Photo: National Museum of the U.S. Navy
While all eyes are on the new-generation ships, filled with state-of-the-art technical features and boasting impressive looks, we must never forget the old vessels that paved the way for these young generations. Some of America’s oldest military ships have unfortunately disappeared, but thank God for their models – just as old and just as precious.
The original USS South Carolina has been gone for almost a century, and had an ending that was unworthy of its incredible heritage. According to the Navy, it was sold for scrap way back in 1924. Commissioned in 1910, it would be the lead ship of its class. USS South Carolina and Michigan were revolutionary at the time, in the U.S., as the nation’s first dreadnoughts.
The term was coined after the Royal Navy launched the HMS Dreadnought in 1906. That warship was so extraordinary that it literally became a prototype for a new class of ships. The main thing that made it stand out was the exclusive use of big guns, in opposition to a mix of large-caliber and small-caliber ones, and that it was packed with a lot of them. In the following years, “dreadnoughts” came to mean large and fast battleships that had only large-caliber guns as weapons.
The USS Carolina started out with a cruise to Europe and with support operations in the Gulf of Mexico. It also served during World War I, performing escort tasks, training sailors, and eventually safely bringing veterans back home, in 1919. Even though it would end up being torn to pieces in 1924, its model survives to this day, and can be admired (though not at the moment) at the U.S. Navy’s museum.
Although the Navy seems to be quick to discard its vessels back in the day, fortunately it also had the foresight to build ship models each time a new class of ships comes to life. The South Carolina model was most likely built at the same shipyard as the battleship itself, and is said to be remarkably intricate.
This surviving model has been on display for more than two decades now, and at the end of last year it started getting ready for a new chapter in its long “career.” The Navy is building a new flagship museum, one that allegedly costs $450 million. It’s meant to replace the former facility in Washington, which is now getting close to 60 years of age.
The historic model has been quietly waiting for its relocation, and was recently moved (on wheels) at the Washington Navy Yard. For now, the Navy has selected five architecture firms to come up with renderings for the future museum, and hopes to complete the project by the end of 2025.
The term was coined after the Royal Navy launched the HMS Dreadnought in 1906. That warship was so extraordinary that it literally became a prototype for a new class of ships. The main thing that made it stand out was the exclusive use of big guns, in opposition to a mix of large-caliber and small-caliber ones, and that it was packed with a lot of them. In the following years, “dreadnoughts” came to mean large and fast battleships that had only large-caliber guns as weapons.
The USS Carolina started out with a cruise to Europe and with support operations in the Gulf of Mexico. It also served during World War I, performing escort tasks, training sailors, and eventually safely bringing veterans back home, in 1919. Even though it would end up being torn to pieces in 1924, its model survives to this day, and can be admired (though not at the moment) at the U.S. Navy’s museum.
Although the Navy seems to be quick to discard its vessels back in the day, fortunately it also had the foresight to build ship models each time a new class of ships comes to life. The South Carolina model was most likely built at the same shipyard as the battleship itself, and is said to be remarkably intricate.
This surviving model has been on display for more than two decades now, and at the end of last year it started getting ready for a new chapter in its long “career.” The Navy is building a new flagship museum, one that allegedly costs $450 million. It’s meant to replace the former facility in Washington, which is now getting close to 60 years of age.
The historic model has been quietly waiting for its relocation, and was recently moved (on wheels) at the Washington Navy Yard. For now, the Navy has selected five architecture firms to come up with renderings for the future museum, and hopes to complete the project by the end of 2025.
Google News