Thread: Destroyers - Fletcher Class

From the Washington Navy Yard comes the USS Barry, DD-933, a Forrest-Sherman class destroyer built in 1956. Twice the tonnage of a Fletcher

I must admit that if I had not been aware of the ship I was upon.... I would have said a Frigate or a small cruiser , quite a bit of room versus the Fletcher.

[QUOTE=Ytlas;822416]Have no idea. Is that the "Dogging Wrench?" Is it bolted down or are there just honest people around?

My Dad used to do that work as a hobby. We have so many things around the house with various patterns.

This is his last work.

Attachment 25795

Update: August 30, 2011 : Note Ytlas father's seamanship and similar example on the left side of the display board 1/2 way down.

I thought I knew a few knots from Scouting, but here is an index nicely presented aboard the DD.

A good reference for knot tieing is "Boy Scouts of America Knots and how to tie them" printed in 1974. Its about 38 pages long and cover many different applications as they also show proper handing,coiling and the making of strong rope from very basic jigs that you can build in minutes especially with now days cordless tools.

The Navy ofcoarse has their own references on these subjects.

Originally Posted by blidgepump

Update: August 30, 2011 : Note Ytlas father's seamanship and similar example on the left side of the display board 1/2 way down.

I thought I knew a few knots from Scouting, but here is an index nicely presented aboard the DD.

I was looking around the garage and I have a few things left over from my boat.
My "Boat hook" is in the overhead, but it has some fancy work on it.




Then there's the gaff. I just moved it a couple of months ago and it was complete. Now the top "Turks Head" is missing and it's disintegrating.

The wear and tear illustrates the practical side of the knots.
Thanks for sharing !

Originally Posted by blidgepump

The wear and tear illustrates the practical side of the knots.
Thanks for sharing !

In the old days I remember my Dad coating them with orange shellac. I guess it's too late to coat the stuff, but I'm curious what happened to the top Turk's Head in the last month. Mice?

Originally Posted by blidgepump

Ken, glad to hear you made it through the storm.

We offer an "official salute" Fletcher style

Pictured are five shipes of Destroyer Squadron 12 executing a high-speed maneuver while passing Savo Island as a salute to the three ships of the squadron sunk in Iron Bottom Sound.

This became a customary event whenever the Fletchers passed the island after a successful raid.

As history and tales about the famous "Little Beavers" is known to "true die hard fans" of the Fletcher's, a photo of some of the ship's captains which is on display at Building 76, WNY.

Originally Posted by blidgepump

As history and tales about the famous "Little Beavers" is known to "true die hard fans" of the Fletcher's, a photo of some of the ship's captains which is on display at Building 76, WNY.

When Captain Arleigh Burke took command of Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 23 , consisting of the USS Stanly (DD 478, commissioned from Charleston Navy Yard and initially fitted with a floatplane catapult; USS Aulick (DD 569), USS Charles Ausburne (DD 570), USS Claxton (DD 571) and the USS Dyson (DD 572) from Consolidated Steel, Orange, Texas; followed by the USS Converse (DD 509), USS Foote (DD 511), USS Spence (DD 512) and USS Thatcher (DD 514) from Bath Iron Works. in October 1943 and while inspecting the Claxton, he came across torpedoman James Bowler putting finishing touches on artwork of an indian boy shooting an arrow into Tojo’s backside. Recognizing the protagonist as “Little Beaver” from a then-popular comic strip and deciding that a nickname would be good for the squadron, 31-knot Burke adopted it and soon a less-suggestive version of the cartoon appeared on the bridge wings of all the ships.

Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 23, the “Little Beavers,” was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation—for its record under Capt. Arleigh “31-knot” Burke over a 17-week period at the close of the Solomon Islands campaign.

The popular cartoon (or rather comic strip) was titled "Red Ryder" His sidekick was a young Native American (or more commonly called American Indian in those days) named "Little Beaver"

A number of Red Ryder movies were made as well as Radio & TV shows. Several different actors played Red Ryder as well as several other actors played Little Beaver including Robert Blake.

Incidentally, the artist's rendering you show of Little Beaver is signed by the original cartoonist, Fred Harman.

Ummm wouldnt Burkes Forces been called the "Gallant Squadron" when refering to Task Force (DesRon) 23 after the Solomons campaign?

It is noted in several books he was one of Halsey's favorites.

Originally Posted by Dreadnought

Ummm wouldnt Burkes Forces been called the "Gallant Squadron" when refering to Task Force (DesRon) 23 after the Solomons campaign?

It is noted in several books he was one of Halsey's favorites.

As the tour of the Fletchers advances, my sustaining thought is the ship was in the right place at the right time, with the right designed, manned by the right crews.

When reading about the Little Beavers, I draw mental comparisons to the exploits of the "Light Cavalry", which I identify as being lightly armed, fleet of foot, tactically dangerous with a certain swagger in their step.

That the nine DD's assigned to DesRon 23 had a great leader who was supported by amazing staff and likeminded captains to execute a battleplan and not become lost in the fog of combat and crewed by 17 to 20 year old men who could identify with a comic strip character not so much as a moral booster, but as a satirical relief mechanisim perhaps to escape in some visual display the terrible events which their were exposed and thus express themselves in a rare medium of art is evident of a very special time in naval history.

This insignia was for DesRon 23 I will try and find the other.

Originally Posted by Dreadnought

This insignia was for DesRon 23 I will try and find the other.

I thought that Captain Burke was way ahead of his time by instructing the artist to remove from the original portrait, a IJN sailor bent over and having his buttocks serve as the final target for the arrow.

The Captain would of made a great HR Director as well for a fortune 500 company.

Originally Posted by blidgepump

I thought that Captain Burke was way ahead of his time by instructing the artist to remove from the original portrait, a IJN sailor bent over and having his buttocks serve as the final target for the arrow.

The Captain would of made a great HR Director as well for a fortune 500 company.

"Any commander who fails to exceed his authority is not of much use to his subordinates." Arleigh Burke