Jura The idiot
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more can be found inside of
Jet Cars, Radars, & The Ford-Class Carrier
Aircraft Carriers II (Closed to posting)
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more can be found inside of
Jet Cars, Radars, & The Ford-Class Carrier
Ford will receive the same arresting gear as Nimitz class ships. That arresting gear has been updated and improved in recent years and is now know as Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG). And will be installed in all Ford and Nimitz class ships.
Read the link below.
This story brought a tear to this old salts eyes..
Part one...
In the end, the five men were pleased to bear witness as she passed by -- the former USS Ranger, a piece of their youth and the slice of history they had battled fruitlessly to save.
It was no easy journey to get there.
They were 10 miles off of Long Beach, where the decommissioned aircraft carrier was briefly anchored on a voyage that started in Washington state's Puget Sound early this month and will end at a Texas scrapyard later this year.
Five old salts -- sailors and Marines who served on the Ranger -- chartered a fishing boat and just hoped to find her. Against all odds, they did.
Tears flowed as they circled the ship and posed for photos with the old gray girl as backdrop.
“It meant a whole lot to me,” said A.J. Solow, a 76-year-old Oklahoman who flew out from Tulsa that morning for the trip.
“For me, all the way back, I thought, there’s finally some closure.”
Sunday's adventure at sea started with an inspiration in December. That's when San Diegan Bill Fitzpatrick read that the old flattop would be towed past San Diego on its 16,000-mile final trip.
It was bittersweet news.
Bitter, because Fitzpatrick and other Ranger alumni had hoped to turn her into a museum ship. Sweet, because it gave the former sailor and his friends a final chance to say goodbye.
The Ranger called San Diego home for 18 years, starting in 1975. She did 22 Western Pacific deployments – including sailing to support Operation Desert Storm in 1990 – before being decommissioned in 1993.
That record placed the supercarrier firmly in the hearts of a generation of sailors.
But, despite the Navy keeping the ship on donation hold for eight years, charitable efforts to raise roughly $15 million failed. There also was a bridge standing in the way of moving her to Fairview, Ore., which had offered space as a tourist attraction.
“For some of us old geezers, it was on the bucket list -- way up at the top -- to have the kids and grand kids meet me on the flight deck and give them a tour the ship,” said Solow, who was ready to bequeath the museum effort a chunk of his estate.
“That goal was really a big deal to me.”
The least they could do, in Fitzpatrick’s mind, was render a final salute as the now-dilapidated hunk of metal was towed down the West Coast.
He hatched an idea, circling in buddies from as far away as Tulsa and Chicago. They would meet the flattop as it passed San Diego.
But the complications started early. The ship was expected to be traveling 150 to 200 miles off San Diego, according to salvage firm International Shipbreaking.
That’s at least a day’s journey from Point Loma on a small boat.
Fitzpatrick, Solow and their group were a little flummoxed.
“I haven't ruled anything out yet. Still working on it,” Fitzpatrick said in an email to U-T San Diego two weeks ago.
Part one...
In the end, the five men were pleased to bear witness as she passed by -- the former USS Ranger, a piece of their youth and the slice of history they had battled fruitlessly to save.
It was no easy journey to get there.
They were 10 miles off of Long Beach, where the decommissioned aircraft carrier was briefly anchored on a voyage that started in Washington state's Puget Sound early this month and will end at a Texas scrapyard later this year.
Five old salts -- sailors and Marines who served on the Ranger -- chartered a fishing boat and just hoped to find her. Against all odds, they did.
Tears flowed as they circled the ship and posed for photos with the old gray girl as backdrop.
“It meant a whole lot to me,” said A.J. Solow, a 76-year-old Oklahoman who flew out from Tulsa that morning for the trip.
“For me, all the way back, I thought, there’s finally some closure.”
Sunday's adventure at sea started with an inspiration in December. That's when San Diegan Bill Fitzpatrick read that the old flattop would be towed past San Diego on its 16,000-mile final trip.
It was bittersweet news.
Bitter, because Fitzpatrick and other Ranger alumni had hoped to turn her into a museum ship. Sweet, because it gave the former sailor and his friends a final chance to say goodbye.
The Ranger called San Diego home for 18 years, starting in 1975. She did 22 Western Pacific deployments – including sailing to support Operation Desert Storm in 1990 – before being decommissioned in 1993.
That record placed the supercarrier firmly in the hearts of a generation of sailors.
But, despite the Navy keeping the ship on donation hold for eight years, charitable efforts to raise roughly $15 million failed. There also was a bridge standing in the way of moving her to Fairview, Ore., which had offered space as a tourist attraction.
“For some of us old geezers, it was on the bucket list -- way up at the top -- to have the kids and grand kids meet me on the flight deck and give them a tour the ship,” said Solow, who was ready to bequeath the museum effort a chunk of his estate.
“That goal was really a big deal to me.”
The least they could do, in Fitzpatrick’s mind, was render a final salute as the now-dilapidated hunk of metal was towed down the West Coast.
He hatched an idea, circling in buddies from as far away as Tulsa and Chicago. They would meet the flattop as it passed San Diego.
But the complications started early. The ship was expected to be traveling 150 to 200 miles off San Diego, according to salvage firm International Shipbreaking.
That’s at least a day’s journey from Point Loma on a small boat.
Fitzpatrick, Solow and their group were a little flummoxed.
“I haven't ruled anything out yet. Still working on it,” Fitzpatrick said in an email to U-T San Diego two weeks ago.
Part Two..
Then, their plan seemed to gather steam.
The former Ranger would anchor off San Diego for a day, while the towing company came ashore to fuel up and handle customs.
The alumni sailors were thrilled.
But the towing schedule changed on Thursday of last week. Long Beach would be the anchorage site -- meaning that the ex-carrier would still be at least 150 miles off San Diego when she passed.
“I refuse to give up,” said Fitzpatrick via email.
So the plucky group gathered in Long Beach on Sunday morning. The decision was so last-minute, Solow had to catch a morning flight from Oklahoma that barely delivered him to the pier by departure time.
They didn’t even know exactly where the Ranger would be anchored.
A little luck intervened.
Their charter captain was sympathetic. So was the Coast Guard. The captain called the Coasties, who eventually came back with the location of the flattop.
When the old sailors first spotted the gray silhouette in the distance, their hearts were full with pride, and regret.
They parked under the bow for awhile, taking photos from 30 feet away. They had Ranger to themselves. No other boats were visible, except for tugboats assigned to the carrier. A former Navy journalist, Michelle Monfort, was along to chronicle the moment with her camera.
It was hard to see the formerly proud warship looking like a derelict hull, said Solow, who served as a Ranger radioman from 1960 to 1961.
In red paint, someone long ago had written “The Last Ride” on her side. That message seemed especially poignant on Sunday.
Ranger probably passed by San Diego on Monday evening, according to the shipping company. But she was too far off the coast to be visible.
Now home in Tulsa, Solow said that -- perhaps -- it was a little foolish for a group of gray beards to make such a poetic gesture.
But, “There were no second chances. You either did it, or you didn’t,” the old sailor said.
“And I think all of us felt the same way: We are sure as hell damn glad we did it.’”
Then, their plan seemed to gather steam.
The former Ranger would anchor off San Diego for a day, while the towing company came ashore to fuel up and handle customs.
The alumni sailors were thrilled.
But the towing schedule changed on Thursday of last week. Long Beach would be the anchorage site -- meaning that the ex-carrier would still be at least 150 miles off San Diego when she passed.
“I refuse to give up,” said Fitzpatrick via email.
So the plucky group gathered in Long Beach on Sunday morning. The decision was so last-minute, Solow had to catch a morning flight from Oklahoma that barely delivered him to the pier by departure time.
They didn’t even know exactly where the Ranger would be anchored.
A little luck intervened.
Their charter captain was sympathetic. So was the Coast Guard. The captain called the Coasties, who eventually came back with the location of the flattop.
When the old sailors first spotted the gray silhouette in the distance, their hearts were full with pride, and regret.
They parked under the bow for awhile, taking photos from 30 feet away. They had Ranger to themselves. No other boats were visible, except for tugboats assigned to the carrier. A former Navy journalist, Michelle Monfort, was along to chronicle the moment with her camera.
It was hard to see the formerly proud warship looking like a derelict hull, said Solow, who served as a Ranger radioman from 1960 to 1961.
In red paint, someone long ago had written “The Last Ride” on her side. That message seemed especially poignant on Sunday.
Ranger probably passed by San Diego on Monday evening, according to the shipping company. But she was too far off the coast to be visible.
Now home in Tulsa, Solow said that -- perhaps -- it was a little foolish for a group of gray beards to make such a poetic gesture.
But, “There were no second chances. You either did it, or you didn’t,” the old sailor said.
“And I think all of us felt the same way: We are sure as hell damn glad we did it.’”
Part Three..photos and a video..
USS Ranger (CV 61) was know as Top Gun of the Pacific Fleet ..Bar None!..She made 22 major deployments.
Ranger made seven deployments to Vietnam and one to Desert Storm. Ranger earned thirteen battle stars for service in Vietnam.
USS Ranger (CV 61) was know as Top Gun of the Pacific Fleet ..Bar None!..She made 22 major deployments.
Ranger made seven deployments to Vietnam and one to Desert Storm. Ranger earned thirteen battle stars for service in Vietnam.
Here's some pics...the last one being one of the Old Salts off San Diego.
Ranger being towed from Bremerton
Ranger being towed in the Sound
Ranger being towed near Seattle
Ranger being towed off of San Diego
Sad to see her go. She starred in the movie "Top Gun," which so many of us saw (several times).
Most any country outside of the US would be able to take her and use her effectively for many years if they could afford her...and if the US Navy was willing...which it isn't.
Ranger being towed from Bremerton
Ranger being towed in the Sound
Ranger being towed near Seattle
Ranger being towed off of San Diego
Sad to see her go. She starred in the movie "Top Gun," which so many of us saw (several times).
Most any country outside of the US would be able to take her and use her effectively for many years if they could afford her...and if the US Navy was willing...which it isn't.
Jura The idiot
General
Jura The idiot
General
it's two years behind schedule though (says NavyTimes; quoted in https://www.sinodefenceforum.com/aircraft-carriers-ii.t3125/page-530#post-332686)
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