Yesterday i made a visit to the Marine time museum in Thessaloniki , The museum is basically a ship that is now being used as a museum. The destroyer VELOS D-16 (formerly USS CHARRETTE DD 581) was built in Boston, USA, during World War II. It was launched on June 3, 1942. The ship fought against the Japanesse In the pacific during World War II and after the end of the war along with many of the ships the US build it was gifted to Greece in the late 50s renaming the ship VELOS D-16.
The purpose of Destroyer ships like that is to be maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or battle group and defend them against powerful short-range attackers. And by seeing those big guns it has it's kind of a breath taking.
Some technical specifications of the ship.
DIMENSIONS
Length, m
115,00
Width, m
12,00
Displacement, tοn
2.950
Speed
Maximum speed, knot
35
Main machinery
Horsepower, h.p.
60.000
ARMAMENT
Guns: 4 x 5’’/39
Three 3’’/50
5 x torpedos 21’’ Mk-14
Six torpedos 12.75’’ Mk-44/46
12 x Mk9 anti-submarine bomb.
And Of course that big weapons that are being carried by that old beast.
5 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal guns
4 × 40 mm AA guns,
4 × 20 mm AA guns,
10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes,
6 × depth charge projectors,
2 × depth charge tracks
(in Greek service)
4 × 127 mm (5 in)/38 cal. guns,
3 × twin 3 in (76 mm)/50 RF AA guns
2× 12.7 mm (0.50 in) M2 Browning machine guns
1 × quintuple 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (for Mk 14 torpedoes),
2 × triple 325 mm (12.8 in) anti-submarine torpedo tubes (for Mk 44-Mk 46 torpedoes),
2 × Hedgehog (weapon) launchers (Mark 11, 24 bombs each),
1 × depth charge track for 12 Mk 9 depth charges,
12 (2×6) Super RBOC chaffs & flares launchers,
4 FIM-43 Redeye man-portable surface-to-air missiles (after 1976)
While not an expert on Weapons i believe it is a heavy carrier !
The inside of the ship is also very well maintained with the infirmary and the bridge in an excellent condition
The captains office has some really nice and interesting documents
And of course the magnificent view from the ship to the city
More Info About the ship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Charrette
And About the museum
https://velos.hellenicnavy.gr/
I hope that we don't need to use this kind of warship in the future.
does the vessel still operatable? or for the museum only?
They don't use it anymore but it's in a great condition !
Every time I tour one of these old vessels or subs it is just amazing what they were able to do with stone age technology compared to today. You should see the size of the big destroyers, it's mindboggling! Most of the guys who fought on these vessels went deaf as they got older from those huge guns!
I do want to visit a submarine. I always wonder how comfy it is for them to sleep and live there for months
I toured a retired nuclear submarine in Philadelphia. It was very tight space wise. I'm a tall guy and it was tough moving through the thing, but it was very cool.
Cool. Maybe I'll buy one for me
Whale alert !
I’ve been on a few battleships here in the US. Each one is unique and very cool to see. They are quite an amazing construction.
@tipu curate
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