USS Bunker Hill, USS Halsey, or USS New Orleans -- what should I tour?

meadbelly · August 02, 2012, 12:04:45 AM

I have no idea why this didn't occur to me sooner. I'm having a hard time picking which of the above three naval vessels I should tour while they are in town for our Seafair Fleet Week. Unfortunately, I probably only have time for one, as their hours are during the work day, and I am out of town this weekend.

I won't be disappointed with any. I've never toured a Tico, Arleigh Burke, or Amphibious Landing Dock. I have a bit of a ship-crush on the Arleigh Burke from Harpoon days, and I am more than little fascinated by wtf an Amphibious Landing Dock actually looks like from the inside. Of course, the Ticos are among the class of the Fleet overall, and the Bunker Hill not only has some serious pedigree, but was also the first with the VLS system.

Not sure if pictures will be allowed, but I'm taking my camera just in case.

Any suggestions?

Greybriar · August 02, 2012, 12:24:40 AM

Personally, I would rather tour a guided missile cruiser than a destroyer or an amphibious transport dock. But that's just my preference.

bayonetbrant · August 02, 2012, 05:35:21 AM

^^ I'm with him

besilarius · August 02, 2012, 05:54:40 AM

See if there are any interviews in the paper or on the radio, with the person in charge of each ship's visit team.
Some are clueless about what people want to see, and give very limited, and uninformative, demonstrations.
Most are not, and will try to give you a taste of what makes the ship unique.
Still, if you can see the person in charge just sees it as another task to sign off, then most likely it will be an unrewarding experience.
During the tour, be polite, but notice which of the enlisted personnel are most open and friendly. They can give you a lot of information that is not in the script.
One icebreaker is to ask what the ship's nickname is. (Most folks ooh and ahh over the machinery. Some of the sea-stories can be great. Get them to talk about themselves.)

GDS_Starfury · August 02, 2012, 07:54:20 AM

the Burkes are bigger then the Tico's and theyre both guided missile ships.
the phib might be the coolest though if the landing well is dry and they have vehicles as part of the tour.

mirth · August 02, 2012, 09:29:25 AM

I'd see the Tico. They are gradually phasing them out and who knows if you'll get the chance to tour one again. I think Bunker Hill is the oldest Tico still in service, so it may not be around much longer. The Burkes will be around for a long time to come.

meadbelly · August 02, 2012, 03:31:13 PM

Excellent point, Mirth. Unfortunately, my time has been compressed today, so I'm only going to be able to check out the Halsey. . . today. The Bunker Hill is now competing neck in neck with the New Orleans as my tour choice for Friday!

(please be sure to visit my blog for other pendantic decision by decision posts of the Meadbelly thought process :P)

GDS_Starfury · August 02, 2012, 03:42:07 PM

Im tellin ya dude.... see the 'phib!

GDS_Starfury · August 02, 2012, 03:44:58 PM

Ill put it like this. if youve seen one missile ship youve pretty much seen them all.
have fun with a different class. phibs are more interesting the carriers in what they do and how they pack it all in one hull.

Staggerwing · August 02, 2012, 03:53:40 PM

I got to board a Soviet missile frigate (actually ex-DDR) that was on display at the Fall River museum, (the same one where the USS Massachusetts is permanently berthed). It was a bit odd, all the mechanicals were painted an odd green, not quite zinc chromate, and the captain's area reminded me of the inside of one of those temp trailer offices that one sees at construction sites. The trip was a while ago but I'd love to go back with some folks who are familiar with military vessels.

EDIT: here's the blurb from the Museum web site:

QuoteHIDDENSEE
Originally commissioned by the East German People's Navy (the Volksmarine) as the Rudolf Eglehofer, the Hiddensee is a Tarantul I class corvette built at the Petrovsky Shipyard, St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), Russia. The only exhibited example of a Soviet-built missile corvette in the U.S., Hiddensee was designed to oppose any naval threat to the East German Coast, and to fulfill this mission carried long-range STYX anti-ship missiles and an array of defensive weapons designed to ensure her own survivability.

Following the reunification of Germany, the Hiddensee served with the Federal German Navy until her decommissioning in April 1991. Shortly thereafter she was reactivated and transferred to the U.S. Navy. Joined briefly by a crew of 20 former East German sailors, a small civilian U. S. crew conducted extensive testing with the vessel at the Navy's Solomons, Maryland, facility in the Patuxnet River. After 50 underway deployments in the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia Capes areas, Navy budget cutback severely curtailed operations, but she continued on as a research vessel until April 1996.

The Hiddensee joined the Battleship Cove fleet on June 14, 1997.

Here's the web site for those of you whom might get the chance to visit it: http://www.battleshipcove.com/index.asp

mirth · August 02, 2012, 06:07:45 PM

Quote from: meadbelly on August 02, 2012, 03:31:13 PM
Excellent point, Mirth. Unfortunately, my time has been compressed today, so I'm only going to be able to check out the Halsey. . . today. The Bunker Hill is now competing neck in neck with the New Orleans as my tour choice for Friday!

(please be sure to visit my blog for other pendantic decision by decision posts of the Meadbelly thought process :P)

I can't fault you for deciding to tour a ship named Halsey ;)

Starfury has a point about the phib. If you get to see the LCACs as part of the tour, it'd be pretty damn cool.

meadbelly · August 02, 2012, 08:54:09 PM

The line for the Halsey was too long for me to get to today, but I'm in town for the weekend after all, so I'm hitting all three.

I missed getting a picture of a flight of Blue Angels in diamond formation on a flyover of the Halsey bow by about 30 seconds.

I will post the hilarious Canadian contribution to fleet week shortly as a very mild compensation.

GDS_Starfury · August 02, 2012, 09:23:06 PM

Smuckatelli · August 03, 2012, 08:29:01 AM

Quote from: mirth on August 02, 2012, 06:07:45 PM
Quote from: meadbelly on August 02, 2012, 03:31:13 PM
Starfury has a point about the phib. If you get to see the LCACs as part of the tour, it'd be pretty damn cool.

If they are doing the dog & pony show correctly...there should also be LVPT-7s and some Marines.

mirth · August 03, 2012, 10:09:50 AM

Quote from: Smuckatelli on August 03, 2012, 08:29:01 AM
Quote from: mirth on August 02, 2012, 06:07:45 PM
Quote from: meadbelly on August 02, 2012, 03:31:13 PM
Starfury has a point about the phib. If you get to see the LCACs as part of the tour, it'd be pretty damn cool.
If they are doing the dog & pony show correctly...there should also be LVPT-7s and some Marines.

More coolness. I've always liked the LVPT-7s. There look reminds me of the Jawas Sandcrawler.