Lots of history and fun facts go with this ship: She is the only commissioned US Warship that has sunk another ship (sorry Mike, it was one of yours during our relationship's.... er, rocky period). H
Well at least it wasn't friendly fire on that occasion
Actually that surprises me, so no US Warship sunk an opposing forces vessel during either of the World Wars ?
What about during the Civil War ?
It was fun reading your post, it really was. But can a guy get a friggin' picture around here?
It was fun reading your post, it really was. But can a guy get a friggin' picture around here?
It was fun reading your post, it really was. But can a guy get a friggin' picture around here?
http://youtu.be/cY0HsD2ONlI
Went on board her about 20 years ago. Cool stuff, thanks for posting this.
Thanks for liking it :-) This is a motorcycle forum and while all of us share different interests, one never knows what others will find interesting, boring, nerdy, whatever.
The USS Constitution IS cool because you can actually touch something that was created at the birth of this nation. And not photos or fragments but the actual ship. Further, I believe it IS mostly the Constitution although certainly a lot of material has been replaced, I think the majority of things such as the hull, masts and so on are original. This always comes up at places such as Rhine beck Aerodrome, where planes from the beginning of the 20th century are stored and some actually fly. But how much of that 1911 aircraft is original from 1911? Half? 10%? It is always unknown but at the same time, it is known that large parts of the aircraft are not original but were replacement parts, such as the engine, flight panels and most / all control surfaces but even large portions of the frame have been replaced. But again, I believe most of the weight of the Constitution IS original.
There is a fair amount of this kind of 'stuff' lying around; I have been aboard the USS Nautilus, berthed in CT, the USCGS Eagle is berthed about 40 minutes south of me, and so on. Even as a kid, I went on field trips (sat in the wagon with an oil lamp) to see things like the First Baptist Church in Providence, RI, and the oldest Synagogue in America, located in Newport, RI.
Lots o' cool stuff around and probably more than I can post about before my clock runs down.
Brian
I was wondering about that. How much of it is actually the USS Constitution. And was at Rhinebeck as a kid in the 60's. When I went to the Smithsonian Air and Space I was sorely disappointed in the Wright flyer. They ruined it IMO by over restoring it. Maybe it was just a collection of rotting wood and fabric when they received it I don't know. But I wanted to see patches on the wings actually applied by Wilbur or Orville. Not pristine cotton that was obviously new. If you ever get to the Albuquerque Sunport airport, there is a surviving 1909 Curtis pusher. 100% original, nothing restored. That's what I want to see. If your going to restore, do it to flying condition and fly it. In the case of the USS Constitution if they want to keep it on active list, I guess they must keep it actually sea worthy. But I really hope they kept most of the wood, cannons and other hardware original. I assume the sails have been replaced many times.
Further, I believe it IS mostly the Constitution although certainly a lot of material has been replaced, I think the majority of things such as the hull, masts and so on are original.