hoser
Forum Supporter
The Battleship New Jersey, the Navy’s biggest, fastest, and most decorated battleship, will be on the move next spring for the first time since 2001.
Plans call for detaching the battleship from its Camden Waterfront moorings and propelling it south by tugboat to North Atlantic Ship Repair at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The 45,000-ton vessel is to be dry-docked in the same berth where it was built beginning in 1940 and launched on Dec. 7, 1942.
I'm an old Navy man but was never on a Navy ship. I was a Navy SeaBee and during the Vietnam conflict my battalion was stationed by Danang at a place called Red Beach. We were right on the South China Sea. In 1969 a VERY large ship anchored offshore about a mile that caught our attention. we found out it was the Battleship New Jersey. Someone commented that it would be awesome to see it fire it's 16" guns. Be careful what you wish for! About an hour after arriving, we noticed the guns starting to move and they were turning in our direction.
Next thing we knew the ship disappeared in a cloud of smoke. 
Soooo cool we thought till the shockwave reached our shore causing most of us to stumble. You could hear the projectiles flying overhead. The big issue was when the shockwave hit, it was strong enough to knock almost every florescent tube out of their fixtures breaking all over the floor of our hootches. Two times they fired before they were told to move due to the shockwave damage. You see movies and newsreel footage on tv, but to witness it in real life is something I will never forget. Seeing that they will refurbish this icon is awesome. Just thought some of you may like to hear this.
Plans call for detaching the battleship from its Camden Waterfront moorings and propelling it south by tugboat to North Atlantic Ship Repair at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The 45,000-ton vessel is to be dry-docked in the same berth where it was built beginning in 1940 and launched on Dec. 7, 1942.
I'm an old Navy man but was never on a Navy ship. I was a Navy SeaBee and during the Vietnam conflict my battalion was stationed by Danang at a place called Red Beach. We were right on the South China Sea. In 1969 a VERY large ship anchored offshore about a mile that caught our attention. we found out it was the Battleship New Jersey. Someone commented that it would be awesome to see it fire it's 16" guns. Be careful what you wish for! About an hour after arriving, we noticed the guns starting to move and they were turning in our direction.
Next thing we knew the ship disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Soooo cool we thought till the shockwave reached our shore causing most of us to stumble. You could hear the projectiles flying overhead. The big issue was when the shockwave hit, it was strong enough to knock almost every florescent tube out of their fixtures breaking all over the floor of our hootches. Two times they fired before they were told to move due to the shockwave damage. You see movies and newsreel footage on tv, but to witness it in real life is something I will never forget. Seeing that they will refurbish this icon is awesome. Just thought some of you may like to hear this.
