OT: USS Olympia, 2-war naval veteran, battles for survival

Dontos

This caught my eye this evening. Although not a 'floatie-thingie' fan, this still seems real tragic.

"The USS Olympia, a one-of-a-kind steel cruiser that returned home to a hero's welcome after a history-changing victory in the Spanish-American War, is a proud veteran fighting what may be its final battle.

Time and tides are conspiring to condemn the weathered old warrior to a fate two wars failed to inflict. Without a major refurbishment to its aging steel skin, the Olympia either will sink at its moorings on the Delaware River, be sold for scrap, or be scuttled for an artificial reef just off Cape May, N.J., about 90 miles south."

Remainder of article can be linked here:
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20...ed_warship

Regards
Don

piney

The Olympia's hull in some places is weathered down to an 1/8" thickness. I saw the United States saturday and she is looking pretty beat and most of her interior has been gutted. Norwegian cruise lines had purchased her with the intent to refurbish her for the cruise trade but decided it would be too expensive, so she sits and rots. She held the Blue Riband for fastest Atlantic crossing by a liner longer than any other ship. The New Jersey is hardly rotting away. She is a floating museum and while her funding is tenuous, she is still viable.
In a perfect world all three would be saved and repaired, but I doubt it. I would personally like to see Olympia basically buried on land to her waterline and then preserved as much as practical

A-109E

There's a nice walkaround photo tour of Olympia here:
www.steelnavy.com/Olympiatour.htm

Wink

Doug_Kibbey

A-109E wrote:

There's a nice walkaround photo tour of Olympia here:
www.steelnavy.com/Olympiatour.htm

Wink

Very nice shots, Bob. Thanks for posting!

D.

the_shadock

well, another sad story...

Pierre-Olivier