Who Likes Ships? We Have Aircraft and Trains.

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[Photon440]

The HMHS Britannic, used as a hospital ship in WWI. If it looks familiar, it's because it was a sister ship to the Titanic. In 1916 it struck a German naval mine and sunk in less than an hour. It was the largest ship sunk in that war.

Jacques Cousteau discovered the wreck in 1975.

 

[65Bel]

National Geographic RESOLUTION - A different kind of cruise ship . . .

 

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[BearDodge67]

Das Boot... a movie you have to watch in German with subtitles, otherwise it gets lost in translation

 

[BearDodge67]

USS The Sullivans Challenge Coin to help raise money to raise her and repair the damage after sinking at the pier.

 

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[Photon440]

The Chinese invented rudders on ships, prior to the 1st century, steering was generally controlled by oars, even on ships that also used sails. By the 11th Century, another Chinese invention called a magnetic compass was added to their fleets. Starting with expeditions in the 1st century to places such as Africa and the Indian Ocean, commerce continued profitably through the years, culminating in the giant fleets commanded by Admiral Zheng He who, starting in 1405, led seven expeditions into the Indian Ocean. By this time, some of the Treasure Ships had grown to over 400 feet in length and 125 feet wide. Double layers of wooden sheathing and multiple watertight compartments meant that a hole from striking a reef or cannon ball would not sink the ship. Some of these had a crew of over 500 sailors and sixty separate living rooms.

Although considered luxury trading ships, not warships, they still carried twenty four bronze cannon as armament.

This image shows the size difference of a Chinese Treasure ship compared to the Santa Maria that Christopher Columbus sailed on.

Starting in 1405, the seven major expeditions suddenly came to a stop in 1433, even though they showed a profit. By 1500, China had abandoned world exploration and closed itself off, going so far as to make it illegal on pain of death to build a ship with more than two masts.

 

[mrhemi]

Just about anything sails by my place.

The Viking "Octantis" down bound on the St. Clair River on route to Detroit.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Submit and I are taking a week long trip from Boston to Bermuda to Bar Harbor Maine & back to Boston on this thing Friday afternoon.

 

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Photo depicts severe damage caused by a “dud” torpedo that seemed to have ignited prematurely just after its launch. The explosion blew part of the wooden panels of the hull in pieces on both sides of the bow. The photo shows the vulnerability of the light weight ships, with no armored plating at all.

 

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Photo above shows a very fast PT boat launching two torpedoes from its launching tubes.

 

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[AR67GTX]

The jeep or escort carrier Windham Bay that my Dad served on in the closing days of WWll. It was recommissioned for Korea which is the obvious era of this photo.

One of the things it was known for in WWII was surviving typhoon Connie that rolled under the front of her flight deck.