Comments on: Happy Birthday

By: Maritime Monday 185

Maritime Monday 185 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:16:24 +0000

[...] Neptunus Lex has a 212th birthday for Old Ironsides. [...]

By: Jim from San Diego

Jim from San Diego — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:32:58 +0000

I remember being onboard the USS Bunker Hill when she was departing Boston Harbor after it’s commissioning. The Constitution had gotten underway a few hours earlier with the CNO embarked. Somewhere in the middle of the harbor the two ships exchanged gun salutes. After it was over and the echos had died down, it seemed as if every car alarm in downtown Boston was going off. Good times.

By: Roachman

Roachman — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:35:13 +0000

I’ve also had the pleasure to tour Constitution, and have attended both a commisioning ceremony and a retirement ceremony aboard her. Even peir side, the sight of that grand old lady, a fighting ship of the line, with her huge battle ensign snapping in the breeze is quite someting to behold.

By: Quartermaster

Quartermaster — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:54:01 +0000

Slightly OT. The HMS Victory is held in similar esteem by the Brits. Does anyone know if she’s still in commission or been sailed since she was laid up as a memorial? I haven’t seen anything about it and wonder.

By: deBarra

deBarra — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:23:06 +0000

I’m not aware of a membership link at the Navy website for the ship. However, the museum is a non-profit organization and has memberships. The majority of the funds go to museum exhibits, some of which travel the country. We taxpayers pay for the ship’s upkeep.

http://www.history.navy.mil/USSconstitution/index.html
http://www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org/

By: Grampa Bluewater

Grampa Bluewater — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:15:20 +0000

The correct term is the “broad arrow”.

It’s meaning is “military/naval property of the British Crown”. The guns are lawful prizes of war, captured in battle.

I believe the practice was to remove items from the defeated vessel to replace similar items damaged in battle on the victorious one. I would assume that as ships were “laid up in ordinary” (mothballed, sort of) guns would be removed and placed in storage and were available for issue to any vessel with a valid need.

HMS Bounty’s wreck site was located by the broad arrow on items found on the bottom at a wreck (more of a ballast midden) off Pitcairn’s Island. If memory serves there was a nice picture in the Natl Geographic at the time.