Ship Trivia Quiz

Nope. And likewise guys, if you could cite your quotes it's helpful, as the questioner likes to do research too!

Also, and this is a little embarrassing, but I'm NOT moving the goal posts...

"Which was the first Allied carrier to ANCHOR in ...."

I haven't a clue which might have entered and left again prior to this.

That one was from Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cowpens_%28CVL-25%29

I'll keep searching!

Not the answer, but prehaps even more interesting is this quote (from same source - though I know Wiki is not the most trusted reference):

Men from Cowpens were the first Americans to set foot on the Japanese mainland, and were largely responsible for the emergency activation of Yokosuka airfield for Allied use and the liberation of a POW camp near Niigata

Edit: Having read quite a few of these trivia questions, I do realise how hard it is make the question 100% specific to a single answer, and also how easy it is to mis-interpret and 'bend the rules' of any question. But regardless, wrong answers yield a nice history lesson for the seeker, the readers, and as you said, even the original question-poser.

The USS Shangri-La  (CV-38).

Shangri-La entered Tokyo Bay on 16 September, almost two weeks after the surrender ceremony onboard battleship Missouri, and remained there until 1 October

TF 31 which was the first unit (including the USS Missouri) to enter Tokyo Bay didn't include a carrier. The USS Shangri-La was attacking many Japanese land and naval targets just prior to the surrender.

Interestingly, FDR in his announcement about the Doolittle raid said that the bombers cam e from our base in Shangri-La, of course referring to the popular book and movie.

Mike T.

I'll have another stab, the Lexi?

No and no. Two weeks and plus earlier, Mike.

ps I'm building a model of this ship which is a major kitbash.

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Allied Ships Present in Tokyo Bay During the Surrender Ceremony, 2 September 1945

The ships in the list below are listed alphabetically within each type. US Navy ships have hull numbers and Allied ships have pendant numbers. The following abbreviations are used for military ships: HMS=British, HMAS=Australian, HMNZS=New Zealand, USS=American.

Source: Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPAC/CINCPOA) A16-3/FF12 Serial 0395, 11 February 1946: Report of Surrender and Occupation of Japan.

Battleships (BB)

USS Colorado (BB-45)             USS Mississippi (BB-41)
HMS Duke of York (17)            USS Missouri (BB-63)
USS Idaho (BB-42)                USS New Mexico (BB-40)
USS Iowa (BB-61)                 USS South Dakota (BB-57)
HMS King George V (41)           USS West Virginia (BB-48)

Light Aircraft Carriers (CVL)

USS Bataan (CVL-29)              USS Cowpens (CVL-25)

Escort Carriers (CVE)

HMS Ruler (D.72)                 HMS Speaker (D.90)
Salamaua

Heavy Cruisers (CA)

USS Boston (CA-69)               USS St. Paul (CA-73)
USS Chicago (CA-136)             HMAS Shropshire (96)
USS Quincy (CA-71)

Light Cruisers (CL)

USS Detroit (CL-8)               USS Pasadena (CL-65)
HMNZS Gambia (48)                USS San Diego (CL-53)
HMAS Hobart (I.63)               USS San Juan (CL-54)
HMS Newfoundland (59)            USS Springfield (CL-66)
USS Oakland (CL-95)              USS Wilkes-Barre (CL-103)

Destroyers (DD)

USS Ault (DD-698)                USS Mayo (DD-422)
USS Benham (DD-796)              HMAS Napier (G.97)
USS Blue (DD-744)                HMAS Nizam (G.38)
USS Buchanon (DD-484)            USS Nicholas (DD-449)
USS Caperton (DD-650)            USS Perkins (DD-877)
USS Clarence K. Bronson (DD-668) HMS Quality (G.62)
USS Cogswell (DD-651)            USS Robert K. Huntington (DD-781)
USS Colahan (DD-658)             USS Southerland (DD-743)
USS Cotten (DD-669)              USS Stockham (DD-683)
USS Cushing (DD-797)             USS Taylor (DD-468)
USS De Haven (DD-727)            HMS Teazer (R.23)
USS Dortch (DD-670)              HMS Tenacious (R.45)
USS Frank Knox (DD-742)          HMS Terpsichore (R.33)
USS Gatling (DD-671)             USS Twining (DD-540)
USS Halsey Powell (DD-686)       USS Uhlmann (DD-687)
USS Healy (DD-672)               USS Wadleigh (DD-689)
USS Hilary P. Jones (DD-427)     HMS Wager (R.98)
USS Hughes (DD-410)              USS Wallace L. Lind (DD-703)
USS Ingersoll (DD-652)           HMAS Warramunga (I.44)
USS Kalk (DD-611)                USS Wedderburn (DD-684)
USS Knapp (DD-653)               HMS Whelp (R.37)
USS Lansdowne (DD-468)           HMS Wizard (R.72)
USS Lardner (DD-487)             USS Wren (DD-568)
USS Madison (DD-425)             USS Yarnell (DD-541)

Destroyer Escorts (DE)

USS Goss (DE-444)                USS Ulvert M. Moore (DE-442)
USS Kendall C. Campbell (DE-443) USS Waterman (DE-740)
USS Lyman (DE-302)               USS Weaver (DE-741)
USS Major (DE-796)               USS William Seiverling (DE-441)
USS Roberts (DE-749)

Frigates

HMS Derg (K.257)                 HMAS Gascoyne (K.354)

Sloops

HMS Crane (U.23)                 HMS Whimbrel (U.29)

Destroyer Minelayer (DM)

USS Gwin (DM-33)                 USS Thomas E. Fraser (DM-24)

Destroyer Minesweeper (DMS)

USS Ellyson (DMS-19)             USS Hopkins (DMS-13)
USS Fitch (DMS-25)               USS Jeffers (DMS-27)
USS Gherardi (DMS-30)            USS Macomb (DMS-23)
USS Hambleton (DMS-20)

Submarines (SS)

USS Archerfish (SS-311)          USS Pilotfish (SS-386)
USS Cavalla (SS-244)             USS Razorback (SS-394)
USS Gato (SS-212)                USS Runner (SS-275)
USS Haddo (SS-255)               USS Sea Cat (SS-399)
USS Hake (SS-256)                USS Segundo (SS-398)
USS Muskallunge (SS-262)         USS Tigrone (SS-419)

Submarine Chasers (PC)
*Numbered ships given names in 1956.

PC-466  [USS Carmil]*            PCE(R)-849 [USS Somersworth]*
PCE-877 [USS Havre]*             PCE(R)-850 [USS Fairview]*
PCE(R)-848

Motor Gunboat (PGM)

PGM-16                           PGM-32
PGM-26

Minesweeper (AM)

HMAS Ballarat (K.34)             USS Pochard (AM-375)
HMAS Cessnock (J.175)            USS Revenge (AM-110)
HMAS Ipswich (J.186)             USS Token (AM-126)
USS Pheasant (AM-61)             USS Tumult (AM-127)
HMAS Pirie (J.189)

Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS)
*Numbered ships named and reclassified in 1947
                                           
YMS-177                          YMS-390 
YMS-268                          YMS-415 
YMS-276                          YMS-426
YMS-343                          YMS-441 [USS Pelican (AMS-32)]*
YMS-362 [USS Hawk (AMS-17)]*     YMS-461 [USS Swallow (AMS-36)]*
YMS-371 [USS Hornbill (AMS-19)]* YMS-467 

Auxiliary Minelayer (ACM)

USS Picket (ACM-8)

General Communications Vessel (AGC)

USS Ancon (AGC-4)                USS Teton (AGC-14)
USS Mount Olympus (AGC-8)

High-Speed Transport (APD) 

USS Barr (APD-39)                USS Pavlic (APD-70)
USS Burke (APD-65)               USS Reeves (APD-52)
USS Gosselin APD-126)            USS Runels (APD-85)                       
USS Hollis APD-86)               USS Sims (APD-50)                         
USS Horace A. Bass APD-124)      USS Wantuck (APD-125)                 
USS John Q. Roberts(APD-94)      USS William M. Pattison (APD-104) 
                        
Tank Landing Ship (LST)
*Numbered ships named in 1955.
LST-567                          LST-789 
LST-648                          LST-846 [USS Jennings County]*
LST-717                          LST-1083 [USS Plumas County]* 
LST-718                          LST-1139 

Landing Ship, Dock (LSD)

USS Catamount (LSD-17)           USS Shadwell (LSD-15) 

Landing Craft, Infantry (LCI)

LCI(L)-438                       LCI(L)-469
LCI(L)-441                       LCI(L)-726
LCI(L)-450                       LCI(L)-752 
LCI(L)-457                       LCI(L)-798
LCI(L)-458

Medium Landing Ship (LSM) 

LSM-13                           LSM-290
LSM-15                           LSM-362
LSM-71                           LSM-368 
LSM-101                          LSM-371
LSM-208                          LSM-419 
LSM-252                          LSM-488
LSM-284 

Landing Ship, Vehicle (LSV)

USS Monitor (LSV-5)              USS Ozark (LSV-2)

Attack Transport (APA)

USS Bosque (APA-135)             USS Highlands (APA-119) 
USS Botetourt (APA-136)          USS Lavaca (APA 180)
USS Briscoe (APA-65)             USS Lenawee (APA-195)                        
USS Cecil (APA-96)               USS Mellette (APA-156)
USS Clearfield (APA-142)         USS Missoula (APA-211)
USS Cullman (APA-78)             USS Rutland (APA-192)
USS Darke (APA-157)              USS St. Mary's (APA-126)
USS Dauphin (APA-97)             USS Sherburne (APA-205)
USS Deuel (APA-160)              USS Sheridan (APA-51)
USS Dickens (APA-161)            USS Talladega (APA-208)
USS Hansford (APA-106)

Transport (AP) 

USS General Sturgis (AP-137)

Attack Cargo Ship (AKA)

USS Libra (AKA-12)               USS Todd (AKA-71)
USS Medea (AKA-31)               USS Tolland (AKA-64)           
USS Pamina (AKA-34)              USS Whiteside (AKA-90) 
USS Sirona (AKA-43)              USS Yancy (AKA-93)
USS Skagit (AKA-105)

Cargo Ship (AK)

USS Lesuth (AK-125)

Civilian Cargo Ships 
                       
St. Lawrence Victory (US)        Winthrop Victory (US)

Stores Issue Ship (AKS) 

USS Cybele (AKS-10) 

Repair Ship (AR)

USS Delta (AR-9)

Landing Craft Repair Ship (ARL)

USS Patroclus (ARL-19)

Oiler (AO)

USS Chiwawa (AO-68)              USS Niobrara (AO-72)
USS Mascoma (AO-83)              USS Tamalpais (AO-96)
USS Neches (AO-47)

Civilian Oilers

Carelia (British)                Fort Wrangell (British)
City of Dieppe (British)         Wave King (British)
Dingledale (British)

Gasoline Tanker (AOG) 

USS Genesee (AOG-8) 

Destroyer Tender (AD)

USS Piedmont (AD-17) 

Hospital Ship (AH) 

USS Benevolence (AH-13)          HMHS Tjitjalengka (Dutch)
Marigold (U.S. Army)

Seaplane Tender (AV)

USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17)     USS Hamlin (AV-15)

Small Seaplane Tender (AVP) 

USS Gardiners Bay (AVP-39)       USS Suisun (AVP-53) 
USS Mackinac (AVP-13) 

Submarine Tender (AS) 

USS Proteus (AS-19) 

Submarine Rescue Ship (ASR) 

USS Greenlet (ASR-10) 

Fleet Ocean Tug (ATF) 

USS Moctobi (ARF-105)            USS Wenatchee (ATF-118)

Auxiliary Ocean Tug (ATA) 
*Numbered ship named in 1955

ATA-205 [USS Sciota]*

Ocean Tug, Old (ATO) 

USS Woodcock (ATO-145

These ships were there at the signing of the surrender, this was just a little bonus I added, not an answer to the trivia question.

The ship in question is on that list. When she arrived at Tokyo Bay, she was five miles away from the next ship. Two weeks later, as you can see, no ship could safely move too far.

HMS Speaker

29th        First allied aircraft carrier to enter Tokyo Bay.

(www.naval-history.net)

Yes that's the answer and nicely done. HMS Speaker was a Bogue Class escort carrier sold under lendlease to Britain. A fascinating class or actually three of them, Speaker was a Ruler Class carrier, as the majority of Bogues sailed for the RN.She was the second ship of that name; the first was a Second Rate launched in 1650 when ships were named for officers of Parliament.

Like many CVE's she did more hauling around of aircraft and other supplies than flight operations. She entered Tokyo Bay as part of the Joint Task Force, her task to take aboard POW's. Cowpens had a similar mission two weeks later.

Bogues were based on the C3 cargo ship hull, and Attacker/ Ruler/ Prince William Class CVE's were a modification of those for the RN. My 1/400 model is based on the Revell Hawaiian Pilot C3 freighter.

Here's more:

http://www.navsource.org/archives/03/cve-40/speaker.htm

After the war she was converted back into a freighter.

Your turn Kormoran

Thanks Bondo.

Alrighty, apart from any construction similarities they may have, what do HM ships Thunderer and Spitfire share in common?

With eight Thunderers and ten Spitfires to choose from,  the best I can come up with is that the last of each was planned, but cancelled. The last Thunderer was to have been a Lion-class battleship, cancelled 1944. The last Spifire, a C-class destroyer, was eventually launched as Cambrian in 1943.

Rick

Sorry Rick, bit thats not the common link I was after.

My apologies for a vague question - it's harder than I thought to be a quizmaster without giving away too many specifics.

I realise that ships names get recycled over the years. And even re-classified eg. HMB Endeavor was only classified a "Bark" because there was already a ship-of-the-line named HMS Endeavor. (Hint hint)

The ships in question are also from the age of sail.

No, here's the relevent years:

HMS Thunderer 1780

HMS Spitfire 1784

They were taken out of service and placed into ordinary?

Mike T.

Lord Nelson entertained his girlfriend on both of them...

No, it relates to explorer/navigator, James Cook (even though it was after he was chopped up by Hawaiians)

I am still stumped, but this is a good question. It has to be a midshipman who served with Cook. The HMS Spitfire had a good career, especially under Cmdr Michael Seymour, which would have given ample oppurtunity for a young officer to advance up to the HMS Thunderer.

As an interesting side note, it seems that Cpt. Cook perferred ships built at Whitby, HMB Endeavour (ex. Earl of Pembroke), Resolution (ex. Marquis of Ganby) and Adventure (ex. Marquis of Rockingham) were colliers buitl there.  The Spitfire was built by Stephen Teague of Ipswich and theThunderer by Wells Brothers of Rotherhithe, so I knocked out that they were built by the same company, as they weren't.

Got to do more digging on this one, thanks Kormoran for the challenge.

Mike T.  

I'm glad you're enjoying the research Telsono. You're on the right track - dig around for two specific people who served on those ships.

James Cook's 16 Year Old Son served onboard HMS Thunderer and died while serving on her. His eldest Son, James, rose to command HMS Spitfire and was thought to have been murdered whilst in command of that Vessel. 

You got it surfsup, well done.

Cook and wife Elizabeth had 6 children, all died young and none had any children.

Son James was the eldest and also the longest lived, he drowned suspiciously at age 30 while rowing towards the Spitfire from shore.

Elizabeth lived into her 90's but (tragically) burned all of Cooks letters before she died.

One last Cook-trivia, 'Captian Cooks' Cottage, a historic site in Melbourne, was not his cottage. It was his parents home, but built when Cook was an adult. It's likely he visited, but never lived there.  Having been there as a kid, I was really bummed-out when I found that out a few years back!

Cook is a national hero in Australia, the government bought the cottage in a frenzy of Cook-mania and ignore the fact they were scammed.

OK Thanks. During the late 1880's the US built 4 Vessels comprising 2 Sister Ships and a larger Vessel all of which were designated Cruisers. The Fourth was deemed a Despatch Boat. What Squadron did they belong to and what were there Names..??

Might this have been the White Squadron?

USS Atlanta, USS Chicago, USS Yorktown, USS Boston, and the dispatch boat USS Dolphin 

You are close but not quite there. 

I may be mistaken. The`Yorktown may not` be one of`them.

The US Navy was authorized to build 4 vessels in an act of 1883, their names confromed to the first four letters of the alphabet. ABCD which was also the squadron name (edit). some say this was the beginning of the establishment of the modern US Navy.

"World conditions made our Country aware that the

Navywas small. Therefore, in 1882 and 1883, Congress

authorized the construction of the “protected cruisers”

Atlanta, USS Boston, and USS Chicago and the

dispatch boat USS

Dolphin, which had both masts for

sails and stacks for smoke. They were steel hulled and

signaled the end of the ironclads introduced only

40 years earlier. These new cruisers were in the 13- to

14-knot class. They sported new guns, new types of turrets, and armor."

http://compass.seacadets.org/pdf/nrtc/bmr/14325_ch5.pdf

Mike T.

From Wiki:

The ABCD ships proved to be excellent vessels, and the three cruisers were organized into the Squadron of Evolution, popularly known as the White Squadron because of the color of the hulls

Looks like Rich nailed it, it appears ABCD was only a collective name for the ships, we'll have to wait for surfs up reply.

This article has a different go on it.

ABCD Squadron (1886) to Squadron of Evolution (1889)  to White Squadron.

http://www.cityofart.net/bship/atlanta.html

Mike T.

ABCD was the one I was looking for. Congrats Telsono. It is over to you now for the next one.....Cheers Mark

Keeping in the same era.

Ok, I am looking for a US Navy vessel that was built on the west coast of the United States. It took 22 years from laying down to commission and she served 27 years before being scrapped. It belonged to a class of 4 vessels and they all served in the Spanish-American War. Subterfuge was spent in their building as they took on names of a previous set of vessels that were scrapped instead of being modernized. Even with this, money from congress ebbed and flowed that it took 22 years to commmission her fromher initial laying down. Also, where was she build.

Mike T.