Decommissioning the Battleship: 1957
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- čas přidán 31. 07. 2022
- In this episode we're going through a letter from USS New Jersey's Captain Brooks about the process of decommissioning the ship in 1957.
For the full document:
drive.google.com/file/d/1eEZQ...
For our previous episode on the 1968 recommissioning:
• Reactivating Battleshi...
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To support this channel and Battleship New Jersey, go to:
www.battleshipnewjersey.org/v...
I doubt many people at the time expected any of them to be brought back later, and they would all be truly shocked that all four ships would still exist in 2022.
It's nice to see how much that final Captain cared so much for the future care\long term storage of his ship.
and the crew.
As a former Air Force First Sergeant, whose couple major responsibility is making such the troops are fed and billeted, I found it interesting that Captain Brooks highly recommended having the crew and facilities to take care of them on board to stay active as long as possible.
27:58 The folks who are taking care of the Wisconsin have said when asked that they have no record of the ship having ever had a fire during any of its periods of time in mothballs; and that it is just one of those things that started as a rumor that is now taken as fact because it was "cited" in a book once - without actually providing a source.
I have heard of the fire on the Wisconsin from several sources; most likely these sources could all be repeating the same thing. The fire was reported to be a fire that involved the electrical circuitry for the forward sixteen inch guns. I would think that the best source of information to validate this would be any reports from Ingalls Litton in regards to any circuitry repairs if they were indeed done when the ship was reactivated in the 1980's..
I’m believe Ryan showed a picture of the damage on the Wisconsin, so it did happen.
I’m going to the Battleship tomorrow!
lucky
I attend church with a guy who served on the New Jersey at the end of WWII, then again in Korea. Last name of "Kelver" if you have any crew lists. He was a boiler tech. Love his stories!
they've done videos from guys that served on the ship and I'd bet they'd love to record his story I know I'd love to see and hear it,
Please arrange to record an oral history if Kelver is open to the idea
This video illustrates the vast scope of work involved with maintaining the US Navy. I think that we normally only think about the ships’ crews but there are so many command, clerical, logistic, maintenance specialists etc. along with civilian contractors that it’s a truly huge endeavor. So don’t be so quick to point out an occasional oversight or mistake. A good portion of our defense budget goes to pay the salaries of all those involved. Fellow Americans with families doing their jobs. Thanks to the whole BSNJ crew for all of the fine content !
Amateurs talk tactics, Pros talk strategy, Experts talk logistics.
"Tap the pipes with a hammer...if it breaks...it needed to be replaced."
I can imagine how burned-out the officers and men (only men at that time) felt at the end of this evolution. Good of CPT Brooks to keep ship's services going as long as he did - I know how depressing it can be to be stuck in a place, overworked, poor food, and nothing to relieve the monotony. Sounds like he was one of the good'uns.😀
I spent two years in a yard period, it is absolutely brutal on the crew. All yard work should be done by the yard, all but 10% of crew should be sent back to sea to work in-rate on other ships. Taxpayers pay for ship repair and the yard makes ships' company do the work??? In my case my Air Traffic Controllers had to repair ladders in engineering spaces. Ridiculous.
@@adamdejesus4017 unfortunately, it was probably heaps cheaper for them to pay crew wages than yard worker wages for more simple jobs like that.
@@frankz5864 discounting the fact that the only actually simple jobs in the world exists in politics, lobbying and stock markets.
@@SonsOfLorgar I’ve heard people say some dickhead things over the years but that was right up there.
I'd of never thought historical trivia could be so thouroughly interesting!!! Keep digging for more Ryan!!
A great video. Loved going through the PDF of Capt. Brooks' letter.
(I'm not a Captain, but I play one in a Star Trek roleplay game campaign and for its conclusion, the ship I'm commanding is due back to the fleet shipyards at Mars for decommissioning, so I'm trawling the web for info for my character's last Captain's Log & Personal Log, as well as the roleplay of our final scenes.)
Bravo on trying your best for authenticity. I played D&D for several decades and that was the difference between a silly game and a great campaign.
Morale is extremely important especially during these times
Thank you for taking the time to go over this and explain it so well. You’re hired, 3.35 and hour and all the donuts you can eat. Pick up a box in the morning.
The "watch caps" mentioned in the letter of the canvas covers for the tops of the two smokestacks, not hats for sailors.
What a nightmare for a CO !!!
i read that as well.
I recently received my pieces of Teak deck from the New Jersey. I'm happy with them. It joins my other Cold War artifact of communications cable from a Minuteman Missile silo available from the NPS Historical site in Murdo, SD.
What I found most interesting was that she had received her FC for 3"/50s. I always wondered about that. These guns were designed specifically to replace 40mm quads but no Battleship ever received them. An Iowa class Battleship could easily mount 16-18 of them, depending on whether the turret roof mounts were used or removed. That would give a massive broadside of 16-20 guns each, for at least 720R/M or 12 rounds every second. Interestingly it would have also made them the first U.S. post-Dreadnought battleship with an actual tertiary battery. If they had done the refit, I wonder how many, if any would have been retained in the '80s. My ship in the early '90 (USS New Orleans LPH-11) had the same guns.
Another excellent video. Me and my girlfriend are wanting to plan a vacation some time coming up. I'm hoping to get to go to see some ships. She loves the ocean and thankfully is a history nut like I am. Me, her, and the kiddos can hopefully come to see something like New Jersey. I know the kids especially the two boys would go crazy about it. I'm sure my daughter will as well. Unfortunately my 2 adult daughters and grandsons can't come but I'm really hoping we can make it to see your ship. I'm hoping maybe my oldest daughter may let me take my grandsons. Keep up the good work, love the videos.
I love seeing those old movie clips. Thank you
Did a yard period in Bremerton in 1978 on board USS Fox CG-33. I was an E3 at the time so I spent time chipping deck on the mess decks and removing bulkhead covering (asbestos?) from the galley.
We went on Missouri to strip items we needed, I remember getting one of the coppers (steam jacketed kettles) from Missouri. I'd have to say, living in Bremerton versus Beyonne was a much nicer quality of life. We did a lot of fishing in the Puget Sound. I met my oldest son's mother there. The women in Bremerton were very friendly to the navy at that time. I worked part time at a bar that was owned by a former Chief who was very fond of sailors and catered to the crews. Overall I'd have to say, if you have to do a yard period, make it Bremerton.
I imagine being the crew on a decommissioning unit is tough
It's also rough on the crew when taking a ship through a lengthy (18 month) overhaul with the crew still required to berth aboard but with NO amenities beyond a bunk, food on the messdecks and hot water for showers, and damned little of that. The food was nothing to write home about either with half of the food prep area stripped out for rework.
Oh, and half the crew off the ship either for needed schools or on loan to the shipyard for purposes other than work on this ship.
My hat is off to the guys who had to turn to on the battleship deactivations.
Especially if you were part of Big Mamie. She kept you alive!
Thank you
Thank you for going through what happened when New Jersey get puts in the mouth ball Fleet.
I found the mess hall, barber shop, & list of baked goods to get the most interesting.
Very enjoyable video - thank you Ryan.
Ryan's musings always makes for easy listening.
The Oil issues is amusing I once talked with a oil guy who ran around picking up used oil from train locomotives and transmission and engine shops. With the locomotives he always tried to time it so that he got to the locomotive just as they shut it down for the oil change so everything flowed quickly as it was still warm. Otherwise it would take 4-5x as long if the stuff started to gel.
I love the long videos!
Interesting , Thank You . Such a Wise Captain
This was very interesting.
40 year's DoN experience, and still at it. Since the 80's, at least, it's pretty common to do an "After Action Report" after major evolutions, including successful ones. We try pretty hard to gather "Lessons-Learned" so that we get better at doing things as we go, so that future ops can be more effective and/or more efficient.* I don't at all read this document as complaining about conditions or "things not ging smoothly," everything I see here is pretty typical of an AAR. There is always a degree of personality and personal reasons in this type of corresepondance, but it's also likely that a member of the rare breed of battleship captains would want to share his experience with one of the very few others. We also read that SAIPAN is about to be decommed, and might learn some of these lessons as well. And it's at least 80% probable that he wanted to keep the MARDET just as a source of allegedly-unskilled labor to carry things around. Good libo in NY, though, so I might have put up with it - even though CAPT Brooks notes that "New York is too big a city" for some of the crew. Ooh Rah.
* A Royal Marine - "Lessons-identified, to be identified again at a later date" (because we didn't really 'learn" them).
Another great video from the battleship. Thanks
actually Iowa &Wisconsin both had their 40mm &all 20mm &aircraft cranes taken off , before their decommissioning 1958 ,New Jersey didn't along with Missouri in 1955 .
That was very interesting.
RE- USS George Washington - started 4-year Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) in August 2017. Should have completed by May 2022- but more work found and still in Overhaul, That a long TIME. I am not surprised thinking of that IRT Suicides. _ I read Adams Comment below. - I'd Agree for some rates/specialties of personnel - they should be offered chance to transfer to a ship deloying..
When my ship went through.overhaul in Long Beach, ET’s only had to care for. Chipping and painting where our comma and radar antennas were and the decks and passages and spaces that we occupied. Also, removing some electronic equipment for upgrades or reconditioning by outside contractors. But that memo says more ET’s were retained at the end? That seems like slave work to me, having to chip and paint and PMS’ing other division’s workspaces and equipment!
On a separate issue about New Jersey’s comm shack, do you stil have on boar R-1051’s and T-827’s (HF Transciever sets); SRC 20/21’s (UHF transceivers); HF crypto’sKY-8’s or KY-58’s (UHF Crypto’s); KY-75’s(HF crypto’s). These were in my destroyer’s comm shack and I assume this equipment was standard on the battleship’s decommissioned in the early 90’s. Does the museum allow visitors to see the comm shack on tours?
I was bored during breakfast (retired old guy) and decided to watch a boring episode :-) ... but NO! It was very interesting. I am impressed with the CO. A fellow engineer friend joined the reserve and then went Navy full time retiring Captain but I rarely get to see him long enough to ask questions so this is very interesting. I doubt one earns a star deactivating a ship so yes, thankless job. Now I see why we wanted these fellows as administrators in business.
No radio teletype service folks in Bayonne. I bet the Army had a couple at Fort Monmouth. It had Army Signal Corps units and school back then. They could have tossed a couple guys and their tools in bus and driven right up Route 9.
I had exactly your thoughts before you said it, that the USN either anticipated reactivating them very quickly or never, so why bother spending the money either way. Though the suggestion to stock the ship with nonperishable supplies seems to hint at a quick reactivation being the thought.
It's not a hint, it's literally the reason for it..
@@freedfree7933 I'm sure there were those who would have agreed at the time. And just as many who would have scrapped them if they could.
@@sparkplug1018
They didn't just do that for N.J. That was standard protocol for decommissioned ships
@@freedfree7933 Yeah I realize that. Doesn’t change what people within the USN were thinking, which is my point.
I’m sure some anticipated a fast recommissioning, others thought they’d never be returned
@@sparkplug1018
I'm saying your point is literally just pointing out the obvious. That's my point.
20:26 Lost 2 pair of binoculars, was Admiral Rozhestvensky on board? 😂
I'm a retired US Navy Engineer! My first half I was a Boiler Technition, cross rating to Gas Turbine Mechanic just before the BTs and MMs combined!
Question... as far as Battle Shock goes, I've always thought a Steam ship would be Far more robust in battle conditions!
Any thoughts on that?
I could believe it, I don’t know much about gas turbines- Army here. But I know tanks and helicopters use them, and they seem quite finicky the more I learn about them. Seems like steam would be more resistant to damage, seems simpler on the face too. Have heat? Yes. Have water? Yes, an ocean’s worth. Add the two, have power, have propulsion, have water to drink, have ship, have fight.
I went on the tour of Big Mo when I was in Washington. 1980.
“The Hellscape that is Bayonne” 😂.
Do you know when the study was started to recommission the four battleships and what they asked four to go to Vietnam ? And why it was not done in a time to effect the war ?
Why is your video so overexposed, or is it just artistic license? Otherwise, great content.
I enjoyed my short time as Captain of this ship.
I guess Capt Minor was the Jr Capt. Lol
Caption Brooks seemed more realistic than I thought many officers though many I felt with were mId shippman, long ago in a world far away.
I was on the USS George Washington during her first 2 years periods in Portsmouth va
When a ship such as NJ is going to be decommissioned and going to the mothballs what do they do to All the work centers etc? Does all the equipment and everything stay the same?
I saw the battleships in the Navy yard as a young child. This was 1961.
🤜🤛
My mom just visited the Wisconsin.
didn't you mean to edit out those re-takes?
Kind of a sad subject, decommissioning the ship
But she is back baby! And now we can be on board.
Remember that she was recommissioned twice after this decommissioning Ryan is talking about. She is an old gal and should be enjoyed and loved by all who can see her.
Wisconsin was like "good enough for Government work"
Do they run house steam during deactivation instead of her boilers . What is that process to mothball the boilers and steam system .? Do they get Ll the water out..???? What does it take to re-lite the boilers ?
First Post !
Ah yes, souvenirs: A single crewman thinks, "This is a non-critical piece of the ship, I can take this as a piece of memorabilia and no one will miss it." Multiply this by 1000 crew, and you begin to see the potential problems at scale.
I always wondered what happened to the crew of an Iowa class battleship after WW2. Were they reassigned to another ship ? Even if their rate was 16 inch turret related ?
When a ship gets decommissioned, you get a new assignment, or sent home. If your job isn't super transferable, you learn a new skill.
👍👍👍👊
Is it possible for the New Jersey to still be activated as a towable shore battery?
dont forget to white balance and iris down a little
Is there a particular reason they were stored in Bremerton Wa.
Hey! What kind of bag is that?
I never knew of sailor suicidal problems. Is there a support system ?
Hell no
When is the fuel tanks emptied as well as removing all of the ammunition and weaponry. Is this done. When is all of the perishable food removed.
Third watch here 😂😂😂😂 what fun awaits
I kept hearing you say "Urology", and I am wondering why was that so critical. "Aerology" is a word that I had not heard before.
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With everything that is about to happen, i wish they would drag out the old girl, load her up with VLS and CIWS and put her back into service.
Can the guns be reactivated, including the 16 inch guns?
All four Iowas have been decommissioned and reactivated several times. Ryan showed a video of the turrets and the barrels two years ago and all seem to be still in good condition, lubricated, sealed, etc. It would cost "some" Millions (or a fraction of a Billion probably) but doable. Unfortunately it won't happen anymore, because modern missiles have become much better than the 16" shells. More precise, way more range, cheaper, easier to move and fire. So lets enjoy these fine vessels as museum ships, they deserve it!
2nd, 1 August 2022
Cadmium plated Nutz.
Working in the city vs working in silicon valley was the same. You didn't want to be in the office in the city.
When a ship is being decommissioned, you acquire every historical piece you can get!
How much would it cost to fully restore the Battleship New Jersey and to activate it with some automatic additions in loading the shells at a faster clip ( reducing men that would otherwise be in constant danger.
Money would not be a problem as this country sorely needs some battleships. Also thinking of Missouri, and Texas and build a brand new one Arizona 2 which will be bigger more automated, and have a power system worthy to be proud of. Would appreciate some estimates low and high. Thanks.
This channel is awesome!
The USS Texas is getting some pampering, checkout the CZcams channel!
I imagine that parking an Iowa-class battleship is like parking your car, right??? you just sail to wherever and you turn the key and that turns the whole ship off... right? I don't have any other frame of reference than my Honda Civic - so I imagine that the battleship is just a really big Honda... when you get parked in your parking spot, right???? I wish there was a museum curator that could explain better... I know the kids make parallel parking a car with power-steering sound complicated - but you wouldn't happen to routinely parallel park your Iowa-class battleship, would you? Because, I would imagine that parallel-parking a battleship is slightly more complex than - making sure your ship is on your half of the parking-meter.
And I imagine that the Philly boys don't let you throw 50 cents in the meter every four hours to keep NJ parallel parked the way she is... knowing Philly a little, your ship would already be in impound in they had a wrecker big enough to get her there
"Captain Brooks operated without much guidance from above." That used to be a hallmark of Navy's method of operation. Especially in its early days, There was little communication between DC and ships, especially during a battle. Navy Regulations was a relatively small document, telling mostly the limits of decision making and some basic principles of operation. Beyond that, captains... and most Naval leaders, even among the enlisted ranks, were expected to make quick and sound decisions within those and constitutional limits.
During and after the Vietnam War, this began to change, culminating in today's military being at least as much an arm of social engineering and propaganda as it is an extension of US might... let along right. Thus today's political yes-men are more likely promoted than self-reliant decision makers.
Sad. Glad I'm no longer inside to see that.
You may “feel” that when a general war breaks out. I smell a new one brewing….sad.
Why do we have such a large mothball fleet
In this case, they built a ton of ships during wartime and then when the war ended didn't need them. Ships take too long to build to just build new ones for each new conflict so holding onto ships means you have them when you need them. But if you keep them in service instead of mothballed, it's way more expensive. So mothball the fleet it is.
We actually don't have a large mothball fleet any longer. The ships that remain in Philly, Bremerton, Pearl Harbor, etc. have mostly been scheduled for scrapping or to be the "Guest of Honor" for target practice and sinking. All of the hulls remaining have been thoroughly stripped of usable gear, Ryan has touched on this several times. All that remains essentially are the hulls and any major equipment too large and heavy to remove.
I served in two ships during the 1980s and 90s. Both are gone now. Destroyer Caron (DD 970) is now in 6,000 feet of water in the Caribbean off Puerto Rico, sunk in 2002. Assault ship Nassau (LHA 4) was pulled from Mothballs in March of last year and sent to the shipbreaker in Brownsville Texas. I'm told that the "recycling" process either is or is nearly complete.
@@robertf3479 RIP Spruances... Sad they were gotten rid of so quickly...!!!😢
New ships nowadays don't have any lines that make them appealing to look at
Not so much anymore, nothing like the size of the mothball fleet we had post ww2. Ships take time to build and as Ryan has said, " You go to war with the fleet you got. " In retrospect, it is a good thing, we had a sizable number of Clemson-class destroyers available for use at the beginning of WW2, most of these were either built during or just after WW1. I'm not sure what the Navy would do now if we had to fight a 2 ocean war.
ETs have a lot of work? Go figure
How much of that was taking up by mob union money?
lol at "New York appears too big a city for some of the crew.. The only cure right now would be to get the crew to sea for a substantial time". What kinds of "problems" are they having with New York?? Drinking and womanizing too much is my guess.
Hey!
Szimanski!
1: stop deprecating your polish namesake. Polish folk have been the target of jokes, don’t continue it.
2: question: how does one counter flood a battleship.
Cheers.
Ryan, I like your content in your videos. But please, cut your hair because I have a hard time paying attention when looking at you. Trust me, you're not fooling anyone with the hair. Accept yourself for who you are and be proud of your achievements so far. A well spoken man with natural male pattern baldness comes across much better than the persona of just being unkept.
I am so surprised that the iowas were decommissioned only a few years after they were built.