USS Yorktown

"Big Bubba Ray" (eganward01) 06/02/2015 at 20:38 • Filed to: None

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I’n on vacation with my family down outside of Charleston, South Carolina. Today I took my younger cousins, age 4 and 7 to the USS Yorktown.

This is an amazingly cool ship and if you guys are ever in Charleston, it is definitely worth the price of admission. It’s full of history, a gearhead’s paradise and an overall awesome place to visit. Anyone been here before? I didn’t take my camera, for the first time in years, just so I could soak in all the history.

facw > Big Bubba Ray 06/02/2015 at 21:01

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I was there ages ago, back when they still had NS Savannah (only nuclear powered civilian ship, currently languishing away in Baltimore, as its not a big enough draw to justify maintaining it):

I thought the Yorktown was pretty cool, though probably not that different from the other carrier based museums:

USS Intrepid in NYC (ugly hangar thing is for Enterprise , they originally had it in a tennis bubble until that was destroy by hurricane Sandy. Never should have been awarded a shuttle without workable plans for a facility to hold it) :

USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, TX:

USS Midway in San Diego (The only non-Essex class of the bunch):

USS Hornet in Alameda, CA (still a very small collection of aircraft at this point):

Additionally, the Kitty Hawk class super carrier USS John F. Kennedy is currently being kept as a museum donation (probably going to Rhode Island, though the details, and funding, have bot been finalized):

ttyymmnn > Big Bubba Ray 06/02/2015 at 21:02

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I’ve never seen Yorktown , but I have seen Lexington (CV-16) a couple of times down in Corpus Christi. Being inside the carrier in the middle of summer made me think about the sailors who served on her in the Pacific, and how miserably hot it must have been day after day.

f86sabre > Big Bubba Ray 06/02/2015 at 21:57

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My is wife and I visited it years ago. Very cool. What is awesome is my son’s Cub Scout pack is doing a sleep over on the ship next spring. As the den leader I get to stay aboard as well. Should be fun.

jmedarts > Big Bubba Ray 06/02/2015 at 21:57

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The carrier was cool. But the destroyer parked next to it when I was there had an incredible backstory of surviving a battle in the Pacific. Multiple kamikaze hits and dive bombings. There was a History channel episode about it on loop in the ships galley. There was also WWII era sub, I can’t imagine living on that thing for weeks at a time. Great spot to visit.

jmedarts > jmedarts 06/02/2015 at 22:09

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It was the Laffey. 4 bombs and five kamikazes on April 15, 1945. One hell of a boat. The sub was the Clamagore.

Viggen > facw 06/02/2015 at 22:18

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I’ve been on CV-67! Her final visit to Boston, her flight deck and hangar were made open to the public. On board were a handful of Hornets, a Viking, and I think a Seahawk or two.

facw > Viggen 06/02/2015 at 22:23

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Hope the museum ship thing works out. All the other Forrestal/Kitty Hawk ships (except for maybe Kitty Hawk , which is still in the reserve fleet) are going to the scrappers. Here’s Saratoga and Constellation being broken up earlier this year:

Viggen > facw 06/02/2015 at 22:34

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Kitty Hawk will probably get scrapped. My understanding is she was rather worn out by her retirement. Honestly it just pains me to see Enterprise go the way of the smelter too. Wish they’d declassify her top speed already.

Big Bubba Ray > jmedarts 06/03/2015 at 00:41

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The destroyer is extremely cool. The aircraft carrier is awesome due to the sheer size of the thing, but the destroyer is something else. My little cousins were huge fans of the sub also haha

Big Bubba Ray > ttyymmnn 06/03/2015 at 00:43

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The Yorktown is something you’ve gotta see if you’re in Charleston!

It would be miserable working in there, especially in the engine room. I can’t even imagine how hot and cramped it would feel.

Big Bubba Ray > f86sabre 06/03/2015 at 00:44

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That’s awesome! Your son will have a great time there. I’ve read about the overnights they do there and wish I could have done it as a kid! Haha