I did two cruises on the USS Hancock, CVA-19. The Hornet and the Hancock are(were) both Essex Class Carriers. For me is was an emotional flashback. My wife and I wandered about the ship and found that except for a few hatches and bulkheads, it was like being “back.” The smells at that time, ten or fifteen years ago, were the same.
I was an aviation ordnanceman in VF211 and at the time, they had one of our F8s in the hangerbay. The hatch on the port side guns was open and I can remember standing there for rather too long staring at the guns where I had spent a bit of my youth. I got a bit misty.
I cannot speak for others but I am glad to have been there.
I know what you mean.
There is something that is unique about the smell of a ship. You could stick me in a box, blindfold me, fly me halfway around the world, put the box inside a ship and open the box, and without hesitation, I could easily tell I was on a ship.
It is a weird smell...part iron, part paint, part oil, part ocean, and even...part human.