SAILORS' SAD SALUTE

NY Post ^ | MARIA ALVAREZ

[tarawa]

December 1, 2001 -- ABOARD THE USS BULKELEY - "Take a good hard look - freedom doesn't come cheap. This is where thousands of innocent people died. Remember this place - ingrain it in your heart and soul because it is you who will make a difference for those who died." Those were the words of Cmdr. Carlos Del Toro as the USS Bulkeley, the Navy's newest guided-missile destroyer, sailed past what was once the World Trade Center and is now ground zero.

[Jim Robinson]

You could be right. I believe the picture I posted above was snapped sometime in the seventies. Here is what she looked like with the five inchers while I was aboard:

By the way, we melted those barrels down more than once hurling five inchers into Vietnam in prolonged rapid fire action. Our ship received a Navy Unit Commendation for our actions over there.

Anyway, the following is posted on the Hull's website:

Ex - USS Hull (DD-945) Sunk On April 7, 1998
Commissioned on July 3,1958, USS Hull, a Forrest Sherman-class ship, was one of the last destroyers designed and built with an all-gun configuration. As the USN test ship for the experimental Mk 71 8-inch/55 major caliber lightweight gun from 1975 to 1979, Hull was the only destroyer ever to mount an 8-inch gun. The veteran of 20 Vietnam combat patrols made her final sacrifice on April 7, 1998 not in the breaker's yard, but in the eastern Pacific Ocean as a testbed in the development of new weapons employment tactics. She served her country well.

http://www.plateau.net/usndd/dd945/index.html?

[Gumlegs]

This is where I was.

[Gumlegs]

The new pic clearly shows a 5" 54 as the forward mount. I believe the first shot you posted shows the experimental 8" because of the unique "gumdrop-with-a-tailfin" appearance of the housing.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Pearl Harbor Tribute in USO Canteen Today


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[Jim Robinson]

Hmmmm... looks like the link to the graphic doesn't work.

[Gumlegs]

Arrrgh! It worked when I tested it. It worked when I posted it. And it worked when I checked back the first time. When I checked back to read your post ... it didn't work. Let me try again ... with a different image.