Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "The Drydock - Episode 059" video.

  1.  @kirkmorrison6131  I think I read that the Texas was closed to visitors a few weeks ago. They need to make several repairs before towing it away for restoration.
    2
  2. To add an additional stop to your itinerary, HMCS Sackville, reputed to be the last surviving Flower class Corvette, is preserved in Halifax, NS. I know a guy in Halifax, retired career Canadian military, who has more sea stories than most people as he spent most of his career on a Sea King helo embarked on a variety of Canadian Navy ships.
    2
  3. Silversides and the LST are each worth a trip. The Milwaukee Clipper is very interesting too. Anyone that goes to see the LST, have the attendant start the training film that explains how the systems on the ship work and the procedures prior to beaching the ship.
    2
  4.  Nguyen Johnathan  the early, direct drive, turbines where horribly inefficient. The Curtiss turbines in North Dakota were so bad they were replaced with Parsons geared turbines. The Floridas and Wyomings were built with Parson's geared turbines. According to the 1919 edition of Jane's, the New Yorks reverted to thriple expansion because US turbine builders refused to build turbines that met Navy Department specifications.
    1
  5. Going to Corpus? Paying a visit to the Lex? I did a cruise on the Lex in 70. I don't know how much of the ship is open, but from the hanger, iirc, if you go down a hatch on the starboard side, just forward of the elevator, down one deck and head aft, the passageway ends at the entrance to the Chief's mess, In that space at the end of the passageway is a foam proportioner, racks of drums of the chemical for the proportioner, and my rack. That space must be just about over the screws. The ride was smooth and quiet, until they gave the throttle that last notch, then things would start to shake. As the Lex sailed back and forth across the Gulf at full speed so new pilots could get their practice in, she would run out of water and need to do a 180 degree turn, at full speed. I swear the OOD had it in for me as I would just be settling down for chow and the 1MC would bark "heel to port" and I would have to grab my tray so it didn't slide off onto the deck.
    1
  6. Much of the 76 Midway film was shot on the Lex. I recognized some of the spots where they shot scenes.
    1
  7.  @Mree17  I remember Charleton Heston on a talk show promoting the film at the time, and, yes, he noted the use of a lot of archival film, tho not necessarily from Midway, but probably later in the war. I am referring to the new footage featuring the actors. There was one real howler where the actors walked from the flight deck onto the starboard elevator, which the Lex didn't have in WWII, and as they stood on the elevator and talked, the elevator descended to the hanger, then, with the conversation over, the actors walked past the camera, heading away from the hanger, in other words, they were all headed toward walking overboard. I have been on that elevator.
    1