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The USS Olympia, rusting symbol of America's age of empire
The Washington Post ^ | November 28, 2010 | Chris Manteuffel and Rachel Manteuffel

Posted on 11/30/2010 9:58:29 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

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1 posted on 11/30/2010 9:58:31 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

BTTT


2 posted on 11/30/2010 10:07:10 PM PST by Cold Heart
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
And with it will go a symbol of America's age of empire.

It would be a bad omen, as I see it. I visited this ship some years ago, and I was quite affected by it as a living embodiment of a bygone age. They had brass foot plates on the spot where Commodore Dewey stood when he spoke the immortal words, "You may fire when ready, Gridley."

Well, this was the first I had ever heard of it! But I had heard of the Battle of Manila Bay.

3 posted on 11/30/2010 10:08:11 PM PST by dr_lew
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

How much money can the victory mosque(shithole) get from our gubmint(5 MILLION) and we cant save this ship?She has been around for a 100 years and they want to scrap it?America,your priorities are really screwed up.


4 posted on 11/30/2010 10:09:12 PM PST by HANG THE EXPENSE (Life is tough.It's tougher when you're stupid.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Take it out of the water and put in in a climate controlled pavilion. That seems to be the good fate of all old ships that end up being preserved.


5 posted on 11/30/2010 10:13:07 PM PST by re_tail20
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Image and video hosting by TinyPic
USS Olympia
6 posted on 11/30/2010 10:23:56 PM PST by Old Seadog (Always do a little more than is expected, and someday .....it will be expected.)
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To: HANG THE EXPENSE

She has been around for a 100 years and they want to scrap it?America,your priorities are really screwed up.
______________________________________________________
234 yrs for the Constitution and it appears to be suffering the same fate...


7 posted on 11/30/2010 10:24:25 PM PST by Irenic
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To: re_tail20

I agree. Why do they need to either get the 20 Million or Scrap the Ship? Why not remove her from the Water? Why only the Two choices of destruction or current Funding? Especially as funding will not come.


8 posted on 11/30/2010 10:27:53 PM PST by ZAROVE
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To: Irenic

Dear God, will we ever awaken from this nightmare?


9 posted on 11/30/2010 10:29:25 PM PST by HANG THE EXPENSE (Life is tough.It's tougher when you're stupid.)
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To: Irenic

The Constitution?, they scrapped that old thing years ago.


10 posted on 11/30/2010 10:29:34 PM PST by Husker24
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The U.S.S. Olympia ALSO transported the body of the first “Unknown Soldier” from the battlefields of WW1 back to the U.S.

THAT ALONE should save her.

But, as someone else noted, when you have a spoiled, egomanical, western hating Marxist Muslim in the White House, WHAT DO EXPECT done with our money? Certainly not rescue this - it represents a once proud and great nation. He would rather use taxdollars to generate economic equality and build mosques for fellow Muslim Maniacs.


11 posted on 11/30/2010 10:32:06 PM PST by ZULU (No nation which tried to tolerate Islam escaped Islamization.)
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To: re_tail20
"Take it out of the water and put in in a climate controlled pavilion. That seems to be the good fate of all old ships that end up being preserved."

She's over 5K-ton and almost 350' long. That would be one hell of a pavilion.

It would be great to restore her and sail her again, but I'm sure that would cost well in excess of $100M, just to make her seaworthy again. The $20M they're asking for probably only covers paint and limited minimal repair over a fairly short period of time.

12 posted on 11/30/2010 10:41:36 PM PST by OldDeckHand
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To: OldDeckHand
It would be great to restore her and sail her again, but I'm sure that would cost well in excess of $100M, just to make her seaworthy again.

Seaworthy? How about float-worthy? She hasn't moved in 50 years, from what I can gather.

13 posted on 11/30/2010 11:08:23 PM PST by dr_lew
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I’d like to see more about the Victorian ice machines it had on board. I didn’t realize they had refrigeration back then.


14 posted on 11/30/2010 11:22:21 PM PST by Yardstick
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
The Olympia was a precursor of what we are now. Our present leadership is ashamed of what we are now. Our present leadership won't last.
15 posted on 12/01/2010 12:03:12 AM PST by oyez (The difference in genius and stupidity is that genius has limits.)
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To: Old Seadog

She’s a beauty. Thanks for posting the photo!!

She should be preserved!!!


16 posted on 12/01/2010 12:05:56 AM PST by DustyMoment (Go green - recycle Congress in 2012!!)
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To: HANG THE EXPENSE
She has been around for a 100 years and they want to scrap it?

You no ask question! We Chinese need sclap metar to make automobirres you wirr buy in War-Mart, and amphibious randing claft to take back Taiwan! You no bird nothing! So you sell to us!!!

17 posted on 12/01/2010 12:13:52 AM PST by Captainpaintball
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To: Yardstick
I didn’t realize they had refrigeration back then.

It was based on an absorption cycle instead of the compression cycle used with modern refrigerants. Ammonia was evaporated to provide the cooling, then absorbed by water and driven back into vapor by heating, then condensed and evaporated again. It was relatively inefficient, but was usually driven by waste heat from an industrial boiler, so a ship was a natural for it.

18 posted on 12/01/2010 12:22:44 AM PST by dr_lew
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To: dr_lew
"Seaworthy? How about float-worthy? She hasn't moved in 50 years, from what I can gather. "

When they did some extensive maintenance to the Intrepid a few years ago, they had to tow her to the yard. She had been there (Manhattan Pier 86) I think around 25-years, about half the time as this one. Unfortunately, when they tried to move her she wouldn't budge because of the silt and mud that had built up over that period of time. It took over a month just to drudge enough material to allow her to actually float away.

That problem is probably exponential worse with the Olympia.

19 posted on 12/01/2010 12:26:39 AM PST by OldDeckHand
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To: OldDeckHand
That problem is probably exponential worse with the Olympia.

The Olympia is 5800 tons displacement compared to 33000 tons for the Intrepid, based on internet sources ... so less than 1/5 the size, basically. Also draft is 18 vs. 32 feet, AFAICT.

20 posted on 12/01/2010 12:51:30 AM PST by dr_lew
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