Ship Trivia Quiz

Two down, one to go.  In the beginning of "On the Town," Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, and Jules Munchen come charging down the gangway of that ship, singing:  "New York, New York, a helluva town.  The Bronx is up and the battery's down..." etc.  And in the last scene the other section of the crew comes ashore.

Movie Number Three isn't as well known as the other two, but it's actually not a bad flick.  Any guesses?

A quick review of the top movies released in 1958 shows:

Run Silent Run Deep - did they use a Gleaves as a standin for the Japanese DD?  But yo said the movie was not well known.  That does not describe RSRD.

The Key - Definitely not well known.  I saw this movie, which focuses on rescue tugs off England, when I was 9 or 10 and was disappointed that it was more romance than action.  Did a Gleaves slip in as part of a convoy? The plot mentions the CO of the tug moved on to a "different ship" after the US entered the war.  Was that ship a Gleaves?

South Pacific - I don't remember any DD in that musical.

Any luck with these guesses?

If not, at least more movies eliminated.

Well, I don't think there were any recognizable American destroyers in "Run Silent, Run Deep."  (The distant shots were all of models, if I remember; there were a few middle-distance shots of depth charges being dropped, etc. - clearly made on board American ships - but they were too generic to identify the ships.  In any case, that movie was in black-and-white, so it wouldn't qualify.

I've seen "The Key" only once.  The story centers around British salvage tugs; there are some nice shots of such vessels, and of "damaged" merchantmen - and British submarines masquerading (not very successfully) as U-boats.  But, so far as I can remember, no American destroyers.  And that one's in black-and-white too.

My wife and I watched "South Pacific" on TCM the other night; I don't remember any ships that were recognizable.

The one I'm thinking of isn't particularly well-known, and I last saw it quite a few years ago.  My assertion that the ship, on board which most of the action takes place, is a Benson/Gleaves/Livermore-class one is based on my memory - and it's probably stupid of me to rely on it to this extent.  But I'm pretty sure I'm right. 

The date 1958 is from Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide.  The information in the book is completely consistent with my recollection of the movie - though Mr. Maltin, of course, tells us nothing about the ship.

I got it!

The Vikings with Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas.  Released in 1958.  In color.  There was this big dragon head on the bow of the destroyer...

Still looking

Well, I didn't know this movie was so obscure.  I just looked it up on the web to confirm that it did indeed exist.  It did, but the web writeup didn't include any shots of the ship; I'm relying on my memory about the class of destroyer it was.  (If I'm mistaken, I'll cheerfully submit to the cyber-vegetables that undoubtedly will be thrown at me.)

I guess it's time for another hint.  The star of the movie was an extremely popular actor of the fifties; his reputation was largely established by a very famous western released in 1953. 

That made it too easy.

Shane -> Alan Ladd -> The Deep Six (1958).

I refuse to ask the next question on the grounds that I don't have one.  Plus, I'm late for work.

So much for that.  The movies are "The Caine Mutiny," "On the Town," and "The Deep Six."

"The Deep Six," as I remember it, wasn't a bad flick.  The review I found on the web described it as a good war movie burdened by 25 minutes of boring romance at the beginning.

Since alumni72 has declined to ask the next question, I suggest we award that honor to oceano75.  He got "On the Town" - which I thought would be the toughest of the three. 

Thank you for the honor (slight bow).

Easy one...

To the best of my knowledge and research, the Navy honored one Coastguardsman by naming a ship after him.  The Navy honored a second Coastguardsman by naming two ships after him (at different times of course).

Who were these 2 Coasties (name and rank) and what did they do to be so honored?

Of course if somone comes up with another Coastie I do not know about, that counts. 

USCGC Healy (WAGB-20) named after Captain Michael Healy.

USCGC Munro (WHEC-724) named after Signalman First Class Douglas Munro (CMH)

Seems like the rest are all named after Treasury Secretaries. Can the USCGC Paulson be far off...?

EDIT; Oh spit!-  Navy ships! Ooops

Nice try Bondo.

USCGC Midgett is named for a famous family of surfmen from the old US Life Saving Service.  The other 378s, as you noted, are Secs of the Treasury, as the original 327s had been back in the 30s.

The 270s are named after famous historic cutters (Harriet Lane, Spencer, etc).

The 210s are agressive-type adjectives (Alert, Diligence, Decisive, etc) 

But, yes, the ships I am thinking of are US Navy ships. 

The silence is deafening.

I know there are other Coasties on this site besides me.  Think back on our history.  What Coasties did something, one in WWI and one in WWII, to get a ship named after them? 

We have a winner.

Bondo actually had the right name (Douglas Munro) but the wrong ship.  The cited action took place at Guadalcanal.

DD 626 is a Gleaves-class.  Anyone researching the previous question may have seen her name.  Satterlee Hall at the Academy is also named for Capt. Satterlee.

Congratulations and you're up.

Thanks!

Well since I've been compiling a list of USN ships named with an Indiana conection, I go on that theme.

How many years after Indiana was made a state, was a Navy ship named for something connected to Indiana?  I have an answer in mind, but if you find an earlier one you still win.

Statehood 1819

-Side note: Anyone know who makes 1/700 numbers I can use to convert the Los Angeles into the second Indianapolis?

cassibill wrote:

-Side note: Anyone know who makes 1/700 numbers I can use to convert the Los Angeles into the second Indianapolis?

Just omit the hull numbers as US subs rarely display them. The nameplate on the model base should be fine.

surfsup wrote:

USS Vincennse

That's her. The 1826 USS Vincennes, the first of four by the name, was part of the Navy just 7 years after Indiana became a state. The Boston class sloop, named for the Battle of Vincennes during the American Revolution, served until 1865 as a Pacific patroler, Antarctic explorer, and a blockade ship in the Gulf during the American Civil War.  It was the first American warship to sail around the world.

Your question, surfsup!

Montevideo Maru sunk by an american sub Sturgeon. was carrying australian pow's from Rabaul.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montevideo_Maru

 The Japanese transport, ARISAN MARU, containing over 1,000 American prisoners, mostly captured in the Philippines, was torpedoed by the U.S.S. SHARK near Taiwan. The Shark was herself sunk a few days later with the loss of all hands. Many of the prisoners excaped the sinking transport only to be abandoned by the Japanese, who refused to rescue them. Only a handful survived.

                   Montani semper liberi !  Happy modeling to all and every one of you.

                                                  Crackers          

crackers wrote:

The Japanese transport, ARISAN MARU, containing over 1,000 American prisoners, mostly captured in the Philippines, was torpedoed by the U.S.S. SHARK near Taiwan. The Shark was herself sunk a few days later with the loss of all hands. Many of the prisoners excaped the sinking transport only to be abandoned by the Japanese, who refused to rescue them. Only a handful survived.

The Arisan Maru was sunk October 24, 1944.  With about 1800 POWs.

On 2 October 1942, RMS Queen Mary, then acting as a troopship, cut the light cruiser HMS Curacao in two off the Irish coast. Instructions to the liner and escorts not to stop and pick up survivors resulted in the loss of 338 lives.

Rick