USS Kitty Hawk

I read the same article.  So sad that these majestic ships that played such a huge part of our country's history are being sold for scrap.  My brother served on the USS America   Cv-66 and I still remeber how broken up he was when they sunk her.

TJS

My brother in law was on the Connie.  He was on Yankee Station for a double tour while I was on my base for my first tour.

He got to take the last cruise to the mothball area.

At Kadena we hated when that thing would show up for training and we would have to re-schedulw the training for the becaue of it.

My buddy had a longtime friend and classmate who was an F4 crewchief on the "Battle Cat" and spent time on Yankee Station.

A few weeks before he passed, my bud took him to Bremerton.  He wanted a final look at her, and possibly walk her flight deck one last time.  Of course, no way that was going to happen, but at least he did get a look at her.

At least he did manage that.  Probably broiught back several memories and stories.  That happens to me when I see a B-52, or C-130, or a F-15, or any number of aircraft I used to come across.

It's hard to imagine a boat that large.  The only ones I've been on was a liner my ather took me to when he saw a friens of his and the Charles W. Morgan in Mystic.

You did good by taking him there.

My friend in Salem is the one who made the trip.  I knew Kevin slightly when we happened to be at friend's place working on Jeeps. We got his done about a year before he left us.

I didn't know about that trip until a year or so ago.

The old warbirds do trigger memories. Worked on 52's for 3 months and try to shake off the ones of ECM transmitter boxes that weighed, 150lbs, 8 ft off the ground, being covered in mineral oil coolant, and replacing the same units in the " hell hole" behind the bombbay.

Lot better ones of the time wrenching on Phantoms.

My wife used to be a C-130 crew chief and I weould sometimes hear some of the things she had to do, battery change, tires, draining a tube after wrapping towels around her armtp he;[ hkeep it off her.  Noo thanks, I'll just watch.  We were the mortal enemy of mechanics.  In fact a great deal of the base didn't like us.  But they would tolerate us at least.

Look up the story on the last 130 out of Vietnam.  Supposedly the pilot had to stomp on the brakes so they could get the ramp up.  30+ in the office. If she doesn't know of it, she'll get a good head shake from it.

Is now the gate bird at Little Rock.

Mr. Tom there was alot of people saddened when they sunk the America. I to was  on her from 1984 to 1986. She was a great shipand sadly missed.They were trying to makeher a floating museum until she was taken out and sunk.

Lurch,

Thanks for your service.  I still have fond memories of my brother calling us from places like Greece when CV-66 was touring the Mediterranean.  We even drove down to Norfolk, VA to see him dock but they were late for docking.  I still have the Greek Fisherman's hat that he brought back for me.  I've been hoping for some company to come out with a kit if the America in 1/350 scale.

TJS

Hmmm;

      I have wondered about these vessels for quite a while. Why? Well, there's this. True they are not liners. BUT, after a natural disaster they certainly could have uses. Housing, Hospital and Staging areas for rebuilding efforts.

      Of course I don't believe that the Navy or Coast Guard could be removed from the operations thereof. After all they are ships! One on each coast. There to respond to any coastal crisis. The Flight decks certainly could be used for Life-Flight In this kind of scenario, and the medical area could be enlarged to accomodate this. 

Mr. Tom  you are most certainly welcome . The base in Greece I  believe was souda bay. I was statrioned there also for 2 years and loved every minute of it. It was very educational as well. Keep that hat handy. Not very many of the real ones around any more. I used to have several untill a puppy found the box they were in .I to have very fond memories of there. I did 12 years total and got realy lucky where I was stationed . Great places and great people as well.

Mr. Lurch,

I recalled that you're from Northwestern Wisconsin, (myself, I'm located in Oshkosh) and was wondring if you were planning on attending either the model contest in Madison in March, which is a Region 5 contest, or the contest in Eagle River in May?  The one in Madison should draw a lot of modelers from neighboring states because it's a regional.  The vendors are ususally very good too.

TJS

You don't have a tail number or any pictures of it do you?  There wasn't that much room at the main gate unless they cut back some of the woods on the other side of the sign in building or the other side of the gate itself.

I rfemember how they got the C-119 on display where the main drag split   Back in the late 70s a squadron was on its way to the bone yard when one lost its left engine on take off and taxied back with oil all over the boom.  The crew went into the ops building and asked if someone needed a plane for display as that one was going nowhere and there were no replacement engines or maint. people to do the work anyway.  Pretty soon the papers were signed and the crew left on another 119.

A few months later it was taken to the display area but not locked up and we were constantly pulling kids out during mid shift.

Tail # 56-0518.  Do a search for -- Last C-130 out of Vietnam.

Supposedly 452 in board, estimated at least 10K over max weight.  Used ever bit of runway and overrun go get off.  Got lost on the way to Thailand.  According to some, tanks were virtually dry when it landed.

After I got here I ended up working with a guy who was a VNAF C-130 pilot.  He told me when the order was given to escape he flew t his village and picked them all up and headed for Thailand.

Here's a few shots of some of the Refugees landing at Little Rock and transferring to 130s after processing:

Saw a show on history channel a couple years back on the 130.... They had a couple of the refugees and families on it, and that segment was shot at the gate bird.  This one was the last to leave Saigon.

Tanker-Builder

Hmmm;

      I have wondered about these vessels for quite a while. Why? Well, there's this. True they are not liners. BUT, after a natural disaster they certainly could have uses. Housing, Hospital and Staging areas for rebuilding efforts.

 

Add into that, the only really large spaces on a CV are going to be the hanger deck, boiler rooms and engine rooms, and maybe the mess.  Everything else is relatively small compartments.

The cost of conversion would probably be on par with the original construction cost, in today's $$$'s.

Even if you did convert, you're going to have to have enough dock space to moor her.  Then add in the conditions that you see daily on the streets everywhere, and the appearance that most don't want that help.

All in all, a solution in search of a problem, that's expensive and useless given the way things are.