Launching the Winston S. Churchill

[Zack Miller]

When we lived in Maine, my wife worked at Bath Iron Works, one of the two shipyards to build destroyers.  At the time until they obtained a floating dry dock, it was the last shipyard to launch down inclined ways.  They launched about two a year and we would always go.  Actually, she was usually under the ship at the time of the launch.  Attendance was highly variable.  When they launched the Grace Hopper it was about 2 degrees Fahrenheit and vey few people were there.  Below is a link to a video of the launching of the Winston S Churchill. It was a beautiful day and thousands of people were there. Seeing such a large vessel silently gliding down the ways is indescribable.  
 

The Churchill was one of the last to be launched in this manner. 
 

 

https://youtu.be/bxWLxHoml2w

[Zack Miller]

Incidentally, the lady in the yellow dress was Lady Soames, Churchill’s daughter. 

[sundance]

Great video. The follow-up videos about the arrival of the USS Churchill and the US carrier Roosevelt in England were great also.  Thanks.

[Vahe Demirjian]

The USS Winston Churchill has the distinction of being the first US Navy destroyer named after a British citizen, although Winston Churchill was an honorary US citizen and his mother was American.

[collectsmedals]

13 hours ago, Vahe Demirjian said:

The USS Winston Churchill has the distinction of being the first US Navy destroyer named after a British citizen, although Winston Churchill was an honorary US citizen and his mother was American.

Quote from Winston Churchill  addressing a joint session of Congress, December 26, 1941. "I cannot help reflecting that if my father had been American and my mother British, instead of the other way round, I might have got here on my own."