The Ship That Would Not Die!

[oakranger]

It suffered 103 casualties when it was hit by four bombs and five kamikaze planes off Okinawa in March 1945. One of the kamikaze was the "Ohka ". The best part about this ship, IT WAS MADE IN AMERICA!     

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) — With the blare of air horns, cheers and a champagne toast, "The Ship That Would Not Die" returned Wednesday to its home at a maritime museum on Charleston Harbor on the South Carolina coast.

Just after sunrise, the World War II destroyer USS Laffey was towed slowly down the Cooper River to the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. It was moved more than two years ago to a dry dock so its hull could be repaired at a cost of about $9 million.

A group of about 50 people, including more than a dozen former crew members, gathered on the flight deck of another World War II vessel, the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, to welcome the Laffey home.

"This means a lot of years of fighting to get her saved again," said Sonny Walker of Abingdon, Md., who served on the Laffey in the early 1960s. "This is the third time. The Germans tried to sink her. The Japanese tried to sink her and then she tried to sink herself sitting here. She's whipped them all and she's back again."

The Laffey, built at Maine's Bath Iron Works in 1943, got its nickname as "The Ship That Would Not Die" when it was on picket duty off Okinawa in March 1945. About 50 Japanese planes attacked and about half got through to the Laffey. The ship suffered 103 casualties when it was hit by four bombs and five kamikaze planes.

The Laffey is also the only surviving American World War II destroyer that saw action in the Atlantic, where it was part of the D-Day invasion. Now designated a national historic landmark, it was decommissioned in 1975 and brought to Patriots Point in 1981.

"It's where I spent my youth. I grew up on that ship," said 85-year-old Lee Hunt of Charleston, S.C., a member of the original crew when it was commissioned. "I went on it when I was 17 and spent my 18th birthday killing people in Germany in the invasion of France and right on into Okinawa and the Philippines and what have you. This means a lot. I spent a lot of time on that ship."

He said it was no surprise that, by 1945, the Laffey would encounter suicide attacks by Japanese aviators.

"We knew we were going to get hit. Every destroyer out there on picket duty knew they were going to be attacked," said Hunt, who said he had no time to get nervous because he was on the ship and doing what the crew was asked to do.

The renovation was paid for with a state loan, which the museum plans to repay with operating revenues.

Bringing the Laffey back is not so much about ticket sales for a museum as it is about helping preserve the nation's heritage, said Mac Burdette, the executive director of Patriots Point.

"More than ever we need reminders of what dedication and sacrifice are required if we are going to remain a free and independent nation," he said. "Can we do without the Washington Monument that is going to take millions of dollars to repair from the earthquake? No. There are some things that are just worth paying for and this is part of it."

[F22RaptorDude]

Saw this on Dog Fights, impressive what that ship went through and it was still able to limp off 

[Shuffler]

There was a lot of fanfare when the Texas was restored and brought back home too. Nice place to visit.

[B4Buster]

That's right...Built at B.I.W. here in Maine  

[Nypsy]

[oakranger]

That's right...Built at B.I.W. here in Maine  

    

Somebody should tell China that this is how it is done.

[Reaper90]

I was bummed that when we went to visit the Yorktown last summer that the Laffey was in drydock up river being repaired.... but we still had a great time on the aircraft carrier and the USS Clamagore (WWII diesel sub). Patriot's Point isn't a bad way to spend a day if you're in the Charleston area.

Seriously, if any of you guys are in coastal SC or NC vacationing, Charleston is about 2 hours south of Myrtle Beach, and Wilmington is about 1.5 hours north, where the USS North Carolina is berthed. Both are awesome.....

[DMVIAGRA]

[1pLUs44]

There was a lot of fanfare when the Texas was restored and brought back home too. Nice place to visit.

+1 

[B4Buster]

   

Somebody should tell China that this is how it is done.

 

[Maverick]

That ship STILL looks badass even by today's standards. I'm not really sure those gun turrets really aren't such a bad idea even onm a small ship like that one.

[Beefcake]

The Sommers Class DD's were some of the coolest looking ships for their size IMO.

[Penguin]

It suffered 103 casualties when it was hit by four bombs and five kamikaze planes off Okinawa in March 1945. One of the kamikaze was the "Ohka ". The best part about this ship, IT WAS MADE IN AMERICA!     

Poor guys, trapped in a tin can that is periodically blown a little bit closer to oblivion.  The smell of gunpowder and blood, the sight of friend and foe torn in half by artillery.  Unfortunately, no-one can hear that side of the story over the fanfare and high fives.

-Penguin

[SIM]

Those are 5 inch 38 cal. twin mounts. I worked on the single mount versions back in the mid eighties.

If you haven't already, and are interested in DD's and DE's, read James D. Hornfischers The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. The men who served on those ships are a unique breed. Theres nothing like walking on a bulkhead during a storm, or sending someone like penguin to the Bosun locker for 50ft of shoreline.

Those old mounts were loud and obnoxious at best. Reliable as hell when you needed to get rounds down range. And they would work a gun crew to absolute exhaustion. Each projectile weighed 55lbs with a propellant canister at 35lbs. Our single mounts had 8 - 10 men on a crew. Each upper handling room had 8 and the magazines were crewed by 3-4.

To say firing and working on those guns was an experience is a massive understatement. You just have to be a Tincan Sailor to understand!

[Melvin]

If you haven't already, and are interested in DD's and DE's, read James D. Hornfischers The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. The men who served on those ships are a unique breed.

I'm just wrapping it up now. What an incredible story.