So yesterday I did a bit of exploring and found myself at the gate of the EMR scrap yard. I could see the ship back in there, but how to get to it? These places typically have pretty good security.
Sure enough, not two minutes into me reconnoiter, I was approached by their security guard, who wanted to know what I was doing there. Well screw it--I'm already blown, so I tried something new: I asked him about the ship. He said that it came in a few weeks ago for scrapping and that it was a "Desert Storm ship", but he didn't know anything else about it. I asked him if I could take a look at the ship and he threw me a bone and let me drive inside their outer fence to "turn around" so I could leave.
And I got these shots.
Coming home, a little internet snoopery turned up the information that this ship is the Ticonderoga-class cruiser, ex-Thomas S. Gates, (CG-51), being scrapped by EMR here in the city, the last of five warships that they were contracted to dispose of.
A sad end to a ship that only served for 18 years.
More on ex-Thomas S. Gates here.
I agree with Dwan, mostly.
ReplyDeleteThese older ships would be too costly to completely rebuild with newer technology, and if you used them "as-is" with only minor refitting, they'd just be "speed bumps" in an engagement.
The Ticonderoga class CGs were the state of the art when built, and the first gen SPY-1 ships. The issue was trying to upgrade them, it was simply too costly. And they wouldn't be speed bumps Jim, they could be minimally upgraded and still be more capable than DDG-51s for air defense.
ReplyDeleteAren't we short of ships?
ReplyDeleteHey Murphy;
ReplyDeleteLike Old NFO stated, they were state of the art, the Tico class ships used the SPY radar for air defense from both missiles and Aircraft. Very capable ships for the time. I honestly believe that they could be upgraded and serve a better purpose than the LCS that is being foisted on the Navy now.
Dwan, neither Mobile, Alabama or Marinette, Wisconsin are foreign countries, no matter what people in New York and California think. The Even numbered LCS built by Austal USA are based on a Australia design. The Odd LCS are a Lockheed Martin design and Marinette Marine is owned by Fincantieri, a Italian company. The Navy didn't want to pay for the SLEP that was due while they were fighting with the lack of budget and other issues from sequestration. Almost definitely a mistake.
Delete18 years? No biggie. It's only taxpayers money. Who cares.
ReplyDelete18 years is still not exactly long in the tooth. And we're not exactly fat for warship numbers. But nobody has ever accused the SWO flag community of being overly smart.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this is the beginning of the Warship as iPhone. Every two years a new and highly upgraded version appears, but within four years it's too slow, not enough memory, crashes all the time, and the newest OS isn't compatible any more and won't even load.
ReplyDelete