Today's video is something near and dear to my heart as a former submarine sailor and a bit of a companion piece to the article below. There is a saying in the force that there are two kinds of ships, submarines and targets. Here is some footage explaining why we think that way.
And a little more video from the Aussies:
To quote P.J. O'Rourke, "Now that's the way to waste the taxpayers dollars."
Submarines once, submarines twice....
Ok, we won't go there, this is a family friendly blog.
I was surprized the destroyer didn't immediately sink.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this provides a great artificial reef for wildlife and wreck divers.
'Dawg, I think that was the idea. Hey those ships are pretty big, so if the shot doesn't hit dead center and rupture the keel, it will keep floating. Also, that destroyer was very light, you can see how in the water it was riding.
ReplyDeleteAs an old surface sailor, this is a sad reminder of a picture of my old ship (USS Cabildo - LSD-16) before her trip to the deep-six, stripped and denuded and showing the entry "wounds" of Harpoon missiles as she, like the Fife, struggled to do her "duty" of staying afloat as long as she could. Yep, call me sentimental in anthropomorphizing our ships. But they were our homes and the places in which we served....it's hard to see them just as "targets". ;-)
ReplyDeleteMr. Carrier,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your service. It's hard to see them go down, though I was Army. The time served and the relationship with the sailors on board seems like such a waste to have it go down in such a manner.
Spearcarrier, understand the affection. Hope I didn't offend.
ReplyDeleteNo offense taken...;-)...there's always room for a little inter- (and intra-) service rivalry. But when the chips are down we are all wearing the same uniform, and defending the same Constitution. Submarines once, submarines twice..............;-D
ReplyDeleteA good friend of mine served on a destroyer that was later broken up and scrapped. As I see it, for a brave ship that did her duty for decades a resting place on the bottom of the sea is a better fate than being turned into cars and cans...
ReplyDelete