adambar Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodger Pettichord Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 Very interesting, Adam. I can't imagine living that compactly in a house that's always going up and down and side to side. Takes a special breed. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stillwater Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 I should find a photo of the 2 dentist chairs in USS Lexington. Long time homes… 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingleaf Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 Awesome Adam. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stillwater Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 No photo of the dentist´s chambers, but: Have a good sleep! Taken on Lady Lex, displayed in Corpus Christie. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wain71 Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 some great stuff there, I for sure would not want to be in a sub, and probably not on a boat either, I was happy in my land rover or dug in on terra firma... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Q Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 21 hours ago, Stillwater said: No photo of the dentist´s chambers, but: Have a good sleep! Taken on Lady Lex, displayed in Corpus Christie. Boy, did Lex have a makeover! I served almost two years on sister ship Wasp (CVS 18) and we had the old pipe-framed canvas bunks, with a "donkey's breakfast" mattress. (A canvas sack stuffed with who-knows-what). These look like they are so much better, but I don't think they are. After the old Wasp was decommissioned I was transferred to a new DE, USS Patterson. She had the "new style" berths. I found the old pipe berth was indeed more comfortable. On chow, A couple of observations: Food on Wasp was OK, but there was plenty of it. Meals around the clock (breakfast, dinner, supper and midrats), and plentiful portions. Meals on the Patterson were tastier, but relatively stingy. Later observation. For decades the Navy was not overly concerned about physical fitness, and there were a lot of "fat" sailors. But suddenly that changed. The end result was the fat cooks were drummed out of the service and food quality plummeted! RE USS Lexington, CV, CVS, and CVT 16: While on the Patterson, in the early 70s, we were docked in Mayport FL, and the Lex was across the basin at the carrier piers. At this point she was a training carrier (CVT). Since she was considered "non-combatant" she had the first female crew members on such a ship. Now it is, of course routine, as it should be. But at the time it was such a novelty. Ken 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wain71 Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 @Ken Q dumb question time...what's midrats? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Q Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 1 hour ago, wain71 said: @Ken Q dumb question time...what's midrats? A simple meal served in the middle of the night while at sea, intended for those going on or coming off a.night time watch. Often hot dogs or sandwiches. Sorry about the unexplained navy jargon, so, no, it's not a dumb question. Ken 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodger Pettichord Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 4 hours ago, wain71 said: @Ken Q dumb question time...what's midrats? 3 hours ago, Ken Q said: A simple meal served in the middle of the night while at sea, intended for those going on or coming off a.night time watch. Often hot dogs or sandwiches. Sorry about the unexplained navy jargon, so, no, it's not a dumb question. Ken Navy also serves midrats on land. When I was working at the Navy installation in the Azores, I would go to the chow hall for a midrats breakfast around midnight. It was really good! 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adambar Posted July 20 Author Share Posted July 20 On 7/18/2024 at 11:56 AM, Rodger Pettichord said: Very interesting, Adam. I can't imagine living that compactly in a house that's always going up and down and side to side. Takes a special breed. Been there done that, I spent 4yrs on a Navy Amphibious assault ship nicknamed the Gator Navy since WWII for Navy assault ships and landing craft and loved every minute of it Rodger. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodger Pettichord Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 41 minutes ago, adambar said: Been there done that, I spent 4yrs on a Navy Amphibious assault ship nicknamed the Gator Navy since WWII for Navy assault ships and landing craft and loved every minute of it Rodger. If you are like me, Adam, sometimes you pinch yourself and say, "Did I really get to do that?" 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Abernathy Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 1 hour ago, Rodger Pettichord said: If you are like me, Adam, sometimes you pinch yourself and say, "Did I really get to do that?" I feel the same way about my Navy service 67-71! Some of the things I did and saw still have me shaking my head. Haven't heard the term "midrats" in a long time either. Had orders to the USS Enterprise heading to Vietnam but at the last moment they were changed to Adak, Alaska. Can't complain about missing life at sea! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Q Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 9 hours ago, Rodger Pettichord said: Navy also serves midrats on land. When I was working at the Navy installation in the Azores, I would go to the chow hall for a midrats breakfast around midnight. It was really good! 7 hours ago, adambar said: Been there done that, I spent 4yrs on a Navy Amphibious assault ship nicknamed the Gator Navy since WWII for Navy assault ships and landing craft and loved every minute of it Rodger. I've never seen an official statement on when midrats would be served, but it seems to be dependent on operations. War cruise, and flight ops would qualify, ordinary steaming or patrol would not. On Wasp we were always in flight operation status if the air group was embarked, and it always was except for, perhaps, the first or last night at sea. I suppose similar operational conditions at a Nav Base would trigger the same amenities. At the end of my 21 years in the Naval Reserve. I drilled with a gator fleet unit that was attached to the USS Harlan County, LST 1196. (As a senior petty officer there was no local billet for me, so while I was cross assigned to one unit far away, I drilled with a local one). I spent several drill weekends with this unit aboard the USS Boulder, LST 1190, another Newport. class LST. This ship was docked near by at the old Floyd Bennett NAS. I found this all very interesting, and would have liked to be more involved. But at the same time I was actually assigned to US Naval Control of Shipping Unit 202 in Frankfort, NY. When this unit was activated for Desert Shield I was called up too. But I have a strong connection with the Gator Navy. My father, who died when I was two, served through WW2 on LST 207 in the Pacific. Although I don't remember my father, I have been in contact with a surviving shipmate. This has led me to research these marvelous ships. I can share a couple of period videos later. And this old Navy vet will always salute all other veterans, but especially our brothers in the Marine Corps. Semper Fi. They are "Outstanding!" Ken 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adambar Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 I was on the USS San Marcos LSD 25 in 1961 and Involved in the Cuban missile crisis blockade in 62. Cuban missile crisis blockade 1962 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wain71 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 some great stories and videos posted here, we certainly have some very proud ex-servicemen here....I also think sometimes about what we did and places we went even just on some of the big NATO exercises....part of me is glad though that when I served as a grunt (infantryman) it wasn't so techy then and we relied more on the people and the skills and equipment they could control, as we have seen recently you'll always need 'boots on the ground' at some point... 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stillwater Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 On 7/19/2024 at 4:47 PM, wain71 said: I for sure would not want to be in a sub Talking about submarines... the latest development of German Subs in WW2 is on display in Bremerhaven. "Latest development" not regarding comfortable journeys... (main door to the machine room) 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wain71 Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 @Stillwater yeah that's somewhere I would not want to be.....so compact... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wain71 Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 On 7/20/2024 at 12:53 PM, Ken Q said: A simple meal served in the middle of the night while at sea, intended for those going on or coming off a.night time watch. Often hot dogs or sandwiches. Sorry about the unexplained navy jargon, so, no, it's not a dumb question. Ken thanks for explaining....we used to get what we called egg banjos if we were out on night patrols etc.....just a simple egg sandwich the cooks would make up, I remember one night the duty cook had been to the bar so he gave us the keys to do them ourselves, I think the egg was joined by sausage and bacon that night... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adambar Posted July 23 Author Share Posted July 23 1 hour ago, wain71 said: @Stillwater yeah that's somewhere I would not want to be.....so compact... I would have a lot of PO people on that sub after I got stuck in dang hole 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adambar Posted July 23 Author Share Posted July 23 USS San Marcos 25 LSD 25 my home for 4yrs. This shot is before my time probably 50s No flight deck and a 5in gum on the bow 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Q Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 (edited) To offer some interesting contrast between then and now, here are a couple films about gator navy ops in WW2. Ken They were built in "cornfield shipyards", many in the middle of the country. My father's ship, LST 207 was one of those built in Seneca Falls, Illinois. Operations: a training video. They were considered "Long Slow Targets." One case a communications officer requisitioned spare vacuum tubes (remember those) only to be told he couldn't have them because he wouldn't waste them on a ship that was not expected to come back. As it turned out, out of over 1000 ships built, only 26 were lost to enemy action, and 13 more to accidents . They were pretty big ships. 328 feet long and 50 foot beam. Tank Deck was 30 feet wide, leaving barely 10 feet on either side for workshops, troop berthing and mess deck. Crew lived aft under the fantail. They were powered by left over locomotive engines. They were slow, maximum speed 11 knots, and were subject to breakdown. Edited July 23 by Ken Q Added comments 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Q Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 14 hours ago, Stillwater said: Talking about submarines... the latest development of German Subs in WW2 is on display in Bremerhaven. "Latest development" not regarding comfortable journeys... (main door to the machine room) In the US German U Boat 505 in on display at the Museum of Science and Technology in Chicago. When I visited years ago she was outside in the park next to the museum. Now she is a beautiful specially designed underground gallery where she is protected from the weather. U-505 was the first enemy warship to be captured on the high seas. There are a number of WW2 US submarines on display at museums around the country. See the "List of Submarine Museums" on Wikipedia. The hardship and danger men endured was incredible. As a kid growing up my favorite TV program was the "Silent Service" much of which is on YouTube. Ken 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Q Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Correction: U 505 was the first enemy warship to be captured on the high seas SINCE THE WAR OF 1812. Sorry. Ken 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Abernathy Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Sea Hunt was my all time favorite TV series. Does that date me? lol 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adambar Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodger Pettichord Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Quite a collection. Thanks, Adam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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