Naval History Forums

Agree. I like the mainmast placement on Gneisenau better for looks, though operationally, the KM planned to move it back as on Scharnhorst. I also think Gneisenau's Atlantic bow is the better looking of the two. Scharnhorst's was a bit more stark, with more pronounced anchor kluse openings. Nonethel...

Adding to what I posted above, USS Phoenix, CL-46, was a member of the famous pre-WW-2 Brooklyn class of USN light cruisers. She was roughly 10,000 tons displacement, four shafts, 100,000 SHP, 32.5 knots, carried fifteen 6-inch/47 rapid fire guns for her main armament, and eight 5-inch/25 guns for h...

A quick check of my USN cruiser books shows the following: USS Phoenix, CL-46, Brooklyn class, launched March 12, 1938. She was retired July 3, 1946. She was sold to Argentina effective October 17, 1951, became Diecisiete de Octubre. Renamed General Belgrano in 1956. On May 3, 1982, she was torpedoe...

Got it this past Friday. I was surprised it is a soft cover paperback book, but looks to be a good read.

Those guys did miracles recovering the big ships at Pearl.

Derf

Tiornu wrote:You can also look for Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Salvage and Final Appraisal by Homer Wallin, who was in charge of much of the salvage work.

Tiornu -

Thanks! I ordered a copy of this book via Amazon.com today.

Derf

My dad was in Italy in 1944 with the US Army. They somehow got a ride in a C-47 and flew around Vesuvius. He got a few good pics of the smoking vent. We were there last year, 2006, in May. We visited Pompeii. I sttod there looking at Vesuvius and imagined how it was when that thing blew in 79AD. Woo...

And, there is a decent book on the topic:

Resurrection, Salvaging the Battle Fleet at Pearl Harbor

by Daniel Madsen, USNI Press, 2003

Derf

I assume most of you guys will have seen this photo but for those that havent...... The hulk of the Oklahoma next to Wisconsin Gary - Quite a difference! And, of course, the location where USS Missouri is berthed at Pearl today is just where USS Oklahoma, outboard, and USS Maryland, inboard, were b...

Coyote's suggestion of USS Enterprise is a good one. Or USS Yorktown, or either USS Lexington or USS Saratoga. Plus, I'd add my favorite Brooklyn class CL - the USS St. Louis. A close call on the KM ships .... but I'd probably request Scharnhorst, Bismarck, Tirpitz, Prinz Eugen, Admiral Hipper, Gnei...

Other worthwhile additions to the list:

o The five volume AJ Press series on Biamarck/Tirpitz - AJ Press Encyclopedia #'s 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

o "The Battleship Bismarck", Elfrath/Herzog

Do I dare include J. Brower's "Anatomy of the Ship, The Battleship Bismarck"?

Derf

Bgile - No correction needed. I just wanted to fill in the details.

Derf

Oklahoma was refloated, but wasn't considered worth repairing and was scrapped. Utah, an old battleship serving as a gunnery target ship, was also a total loss and like Arizona is sitting on the bottom of Pearl Harbor today. USS Oklahoma, BB-37, was stripped down to her hull at Pearl in 1943, from ...

Quite a bit of historic anniversaries in the final days of May for we naval fans!

Derf

The USN "old" BB's were VERY vulnerable to underwater attack.

Look at the huge torpedo blisters that were applied to them when they received refits.

Derf

I would suggest the scenario also needs the assumption that the German "Z's" engineering plant performs as desired. The Zerstorer's boilers and turbines acted up so frequently that any evaluation of how they would fare vs. an allied opponent under ideal conditions needs this assumption. Derf