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NNSY Yard-Bird Helmet


hink441
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Went out shopping today and found an old yard-bird helmet from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY). This helmet has a ton of character. The helmet dates back to the late 70's and early 80's. It has numerous SSN stickers (Sunfish, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Phoenix). I also found some Ship UIMs and a cool commissioning tag from the USS Sumter LST-1181. Hope you guys enjoy this old stuff and thanks for looking! :D

 

Chris

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I was reading a little about the USS Sumter LST-1181. This ship was decommissioned in 1993 and was leased to the Chinese Navy until 2000. I did not know we leased Naval Ships to Communist countries. Very interesting !!

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VirtualMariner
I was reading a little about the USS Sumter LST-1181. This ship was decommissioned in 1993 and was leased to the Chinese Navy until 2000. I did not know we leased Naval Ships to Communist countries. Very interesting !!

 

I believe it went to the Republic of China, as in Taiwan, and not the "People's" Republic of China.

 

You picked up some cool stuff. I like that Diver tape and the Sumter tag, especially.

 

The helmet definitely brings back memories of being in the yards, but I hated being in the yards. Despite my valiant attempts to go TAD on a UNITAS cruise, or anywhere else for that matter, I spent many an hour sitting in dark spaces with a fire extinguisher watching guys with helmets like these weld. Not the highlight of my naval career. :pinch:

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Right you are !!! The Navy of Taiwan had the Sumter. That makes sense. I was really perplexed about how Communist China could have an old USS ship. Thanks for clearing that up. :blush: The Sumter tag is really cool and is kinda small as it fits in the palm of your hand and is about the size of a .50 piece.

As far as the hard hat goes, I was never on any ship while it was in the yards. We were only on the ships (CVs, CVNs, LPDs, LPHs) when underway (Airwing Sailor). I got the hard hat because I have neighbors and friends who spent years working in the yards, and I really like the worn and battered look the hat has. Thanks for the comments, and Thanks for looking !!

 

Chris

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The helmet definitely brings back memories of being in the yards, but I hated being in the yards. Despite my valiant attempts to go TAD on a UNITAS cruise, or anywhere else for that matter, I spent many an hour sitting in dark spaces with a fire extinguisher watching guys with helmets like these weld. Not the highlight of my naval career. :pinch:

 

 

Funny how sailors have the same emotional responses to these experiences. While I never had to do a fire watch, I hated the yards none-the-less (I volunteered for messdecks MAA duty just to have something different to do...and I didn't have to stand watches). I like the yardbird buckets for the idea that they usually have a history of the vessels the worker helped to build in the decals applied. At Ingalls in Pascagoula, MS, they wore each ship's crest with incredible pride...as a piece of them went into every ship.

 

At Todd Seattle, Todd San Pedro and NASSCO San Diego the workers were just on the job...it was quite different and a substantially more negative experience.

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VirtualMariner

Yeah, my negative feelings toward being in the yards wasn't directed toward the yard workers. As a civilian job, I actually think it would be kind of cool to work at a shipyard. For a sailor, though, it tends to stink, because you can't do your job. Instead, you usually end up getting stuck with some unpleasant, prolonged detail that has nothing to do with what you feel you "should" be doing. I've always likened decommissioning a ship to someone dying and a ship in the yards is like being in the hospital. They are necessary and/or inevitable events, but nothing anyone enjoys or looks forward to.

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Hey guys being a Airdale has it's advantages , like little to-no yard time. But I never got to do any UNITAS stuff, that would have been sweet. BTW VM, I like your new avatar!!

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thats what I call a helmet with an identity, you dont have to wonder where it's been, it's got the story written all over it with the provenance right there.

 

it's almost like you have a piece of the ship, it's part of the ships' history

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