Anchors Aweigh

Happy Birthday United States Navy!

Note to Democrats:  after your debacle at the convention, where your “tribute” to “American” servicepeople featured Soviet ships and Turkish jets, I kinda feel bad for your ship-recognition skills.  But I’m all about the help.

The folloiwng…:

The KMS “Bismarck”, the most famous surface ship of Hitler’s Navy.

A Soviet-era Udaloy-class anti-submarine destroyer

HMS Victory, Lord Nelson’s flagship – in the British Navy – at the Battle of Trafalgar.

The IJN Kaga, Japanese aircraft carrier during World War 2.

…are not USN.

These, however…

The USS Collett, US Navy destroyer in World War 2, Korea and Vietnam.

USS Parche, most famous as a cold-war era spy submarine. Click on the picture for the story.

The oldest warship still in commission and floating, the USS Constitution, whose keel was laid down in 1793.

…are.

Just so you know.

4 thoughts on “Anchors Aweigh

  1. I’ve wondered what it would be like if those who built and sailed the USS Constitution would say if they could come back and see it still a commissioned ship. Maybe they would be tearfully silent.

  2. Wow. Um. Epic grammar fail on my part there. Changed my train of thought in mid-sentence.

  3. I suspect that the sailors from the Constitution would probably be more amused than anything else. While the Constitution and her sisters were pretty advanced for the time (fully 50% better armed than other frigates, with better wood and better bracing, too), they were still not competition for “ships of the line” and all the US could afford. Still, the US Navy never had trouble getting volunteers to man them even in times of war, so there was quite a bit of pride in the Constitution and her sisters.

  4. The difference is size between the ship of the line Victory, and the frigate Constitution is telling. Ships of a similar age. The Constitution is about 40 years younger. 3 gun decks on the ship of the line vs. one on the frigate. And the guns on the British ship were 42 pounders on the lowest deck. The American ship had 32 pounders as it’s largest. But ships of the line were not as agile as frigates, and should they have every met, the British ship would have had difficulty getting the American ship to range.

    Another interest post, Mitch. Thanks!

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