front of Turret #1 looking down the uncapped 8-inch gun barrels. |
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| Looking
Aft, at the Starboard Forward Quarterdeck area, Mount 52, one of the ships six 5-inch mounts is straight ahead. The hatch visible on the right served as the Forward Quarterdeck OD's Duty Station. |
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| Looking
forward from the Aft Port Quarterdeck at Mount 55, another one of the ships 5-inch mounts. |
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| Shot taken on the Fantail looking forward toward Turret #3. |
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| This
shot was taken from on top of turret #3 looking aft over the Fantail. Note the dual 3-inch mounts in tubs on the fantail. Also, note the area covered in white canvas, it is a huge Hanger Bay Hatch which slides open on rails to provide access to a seaplane storage area below deck. The large crane that was to be used to hoist those planes aboard is visible in pieces on the deck, however the seaplane launchers were removed prior to the ships commissioning, and the crane remained and was used to hoist boats, vehicles and freight in and out of the bay. The condition of the teak on the fantail was typical of the rest of the ship, the days rain just provided more water for the Fantail garden. |
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| That's
me in front of one of the ships ten, dual mounted 3-inch emplacements. The guns were for the most part intact, but the elements and time had definitely taken their toll. They still looked mean as ever though and I couldn't resist having my picture taken in front of them. I had a great day onboard, kind of melancholy knowing the ships fate, but a great adventure and a successful hunt for brass too! |
