Jump to content

Wood from USS Baltimore?


mikie
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi,

What do you think of this ebay listing? It sounds plausable, so I jumped in for a 3 inch section. Pretty neat if true, but who knows? In the old days, the Royal Navy had the tradition to save wood from scrapped ships and have sailors carve and sell souvenirs out of it to benefit RN invalids, widows and orphans. These nick-nacs are some of the only surviving pieces of some great ships. I wish the US Navy did the same.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Teak-Wood-Railing-from-the-USS-Baltimore-USN-Cruiser-/291864904211?hash=item43f4810213:g:wfQAAOSwIgNXv77j

 

Mikie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Salvage Sailor

Quite common actually when modernizing vessels in the shipyard. Often, there were items made for the crew from the old railings (and planking for older capital ships like Cruisers). I can see rails and planking making their way into private hands from the scrapped parts salvaged by yardbirds and the like. I have a piece of the bridge rail from one of my ships, USS LUCE (DLG-7/DDG-38). This piece of mahogany measures out at 5 1/2" x 3" x 1 1/2" - Many. many watches and nautical miles on this piece of lumber.

DLG-7 USS LUCE Bridge Rail 001.jpg

DLG-7 USS LUCE Bridge Rail 002.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a small piece of decking from the USS Missouri. I went to Hawaii several years ago for a friend's wedding and at the time they were doing deck repairs on the Missouri. I'm not sure if it's an original piece or a piece from the previous restoration they did in the 1980's. They were ripping up large sections and there were pieces everywhere so I picked one up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got a few pieces of PT-305 being restored at the National D-Day musuem...Like said this stuff is not at all uncommon. I told them they should sell the stuff rather than throw it away. Brass screws and Mahogany hull planking. Not plywood like everyone seems to think....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree, as long as they don't go overboard (sorry about that, I couldn't resist), I'm sure they could use the leftovers and scrap as fundraisers, donation gifts, etc. I have a piece of the USS North Carolina from their museum store. Thanks for the comments.

Mikie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a USN tradition connected with retaining pieces of wood.

 

Crewmembers assigned in the first crew were referred to as 'plank owners'. As such, they were entitled to a small piece of any wood work when the ship was scrapped or the wood removed...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have deck sections and nut plugs from USS Iowa. They were removed during her 1980s refit, so had been there from when she was decommissioned in '54. My father had served aboard her from '52-'54. They were given to me by a buddy who was assigned as a Deck Seaman in her re commissioning crew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a nice chunk of the Franklin's flight deck. They had their annual reunion in the same hotel as our Navy Ball. After talking to the old vets and telling them the story of saving Gary's MOH from the trash, they presented me a piece of the deck they had. One of my prized possessions!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...