Smells Like Home: Why Do Museum Ships Smell Like That?
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- čas přidán 2. 11. 2021
- In this episode we're answering a frequently asked question, where does the distinctive smell of a museum ship come from, and does it smell the same as an active ship?
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Diesel boat submarine sailor wants to bring his pet skunk aboard, Chief of the boat asks "What about the smell?" Sailor says "He'll get used to it. We did."
Qualified on two Balao class boats, early 1960's. Smell was unique.
LOL, great joke! I rode what you bubbleheads call "Targets".
LOL
W
I took a tour of the Becuna a few years ago. The smell reminded me of an old garage… grease and drain oil with a hint of mustiness
Hey the big nuke boats from 2000 stink so bad you can’t take laundry without washing them or your whole house will stink.
I love the smell it's very similar to old war planes. To me it smells like a mixture of grease, old paint, and hot metal/vinyl.
This pretty much sums up my thoughts as well.
Tile, the prominent smell is the floor tile and as you go to other compartments you get those paint and grease smells, but yes your on target. I've been on over 20 ships and they all carry that odor and they all have floor tile from the 60's.
@@Normandy1944 I was in the Navy in the 70s, on a WWII era destroyer. Another unforgettable smell came from NSFO (Navy Special Fuel Oil) aka "black oil." It was the primary steam boiler fuel long before "distillates" were used on the fancier 1200 lb steam systems of newer ships. When the ship was fueling the smell was everywhere, and I felt light touches of it lingered in the air days after the fueling "evolution" was completed.
Exactly
@@Normandy1944 See my comment above. I was on ships that were built from the 40s to the 70s and have been on some of the newer ones.
You pegged it perfectly with crayons and fuel oil. Old steam trains smell like that too. Any old machinery really.
" Gear Oil " that's the odor I am betting .
I have an old camera that smells just like old ship. Willing to bet it's some sort of machine oil.
@@timc333 Not just gear oil. *old* gear oil. Same smell as old milsurp packed in ancient grease.
Its the smell of parrifin , I know cause that shit would land on me when pulling tubing outta oil wells and it smells exactly like grease/crayon
The smell of cosmoline.
Surely the smell of crayons applies only to the marine berthing compartments? ...
Just kidding
Officer Spaces ;)
Those are not crayons marine. Marines do not use crayons. Those are Marine water proof non soluble tactical map markers!
@@terranceroff8113 also referred to as “snacks” 🤣 sorry jk
Ha!
@@terranceroff8113 I am reading this and in my head I hear the late R Lee Ermy's voice (RIP Gunny)
Old aircraft get the same smell. Part of it is old textile materials like foam and chair leather. Absolutely love that smell.
OMG, I love the smell of old airplanes and hangars. There was a GA airport next to my father's property growing up. I spent sooooo much time over there. The airport is now a "luxury" subdivision that offers "country living". Meh
It's the sweat soaked up by the pilots seats and old grease, hydraulic fluid and fuel that has soaked the interiors, it can get funky.
Cars too, a car thats been sitting closed up for a while always has a certain smell to it.
It’s a combination of leaky door seals, cheap seat stuffing, and 5606 hydraulic fluid. I’ve spent way too much time with my face in rudders pedals fixing brake leaks. That’s the smell.
"Gear & Fuel Oil "
Served on submarines for 11 years in the 80’s and 90’s as a nuke machinist mate. It does smell like home away from home. You get used to it, but when I go on museum ships it just feels natural. My wife on the other hand always hated it when I opened my seabag after patrol, she put up with it because I was home with her. Navy wives are a special group, they have my utmost respect.
I've noticed it on every single museum ship, be it a sub, a battleship, a carrier, or even an old lake freighter. It's the same smell every time! I've also noticed that old airplanes have a unique and generally consistent smell, too, even ones that have been operating continuously. It's gotta be some combination of metal, cloth, fuel, oil, stagnant air, etc because, while airplanes are a little different, I'd say the smell is in the same category as that of ships.
To me, my old ship that I served on still had the exact same smell to it almost 18 years after I was posted off her and remained long after it was decommissioned and also during its scrapping which I was fortunate/unfortunate enough to be involved with in a very limited capacity!
I was also allowed to take some small keepsakes and they still have that smell (the smell of home) to this day.
I too absolutely love the smell! To me it smells like oil, hydraulic fluids, fuel oil, a machine shop, metal preserving fluids, with a touch of creosote and I’ve smelt it on Missouri, Wisconsin, and Kidd as those are the only ships I’ve been on so far.
All of the museum ships I've been aboard smell like NAVY to me! I have visited the Texas, Lexington,Alabama, Yorktown, & Laffey. My dad was an MM3 on CV-21 USS Boxer in the Korean War. Thank you for your work & keeping these time machines open!😎
It's clear and unmistakable. I remember vividly the first time I was on a ship and smelled it 40 years ago. It was the USS Alabama. The smell is old grease. Every once in a while I'll smell it again around old machine tools.
"Gear Oil " .
i assume it's from the dozens of types of grease and lubricating oils they used, some stink more than others as corrosion inhibitors, extreme pressure and other additives off-gas. sulfur additives are a big one and definitely add to the aroma
Not just grease/lube. Also the various plastic/rubber/silicone, the epoxy floorings, paint/lagging, DFM...
I distinctly remember the smell of relative bearing grease. It reeks of my own failure.
I’m a carrier sailor and I call it the “carrier smell”. I think it is a not unpleasant combination of decades of sweat, JP-5 and paint that has infused into the steel. I visited USS Midway a few years ago in San Diego and recognized her carrier smell the second I stepped on the hangar deck. It smelled like home.
Yea it's not a stench it's like a industrial smell
Jim described the carrier smell as l have instantly noticed upon coming aboard any Essex Class carrier. It definitely not a bad smell. I served aboard Hornet, Ticonderoga, and Wasp 1969-1973 when they were active and later came aboard most of the Essex museum ships-they all smell the same.
I was an M1 and an M60 tanker. The smells from combat vehicles are very similar to that of Navy Ships. I immediately noticed the similarities when boarding the MO, Iowa and the Midway. I'd say all military vehicles, i.e. tracks, trucks, aircraft, ships have "that smell" with their own particular variations. I own an M818 5-ton truck and it also has "that smell".
I am a Vietnam War Navy vet. I know the smell they are talking about. When I had been away from the Navy for more than 10 years, I went aboard the Joseph P. Kennedy at Battleship Cove, and, when I entered the crew's mess, the smell hit me, and brought back many memories. It was the smell from the FLOOR WAX ! I recognized it immediately. If you have done as many field days, and waxed and buffed as many floors as I have, that smell is unforgettable In parts of the Battleship Massachusetts there is also the faint smell of cigarette smoke as well as the wax, and other smells, which vary depending on where you are in the ship.
I'm a merchant ship officer and I notice "that smell"; that machiny, musty-yet-not-unpleasant aroma every time I go aboard a big vessel; foreign or domestic, active merchant ships or old museum chips, it's always there:)
This is going to sound corny, but it smells like adventure! 💜
When I was on board during a visit to the museum I noticed a smell that was like a metallic oil and grease with a hint of antique wood probably from the decks. I liked it. The grease smell was stronger in the mechanical areas which makes sense.
Smells like good old fashioned military surplus. Also weird seeing someone from 2b here haha.
@@squidiz496 I am surprised so many people pick up on the fact I play there. I enjoy history especially ships. This ship was impressive so much interesting things this channel has taught me about military vessels.
@@crazyguy_1233 I also enjoy history and got into naval history after visiting the Alabama some years ago. And I remember you from doc's old streams. You still active in the community? It's been a while since I've watched or played anything anarchy related.
its old grease smells. i have a freind who rebuilds boat motors and his shop smells like an old battleship.
Exactly, that's what I was going to say. Oil, and grease. Can't say I've smelled old wood, but I can't say I haven't either.
Ryan, many years ago, i went with my nephew's cub scout den to the USS Silversides (SS236), a Gato class submarine in Muskegon, Michigan. We spent the night aboard the ship. I noticed the smell of the ship as i walked onboard, it seemed to me a mix of the paint, oil, grease, leather, and canvas. The leather and canvas was stronger than the rest. Didn't smell much in the way of diesel, except in the engine rooms. I would say that the reason you don't notice the smell is because you've gotten used to it. It's the same way with our homes, you don't notice the smell of your own home due to being used to it, but when going into another house, you notice a smell because it is different than your house. I recognized the smell of canvas because when i was in the Boy Scouts, my troop had a lot of military surplus equipment, i.e., tents, dining fly, bags for the equipment, etc. I think that the smell remains because it has permeated everything to the point that it stays, no matter what.
First off, yes, I smell it, and it smells like home to me. I miss that smell and can't wait to get back onboard. Amazingly, if you go into the bakery, you can still smell the bread that was baked fresh every day while she was in service.
I've always noticed and just associated it with old machinery.
I've been on the USS North Carolina several times since I used to live there. I've been on the Iowa and Missouri and they all have the exact same smell.
The reason I associate it will old machinery is because classic American cars seem to have the same smell as well.
Yep, U.S.S. Alabama and my grandpa's old tractor have a very similar smell.
The smell isn’t unique to navy ships either. When I visited Queen Mary years ago, I distinctly remember making a mental note of the same smell, but it was contained to the engineering spaces. During her days in service as a liner, I would imagine they would hide it as best as they could in passenger areas, and since it’s a hotel, I’ll bet they still do. Even so, it was 100% there in the engine and boiler rooms. On warships, there was no reason to hide any machinery, so if I had to guess, I’d agree with you about it being old machinery.
@@BillBaronas I was going to mention the Queen Mary actually, but it's been so many years since I went on it I wasn't sure if my memory was correct. 😅
Whenever I come aboard a museum ship the smell brings me home!
I remember when I was a kid, touring USS Massachusetts for the first time. I noticed a smell, thirty years later I can still smell it, haha. To me at the time, it smelled very much like this gray modeling clay that we would use in art class. I guess that would be along the same lines as the crayon type smell.
Another smell that I can always easily identify, and is actually really pleasant to me, is that old car smell. You don't get it so much in museums where the cars are mint, but go to a car show where there more daily driver type cars, and they always have that smell. Gas, oil, and just a little musty.
One of the sources of the smell was anti-corrosion coating that was sprayed on every metal part of the ship when it was mothballed. When the ship was brought out of mothballs and reactivated, they were probably not able to (if they even tried) to remove it all. My understanding is that it was a special mixture that included wax that was intended to keep air and water from being able to get to the coated material.
My guess is it’s from the Marines eating dessert.
Crayons…. The red ones…
NO ITS THE BROWNs
I just visited the Battleship NJ a couple months ago and the smell when crossing onto the deck immediately brought back childhood memories of my father's ships.
There is absolutely a "Military Ship Smell" and the smell was the same when I visited the USS Midway last year.
Theatres have a unique scent, too. It's not a specific thing, but rather a blend of ingredients that blend together in an oily / fatty molecular substance that clings to everything - same principle as a spice cabinet, your mom or grandma's perfume in her closet, or how bacon lingers in the air long after breakfast.
In theory, a spectral analysis of the air might be able to quantify it, but there is the possibility that some of it is scent memory - like being able to smell the coffee in a TV ad or vivid dream.
To paraphrase from another reply I made, you ever smelled submarine funk before? Oh MAN, it's bad. My coursemates and I went on a tour of HMCS Corner Brook (SSK-878) with a submariner buddy's buddy when I was still in the navy. It's been more than three years since then, and I can't count the number of times it's gone through the wash, but you can STILL smell it on the sweater I wore that evening. It was literally breath-taking. Blegh.
When my sister and I visited NEW JERSEY this past summer, we both commented on the smell. I served on an FFG, she was on an AOE. All Navy ships have “the smell.”
In fact, we both said hi, Ryan, as you were sitting on the messdecks!
We’re going to definitely return with a wallet full of cash for one of those guided tours of all the other spaces!
Yes, yes they all do smell like that
First time I set foot on Massachusetts, the smell was comforting, soothing. Heavy grease, lube oils, paints. Can't identify all of them, but she definitely smelled similar to my time on Vincennes. I miss that. LOL
First time I set foot in her, I broke down big-time when that smell hit me (as well as seeing her coming down 79, in the lot, boarding her stern...) Immediately I was transported back in time, it honestly was overwhelming. Similar experience with smell when first entering the Alabama years prior, but the Massachusetts' smell was and still is to this day one of the most powerful emotional experiences ever. The sudden and total recall of so many memories of artifacts and oral history Dad shared from serving on board, involved the smell of his sea bag..... Then there was the part getting home from visiting his ship, and what it was like to put the shirt I wore going thru her in the wash. You are standing there, literally holding in your hands such a rich, vivid, living connection to the best man you have ever known in your life . Absolutely comforting and soothing. I'm telling ya this whole thing is so powerful 🇺🇸
I never served on a ship and I find that smell to be welcoming.
I used to work in a lot of industrial/commercial locations, and the smell of museum ships reminded me of that. Kind of a gear oil, grease, transformer oil type of odor. Smells like freedom 🤔
I remember in The Marine Coprs everything in long term storage had a scent. We ALL HAD THAT SCENT OF NOSTALGIAIA
Ahhh yes, the crayon box...JK😂
@@texasforever7887 smh lol.🤣
I personally love that smell that museum ships have. Whether it's at Battleship Cove, or at the Intrepid.
Same
Same here, I notice how different museum ships have either weaker or stronger smells, such as USS Salem I noticed has quite a strong oil smell upon going down below, more than going down below on Big Mamie.
@@J.A-CA139 i didn't find Salem to be "smelly".. in desperate need of wirebrushing amidships and paint.. yes.. though down in the engineering spaces.. that ship is awesome.. it's all catwalks.. not just walking on the floor of 7th deck on BB62...
I took my 8 year old son to battleship cove this summer. We saw the Kennedy first. As soon as we went in he said “what’s that smell?” 😃
I wish someone would figure out how to bottle that smell and sell it as an air freshener
I noticed the smell as soon as I stepped on board. The old car smell hit me like a truck .Big J smells like my dad's 79 Plymouth
It’s definitely a unique smell. I served in the Living History Crew on the Alabama for a few years. The smell is stronger as you go below decks. When I would get home from our weekend drills, my wife could smell it on my uniforms, bedding, and seabag. There is a mechanical closet at the school where I teach that smells almost like the battleship smell. I go in there every now and then just to catch a whiff.
To me ALL the ships active or museum have a distinct smell. I think it's all the paint and machinery , insulation, and packings. It's one of the things I love going aboard any of these ships. However I also think the Aircraft carriers have less of that smell compared to the Battleships
I was guessing it would smell very similar to the machine shops in the colleges I attended, very distinct smell, and, as coincidence would have it, those shops all had some WWII navy surplus machinery, so maybe it is an identical smell (I've never been on a ship)
I grew up spending a good deal of time in the USS Cobia, a Diesel Submarine moored in Wisconsin at the Maritime Museum, it certainly has a smell to it, but I loved it. Definitely a mix of Steel, Paint, the surrounding Water it's moored/ docked in, Grease, Fuel, and the lingering "antique" odors of old equipment in general. I also noticed signature smells on other boats I've spent time sailing on, sometimes that additional mustiness of constantly wet Ropes and older cabin seats and bunks apart from the effect the water has on the vessel. Still brings a smile to my face when I think about it.
Years ago went on a wonderful tour of the USS Cobia. The older fella that gave the tour had served on a similar sub that shipped out of Manitowoc, and had gotten married just before shipping out. He told us a couple of interesting stories. Quite a guy.
@@williamsteele8891 That's awesome
Going on to those museum ships is like a kind of homecoming, the smell, the sights, the sounds, they all bring memories flooding back. But that smell, it's there on all military ships and it's real.
I went onboard the USS Wisconsin BB-64 recently and inside I immediately flashed back to my time in the US Navy onboard my ship. It smelled like a combination of paint, machine oil/diesel, cleaning products, and sweaty bodies. Some smells permeates paint and the tiny crevices that never can be cleaned 100%.
You're right about the New Jersey teak smell... About knocked me over when I opened the envelope!
A few years back I was touring the USS Iowa and didn't particularly notice any unusual smells in the open public areas, but stopped by an air discharge vent near T3 to await members of our party and smelled a familiar (and strong) unknown scent. I've spent a lot of time volunteering at POF in Chino, and old planes have their unique oder, but I also became involved in restoring WWII radio equipment. All that gear seems to have a unique smell and no one seems to know what it is either. I bring this up, because the smell of that old military electronic is the smell that was coming from that air vent, and thus alerted, it was noticed elsewhere within the ship. It's the only museum ship I've visited to date, so I can't say it's what you folks are smelling, but the USS Iowa smells like old electronics. (Note t his was before circuit boards and everything had that cloth covered wiring.
I think it’s just a military smell. As a Navy brat in the 80s, I remember it both on the Nimitz and around the hanger in Atsugi Japan. It’s kinda of a mix of metal, oil, and fuel. I have a book from my dads office that still smells like it and it’s been away from all of that stuff for 35 years.
I spent 38-1/2 months on the Adams Class Destroyer USS HOEL DDG13 (1973-76) out of San Diego, CA. I can still smell the different but pleasant smells of various fuels and cooking odors. This pleasant smell was not only from the neighboring pier moored ships early in the morning when heading back to HOEL after a night or weekend liberty but the smell was very prevalent throughout HOEL too. My favorite smell was a combination of fuel oil, bacon/sausage and eggs first thing in the morning!
I wonder if the space shuttles have a similar smell…
I’ve been visiting museum ships all my life and definitely noticed the smell. But after working on the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) for over 7 years, like you I’ve grown nose blind to it. And yes, we occasionally get guests comment on it. I half-jokingly tell them that “it’s the smell of freedom!” But yes, we tend to give guests a similar answer to what you give
Just visited the battleship on Wednesday and I could smell all sorts of unique smells! Was a really cool trip and the tour guides were awesome and very informative!
I think one component of the smell is due to the electrical and electronic gear onboard.
Back in the '70s, I had the opportunity to work on some military surplus electronic gear from the '40s and '50s. This stuff absolutely reeked with a strange odor I'd never smelled before. In doing some research, I found that the internal circuitry was soaked with a varnish that contained an antifungal chemical of some sort.
It is this odor that I mainly smell when I find myself on a museum ship of that era...
I always just called it the boat smell. After being out of the Navy for over a decade, I visited a few museum ships, and was transported back in time by the smell.
During my last visit to the Red Oak Victory (AK 235) in Richmond CA, I found a copy of "They said it couldn't be done": A Biography of Bill Lear in the Museum Ship's library-bookstore. The smells of Cosmoline, Fuel oil, and the ages had permeated the pages. I not only bought the book for the subject, but also for the way it smelled.
I've rode the SS Badger several times, ( The last coal burning ship on the Great Lakes), has a unique smell that includes coal smoke. I have a souvenir blanket I bought in the gift shop that retained that smell.
While touring the Coast Guard Icebreaker Mackinaw, the guide mentioned the smell that was most remembered on the ship was diesel fuel and pine oil.
Hey Ryan, if you really want to trigger veterans memories, spray a little pine oil in the latrines!
I snuck into the bilge of the USS Massachusetts once, but the smell was throughout the ship. Sometimes I'm somewhere out and about and I'll smell something similar and think "oh, that's Battleship Massachusetts smell". My guess is that it's the paint - I've smelled it in stairwells - places with a lot of metal and grey paint (and sometimes humidity).
When I first started volunteering on the Iowa I of course recognized the smell.
One time I came home and my wife (we were married when I was still in the Navy, more than 20 years previously) immediately remarked: "You smell like ship" ;)
Are you sure she said "ship"?😀
To me, the museum ship smell is pretty easy to narrow down if you've ever worked in an old garage, machine shop, metal fab shop, or any kind of industrial building...
It's a combination of gear oil, grease, fuel oil, metal slag from welding/grinding/blowtorching and other industrial lubricants, cleaning solvents, paint, etc...
Some parts of ships have the smell with combusted gunpowder added in...
That industrial smell will never dissipate... You can go into any old metal shop, plant, commercial garage, maintenance facility, boiler room, and they all smell something similar to that on an old warship... I LOVE the smell, having grown up around it.
My dad is a welder, my grandpa was a pipe fitter, and my great grandpa worked in a shipyard during WW2 having a deferment from service due to his job...
I know the smell and I love the smell... Every time we visit a museum ship I take a deep breath and tell my wife "ahh, I LOVE it!"
Interesting you mentioned the KIDD, at Baton Rouge. I toured her in the early 2000's. A thoroughly enjoyable experience! I've also been through the Lexington, at Corpus Christi. There is a smell. I was a Boy Scout in the early 70's. A lot of the outdoor gear that we used was WWII and Korean war surplus. Web gear, cots, packs, utility bags, etc. They all smelled like musty canvas, and the odor I picked up from the museum ships was very similar. Not unpleasant at all, but definitely there...
When I was younger, and naval visits were a thing, I visited most of the visiting ships, and never remember any strange smells. Age of vessel was ww2 Era, to the newest destroyer (us).
“Ode De Battleship”. The new musk available at your nearest battleship museum.
Yes there is a smell. I have visited 2 of the 4 ship, along with serving onboard BB-62. Every time I go aboard, I inhale deeply and say, “Ah, Home!”
It smells like home! So good and so many memories. I served on 4 ships in my career. Each ship had it own, but very similar smell. I was in black gang in the hole as a BT. The first ship had black oil. The others had ND. As a Snipe, we used a lot of cosmoline. Especially in the bilges. Down in the hole, the "perfume factory" produced so many smells, it carried through the ship and permeated everything. We used lots of red lead and oil based paints. Even the steam from our recip pumps smelled. Then there was the smell of hot steel. Another one of black gangs favourite smell and use for cleaning carbon and grease was MEK. It smelled so sweet!! When we would blow tubes, we gave the weather decks a nice coating of fragrant soot! Ha Ha. When I would visit my shipmates ship in port, I noticed their smell was a little different but yet the same.
I recently went aboard the North Carolina and the first thing I noticed was the "Wonderful aroma" I hadn't smelled in 46 years! I lingered for a long time in the boiler-room. When I went back to my hotel room, the "fragrance" had impregnated my clothes. I literally sat on the bed and held my coat to my face and breathed "the smell"! I'm still in pretty good shape at 70. I'd go back in half a heartbeat. ONCE NAV, ALWAYS NAV!! Take care and God Bless shipmates!
Funny personal anecdote time!
I've always loved "old warship smell" and found it very distinct and nostalgic (a combination of all the oil and dust and air that hasn't properly circulated for a while). Another smell I love and find very distinct and nostalgic is "haunted house smell," which is mostly the result of a lot of fake fog effects (and it must be said, the sweat and tears of the scare actors working the attraction). Well, I've been into naval history since I was a child, and acting for the last six years or so now. Here in the Tampa Bay area, we put on a haunted house on the victory ship American Victory each Halloween season, and smelling those two VERY distinct smells together was... a unique experience, to say the least.
spent 3 + yrs onboard the USS MIDWAY CV-41...She had her own "Smell" and now docked in San Diego as a Museum Ship, She retains that "Smell".....DFM, JP5, Machinery, smoke, coffee, the water from Tokyo bay, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippine's and millions of miles in the pacific. For me it will always remind me that for awhile She was "HOME".
I love the Kidd! I used to visit it when I was younger and visiting family down there. Tell Tim to keep up the good work over there, it's a great museum.
It's a military smell. I grew a up with relatives in both army and navy, I remember it from open days on navy ships as well as on army and air force bases. I was at the The Australian Armour & Artillery Museum yesterday and the smell was there too.
I have said this for years, I walk on the ship, any old Navy ship, I can close my eyes and the smell takes me back to my Tin Can days. In a store room, berthing space, passageway and handleing rooms. I feel it is mostly the paint, fuel, Hydraulic oil, and old floor tile.
I had always recognized that smell from war museums and old warships, and for the longest time I wondered. Then, on a whim, I had a project that called for using Aeroshell 33 grease. I'd never used it before, but when I opened the can, all my sense-memories of every museum ship I'd ever been on returned. I imagine it is machining grease smells that really make that distinctive US warship smell.
Yes the smell is exists! I live in London, U.K. and I have visited our museum ship, HMS Belfast on many occasions. There is a distinct smell even on that ship. Keep up the great work. Always loving your videos. Regards from the U.K.
Ryan, I first encountered "The Smell" when I visited the USS Alabama in the 1970's. But it all came back to me when I went to work as an engineer in Building 4708 on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville Alabama in 1991. This building was built in the early 1960's as an assembly building for the Saturn moon rocket. I immediately had flashbacks to the battleship.
We called it Mil-Spec Fungus, but it may have been paint or some other government issue building material. Has anyone else experienced "The Smell" in an old government facility?
Yes indeed.Wasn't a government facility, but rather a Westinghouse manufacturing plant in Ohio :) ......(connect the dots.....)
I have never visited a battleship but I have plenty of time logged on various decommissioned Canadian destroyers, about 8 I think and a WW2 Park class freighter (Canadian liberty ship), they all had the distinctive smell of a decommissioned ship. I always thought it was an electrical smell, hot electronic insulation but crayon also describes it in part. I was involved with the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia for some 12 years. We sank destroyers which had been built in the late 1960s and 1970s. The smell was unique and you knew you were on an old ship one step inside. My impression was the smell was uniform throughout be it a mess deck or ops or the galley. Thanks for bringing back that memory. Cheers.
I was in the Navy in the late 60's and early 70's and served on several older ships and everyone had an odor to it, no matter if I was gone on leave I could always smell it when I came back. I have been aboard the North Carolina, the Alabama , Wisconsin and they all had that smell. While I was in South Dakota in 2017, my wife and I stopped in Sioux Falls to visit the USS South Dakota museum I couldn't believe that the smell was there! With all the items that were removed from the ship before it was scrapped, how did the smell follow? I was unreal to me, it is a very distinct smell that once you serve aboard and older Navy ship you never forget it.
Love all these videos on the New Jersey, I've learned a lot about US Navy ships. We toured the USS North Carolina several years ago and the only noticeable smells were of the gunpowder in the gun turrets and the fuel oil in the engine rooms, other than that it was just the paint, not fresh paint but lingering. I was surprised that there was little if any kitchen odor left from years of the galley being operated. The berthing areas weren't complete, no mattresses on the racks, and no discernible odors there or in the rest of the ship. Again, keep up the good work
Recently visited the Alabama and Drum and right away I noticed a unique scent on both vessels upon entering and really liked it. Went back two days later to see what we may have missed on Alabama (and we missed a lot on the first day) and noticed the "scent" again on entering. Not sure where it emanates from but I really like it.
I've been on several museum ships, mainly smaller ones, destroyers, subs, etc. All smelled like machine oil to me. It reminded me of the machine shop my Dad worked in for a few years when I was young. They had a "bring your son to work day" twice a year. The cutting fluid they used had a distinct smell. It could be described as a very intense "crayon" aroma. I actually find it rather pleasant compared to the smells my bubblehead friends talk about in the old diesel subs.
From working in the Philadelphia Naval yard, the primary smell comes from all the welding activity from initial construction and subsequent overhauls.
About 10 year ago I visited the Freeport Center here in Utah, which was the WWII supply Depot for the Pacific war. The Administration building smelled just like a navy ship. The paint and pine sole reminded me of my ship back in the 1990's FFG 15
As a child I went with my dad to his job where he worked in a power plant. Years later I went on a tour of the USS Yorktown. I was hit by that same smell. It was the smell of steel and oil mixed together. I stood there remembering where I had smelt that aroma first.
Great video! I've been aboard quite a few museum ships and always noted the smell, which I enjoyed and seemed to be part of the experience. I always assumed it was just the paint.
My dad served in the Navy for 24 yrs. and served on numerous ships over his career. He was a submariner in WWII up until the early 1960's, when he developed a pulmonary disorder that removed him from the sub service. As a child I remember going aboard a sub and noticing a very distinct smell. I don't know if it was machine oil, body odor, diesel or a combination of this and other things, but it was distinct and unforgettable. Other ships he served on had a smell to them, but not like the subs.
When I went aboard my first ship in 1970 the first thing that hit me when I went below into the berthing space was that smell. Same on the other two ships I served in. That smell was there over fifty years later when I toured the USS Laffy in Charleston (same class of ship as the ones I served in). Immediately felt at home. It smelled like…. NAVY!
My father served from 1959 until 1992 in the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces Maritime Command (six and one half dozen the same). Primarily aboard the St. Laurent class destroyer which made up the Atlantic Fleet during the cold war. the one thing that I remember was the smell he had when he got home from a deployment. I remember the smell like yesterday and haven't smelled it since he retired from the navy.
I served as a junior officer on the USS Columbus CG12 in the late 1960s - early 70s. Ships do have a distinct smell. About ten years ago I was on the USS Salem, and the first thing I noticed below decks was the same, and very familiar "ship" smell. I agree it is most likely a combination of aromas. I have a theory that one of the contributing smells is the floor wax used on the acres of linoleum decks, that are waxed or polished frequently when the ship is in service. The waxy smell might account for the "crayon" aroma reported by other people.
The MFP smell inside older military tube radio gear is great.
I took a tour of the USS Missouri while in Hawaii this year, the first navy ship I've been on since I left active duty in 1988. The moment I descended the ladder from the fantail that smell hit me. I had the same sensation I did when I stepped inside my first ship, the smell was exactly the same. Paint, grease, fuel oil, deck wax, cosmoline, bilge water all combined into an unmistakable but undescribable smell. As an engineer I loved that smell and always enjoyed when it was mixed with the smells from the galley, especially at night when they were baking bread. I could have spent my entire vacation aboard her and been very happy.
Park service brat here. I noticed very similar smells in government buildings my parents lived and worked in at various parks growing up. I believe it has a lot to do with the textiles used in utilitarian government settings. Canvasses, rubbers, adhesives. Etc.
My last ship was the USS Quapaw (ATF-110), commissioned in 1944. We had just tied up at the Submarine Pier in San Diego, and my brother, ( who left the Navy several years earlier), was to pick me up at the street-end of the pier. When I got into his car, he turned a strange greenish color; he was nauseated by the smell of my clothes! It was a mix of diesel, dirty socks, the fish-oil in the ship's paint, and the odor of over-used cooking oil. I had long since gotten used to the smell, it was "normal"; the fresh air in San Diego smelled strange!
I have volunteered on two museum ships and also have been on ships in the Suisun Reserve Fleet. They all just smelled like old ships. I think it is like "new car smell", just a combination of various volatile compounds emitted from the various coatings, lubricants, fuels, and such found on a ship. Along with the smells, there are the sounds. Hum of lamp ballasts and transformers, blowers, air rushing from vents, engineering noise, and the sounds of expansion and contraction of the ship.
Navy here 87-91, I was always on Nuclear powered ships but always had the smell of grease and green zinc paint while on active ships. When visiting the USS North Carolina I got the same smells with an added whiff of cosmoline and electric motor winding coatings. I think they coat those windings in Varnish and they are very strong when they come back from the rewind shop.
a titan missile silo also has a similar smell. probably the paint, materials used in the wiring and electronics, hydraulic oil, grease. my grandpa has a toolbox full of old electronic components pulled from 1950-1970's era IBM machines and the inside of that toolbox sort of smells like that.
Howdy Ryan!
I’ve been on the USS IOWA, and USS COD, and toured the IOWA, with my son in law, Tom, an active duty Navy SeaBee, and the tour guide gave us a special tour that they didnt give everyone, and talked Navy with Tom the whole tour. I noticed the smell you described, rust, oil, sweat, cig smoke, old paint, dust, mold, stale air in some areas…. The COD was not open yet, and my Bro and I were playing with the deck gun on the dock, when we noticed the gang plank was not chained off, so we went in the front hatch(stairs) and inside the forward access area. We wandered back towards an area where crewman were wearing headphones, and checking or operating some equipment, before they noticed me and my bro, and threw us out!(1974-75? At Cleveland lakefront). It had a smell I can remember to this day of diesel fuel, oil, B.O., cig smoke, dank stale wet air!!!
Love the channel,
Jack Armstrong
KK6PHN
PS: I’ve made contact with the ham radio room on board the New Jersey and asked about you!!!
Love the link into items purchased from the store coming with the smell free of charge 😁
Just wow.......take the time to read all these comments! They are racking up tonight!! Ryan, you guys definitely struck a chord with this one:) Thank you for all you do 🇺🇸
Hey this is one of my favorite videos you have done so far! Recently we got to toure the Lexington and I can confirm that smell was there , first time I experienced it was at the Air Force museum in Dayton Ohio as young cub scout!
I’ve noticed the same smell on both museum ships and old aircraft. It’s like a combo of grease, leather, and metal. But mainly grease.
I remember the driver delivering me to my first ship, the USS Huntley which was a ballistic missile sub tender. It was at the weapons station in Charleston preparing for it’s deployment to Holy Loch. I’ll never forget getting out of he vehicle and looking up at what appeared to be a giant electromechanical living being. Seems like we, or a sub alongside, always had a generator running, and since the subs snorkel mast was about the same height as our main deck we were always getting a blast of diesel exhaust. I think it’s a combination of fuel, CHT, paint, corrosion, and the general funkiness from being located around the ocean. Of course berthing compartments had their own thing going on, lol. I was dropped off late Friday evening and there were very few people onboard. The guy who took me to my berthing compartment only showed me the mess deck which was just above. He told me when meals were served, and since we had nukes he warned me about how to respond during a security violation. Basically find a corner, sit down, relax, and the marines will be swarming the ship carrying shotguns like they’re landing on Guadalcanal. He also said to mind the signs with the red scull and crossbones that read “DO NOT ENTER. DEADLY FORCE IS AUTHORIZED”. Then, just like that, he was gone. It took me till mid afternoon he next day before I got the nerve to look around the ship. Eventually I found a weather deck. Lol. I was so proud of myself…
While on board the Battleship Massachusetts. I stayed on board over night as a kid. I can still distinctly remember the smell of the ships fuel old, and the mess area.
There is a specific smell on BB-55. Was there the first time I went on board just after she arrived and the smell is still there. Love it.
I think the smells change depending on where you're at. I served 2 years aboard an aircraft carrier, most of that in the Tonkin Gulf. Berthing compartments had many smells. The laundry bags full of dirty laundry, guys who just came in off shift and hadn't showered yet, cigarette smoke, and the smells of guys coming down from the head after cleaning up. In 1st Division, we also had the smell of NSFO (Navy Special Fuel Oil). When we refueled, most of the division was working on the fueling sponson and it was inevitable that some leaked and got in our clothes. Another place with unique smells was the mess decks. Food was cooking 23 hours a day. There were 4 50-gallon coffee makers going 24/7/365, even in port. One truly great things was the bread that was always being made. Flight and hangar decks always had the smell of kerosene (JP-5) and various lubricating oils, and hydraulic fluids. I imagine the berthing areas of all those guys had those smells heavily embedded in their clothes. Down in the MMRs (Main Machinery Rooms) was also a strong odor of NSFO, obviously. And, as mentioned by Paul Beaudoin, the steam from the catapults was quite noticeable, especially during flight ops. I think I pity the guys on the Fords. What kind of smell do electro-magnets generate? Did I notice it? No. It was home. I loved it. I wish that I hadn't been transferred off.
I've been on the New Jersey. I noticed the smell immediately. It's not a bad smell, and it reminds me of the similar smell in an old military vehicle. A sort of combination smell of old paint, old linoleum, oil, aging cloth, wood, and metal.
As a former defense contractor, I would work on nuclear submarines. We would always smell for days after getting off. The smell would come from our pores. Was always awkward sitting next to people in planes, especially since we were usually in first class due to our frequent travel. Everyone always said the primary smell was the lube oil used in all the machinery.
Definitely noticed smells on museum ships. USS Hornet, Intrepid, Midway, Lexington, Pampanito, HMS Belfast... It always reminds me of the smell of old electrical ballasts from the florescent lights, mixed with fuel and lubricant oil.
USS Hornet's bakery still smelled like bread. Love the smell of the ships!
I can explain the crayon and raisin smell, they’re probably associating the cardboard with the raisins and that’s old book paper which has a smell from the paper making process and the organic material breaking down.
The crayons is Cosmoline. Crayons are made from beef tallow refined into a waxy polymer, which is what cosmoline is made from and it was, maybe still is, the best preservative out there and ships, planes, everything was coated in it. My grandfather said the 20mm guns were slathered in the stuff to keep the springs from rusting and when the barrels would heat up the cosmoline would liquify and be thrown all over them. It glows under a black light and the company is kinda vague on what is in it but it does smell like crayons.
The other thing is polished brass, like opening a musical instrument in a case. And the other one people notice is the canvas scent which was a Mildew preventative. You notice it in old planes too and if you leave a nice shirt near an old jeep for a day it will be impregnated with that scent.
I remember visiting the Missouri, as soon we boarded. I smelled the aroma of cutting oil. The same smell I have endured for over the past thirty yrs. Making various parts on multi spindle screw machines , definitely a great memory,
I know from working in my business that camps, seasonal mobile homes and travel trailers don't fare well when closed up for the winter.
That "camp smell" is actually mold and mildew building up inside. The solution is to crack open any windows and vents you can so fresh air can circulate.
Also, closing up tight creates condensation buildup which leads to mold and mildew. So, that theory gets blown out of the water.
I visited the NJ a few years back and took the firepower tour in addition to the regular self guided tour. The sweatshirt I wore stunk like the NJ. I didn't wash it for sooooo long :) It's a glorious smell.
I visited CV-12 in 2019 during the MVPA Transcontinental Convoy. I smelled antique grease near the machine shop, Copper Napthenate, and certain corridors that have asbestos floor tile have a certain smell to them, too. I visited a SS-481 in Pittsburgh too and smelled VERY similar, especially the old grease/machinery smell
I always felt there was a component to the mess deck. Cleaning products and the steam created by the dishwashers. Also, as an embarked Marine, we removed and rewaxed the tiled passageways on a weekly basis. That had a strong crayon-like smell.