Behind the Scenes at Battleship NJ: Restoring Chief's Mess
Vložit
- čas přidán 13. 03. 2022
- In this episode we're taking a look at a recent restoration project.
For some other museum ship channels:
Slater: / @ussslater
Lucid: / @stocktonmaritimemuseu...
Kidd: / @usskidd661
Alabama: / ussalabama60
Battleship Cove: / @battleshipcove-americ...
Buffalo and Erie County Naval Maritime Park: / @buffalonavalpark
For Museum Ships Across the Globe:
HNSA.org
To become a volunteer at Battleship New Jersey or to talk to our staff about other related projects, please email:
Education@BattleshipNewJersey.org
For more information on our Overnight Program:
www.battleshipnewjersey.org/v...
For our episode on the Nixie Room:
• Nixie Room
To support this channel and the museum, go to:
www.battleshipnewjersey.org/v...
I love how he is so dedicated to this ship. It is so clear how excited he gets over even some tables.... Awesome!
Glad to see the "Goat Locker" being redone. Can you imagine the Sea Stories told in that compartment.
Just ensure your wife and kids are out of ear shot.
@@briangulley6027 so true
I may have told some myself.🙄
Don't forget to wash all those chief's coffee cups. On my last ship, the chief's mess was through a door from my galley. A few of the lower ranked chiefs sort or upset me, so I told the new messcook working in the chief's mess to take all the cups off the wall rack and wash them once a week. (Most chiefs preferred their cup unwashed) so when they came in and found their cups clean, I got an ear full. But I told them they don't run my galley, and that was just a warning shot to not try and tell me how to run food to them when they're not my chief. Most of the crew got a good laugh out of it.
Lower ranking chiefs 🤣 I got cornered by a couple master sergeants once whilst alone and asked them if they saw the PowerPoint on sexual assault. I don't think they even said good bye 🥺
Nearest museum ship to me is LST 325. Some of the original crew still sail her up and down the Ohio and Mississippi River's. If your fortunate enough, to get one of the original sailors as a guide..ask them about the taking of 325 from the Greeks and sailing her back to the states...without assistance ( average age of the crew on that trip was 70!) and against instructions from USCG and other entities! Awesome group and an awesome story!
There’s a lot of interesting wartime history around Evansville!
@@PhantomP63 Southern Indiana is rich in history!! All kinds of interesting things around this area and Northern KY!
The Chief's Lounge, starboard side aft was completely gutted during the 80's renovation. Multiple shops from the shipyard worked in that compartment. Up against the starboard side is a very large round diameter supply vent for the compartment, then the sheetmetal false bulkhead was put in place to hide everything. The "60's theme" for the lounge had to be added by the Chiefs after the shipyard turned over the space to the ship.
What can be gutted can also be put back.
Anyway, in the 80's, Chief's berthing, lounge, heads, etc were gutted and modernized. It's been 40 years since I worked back there, but I'm fairly confident the bulkheads were painted beige when completed.
@@ytlas3 ever see the Seinfeld where he swears the girl was chewing black jack gum?
@@crazybarryfam I didn't understand your first comment of what can be gutted can also be put back when I stated that a sheetmetal bulkhead was put up afterwards. Now I don't understand what you're getting at about the Seinfeld comment. I worked at LBNSY for 20 years, doing the New Jersey's 80's reactivation from start to finish. Couple years later I did the USS Missouri's reactivation from start to finish. Between the reactivations, later overhauls, and the constant trips to Pier 6 to do small jobs on both battleships over the years, I figure I spent about 10,000 total manhours working on both ships. Some areas of the ships I remember better than others, and the Chief's berthing is one of them.
The number of obscurely-located but surprisingly large storage spaces on board the New Jersey is large enough that it's almost spooky. Like, I'm starting to wonder if she's bigger on the inside than the outside
*twilight zone music starts playing*
@@Masada1911 Dr. Who music starts playing.
The X-Files music starts
@@ghost307 Transcendental Dimensions.
Ryan talked about this in another video, there’s hundreds of spaces on the ship, mostly of them are duplicated, there’s a lot of 5inch magazines for example. I think in one video he mentioned finding a CPO’s office that was added into a void and not on any of the ships plans and it was full of files
So given that Ryan had no idea those spaces were back there, I'm wondering how many other cool spaces, or pieces of equipment they will discover watching that footage they recently acquired?
Also not for nothing, if you need hardware or components made, should really be asking for machinists who can volunteer, I mean you've got a machine shop onboard.
What you have there, sir, is an endless supply of Eagle Scout projects.
800+ feet of them.
My high school friend Dan Waring served aboard New Jersey in the late 1980's. Sadly, he passed away from covid last year. I still have a couple of mementos from the ship he gave me while still on active duty. Poster, coffee mug and zippo lighter. Nice to see people preserving these national treasures, and If I lived out on the East Coast, I would love to volunteer.
I'm sure more precious then the mementos he sent you are the stories he told of this wonderful lady. Can only imagine he had told you so many about his time aboard.
@@sparkplug1018 Yeah, a few. He was on the final cruise, I believe in 1989. It's been a minute. He did mention how where he was stationed, the roll in rough seas was sickening.
Awesome that you found the tables. This makes me wonder how many other spaces on the ship that haven't been inspected. Or how many things that you have seen but not sure what it was used for. Thanks for sharing!
Maybe the chairs are yet to be found.
Good job ryan
Those tanker chairs are most likey all over the ship 1 chair here 1 chair there there are all kinds of disused rooms all over 7th deck keep searching the ladders might be there too
I was thinking the same thing, and since there are so many compartments all over the place that Ryan apparently doesn't even know about, id bet if they conducted a bow to stern survey they'd find just about everything they are looking for. Plus dozens of things they didn't know they wanted, like the crank handles to open the powder cans. Think he said some volunteers found those way down in the hull under one of the turrets, like how on Earth did they get down there?
@@sparkplug1018 i remember that video in the catacombs i have a 16 page map of the uss new jersey that lists all compartments of the ship with correct numbers
Ryan that is just beautiful, and a great discovery to be used at a future time. BEAUTIFUL.
Gotta love the "Goat Locker". One of my old favorite Tee-shirts (that no longer fit) from the late sixties when she was reactivated for VietNam has the image of her of firing the 16" guns with the caption of "BB-62 - She's Big, She's Bad, and She's BACK!".
You’re an amazing guy. And I love the work and passion you’ve put into keeping New Jersey alive.
I really enjoy watching these videos from Canada. And grew up on stories of f WW2 from my grandfather, and was fascinated with the history of WW2. Especially battleships.
I’d love to volunteer. Even visit the ship in person someday.
He is a legend, a real goat!
Love seeing the Scouts doing projects!
Wonderful to see such a dedicated group of volunteers' handiwork. My father was a Chief Gunner's Mate in WW2 and he was proud of that status. From what I remember of his stories their used to be, (still may be that I don't know) a major class distinction between Chiefs and other enlisted men. He told stories that Chiefs ate better than officers as officers had to buy their own food whereas the chiefs rations were drawn from the ships stores and that rank having privilege they got the best pick of those stores. This was a long time ago. He retired from the service in 1956 after 30 years service Army and Navy.
This is like an archeological dig. But more complex and fun.
The nearest museum ship to my location is USS MIDWAY CV(A, B) 41. When ship was first turned over to Uss Midway Museum Group I worked onboard in the gallery deck repairing p-ways to be acceptable for tourism visitors. That museum appears to have a sufficient number of volunteers to do all the maintenance required.
The closest museum ship to me is the USS Cobia in Manitowoc, WI. It is on the other side of the State.
The Nixie is a towed anti-torpedo acoustic decoy.
I'd love to see what the nixie room looks like and if the equipment is still installed
Nearest one to me is the Tribal class destroyer HMCS Haida. Recently purchased by Parks Canada and moved from Toronto to Hamilton, with a full drydocking in between. From what Ive read she was also an absolute menace on the water in WW2.
I'm sitting in one of those chairs. The Lifetime chairs are great!
Excellent video thanks again!
The Slater has some very fascinating projects coming up this summer that will no doubt be documented. Thanks for the recommendation Ryan and Co!
Thank you
I live near Buffalo NY and last year it was discovered that the USS The Sullivans was in danger of sinking. They started a fund raising for a 1 million dollar to save and the other ships that call the navy park home. Can't wait until Battleship New Jersey visit hopefully I can come out an visit Ryan that day
Wow! Looks great!
That’s a wonderful discovery and great work setting it up. Together those two spaces could readily be used for events.
another great video Ryan, thanks! The chief's Mess looks greet, and it's awesome seeing areas of the ship that the public wouldn't get to see.
Since we only have one, that is easy "Fregatten Jylland" And I don`t now if they take volunteers. Thanks for the tour.
Great video from the battleship.
I was given an in-depth tour of the Battleship Iowa in Los Angeles recently by a friend who volunteers there and it was an awesome experience.
Great job
Very good episode. If anybody had told me I'd be interested in following a story that could be summarized as "Looking for missing tables" I'd have thought they were nuts. You've really gotten good at this.
Daylight Savings so has me messed up. I didn't expect the new video to be out, but it's already after 6 in the evening here. Yay . . .
Navy Chief, Navy Pride!
I'm going to be starting to work soon on the USS Hornet in Alameda, so I really find things like this interesting.
Nearest museum ship to me is the Rotal Yacht Britannia interestingly.
The Goat Locker!
as a retired Chief Petty Officer on Subs I would love to see an in-depth tour of the CPO spaces on NJ.
Well I know of one local museum ship here in Chicago, the German submarine U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry. If you've never seen it Ryan, it's a must-see if you visit Chicago.
You are correct sir, the U-505 is a definite must see when someone visits the Windy City! I first saw it in 1985, when it still was located outside, then next in 2014 when it was moved inside at the fabulous location in the Field Museum.
@@josephstevens9888 it's at the Museum of Science and Industry, not the Field Museum.
Great job restoring the CPO mess tables! Are the "naugahyde" table covers new manufacture? The CPO lounge looks like a scary place for a troublesome E-4...
As a E-4/E-5, I only entered this room once in 2-1/2 years. I wasn’t in trouble, but I REALLY FELT INTIMIDATED. I didn’t even want to go in. My 1st class made me go in with extra convincing/coaxing.
How about a fundraiser / memorial chair drive? My father was a Chief Petty Officer and it would be neat to purchase a chair in his name and have a small plaque with his name, rank, and dates of service. If they are really expensive, then your can double or triple up on the names. But at a minimum, the person in question had to be at least a Chief Petty Officer.
Keep looking, those chairs are there somewhere!
Ryan, awesome video! I like all of your content so far. I just heard you give the compartment number... So after 10 years in the surface Navy I can tell you that the dashes in a compartment number are spoken as "tac" therefore it's compartment 2 tac 240 tac 0 tac Lima but written as 2-240-0-L (just an example, being old I can't recall what the Chief's Mess actually is).
Ryan - are you contact with the former curators of the New Jersey? Perhaps speaking to them can shed light on some of your questions.
The CPO lounge is nicer than the TR's 1993-2000. My 1st cruise, 79', if they set up the projector in the Ready room it was for something 'special'. We got ship news, reruns and an old movie from 1600 to 2400 over the Indy's CCTV. The reruns were videotape and we swapped the movie reels with other ships in the battlegroup.
10:47 that looks like Grandma and Grandpa's basement back in the 80s.
A local museum ship I could volunteer on?
Batavia!
Oh, if only I had more time...
Goat locker restoration? Be interesting to see what condition that space is in. I think it was Texas’ goat locker I saw a video of recently and it looked like a real perilous job. Hope yours isn’t as bad off. Semper Gumby!
Emco should just offer to refit museum ships like these, cause damned if they didn't make their name on them.
Nice restoration. Are you sure the old chairs aren't stashed in some other forgotten compartment?
Or one or two in each office, 1each at who knows how many desks,
"What's a local museum ship to you?"
Well, considering that I live over 400 miles from the nearest ocean... probably not many. - haha
Cool
Good stuff. Not sure about the early 90's belt look though. If I was closer I'd love to volunteer. Sadly there are no museum ships in easy driving range from my house.
I love what you guys are doing but I'm about as far away from you as is possible without leaving the country...so...physically helping you guys out would be quite tough. lol
As next best, I went to your site and was poking around and you guys have some really cool stuff!! HAPPILY tossed you guys some coin for a flown Gadsden Flag...it's so cool! Will throw some more coin your way soon. Keep up the good work!
My goal is to make it down from CT this summer. I cannot wait.
I wish you could do a video about what a modern battleship would look like if one was to be designed and built from scratch today. What size guns would they have, and what missile system. Would they be nukes or a oil burner. Etc...
I have many choices for volunteer work. For warships, Pampanito, Hornet. Merchant marine, Jeremiah O'Brien or Red Oak Victory. For Older steam, the Ferry Eureka, Ocean Steam tug Hercules, Eppelton Hall. For sail, Balcutha, C. A. Thayer, Alma, and a host of small boats. I've already spent a decade on Eureka, Balcutha, Thayer, Alma. Would like to help on Hercules and the other ships but I need to retire first. Got too much to do.
cool
I thought some asked about the number of chiefs there were berthed. The answer depends on the revision of the ship. Looking at Deck plans for the Iowa Class ships, there may have been 175 berths for CPO's. This is probably wrong, a better number id between 79 and 90, with up to 3 Marine Corps Sergeants. Officer berthing was between 80 and 171. and crew between 1500 and 2200 berths.
The CPO's had 1, 2, or 3 storerooms aft of frame 209, one starboard, one port and another amidships. There were generally rectangular messing tables in the spaces.
Awesome. I always wondered how the navy decides how many sailors are needed for a ship. Like does a frigate need six or eight damage control rates, versus four or five quarter masters
If I remember correctly the Goat locker is just aft of the messdecks starboard side. Also I'm stationed not too far from the Midway Museum!
What the heck is the deal with the paper towel dispenser boxes outside the head? What did the Ward-Leonard controller do, to the left of the hatch? Inquiring mings want to know.
Ryan on a treasure hunt. I wonder how many treasures are onboard.
Numerous. He seems to find them all the time
I like the round tables better! 😉👍
I’m in Albuquerque so the closest museum ship to me would be the sail of the USS James K. Polk (SSBN/SSN-645) located at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History.
The round tables were popular in NCO Clubs during the Vietnam Era. Probable group buy.
You mentioned the chiefs lounge was set up with a projector for movie night. Are there any old films on board? Crew training or otherwise? I love your videos, some day I would like to travel from Canada and tour one of your battleships, I could spend days inside one of those and not get bored!
Its unlikely there was any of that material left aboard, but there is probably footage regarding USS New Jersey, among others stored in the National Archive. Would like to see it digitived at some point now that you got me thinking about it.
My closest museum ship is probably the intrepid but here on Long Island we have the cradle of aviation, American airpower(which has flying war birds) and the museum of American armor. Might be good places for you guys to day trip up to for content.
They probably replaced the round tables with the rectangular ones because it's easier to play acey-deucy on them.
I just don't live close enough especially with gas prices beyond the roof to volunteer on a museum warship. I do volunteer at a local museum, The Otsego (MI) Museum. I do docent work and on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays, work on models. I have models on display there including some ships. USS Wasp (CV-19) USS Long Beach USS Chicago (CG) USS Nautilus HMS Tiger. I have other ship models at my American Legion Post all WWII. LST LCM USS Indianapolis USS Lexington (CV-2) USS Enterprise USS Essex USS Arizona USS Washington USS South Dakota
Ryan, if you ever travel to SW Michigan, I would be ecstatic to show you.
It’s really cool that you do all that volunteer work
@@Masada1911 Thanks. It is just doing what one can. History is just not being taught today in schools. Too much of what is being taught is pure garbage. I have lived through so much history, seen history, met heroes that have made history. History is important. Without that knowledge, you can make the same stupid mistakes.
Are there any illustrated internal deck plans for the internal compartment and passage ways?
USS Lucid is close to me. As a navy retiree, I’d love to volunteer on a ship. Yet, there are many worthwhile volunteer opportunities, from museum ships to historical museums to legacy railroads. I’m deeply entrenched in the El Dorado Western Railroad in California, near Placerville. We can always use welders, electricians, machinists, railroad crew, laborers, MOW crew and the like. MSCS …
You would love the National WWII Museum here in New Orleans
Perhaps you'll find the better chairs hidden some place
You might want to do a room by room search. Those chairs might be somewhere on board in another space.
On the LST I served on we had 2 chiefs and their quarters were near the bow on the starboard side. I never went there, and I have no idea whether they ate there or how food would get from the galley near the stern. Different worlds.
Turns out my most local museum ship is a replica of the Kaiyo Maru moored in Hokkaido. It's a steam + sail frigate launched from the Netherlands in 1865 and used by the Japanese Shogunate in the Boshin War. It was sunk in 1868 while in service of the *very* short-lived Republic of Ezo, hence the replica. Can't seem to figure out if they take volunteers. Oh well!
I have never heard of that ship, interesting
How many Chief Petty Officers were on the ship in the 40's and 60's?
Being from Idaho, I'm pretty much a museum ship free environment....
Keep lookin', you'll probably find the chairs.
As a retired USCG SCPO, the CPO spaces are near to my heart. How do I contribute specifically to this project?
How about a buy a chair campaign? Maybe extra to get your name on the chair.
The closest to me is USS Albacore AGSS-569.. They're only 25 mins away.. maybe I will go down and see them.
AGS? I don't remember what the type is other than auxiliary
@@robertschultz6922 AGSS stands for "Always gone Saturday and Sunday".
Seriously, it is a "training" submarine.
I'm a vetted volunteer for USS Iowa. Unfortunately, my work / family schedule has so far prevented me from being able to serve aboard!
He should include details on the chairs, He might get some donated,
Can you paint the chairs brown to make them fit the space?
Another trophy hunt by Ryan pays off - this time tables. Next time? who knows ;-)
I wish Battleship North Carolina wanted more volunteers. Their current set up basically only allows retirees to volunteer on weekday mornings. As they die off, who is expected to replace them if younger working people have no opportunities to volunteer and learn?
I volunteer on lci 713 for the last 20yrs it's in Portland oregon
1:23 that looks like the 6th division berthing..played many a game of chess at that table.
Do they call this the “Goat Locker” on battleships too? How many chiefs would the NJ have onboard?
Is there a frame rate issue with parts of this video. It was very wobbly and low frame rate in places (a bit like rolling shutter effect).
Was tricky to watch. Hope it’s just me or an easy fix. Shout if you’d like me to share time stamps :)
Its probably the low light in the area messing with the shutter, or LED lighting messing with it. That's my guess anyway.
HMCS Haida in toronto Thouch Closer would be the Ontario Regiment Tank Museum
04:40 😂😂😂😂😂
Ryan, why do you always seem to have a carabiner clip on your belt?
It's about the ship, try and keep up.
Do naval ships today have such niche spaces? It just seemed like they built such a large ship that they threw darts at a board to come up with ways to utilize the space. There was 90s proposal to place a VLS missile cell behind the most-rear 16 turret, so the four armored tomahawk box launchers would be replaced with the capacity to launch 61 missiles.
Hush
I would love to help on such a ship, unfortunately I live in a country that doesn't even have acces to the sea. We won exactly one battle on water but that was with a stolen Russian ship on lake Bajkal. Czechoslovak history is pretty interesting.
The folks at battleship Texas just found some hidden items they never knew were on board. Amazing how they only utilized a fraction of the space on board. How many other sealed rooms are there?
Iowa’s have about 1100 rooms
@@Masada1911 you'd get lost
Does the coffee machine and the auto-dog work?
A suggestion on those "tanker chairs" - I've seen any number of them at other government-controlled sites - have you considered reaching out to NON-naval organizations to see if they have some used versions?