Ship Trivia Quiz

schoonerbumm wrote:

OK I'll chime in with some trivial trivia.... Which American Naval vessel at Pearl Harbor had her name derived from a fictional female character from a novel?

Repair Ship (AR)      Medusa      (AR-1)

Not the answer I am looking for, but a good one. Helena was a character in Greek mythology, technically not a literary novel. But realistically I'm sure someone at sometime has put her in one. 

The light cruiser Helena was at Pearl Harbor... so if no figures out another answer in the next, say, 48 hours or so, CL-50 will be close enough. 

Also, the character I'm looking for is tied to larger vessel and is included in a display at Disneyland.

OK I'll chime in with some trivial trivia....

Which American Naval vessel at Pearl Harbor had her name derived from a fictional female character from a novel?

Would it be Vanguard?  Last 2 before the missle sub were battleships, the WW1 version being lost do to an internal explosion, and the one after that was the last British battleship built

HMS Majestic

Sorry for taking so long to come up with a new question. I came across a question I could answer without research and jumped right in without thinking about the consequences. Anyway; here is my question.

This ship's name has been carried by many in the British Royal Navy over the centuries. One was the last of its type built for the navy, Another was the first of its kind. In the WW1 the ship that carried this name met a sudden and tragic end.

What is the name? 

Absolutely correct.  Maybe trivial, but I think it'a a great story.

Your turn.

Rick 

Guess I can't avoid this part of the game.  OK, let's get it over with.

After WWII, all the Commanding Officers of this major warship (larger than destroyer) never required the crew to polish brass.  What ship? 

Yes you are correct.

Surface Line, to you.

Which Victory ship was the only one to be converted into a Liberty ship?

jtilley wrote:

I don't believe Tirpitz ever commanded the High Seas Fleet - at least during WWI.  It had four commanders during the war:  von Ingenohl (1913-1915), von Pohl (1915-1916), Scheer (1916-1918), and Hipper (1918).  Here's a Wikipedia article that lays all that out:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Seas_Fleet The convoluted logic I was using (which I hoped would keep people occupied for a little while - but bondoman figured it out almost immediately) was:  1. Scheer had a pocket battleship named after him.  2.  That ship was a sister ship of the Graf Spee.  3.  The Graf Spee was "played" in the movie by the U.S.S. Salem.  4.  Salem is the name of cities in Oregon and Massachusetts.

Good question none-the-less John, you have nearly redeemed yourself from that abomination from the past.

OK, sister ship works for me.  I'm good with that.  I had been afraid that this relation was going to be based on the two cities of Medford or Springfield, and I was preparing to cringe.  I liked this movie.

Rick 

I don't believe Tirpitz ever commanded the High Seas Fleet - at least during WWI.  It had four commanders during the war:  von Ingenohl (1913-1915), von Pohl (1915-1916), Scheer (1916-1918), and Hipper (1918).  Here's a Wikipedia article that lays all that out:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Seas_Fleet

The convoluted logic I was using (which I hoped would keep people occupied for a little while - but bondoman figured it out almost immediately) was:  1. Scheer had a pocket battleship named after him.  2.  That ship was a sister ship of the Graf Spee.  3.  The Graf Spee was "played" in the movie by the U.S.S. Salem.  4.  Salem is the name of cities in Oregon and Massachusetts.

So what's the connection to either of the two CinCs of the High Seas Fleet during the war - Tirpitz or Scheer?

:-) 

Sheesh, I thought it would take a little longer than that!

The movie (which goes under two titles:  "The Battle of the River Plate" and "Pursuit of the Graf Spee") was on TCM cable a week or so ago; that's why it was on my mind.  It has a lot to recommend it.  The names of the ships that "played" the Graf Spee, Achilles, Exeter, and Ajax are listed in the opening credits; it's the only movie I've ever seen that does such a thing.  In general, the producers seem to have taken a great deal of trouble to make it as accurate as they could - subject to some pretty severe budgetary limitations.  Anthony Quayle plays Commodore Harwood, and a very young Christopher Lee (before he made a name for himself in horror movies) has an interesting role as a radio reporter in Montevidea.  If I remember right, one of the British merchant captains captured by the Graf Spee plays himself. 

It has one strange feature that I've never been able to figure out, in all the times I've watched it.  Captain Langsdorff, played by the distinguished British actor Peter Finch, is presented quite sympathetically.  But the story ends with the scuttling of the ship.  As I remember, the last shot shows Langsdorff standing on board a tugboat, looking pensively on as the Graf Spee burns.  There's no mention of the fact that he went back to his hotel room in Montevideo and shot himself.  I wonder why the moviemakers left that out.

Bondoman - you're up.

Well, I'll flat out admit that I slopped around on the net and found the following, which very well may be wrong.

The Heavy Cruiser USS Salem (CA-139) put in an appearance as the Admiral Graf Spee in the movie "The Battle of the River Plate" which I have not seen (1956, because I was born then) BUT of course will.

Ok, here goes.  Movie buffs may get this one right away, but I'm running out of ideas.

What's the connection between the commander-in-chief of the German High Seas Fleet during World War I and two identically-named cities in Oregon and Massachusetts?

Well, that one did it for me.  Originally S.S. President Warfield, named for the president of the line, S. Davies Warfield.  Acquired by the War Shipping Administration in 1942 and turned over to the British for use as a troop transport.  Tansferred back to the U.S. in 1944 and taken over by the Navy as the U.S.S. President Warfield.  Sold in 1946 by the WSA to the Potomac Shipwrecking Co., which was acting as an agent for the Jewish political group Haganah.  Carried Jewish refugees to Palestine under the name Exodus 1947.  (The ship in the movie "Exodus," with Paul Newman, looked nothing like the real thing - which retained the distinctive look of a Chesapeake Bay steamer till the end.)

Great question.  It'll take me a few days to come up with one; I don't want to suffer a reprise of the electronic vegetable-throwing I got (probably deservedly) after my U.S.S. Maine adventure. 

Or maybe I didn't answer the question completely.  The Wikipedia article in which I found all the above - it's titled "Exodus (ship)" - didn't mention a change of name when she went into British service.  I'm assuming she kept the name President Warfield, but maybe not.   

Looks like nobody wants to play, Dan. Obviously no Paul Newman fans out there!

Rick