Greatest Ships of WW2 - Revisited

[GaryChildress]

If you could have been the one making the decisions at the end of WW2 on which ships to scrap and which to make memorials out of, which single ship would you put on the top of the list to save for posterity.

My pick would be USS Enterprise. To this day I wish they had saved the Big E. To me, no ship better symbolized the struggle in the Pacific than Enterprise. That she got scrapped just so they could name another ship Enterprise is no excuse in my book. They could have juggled the names a bit so that they could have had both Enterprises. After all they have a Nuclear sub named Alabama and they still have the BB Alabama preserved. Whatever bonehead made that decision should have been given a dishonorable discharge. [8|]

[Terminus]

HMS Warspite. Did everything and went everywhere.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Gary Childress

If you could have been the one making the decisions at the end of WW2 on which ships to scrap and which to make memorials out of, which single ship would you put on the top of the list to save for posterity.

My pick would be USS Enterprise. To this day I wish they had saved the Big E. To me, no ship better symbolized the struggle in the Pacific than Enterprise. That she got scrapped just so they could name another ship Enterprise is no excuse in my book. They could have juggled the names a bit so that they could have had both Enterprises. After all they have a Nuclear sub named Alabama and they still have the BB Alabama preserved. Whatever bonehead made that decision should have been given a dishonorable discharge. [8|]

Warspite1

For the US, I completely agree with you on the Big E.

For the Royal Navy there are quite a few outstanding candidates: one of the many cruisers that performed so heroically such as HMS Penelope, HMS Ajax or HMS Aurora for example, would have been ideal.

However, there is one stand-out name, a ship whose career spanned two world wars, a ship that was at Jutland in the first war and everywhere in the second (Norway, the Mediterranean - smacking the Giulio Cesare at a range of 26,000 yards, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic, the English Channel on D-Day) a ship that, despite the best efforts of the High Seas Fleet and the Luftwaffe, lived to tell the tale. She survived 29 - yes 29 - hits during Jutland when she sailed headlong toward the German guns after her stearing jammed, she took a 500lb bomb off Crete, a Glider bomb off Salerno, a mine in the Channel, but could not be sunk. After all that she was cast aside at the first opportunity.

After her 1930's refit she was the most striking battleship afloat; an aesthetically pleasing mix of old (hull) meets new (superstructure). The Old Lady was quite simply the Best. Ship. Ever. [&o][&o]



Edited: sorry forgot the mine!

[Xxzard]

I would have liked to see the CV-3 Saratoga and at least one of the PH survivor battleships retained as museum ships. There were also a fair number of axis ships that would have been very neat to retain simply as a museum. The Prinz Eugen was captured intact, CV Junyo under repair, and the Nagato was not in perfect shape but was operable and afloat.

Saratoga was of course expended as a target in the Crossroads tests, as was Nagato, and the Prinz Eugen, although it actually sunk at Kwaj. Atoll. Junyo was scrapped

Of the PH harbor survivor battleships, I suppose one could say that they had been modified so much that there was no point in keeping them as museums. However, some of those ships were around well into the fifties, so it would have certainly been possible to do. I suppose in the end it is the Arizona that is the lasting tribute to the events at Pearl Harbor.

Of course, all this is ideal, and usually there is just no way that a state or local authority will be willing to pay for maintenance and such costs unless the ship bears the name of the locality. After all, there is discussion about sinking the vintage protected cruiser Olympia because of a lack of funds to maintain it. That would be a crying shame, but such is the way of municipal budgets.

[Torplexed]

ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
My pick would be USS Enterprise. To this day I wish they had saved the Big E. To me, no ship better symbolized the struggle in the Pacific than Enterprise. That she got scrapped just so they could name another ship Enterprise is no excuse in my book. They could have juggled the names a bit so that they could have had both Enterprises. After all they have a Nuclear sub named Alabama and they still have the BB Alabama preserved. Whatever bonehead made that decision should have been given a dishonorable discharge. [8|]

Some pictures of her scrapping that might move one to tears. [:(]

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/06b.htm

According to one of the blurbs "She was sold for $561,333.00. You couldn't even pay for half of an F-14 on the Enterprise of today for that amount." Sad to think that at least amount couldn't be raised to save her.

[Amoral]

The beating of swords into plowshares is the ultimate expression of a victory.

That said, the rendering of Big E into slug iron is tragic.

[Ketza]

Enterprise.
 
So sad that she was scrapped.

[terje439]

I would like to see the Tirpitz given a better fate than to end up as (and then my english is not good enough...) "covers for the entrance shafts to the rain drainage on the roads (hehe sorry about that one)" all over Norway.

Terje

[frank1970]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Gary Childress

If you could have been the one making the decisions at the end of WW2 on which ships to scrap and which to make memorials out of, which single ship would you put on the top of the list to save for posterity.

My pick would be USS Enterprise. To this day I wish they had saved the Big E. To me, no ship better symbolized the struggle in the Pacific than Enterprise. That she got scrapped just so they could name another ship Enterprise is no excuse in my book. They could have juggled the names a bit so that they could have had both Enterprises. After all they have a Nuclear sub named Alabama and they still have the BB Alabama preserved. Whatever bonehead made that decision should have been given a dishonorable discharge. [8|]

Warspite1

For the US, I completely agree with you on the Big E.

For the Royal Navy there are quite a few outstanding candidates: one of the many cruisers that performed so heroically such as HMS Penelope, HMS Ajax or HMS Aurora for example, would have been ideal.

However, there is one stand-out name, a ship whose career spanned two world wars, a ship that was at Jutland in the first war and everywhere in the second (Norway, the Mediterranean - smacking the Giulio Cesare at a range of 26,000 yards, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic, the English Channel on D-Day) a ship that, despite the best efforts of the High Seas Fleet and the Luftwaffe, lived to tell the tale. She survived 29 - yes 29 - hits during Jutland when she sailed headlong toward the German guns after her stearing jammed, she took a 500lb bomb off Crete, a Glider bomb off Salerno, a mine in the Channel, but could not be sunk. After all that she was cast aside at the first opportunity.

After her 1930's refit she was the most striking battleship afloat; an aesthetically pleasing mix of old (hull) meets new (superstructure). The Old Lady was quite simply the Best. Ship. Ever. [&o][&o]



Edited: sorry forgot the mine!

Now, if you only mentioned the name of that ship.... [;)]

[Jzanes]

All WITP players know that the greatest ship of WW2 is CL Boise.

[m10bob]

Warspite or Saratoga.



One of the Kirishima class BB's might have been nice,(for a museum piece.)




(A perfect collection is still at Bikini, but some "repairs" might be needed?)

[anarchyintheuk]

Even though the class was completely useless pagoda masts rule. So it would have to be one of the Fusos.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Frank

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Gary Childress

If you could have been the one making the decisions at the end of WW2 on which ships to scrap and which to make memorials out of, which single ship would you put on the top of the list to save for posterity.

My pick would be USS Enterprise. To this day I wish they had saved the Big E. To me, no ship better symbolized the struggle in the Pacific than Enterprise. That she got scrapped just so they could name another ship Enterprise is no excuse in my book. They could have juggled the names a bit so that they could have had both Enterprises. After all they have a Nuclear sub named Alabama and they still have the BB Alabama preserved. Whatever bonehead made that decision should have been given a dishonorable discharge. [8|]

Warspite1

For the US, I completely agree with you on the Big E.

For the Royal Navy there are quite a few outstanding candidates: one of the many cruisers that performed so heroically such as HMS Penelope, HMS Ajax or HMS Aurora for example, would have been ideal.

However, there is one stand-out name, a ship whose career spanned two world wars, a ship that was at Jutland in the first war and everywhere in the second (Norway, the Mediterranean - smacking the Giulio Cesare at a range of 26,000 yards, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic, the English Channel on D-Day) a ship that, despite the best efforts of the High Seas Fleet and the Luftwaffe, lived to tell the tale. She survived 29 - yes 29 - hits during Jutland when she sailed headlong toward the German guns after her stearing jammed, she took a 500lb bomb off Crete, a Glider bomb off Salerno, a mine in the Channel, but could not be sunk. After all that she was cast aside at the first opportunity.

After her 1930's refit she was the most striking battleship afloat; an aesthetically pleasing mix of old (hull) meets new (superstructure). The Old Lady was quite simply the Best. Ship. Ever. [&o][&o]



Edited: sorry forgot the mine!

Now, if you only mentioned the name of that ship.... [;)]

Warspite1

Tee hee [;)] - Frank, I think there may be a subtle clue in my avatar and my name! But for the avoidance of doubt:

HMS Warspite - a.k.a The Old Lady - was quite simply the Best. Ship. Ever. [&o][&o]

[Pascal_slith]

Enterprise and Saratoga should have been museums.

A few of the British BBs (certainly Warspite, but at least either Nelson or Rodney too).

It would have been nice to have at least one example of the major combatant types, including CA, CL, DD, DE, CVE. There's a Fletcher class DD in Boston that is currently in drydock (needed it after some years sitting there as a museum). A few of the PH survivors too.

There was absolutely no need to scrap a large number of these ships (or use them as targets). The steel could have been found elsewhere.

[scott64]

ORIGINAL: Jzanes

All WITP players know that the greatest ship of WW2 is CL Boise.

CL Boise.

GO Boise [&o][X(][:'(][:D][:)]

[morganbj]

ORIGINAL: Torplexed

Some pictures of her scrapping that might move one to tears. [:(]

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/06b.htm

According to one of the blurbs "She was sold for $561,333.00. You couldn't even pay for half of an F-14 on the Enterprise of today for that amount." Sad to think that at least amount couldn't be raised to save her.

While what you say is true, a ship is, after all, just a hunk of floating metal, rubber, and wood. But, the soul of the ship is the men who served on her. The memory of what the Big E did, and all other ships as well, will be retained in the collective minds of the Navy as long as there is a Navy. So, seeing the scrapping of the ship is sad, but it's not the end of her. She lives on.

[mike scholl 1]

ORIGINAL: bjmorgan

ORIGINAL: Torplexed

Some pictures of her scrapping that might move one to tears. [:(]

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/06b.htm

According to one of the blurbs "She was sold for $561,333.00. You couldn't even pay for half of an F-14 on the Enterprise of today for that amount." Sad to think that at least amount couldn't be raised to save her.

While what you say is true, a ship is, after all, just a hunk of floating metal, rubber, and wood. But, the soul of the ship is the men who served on her. The memory of what the Big E did, and all other ships as well, will be retained in the collective minds of the Navy as long as there is a Navy. So, seeing the scrapping of the ship is sad, but it's not the end of her. She lives on.

The sad part about the "Big E" is WHEN she could have been preserved. She was unsuited for the major upgrades (angled decks, etc) that were made to the Essex Class, so she could have been preserved in her WWII status. Would have been nice to have one preserved veteran of Midway.

[davidgillsol]

Surely only one candidate- the Hibiki!

[Zemke]

The Big E, BABY! It is a terrible shame what happened, and a black eye on the US Navy for chosing to let it happen. Of all the ships, this is the one that should have been made a national monument. Breaks my heart, and hurts my historical sensibilites.

Although if I were British/Enlish or whatever you guys want to be know as...(little joke there). The name "Warspite" is just cool as hell, and the ship lived up to the name in every way, so I would vote for "The Old Lady" if I were, a errr citizen of the United Kingdom.

[Q-Ball]

Vittorio Veneto. The Italians built the best-looking ships of WWII, bar none. (not the best, just the best LOOKING)