That's super low effort and also a bit unethical. Something much more limited and pointed... Like analysis of a specific theme, on a specific scene, is a better way to go.
"Stop asking me if you can get on these ships!" Oh man, Ryan...I felt that frustration in my shoes. You strike me as a patient man. That means that if you're THAT frustrated, you have to have had HUNDREDS of people asking if they could go on the other ships. Namaste my friend, namaste.
I have been on the kitty hawk in Washington a few times so I know that it’s more of a safety concern than anything. It would a project to get them with lights and power . 1,000 % if we got into a war and it was needed 3 things would happen 1. Every ship would get reactived 2. All the reserve bases and all the ship yards would be building navy ships like crazy and also usns cargo ships 3. They would start with old ships then build ones . They are talking about doing this to the battleships and cruisers .
As a kid, I remember being mesmerized by the USS Iowa and the dozens of mothballed ships that used to be on display while driving over the Benicia-Martinez Bridge. We would go out on our boat and cruise past the Iowa which was on the outermost side of one of the rows of ships. The scale and silhouette of it left unforgettable impression and I would always ask my dad if we could tie up to it and go aboard. I hope to make it out someday to her sister ship, the New Jersey.
No, you couldn't go on board. 😆 Iowa is still on the Wset Coast, down in the port of Los Angeles, open as a museum ship. (I was there in 2017.) If you make it down that way, she's next to LAFD's Fireboat #1 just down from the the Cruise Ship terminal, please go see her, they could use the visit.
We used to climb all over the reserve fleet in Tacoma. It’s the only time I was scared of my dad. We used to break locks and enter all kinds of places. As a 13 yr old in 1973 I didn’t understand the concept of bad air. My dad did as a retired E9. He chewed us out 100%. Still climbed on them. Never broke another lock. The Sisuo fleet has been reduced tremendously as of late.
My grandma moved to Vallejo from S.F. back in 1965. We used to go over the Benecia / Martinez bridge to get to Vallejo and there was literally hundreds of vessels next to each other in Suisun Bay. The last time I went over the bridge a few years back I didn't see any at all.
Yes... there was a bunch out there. Most got too old to keep, and there was a lawsuit over the toxic chems and metals being leached into the bay waters. There are a few newer ships out there now though.
I’m trying to figure out why I enjoy your videos so much. In essence, I think you are just such a good speaker, and story teller. Keep up the great work!
For us NorCal viewers; The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet mostly got parceled out and scrapped due to most of the ships being too old to maintain and reuse (finally). There still is a fleet in the anchorage but only 3-4 ships now. Notables - USS Iowa is in LA at the Pacific Battleship Museum (SF didn't want a warship on the waterfront; explain USS Pampanito to me then); Glomar Explorer was converted (finally) into an actual drilling ship and spent 18yrs doing that, then was sold and scrapped in China in 2015. Sea Shadow's floating hanger is still around after the stealth ship was scrapped; it's in Alameda at the Bay Ship & Yacht Co., serving as a floating dry dock; you can see it next to the Bay Ferry terminal. SS Jeremiah O'Brien (one of 3 Liberty ships left and D-Day participant) is a former fleet resident, as is SS Red Oak Victory (again, one of 3 Victory ships left). The O'Brien is in SF at Pier 35, Red Oak is at Richmond Shipyard #3 in Richmond CA. EDIT: Red Oak Victory was built in Richmond at Richmond Shipyard #1 (where the yacht marina is now); back then it was the Kaiser Shipyards, yes, THAT Henry J, KP.org HMO Kaiser) so she basically made it home. Go see her if you get the chance, America's museum ships are not US Gov supported and they can use the support.
I remember when those ships were there. Sam Peckinpah filmed the final sequence of his action movie The Killer Elite in the Liberty Ship flotilla. James Caan and his sidekicks are soldiers of fortune hired to help the revolutionary leader of an Asian country get back home and they are there to transfer him to a boat that will take him home to overthrow the dictator ruling his country. In a somewhat tongue in cheek scene they are attacked by a whole platoon of Ninjas, but since it’s daytime and they are on these ships the Ninjas are somehow wearing navy grey Ninja outfits that perfectly matched the ships.😂 It was like the Ninjas popped into a Ninja supply store and said “we need three dozen Ninja outfits in Haze Grey FS36270”, and the clerk said “coming right up, what sizes do you need?”🎉 Great movie.
I commercial crab fished in Alaska on a ww2 tender, they just retired it in 2022 from fishing. The hull number was YO 154 Now know as the FV Pavlof. We have a had a bunch of sticken boats converted to work up there. The weirdest are prob the power scows from the river fleets, they just are used as supply ships and tender boats. We also have some landing craft up there you will see on ocasion.
Iowa's in LA. Glomar Explorer was converted (finally) into an actual drilling ship and spent 18yrs doing that, then was sold and scrapped in China in 2015. Sea Shadow's hanger is still around after the stealh ship was scapped; it's in Alameda at the Bay Ship & Yacht Co., serving as a floating dry dock. You can see it next to the Bay Ferry terminal.
One of those FFG's behind you was my home from 1989-92.....FFG-42, USS Klakring...."Finest Greyhound in the Fleet!!" Its sad to see her in the state shes in. Last I heard, she was possibly headed for a SINKX.
@@RalphPapa-gq2hw USS _Clifton Sprague_ (FFG 16) ! I probably saw her when I was in Sara's air wing. Did you ever det with us? She is in Turkey now. TCG Gaziantepe
They are going to use the ex USS Tarawa for Rimpac exercises this year. Also, they are going to scrap the ex USS Mc Cay she was a sub tender but they used her as a pier side work shop in Norfolk now she is being towed to the scrapyard. When I worked at the navy yard we went to pull off equipment off of decommissioned ships such as air compressors, centrifugal chillers rebuilt them and put them back in the system.
My first duty station after boot camp in 1962 was the Pacific Reserve Fleet on Rough & Ready Island in Stockton, CA. I spent a year there. Later all the mothball ships were moved down the channel to Suisan Bay. CWO4 USN Ret.
I spent several decades of my life in trucking, some of that up there in Philly. The Ship Area next to 95 in those days had a pretty good collection. Two Iowas, some carriers, a range of warships etc. USS Baltimore a 8 inch gun cruiser was there for a long time. There were times of near war war potentially where some of the ships vanished. Where do they go? Not for us civilians to know but you could see them gone away. Then add em up. I have difficulty with the Ticonderogas going to reserve. I hear stories of some that were upgraded, rebuilt etc and then sent to reserve. Some ticos are still there old enough to be pre VLS launcher days. I keep imagining we will need all of those Ticos yesterday should something pop off right quick. And we might not have them. It worries me.
In early US history there were ships that sat in ordinary for entire lifetimes. Funding was always sporadic as well so some ships were laid up for very long times. Cant remember which Drachinifel video I saw it in though.
Used to ride across the dumbarton bridge anlmost every day in the mid 80’s. Both the Iowa and Glomar Explorer in were in Suison Bay. The Glomar was a badass looking ship.
Honestly be it a dry dock tour or a normal tour when they are back to their dock I’d think it would be brilliant for his to do a online tour for his TH-cam audience
Of course, I logged on as soon as Ryan said, “SO STOP ASKING ME!” I had to wait for the end of the video to scroll back and see what he was talking about. I mean, you *CAAAAAAN* get onto those ships, and you *WILL* get on the news… and enjoy the hospitality of the federal justice system
I remember doing Summer Seminar at rhe Navy Academy and getting to start the engines on Yard Patrol Craft that they have for training. A kid asked if the YPC's could be used in combat; to which a salty Chief replied "Yeah, we could probably bolt on some .50 cals. But if it's come to that, then we're in some serious trouble"
I grew up near Burwell's Bay on the James River, where many of the merchant ships were mothballed. We used to go fishing in the shadow of that once-massive fleet. You could see the fleet from the top of the Apollo's Chariot roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I've watched it slowly dwindle over the past 30 years to almost nothing as ships get sold and/or scrapped. Actually got to tour the SS American Victory in Tampa, a museum ship that was once mothballed in Virginia.
I remember driving by Suisun bay in San Francisco looking at all of the mothballed ships in the late 60's as a kid... You could never really get a good shot of them from the road but it was an amazing sight...
We have Reserve Ships in San Francisco and also the Susune Bay Reserve Fleet is near by. I was there when eight WWII Victory Ships were still there. TM retired museum curator
My father once worked in the mobile/Biloxi naval yard, refueling nuclear submarines. There is still a small naval yard there, as that is where the splashdown recovery ships dock for NASA, but most of it has been commercialized.
Good info on motth ball all navy ships are now obsolete do to hypersonic missile along with many other miltary equipment like heavy tanks. Aircraft carriers
Ryan. What is happening with the battle ship material that is on the aircraft carrier Kennedy? Is the New Jersey and sister ship going to be able get this before the scrapping of the Kennedy? Thanks Mike
How did you talk about Wilimington with out the USS North Carolina? Whaaat? I went to that ship ever other summer as a kid. Watched it change paint and fixed up new visitors centers all that jazz.
Hey Ryan, there used to be a reserve fleet near the Carquinez Strait of San Francisco Bay. I remember the many vessels lined up next to each other but they are long gone. Where did they all go?
I don't know if they are still there or not but at the end of Broad St. was the Navy housing along the river. I mean like for the commander of the base and other ranking officers. The homes are quite old and very nice. Maybe Ryan can do a video on them and dig up some history about them. The yard had many things that are no longer there. I did see remnants of the airfield when I worked there. I saw on an old map of the yard that they had a skeet field that shot over the airfield. Lots of history there.
Thanks for this. Any way you could get close-up photography from a drone of all the ships that were behind you? Permissions, etc? Something like what's being done for the rest work on the Texas?! Appreciate the explanation! 👍
How does it work in the US for reserve ship crew. Is there a Navy reserve. In countries where military is mostly one year conscription + everyone in reserve it is common to also activate equipment from long term strorage as part of 1-2 week military refreshers for the reservist. At least army vehicles and other systems. I don't know if that could work with keeping naval vessels more active. Having the trained (previously active but discharged) crew come in from their civilian jobs once a year to sail a few weeks, maintain the ship and participate in war games.
Heard a story once from a guy up in Bremerton. When gold first hit $400+ some of the old navy & merchant sailors ran down to many of the old Liberty ships and began stripping out the wiring. According to the story, gold was more abundant than copper as well as a better electrical conductor so was used in the Liberty + other ship mid-war on. Makes some sense as the US was making steel pennies in 1943. So now curious. Are the 1940 vintage museum ships equipped with gold or copper wiring?
Depends. If they sell them, not any person can just buy them. Either Congress has to approve their sale to a foreign navy, or a private organization has to get approval for the navy to donate them a ship to preservation (which is currently ongoing for Halyburton). Otherwise, they are scrapped and sent to be used as a target in SINKEX
The vast majority end up going to ship breakers. Some are used for live fire targets aka SINKEX. In the past the US has sold many to other foreign navies but that would be more of a curse not a help given the maintenance needs and age of most of the mothballed ships - if they were viable for continued active service we’d keep them. None will end up in commercial service / private ownership (assuming you’re talking warships and non museum usage)
I wish that organization better luck than the one which tried to preserve a Spruance class DD. That one fell through and there is only one Spru left, DDe-964 ex-Paul Foster in San Diego being used as a defense systems test ship. She's so heavily modified now that it would be hugely expensive to return her to her unmodified configuration.
@@robertf3479From the recent photos I’ve seen, the Foster doesn’t seem too heavily modified. Plus, it could be interesting to preserve her with the test modifications
no, not now... Iowa's in LA. Glomar Explorer was converted (finally) into an actual drilling ship and spent 18yrs doing that, then was sold and scrapped in China in 2015. Sea Shadow's hanger is still around after the stealh ship was scapped; it's in Alameda at the Bay Ship & Yacht Co., serving as a floating dry dock. You can see it next to the Bay Ferry terminal.
@@robertlayer1009 I haven’t seen anything about navigation equipment. A lot of the modern electronics were rendered inoperable during decommissioning as the navy removed pretty much anything that was still in service in other ships. The museum has been trying to restore whatever was taken. The air search radar antenna spins but isn’t energized. The air horn is functional but not in the same way it was when inside. A lot of the various motorized ammo hoists are functional. One of the iowas did turn the turret once, but NJ’s are locked in place. That’s all that comes to mind
Yeah, please don't just show up and try to drive into the pier checkpoints, the nice guards won't be quite as nice if you do. There are several nice spots on public roads to look at the ships from a distance! Also, most of the OHPs are pending disposal, not on FMS hold or donation hold. Ships in FMS hold are not meant to have things stripped by US or foreign navies. Other than being designated for disposal, there is also a hold status just for keeping TO be stripped for parts. Finally, there are occasionally ships held in special reserve status before being transitioned from active duty to a special duty like as a test ship.
When the Glomar Explorer was part of the Suisun fleet, my history-nerd-persona went into overdrive every time I drove past. Legions of Boy Scouts and student athletes on the way to campouts or games had to suffer through my poor attempts to paint verbal pictures of what happened on that ship. Poor kids!
I don’t think any ships have been reactivated recently. There was an effort a few years ago to reactivate some Perry’s, but it was deemed to be more expensive than it was worth.
We talk a lot about how long it would take to reactivate a ship. The other side of that is how long would it take to staff the ship with a qualified crew. I wonder if the timelines are similar?
All well and good keeping so many ships in the reserve fleet, but who are you going to get to man them.? The USN is having problems with recruiting & retention right now, and introducing conscription will create a maelstrom within the country. And once again, where are you going to get the expertise to man them..? especially if some with be conscripted and don't want to be there anyway..
When my ship was at Philly for DSRA in 1990, we joked that the reserve fleet basin was the "Trash Can" where ships the shipyard had screwed up on were dumped!
Why do people say that the ships that are being scrapped are turned into razor blades, is there some metallurgical reason why that is the best use of the scrap metal?
Don't forget about all the submarines held in reserve for training after WW2 Thats how Cleveland acquired the Cod and most of the subs on the great lakes got there
I remember years ago when the shipyard was packed full of ships and now I find that drive past sad with the majority of those once powerful warriors are a part of the view.
@@JoshuaTootell the reason why I said, Big Valley, was because it was an old western starring Linda Evans, a very young Linda Evans! I've never been there so I can only go by what I see on the map, but isn't it like 20 miles from the shore? could it be that the city is on the East End of its township? Well, thanks for your comments and thank you for your service! 👍
I hear the fleet will getting some new combat ships while scraping other. For example, some LCS and Cruisers....unless the Navy sell them to an ally or a former naval officer buys them for a $1.
Long Beach, my town area had a WWII war prize the Herman the German floating crane until the closed the yard in the 90's. It was the largest. Was sold to Panama. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_the_German_(crane_vessel)
Speculation on the zoomed in "LSD effect". Something may have been going on in the background that couldn't be broadcast. Perhaps a security issue. It looks like the video was zoomed in on Ryan during post.
Just two separate cameras running, the better camera had a narrower lens which I didn't love, you couldn't really see the ships, but the phone didn't have a tripod mount. This is the result of not bringing the whole camera bag with me on a quest.
250k subscriber special, make Ryan watch Battleship and do a reaction video.
I can agree with that idea whole heartedly
A double header with "Under Seige".
We would probably need to bribe him with a top shelf bottle of Scotch, Bourbon or Whiskey.
I think he said he watched it when he commented on the anchor drop sequence.
That's super low effort and also a bit unethical.
Something much more limited and pointed...
Like analysis of a specific theme, on a specific scene, is a better way to go.
"Stop asking me if you can get on these ships!" Oh man, Ryan...I felt that frustration in my shoes. You strike me as a patient man. That means that if you're THAT frustrated, you have to have had HUNDREDS of people asking if they could go on the other ships. Namaste my friend, namaste.
I have been on the kitty hawk in Washington a few times so I know that it’s more of a safety concern than anything. It would a project to get them with lights and power . 1,000 % if we got into a war and it was needed 3 things would happen 1. Every ship would get reactived 2. All the reserve bases and all the ship yards would be building navy ships like crazy and also usns cargo ships 3. They would start with old ships then build ones . They are talking about doing this to the battleships and cruisers .
People who ask questions like that aren’t paying attention to the state of liability in this country these days.
"stop asking me if I can get on the ships" 😂
Yeah if he could, he would already have done it lol
And if he could've gotten away with it, he would've gotten off them with LOOT!
typical shipsexual dialogue
what are they hiding? i really want to see it now
Or he did do it, and doesn't want anyone to know.
@@smalltime0 We do know they got on the ones the Navy opened up for strip trips. The others I'm betting he hasn't been on.
As a kid, I remember being mesmerized by the USS Iowa and the dozens of mothballed ships that used to be on display while driving over the Benicia-Martinez Bridge. We would go out on our boat and cruise past the Iowa which was on the outermost side of one of the rows of ships. The scale and silhouette of it left unforgettable impression and I would always ask my dad if we could tie up to it and go aboard. I hope to make it out someday to her sister ship, the New Jersey.
No, you couldn't go on board. 😆 Iowa is still on the Wset Coast, down in the port of Los Angeles, open as a museum ship. (I was there in 2017.) If you make it down that way, she's next to LAFD's Fireboat #1 just down from the the Cruise Ship terminal, please go see her, they could use the visit.
I live in Benicia and the reserve fleet is only down to like 5 ships now it’s crazy.
1:24 when the LSD starts kicking in
Thank God it wasn't just me....
Some trippy camera work this episode 😵💫😵💫😵💫
Warp Stabilizer in video editors does that. The video editor probably should have settled for shaky video rather than the vomit comet!
Yeah, I had to grab the table 'cause I thought I was falling off the chair.
I thought you mean the LSD ship classification.
We used to climb all over the reserve fleet in Tacoma. It’s the only time I was scared of my dad. We used to break locks and enter all kinds of places. As a 13 yr old in 1973 I didn’t understand the concept of bad air. My dad did as a retired E9. He chewed us out 100%. Still climbed on them. Never broke another lock. The Sisuo fleet has been reduced tremendously as of late.
Not much at all left of that massive fleet in Suisun Bay.
That one i always wished the battle ship would be museum ship in Chicago for recruiting ect @@Snuffaluffagis
Remember in the mid-60s, driving up the Hudson looking at the ghost fleet upriver from New York. Believe these were largely merchant ships.
You little vandal.
So has the Pearl Harbor fleet
My grandma moved to Vallejo from S.F. back in 1965. We used to go over the Benecia / Martinez bridge to get to Vallejo and there was literally hundreds of vessels next to each other in Suisun Bay. The last time I went over the bridge a few years back I didn't see any at all.
Yes... there was a bunch out there. Most got too old to keep, and there was a lawsuit over the toxic chems and metals being leached into the bay waters. There are a few newer ships out there now though.
I live in Benicia. There are currently 6 ships in the mothball fleet and they are all merchant type ships
I’m trying to figure out why I enjoy your videos so much. In essence, I think you are just such a good speaker, and story teller. Keep up the great work!
For us NorCal viewers; The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet mostly got parceled out and scrapped due to most of the ships being too old to maintain and reuse (finally). There still is a fleet in the anchorage but only 3-4 ships now. Notables - USS Iowa is in LA at the Pacific Battleship Museum (SF didn't want a warship on the waterfront; explain USS Pampanito to me then); Glomar Explorer was converted (finally) into an actual drilling ship and spent 18yrs doing that, then was sold and scrapped in China in 2015. Sea Shadow's floating hanger is still around after the stealth ship was scrapped; it's in Alameda at the Bay Ship & Yacht Co., serving as a floating dry dock; you can see it next to the Bay Ferry terminal. SS Jeremiah O'Brien (one of 3 Liberty ships left and D-Day participant) is a former fleet resident, as is SS Red Oak Victory (again, one of 3 Victory ships left). The O'Brien is in SF at Pier 35, Red Oak is at Richmond Shipyard #3 in Richmond CA. EDIT: Red Oak Victory was built in Richmond at Richmond Shipyard #1 (where the yacht marina is now); back then it was the Kaiser Shipyards, yes, THAT Henry J, KP.org HMO Kaiser) so she basically made it home. Go see her if you get the chance, America's museum ships are not US Gov supported and they can use the support.
Back in the 1960’s and early 70’s Suisun Bay had at least fifty ships. Possible a hundred. Mostly WW2 era
I remember when those ships were there. Sam Peckinpah filmed the final sequence of his action movie The Killer Elite in the Liberty Ship flotilla. James Caan and his sidekicks are soldiers of fortune hired to help the revolutionary leader of an Asian country get back home and they are there to transfer him to a boat that will take him home to overthrow the dictator ruling his country. In a somewhat tongue in cheek scene they are attacked by a whole platoon of Ninjas, but since it’s daytime and they are on these ships the Ninjas are somehow wearing navy grey Ninja outfits that perfectly matched the ships.😂
It was like the Ninjas popped into a Ninja supply store and said “we need three dozen Ninja outfits in Haze Grey FS36270”, and the clerk said “coming right up, what sizes do you need?”🎉
Great movie.
I commercial crab fished in Alaska on a ww2 tender, they just retired it in 2022 from fishing. The hull number was YO 154 Now know as the FV Pavlof. We have a had a bunch of sticken boats converted to work up there. The weirdest are prob the power scows from the river fleets, they just are used as supply ships and tender boats. We also have some landing craft up there you will see on ocasion.
Yeah Suisun! We had Glomar Explorer too. Locally it was never a secret what she was really built for.
The history behind that ship is one of my favorite Cold War stories
Global was docked down in Redwood City. Not so secret when you can see it from Pete's Harbor restaurant 😂!
Didn’t they steal a sunken sub with her?
@@nicholaspayne349 tried to, couldn't get it all.
Iowa's in LA. Glomar Explorer was converted (finally) into an actual drilling ship and spent 18yrs doing that, then was sold and scrapped in China in 2015. Sea Shadow's hanger is still around after the stealh ship was scapped; it's in Alameda at the Bay Ship & Yacht Co., serving as a floating dry dock. You can see it next to the Bay Ferry terminal.
One of those FFG's behind you was my home from 1989-92.....FFG-42, USS Klakring...."Finest Greyhound in the Fleet!!" Its sad to see her in the state shes in. Last I heard, she was possibly headed for a SINKX.
My first ship was the _Saratoga_ and she's already gone. I may have teared up a little when I saw her last pictures.
FFG-16 🫡
@@RalphPapa-gq2hw USS _Clifton Sprague_ (FFG 16) !
I probably saw her when I was in Sara's air wing. Did you ever det with us?
She is in Turkey now. TCG Gaziantepe
@@ut000bs don't believe so
They are going to use the ex USS Tarawa for Rimpac exercises this year. Also, they are going to scrap the ex USS Mc Cay she was a sub tender but they used her as a pier side work shop in Norfolk now she is being towed to the scrapyard. When I worked at the navy yard we went to pull off equipment off of decommissioned ships such as air compressors, centrifugal chillers rebuilt them and put them back in the system.
There is no such ship called" uss mc cay"
My first duty station after boot camp in 1962 was the Pacific Reserve Fleet on Rough & Ready Island in Stockton, CA. I spent a year there. Later all the mothball ships were moved down the channel to Suisan Bay. CWO4 USN Ret.
I spent several decades of my life in trucking, some of that up there in Philly. The Ship Area next to 95 in those days had a pretty good collection. Two Iowas, some carriers, a range of warships etc. USS Baltimore a 8 inch gun cruiser was there for a long time.
There were times of near war war potentially where some of the ships vanished. Where do they go? Not for us civilians to know but you could see them gone away. Then add em up.
I have difficulty with the Ticonderogas going to reserve. I hear stories of some that were upgraded, rebuilt etc and then sent to reserve. Some ticos are still there old enough to be pre VLS launcher days.
I keep imagining we will need all of those Ticos yesterday should something pop off right quick. And we might not have them. It worries me.
Excellent video, Ryan. These videos are so good and informative. Thank you.
In early US history there were ships that sat in ordinary for entire lifetimes. Funding was always sporadic as well so some ships were laid up for very long times. Cant remember which Drachinifel video I saw it in though.
Used to ride across the dumbarton bridge anlmost every day in the mid 80’s. Both the Iowa and Glomar Explorer in were in Suison Bay. The Glomar was a badass looking ship.
Great history guy and might be a nerd but I really appreciate people like him and Ryan is awesome at his job
I was think a video walking around like a dry dock tour. For those who can’t afford or do it for other reasons would be fantastic
Honestly be it a dry dock tour or a normal tour when they are back to their dock
I’d think it would be brilliant for his to do a online tour for his TH-cam audience
Of course, I logged on as soon as Ryan said, “SO STOP ASKING ME!”
I had to wait for the end of the video to scroll back and see what he was talking about.
I mean, you *CAAAAAAN* get onto those ships, and you *WILL* get on the news… and enjoy the hospitality of the federal justice system
I remember doing Summer Seminar at rhe Navy Academy and getting to start the engines on Yard Patrol Craft that they have for training. A kid asked if the YPC's could be used in combat; to which a salty Chief replied "Yeah, we could probably bolt on some .50 cals. But if it's come to that, then we're in some serious trouble"
I grew up near Burwell's Bay on the James River, where many of the merchant ships were mothballed. We used to go fishing in the shadow of that once-massive fleet. You could see the fleet from the top of the Apollo's Chariot roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I've watched it slowly dwindle over the past 30 years to almost nothing as ships get sold and/or scrapped. Actually got to tour the SS American Victory in Tampa, a museum ship that was once mothballed in Virginia.
I remember driving by Suisun bay in San Francisco looking at all of the mothballed ships in the late 60's as a kid... You could never really get a good shot of them from the road but it was an amazing sight...
The USS Little Rock is in buffalo ny at the naval park along with USS Sullivan
My first ship, USS Springfield CLG-7, was there in the Reserve Basin between USS Newport News (CA-148) and USS Northampton (CC-1) IN 1980.
"so stop asking..."
We have Reserve Ships in San Francisco and also the Susune Bay Reserve Fleet is near by. I was there when eight WWII Victory Ships were still there. TM retired museum curator
My father once worked in the mobile/Biloxi naval yard, refueling nuclear submarines. There is still a small naval yard there, as that is where the splashdown recovery ships dock for NASA, but most of it has been commercialized.
Good info on motth ball all navy ships are now obsolete do to hypersonic missile along with many other miltary equipment like heavy tanks. Aircraft carriers
A former X ship was Yorktown CG48, she is almost finished being cut up in Texas
Ryan. What is happening with the battle ship material that is on the aircraft carrier Kennedy? Is the New Jersey and sister ship going to be able get this before the scrapping of the Kennedy? Thanks Mike
What is the oldest ship in the Philadelphia reserve fleet?
The Naval Vessel Registry (NVR) shows the ships status. US Little Rock is listed as Maintenance Class X
How did you talk about Wilimington with out the USS North Carolina? Whaaat? I went to that ship ever other summer as a kid. Watched it change paint and fixed up new visitors centers all that jazz.
Szimanski, your eyes are just darting left and right and all over the shop - and I don’t know how many cuts there are!!!!
Hey Ryan, there used to be a reserve fleet near the Carquinez Strait of San Francisco Bay. I remember the many vessels lined up next to each other but they are long gone. Where did they all go?
Slowly scraped
I don't know if they are still there or not but at the end of Broad St. was the Navy housing along the river. I mean like for the commander of the base and other ranking officers. The homes are quite old and very nice. Maybe Ryan can do a video on them and dig up some history about them. The yard had many things that are no longer there. I did see remnants of the airfield when I worked there. I saw on an old map of the yard that they had a skeet field that shot over the airfield. Lots of history there.
Thanks for this. Any way you could get close-up photography from a drone of all the ships that were behind you? Permissions, etc? Something like what's being done for the rest work on the Texas?! Appreciate the explanation! 👍
Great information on dry dock methods. Thanks
How does it work in the US for reserve ship crew. Is there a Navy reserve. In countries where military is mostly one year conscription + everyone in reserve it is common to also activate equipment from long term strorage as part of 1-2 week military refreshers for the reservist. At least army vehicles and other systems. I don't know if that could work with keeping naval vessels more active. Having the trained (previously active but discharged) crew come in from their civilian jobs once a year to sail a few weeks, maintain the ship and participate in war games.
Some of the local warbird groups used to practice "attacking" the Suisun fleet.
The Glomar and Iowa were awesome.
Heard a story once from a guy up in Bremerton. When gold first hit $400+ some of the old navy & merchant sailors ran down to many of the old Liberty ships and began stripping out the wiring. According to the story, gold was more abundant than copper as well as a better electrical conductor so was used in the Liberty + other ship mid-war on. Makes some sense as the US was making steel pennies in 1943.
So now curious. Are the 1940 vintage museum ships equipped with gold or copper wiring?
Gold was never cheap enough to use as wire
Don’t know about then but gold is use to coat connected ends
Videos on how to recover that gold
What is the state of shipyards that could be used to build a fleet should a war break out? Is there enough dry-docks and other spaces?
Ah yes, Alameda! Where they kept the nuclear wessels.
So where after reactive the ship, where is the sailors come from?
*Cracks open cedar chest*
Ahh, you can fit so many Ticos in this bad boy!
"stop asking me if I can get on-" i bet someone out there has the biggest smile knowing that would be a question when the dry dock tours began
Them dang eyes went crazy on his smoke break at 1.24.
The decommissioned ships are invaluable as targets for shooting exercises. That was weapons crews get to put hot lead on real ships.
Hi Ryan, how far is it back to the NJ dock and how far off the coast will the NJ need to be for the trip?
Its 6 miles down the Delaware River
Will they sell those reserve fleet ships or scrap them ? You can make a heck of a fishing boat as long as you're fishing out the right side.
Depends. If they sell them, not any person can just buy them. Either Congress has to approve their sale to a foreign navy, or a private organization has to get approval for the navy to donate them a ship to preservation (which is currently ongoing for Halyburton). Otherwise, they are scrapped and sent to be used as a target in SINKEX
The vast majority end up going to ship breakers. Some are used for live fire targets aka SINKEX.
In the past the US has sold many to other foreign navies but that would be more of a curse not a help given the maintenance needs and age of most of the mothballed ships - if they were viable for continued active service we’d keep them.
None will end up in commercial service / private ownership (assuming you’re talking warships and non museum usage)
Tongue point Astoria Oregon, Columbia river is a former reserve fleet
Hopefully ex-FFG-40 (Halyburton) gets preserved, it'd be nice to see an OHP as a museum. From how it's going, I don't doubt it'll hapen :)
I heard she may be coming to Erie Pa is that still the plan?
I wish that organization better luck than the one which tried to preserve a Spruance class DD. That one fell through and there is only one Spru left, DDe-964 ex-Paul Foster in San Diego being used as a defense systems test ship. She's so heavily modified now that it would be hugely expensive to return her to her unmodified configuration.
@@DavidBrown-yd9leThat’s still the plan. Right now they are just waiting for the navy to get through with the surveys and paperwork on their end
@@DavidBrown-yd9le Yes, that's still their plan, which they are about halfway to navy approval
@@robertf3479From the recent photos I’ve seen, the Foster doesn’t seem too heavily modified. Plus, it could be interesting to preserve her with the test modifications
There is only 3 ships left at Suisun Bay….not very active
no, not now... Iowa's in LA. Glomar Explorer was converted (finally) into an actual drilling ship and spent 18yrs doing that, then was sold and scrapped in China in 2015. Sea Shadow's hanger is still around after the stealh ship was scapped; it's in Alameda at the Bay Ship & Yacht Co., serving as a floating dry dock. You can see it next to the Bay Ferry terminal.
Just thinking about the ship breaking process and how they would cut up massive slabs of 14"+ thick belt armor from battleships?
I don't know anything about the shipbreaking process but I've seen videos of oxygen lances making quick work of steel several feet thick.
Here’s a question. Do you ever turn some of the ships gear on to see if it still works? Or test it out?
What kind of gear specifically? He’s previously discussed the status of most of the key pieces.
@@cruisinguy6024 some of the nav equipment. Obviously not the boilers, guns, and BIG stuff. Just wondering if anything gets turned on.
@@robertlayer1009 I haven’t seen anything about navigation equipment. A lot of the modern electronics were rendered inoperable during decommissioning as the navy removed pretty much anything that was still in service in other ships. The museum has been trying to restore whatever was taken.
The air search radar antenna spins but isn’t energized. The air horn is functional but not in the same way it was when inside. A lot of the various motorized ammo hoists are functional.
One of the iowas did turn the turret once, but NJ’s are locked in place.
That’s all that comes to mind
Yeah, please don't just show up and try to drive into the pier checkpoints, the nice guards won't be quite as nice if you do.
There are several nice spots on public roads to look at the ships from a distance!
Also, most of the OHPs are pending disposal, not on FMS hold or donation hold.
Ships in FMS hold are not meant to have things stripped by US or foreign navies. Other than being designated for disposal, there is also a hold status just for keeping TO be stripped for parts. Finally, there are occasionally ships held in special reserve status before being transitioned from active duty to a special duty like as a test ship.
Are X ships available for sale, or just being broken up in the near future?
Another excellent video.
Wait, did I take a gummy today? I didn't think so, but this video has me thinking otherwise.😂
When the Glomar Explorer was part of the Suisun fleet, my history-nerd-persona went into overdrive every time I drove past. Legions of Boy Scouts and student athletes on the way to campouts or games had to suffer through my poor attempts to paint verbal pictures of what happened on that ship.
Poor kids!
When are ya moving? I'm there from July 2 -7.
With rising tensions in the Pacific & Europe, are you aware of any increases in pulling ships out of the reserve fleet?
Suisun is pronounced,
Soo-soon
I don’t think any ships have been reactivated recently. There was an effort a few years ago to reactivate some Perry’s, but it was deemed to be more expensive than it was worth.
No sailors to man them
We talk a lot about how long it would take to reactivate a ship. The other side of that is how long would it take to staff the ship with a qualified crew. I wonder if the timelines are similar?
On a side note, I have the same headlamp. It’s not bad!
Suisun bay where the Iowa was has nothing left in it anymore. I remember seeing almost 100 ships there at one point. Now, nothing.
All well and good keeping so many ships in the reserve fleet, but who are you going to get to man them.? The USN is having problems with recruiting & retention right now, and introducing conscription will create a maelstrom within the country. And once again, where are you going to get the expertise to man them..? especially if some with be conscripted and don't want to be there anyway..
Hello, my Global, 1st Flagship brothers in Philly.
- Global, 1st Flagship worker in Bremerton
Battleship New Jersey, i liked
When my ship was at Philly for DSRA in 1990, we joked that the reserve fleet basin was the "Trash Can" where ships the shipyard had screwed up on were dumped!
I love all of this content, but I bet Ryan is going to be glad to get back home.
does anyone know which ship has been reactivated the most before final disposal?
Why do people say that the ships that are being scrapped are turned into razor blades, is there some metallurgical reason why that is the best use of the scrap metal?
No It's Just Joking Around
That Would Be A Lot Of Razor Blades
This videos camera work proves that we live in the twilight zone…
Ahh the fleet that has been slowly disappearing
The 3 Cyclone Class warships behind you are USS Zephyr, USS Shamal, and USS Tornado. I decommissioned Tornado
This is so cool!
always a good video
Don't forget about all the submarines held in reserve for training after WW2 Thats how Cleveland acquired the Cod and most of the subs on the great lakes got there
I just wonder, if we did get to a point we needed to reactivate these ships, if we would even have enough men to operate them.
And now, women too...
It's a shame to see LCS 7 USS Little Rock in Philly.
I was in Buffalo NY, at the Naval Park when she was put into commission in 2017.
I think if you could have got allowance for a drone fly over of the mothball fleet it would have made this video far more interesting.
Any info on the USS KIDD
I remember years ago when the shipyard was packed full of ships and now I find that drive past sad with the majority of those once powerful warriors are a part of the view.
Can we put this camera in the Reserve fleet? I think it's malfunctioning.
What are those sounds?
Passing vehicles.
I believe they are standing on or close to the lift bridge at the open end of the reserve basin. What your hearing is vehicle traffic passing by.
Hey! This guy brought his "ski's" with him1
There was a T-2 tanker brought out of reserve in the 90s or 80s for the war in the middle east
There used to be over 100 ships in Suisun Bay...now there are maybe 5.
I thought Stockton California was a big Valley not a port or Harbor??😮
Nope, Stockton has a port. Was part of my jurisdiction back in my USCG days.
@@JoshuaTootell the reason why I said, Big Valley, was because it was an old western starring Linda Evans, a very young Linda Evans! I've never been there so I can only go by what I see on the map, but isn't it like 20 miles from the shore? could it be that the city is on the East End of its township? Well, thanks for your comments and thank you for your service! 👍
Will Sea Fighter be joining them?
I hear the fleet will getting some new combat ships while scraping other. For example, some LCS and Cruisers....unless the Navy sell them to an ally or a former naval officer buys them for a $1.
Long Beach, my town area had a WWII war prize the Herman the German floating crane until the closed the yard in the 90's. It was the largest. Was sold to Panama.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_the_German_(crane_vessel)
He's exactly one curator in hight. Coincidence?
Ah, man! How come the Lucid got a shout out in Stockton, but not the Hornet in Alameda?!
😂❤
Speculation on the zoomed in "LSD effect". Something may have been going on in the background that couldn't be broadcast. Perhaps a security issue. It looks like the video was zoomed in on Ryan during post.
Just two separate cameras running, the better camera had a narrower lens which I didn't love, you couldn't really see the ships, but the phone didn't have a tripod mount. This is the result of not bringing the whole camera bag with me on a quest.
Ok😊
Hey, can I get on one of the ships? Lmao! Love your videos!
1:24 -- Aliens attack with Mushrooms
Please do a reaction video to battleship for the 250k special. The longer the video the better