Posted on 06/10/2011 7:11:07 AM PDT by nuconvert
The ghost ships of Mothball Fleet: Incredible pictures of abandoned Navy war ships taken by crew of illegal squatters
They are the Navy ships that heroically fought in World War Two, now slowly rotting in a San Francisco bay. And as they are being towed, one by one, for scrapping, in just a few years they will all be gone.
A group of illegal squatters gained unprecedented access to the vessels by rowing at night for two years past security and climbing onto the ships, sleeping secretly on board for days at a time.
And as these stunning images show, their efforts were certainly worth it.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I understand your frustration..but I can’t disagree with the decision..
They are.
Most old ships wind up in Pakistan to be broken up.
http://scrapshipbreaking.com/2011/05/08/gadani-ship-breaking-yard-pakistan/
“The odd thought did occur to me that pictures like this could be used to make the Navy look like it’s falling apart in the foreign press”
Yeah, like N. Korea & Iran. So what?
PING
These ships are covered head-to-toe in asbestos. Probably one of the main reasons they don’t allow just anyone to take a tour of them.
Who cares if they are trespassing? Thats what people do if a policy is unreasonable.
If a legitimate photography crew wanted to sign a release, and spend a few nights out there, taking photos, telling us a little bit about the final disposition of a piece of history,,, whats the freakin harm?
If a vet wants to visit them,, same deal.
The main argument against it is likely a pussified version of “safety concerns” that infects every aspect of our society now. I’m glad they trespassed,, and i even hope they had some fun. Good photos.
It’s not like there are any huge secrets out there.
As for sinking them,, this is more politically correct lunacy. Each one of those cargo vessels is easily worth 5 million on scrap value. We sink them to make a REEF? If we aren’t sinking them as a target in a legitimate military exercise or test, we are essentially throwing 12 to 15 bricks of solid gold into the deep. It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars. And that does not count the extreme amounts of money spent to make them epa safe before they are sunk as reefs.
The last I heard...no. I was glad San Francisco didn’t work out, because they don’t deserve the Iowa. I know it wouldn’t make sense, but I wish Mississippi or Alabama, or even Texas, would take her.
It’s pretty damn sad to see the Iowa in that state. I had some great times on that ship.
ONe way to get on these ships — work for a military museum.
I was working for the Beale AFB Museum and we were given permission to go aboard one of the ships that was being ready to be sunk for an artificial reef.
We got a full day to remove any ‘artifacts’ we wanted to restore/display etc.
Can’t remember the name of the ship, only that it was a tender of some type.
“Why didn’t they just ASK if they could go on the ships and take photos????”
Because they would say no,, like good bureaucrats do. And then justify it with reasons that are actually designed to cover their reflexive refusal.
And if i was on a jury, i’d still vote not guilty even with the photos. After all, i saw Luke Sky walker blow up the death star too. And the government is in bad need of some pokes in the eye. They need to start losing some cases.
Nope, the last time was Desert Storm. Also the last War with Bob Hope.
In Desert Storm, she launched Tomahawks..I don’t think she fird her guns. I could be wrong.
With the swollen Mississippi, could the Iowa make it upstream to her namesake state?
Also Desert Storm was the last war with a US Phantom II,, and even one liberty ship carried a load!
Yes,, they fired onto the beach defenses in Kuwait.
My take is that they are exploring the rot to see in what became of American greatness. There is a great sense of something lost. Look at these ships, we no long have the shipyards and factories capable of producing them.
Here is another link to what became of one of the greatest machine tool plants the world ever knew - Warner & Swasey.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjA4d8EuPPc
what happens to the equipment like the radar screen /electronics, chairs ect?
can people buy those?
bttt
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