Unknown BB in Philadelphia
 

Hi there,

I was just browsing around in Google Earth searching for museum ships, and came across something peculiar. In Philadelphia I found a ship I couldn't place. Of course I'm aware that the Iowa-class battleship "New Jersey" has retired to Camden across the river from Philadelphia and is now a museum ship. Nevertheless I found another large warship a bit farther south in what I suspect is Philadelphia Naval Yard. It looks to me like a BB, but I haven't been able to place it. My first instinct was that it might be one of the Iowas and that the sat picture simply was older, since all other Iowas are accounted for otherwise (Missouri in Pearl Harbor, New Jersey in Camden, Wisconsin in Norfolk and Iowa still in reserve in Benicia, CA). But the ship I found definitely is not an Iowa. The bow is not narrow enough, she's too short, and the anchors are mounted completely different as well. The turrets and main batteries don't match either, and the Iowas were also equipped with modern missile launchers

Here's a picture of my mystery ship:

http://www.mx-5-roadster.de/images/unknown_ship.jpg

It looks quite modern actually but also in pretty bad shape. The bow is narrower than that of a South Dakota and North Carolina classes which were the last classes of BBs built before the Iowas. Since there are very few large warships left today, I really was at a loss to explain the presence and identity of this ship. Then I also went through the list of all U.S. battleships, heavy cruisers and battlecruisers and believe I found the class that matches:

http://www.mx-5-roadster.de/images/Missouri_Alaska.jpg

This picture shows the battlecruiser U.S.S. Alaska (below) with the battleship U.S.S. Missouri (above). See the similarities? Especially the arrangement of the small twin turrets fore and aft of the main batteries, as well as the form of the bow match perfectly. To illustrate that further I turned around the google Earth pic 180° and put it together with the old arial photo.

http://www.mx-5-roadster.de/images/unknown_ship2.jpg

and a little closer together:

http://www.mx-5-roadster.de/images/unknown_ship3.jpg

Agreed? Quite some of the deck appliances were removed but it's definitely the same.


Now there's just one problem: both Alaska-class ships were sold for scrapping in 1960 and 1961 to metal companies in Boston and New York. What the hell is an Alaska-class ship doing in Philadelphia some 40 years later? Or could it be that google Earth satellite photos are THAT outdated?

Hmm, it looks a lot smaller than the Alaska to me actually... are you sure this is a BB/BC? I personally suspect this is more likely a CA :hmm:

Found her!

http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v...&scene=1994593

It's the cruiser USS Des Moines :)

Now, my turn - who can ID this sub on the other side of the harbor from Des Moines? :hmm:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y122/Otohiko/sub.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y122/Otohiko/sub2.jpg

:up: Wow. That was fast. Thanks.
Pity though. No big mystery here :(

What I just found when I etched the two ships closer together was that the fore batteries don't match. Guess it's late. I'll go to bed :)
The layout and form of the deck nevertheless is very similar.

Des Moins, INDIANA? That's a landlocked state. How'd they get a sub there?

Anyway, it looks like a Triton, but the Sail is in the wrong place. Can't tell. Have anymore pics?

no, I meant opposite to the above-discussed CA Des Moines in Philly :p

I posted a second pic, can't find any others...

Des Moines, IOWA
And Indiana is not a landlocked state, ever see the enormous lake that it borders?:lol:

Anyway...
Yep the big ship is the Des Moines (CA-134) which is sadly now at the scrap yard after numerous failed plans to make her into a museum. The most recent scheme was run by a group from Milwaukee that chickened out and decided to get a destroyer to display instead.:nope: Darn cheeseheads...:down:

The Submarine is USS Trout (SS-566) a Tang class SS that is now up for donation as a museum. She has an interesting history, after USN service she was sold to Iran, but the revolution took place before she left the US so she remained in US hands. After a while in storage she was reactivated in the mid 90's as a remote control target sub operating out of Key West but apparently that didn't last long and she is now back in storage waiting for a new home. Hopefully someone figures one out for her or she'll suffer the same fate as the Des Moines>:dead:

I meant Iowa, oops. :oops: :88)


What's this carrier?

http://www.navysite.de/cvn/cv60_2.jpg

:hmm: :hmm: :hmm:

Judging by the number on the island, it's gotta be CV-69, USS Dwight D Eisenhower :hmm:

Its definitely a Forrestal class carrier, and from what I can see of the numbers as well as the fact that the sponsons near the bow have been removed (Ranger kept them throughout her career) it's the Saratoga (CV-60).

oh wait, that's not a 9, is it :doh:

And its too small to be a Nimitz class, and has a stack as well as an elevator at the end of the angled deck, which makes it a Forrestal.:know:
Wow, that sounds nerdy doesn't it?

Nah, I feel worse for not knowing that much to tell something that I should be able to. Shame on me and my touted military hobbyism :p

Nice, have to try this on Google Earth. I have used it, but never for this:up: