BELEM tall ship

By the issues of 2013 the French Post gives: In March 2013 the Urban Community of Bordeaux, will inaugurated a new vertical lift bridge the Jacques Chaban-Delmas.
The bridge will connect two Bordeaux districts across the River Garonne; the Bacalan district on the left bank and the La Bastide district on the right bank of the river.
The bridge is designed by architect Thomas Lavigne and is a technical feat as it is one of the largest bridges in Europe, with a length of 433 metres and a height of 77 metres, her middle span can be lifted in just eleven minutes.
From Wikipedia: The Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas is a vertical-lift bridge over the Garonne in Bordeaux, France. It was inaugurated on 16 March 2013 by President François Hollande and Alain Juppé, mayor of Bordeaux. Its main span is 110 m (361 ft) long. As of 2013, it is the longest vertical-lift bridge in Europe. It is named in honour of Jacques Chaban-Delmas, a former Prime Minister of France and a former mayor of Bordeaux.

The larger ship shown on the French stamp issued in 2013 is the BELEM built as a three-mast barque under yard No 430 by S.A. des Ancien Chantiers Dubigeon Shipyard at Nantes-Chantenay for Denis Crovan & Comp., Nantes.
10 June 1896 launched as the BELEM (Bethlehem), named after the Brazilian port Belem.
Tonnage 546 grt, dim.58 x 8.8 x 3.5m. (draught) Length bpp. 51.2m.
This type of ship was called in France an “antillais”.
30 July 1896 delivered to owners.

31July 1896 sailed on her maiden voyage from Saint-Nazaire under command of Captain Lemerle and a crew of 12 men in ballast to Montevideo before she headed to Brazil. Mostly in Brazil she loaded cocoa beans for the cocoa factory of Para at Paris.
On her twelfth outward voyage in 1902 she sailed loaded with maize to Martinique in the French West Indies, due to lack of space at Saint-Pierre she was diverted to Havre du Robert on the other side of the island.
Sunday 08 May 1902 Mount Pelée erupted, destroying Saint-Pierre and the ships in port and on the anchorage, killing at least 20,000 people including the crews of the destroyed ships.
The BELEM on the other side of the island escaped without any damage.
1906 Sold to Demange Fréres, who used her in the service between France and Cayenne.
When Féres wound up his business she was sold and came under the flag of H. Fleuriot & Co. (Société des Armateurs Coloniauxs),
Altogether she made 33 voyages across the Atlantic, but steamships took over the trade, and she was lucky that she not was scrapped.
11 February 1914 sold to the Duke of Westminster for £3,000 other source give £1,500 with the plan to convert her in a yacht. The conversion took place in the U.K. during World War I.
Her deck superstructure enlarged. The iron bulwark on the poop was replaced by a wooden banister.
Two Bollinder auxiliary engines built in each 250 hp. and fitted out with electric light.
After the war she was used as a yacht by the Duke of Westminster only for four years.
September 1921 sold to the Irish brewer Sir Ernest Guinness and renamed in FANTOME II.
Under his ownership she made an around the world cruise and visited the Arctic waters and the Mediterranean.
During World War II laid up at the Island of Wight.
When Sir Ernest Guinness died in 1949 the yacht was already for a number of years moored in Seattle, Washington, and she was inherited by his wife.
1951 She was sold to Centro Marinaro des Istituto “Scilla” of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, and she was renamed GIORGIO CINI.
Re-rigged as a barkentine and used as a school-ship with home port Venice, Isola di S. Georgio Maggiore.
Accommodation for 60 boys between the ages of 12 – 15 years.
Between 1965 till 1965 she made training voyages in the Mediterranean.
Thereafter used as stationary school ship at San-Giorgio Maggiore, she was considered to old for sailing training voyages.
1972 Was she donated to the Italian Carabinieris who would restore her, and she was moved to Cantieri Navali e pharmacy Meccaniche di Venezia (CNOMV).
Her old Bollinder engines were replaced by two 300 hp each Fiat diesel engines.
Her rigging was restored into a barque rig, and her wooden masts were replaced by steel masts.
1976 The carabinieris were running out of cash and could not more pay the invoices of the shipyard and the ship became the property of the yard.
27 January 1979 she was sold by the yard for 4.5 million francs to the French bank Union Nationale des Caisses d’Epargnes de France. Renamed again in BELEM with homeport Nantes.
15 August 1979 she left the yard and under tow went to Toulon, afterwards towed to Brest
17 September 1979 arrived at Brest where some restoration work was carried out.
08 September 1981the BELEM was then towed upstream the River Seine and moored at the feet of the Eiffel Tower at Quai de Suffren to service as a floating attraction.
She stayed in Paris for four years in which she was visited by almost a half-million of people.
Then was she given in the hands of a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire and mostly by the work of volunteers and the cost of 18,000,000 Fr she was restored to her former glory.

Her first voyage after completing restoration was across the Atlantic after her last crossing 72 years ago for the Celebration of Centenary of the Liberty statue in New York in July 1986.
From 1987 was she used as a training ship, managed by Foundation to the Société Morbihanaise and Nantaise de Navigation, and owned by Fondation BELEM, Paris.
Homeport Nantes.
Crew five officers, 11 sailors and 48 cadets.

2013 Still in service and you can see her in many Tall Ships Races.

France 1999 1Fr sg?, scott2736f and 2013 0.58 Euro sg?, scott?

From my Russian contact I got a few images more on the BELEM.

Guinea 2009 5000fg sg?, scott?, in margin of stamp.
Guinea 2009 29000 fg sg?, scott? in margin of stamp on the right.
And two photo’s of the ship.


http://3mats.net/belems-history/1896-19 ... nings.html Sail Training and Cadet Ships by Underhill. De Laatste Grote Zeilschepen, Blauwe Wimpel

ZÉNOBE GRAMME Tall Ship

Built as an oceanographic research vessel by the BOEL yard in Temse, Belgium for the Royal Belgium Navy.
Launched as the ZÉNOBE GRAMME (A 958).
Displacement 136 ton, dim. 28.15 x 6.85 x 2.80m. (draught)
One 6-cyl. auxiliary diesel engine 230 hp, speed under engine, 8 knots.
Bermuda ketch rigged, sail area 700m²
1961 Delivered to the Belgium Navy.

The Sail Training Ship Zénobe Gramme was originally designed as an
oceanographic research vessel by the naval architect Van Dijck and was built in
1961 at the former Boel shipyards in Temse, Belgium. She is named after the
scientist Zénobe Gramme, the inventor of the dynamo (1869). She was used as
a research vessel until 1970, since then she has exclusively been used as a
sail training and public relations vessel.
BNS Zénobe Gramme, a 29 m (92 ft) Bermuda Ketch, is owned and operated by
the Belgian Navy.
The ship has been adopted by the Bruxelles Royal Yacht Club. Her home port is
the Belgian Naval base in Zeebrugge. The crew consists of 1 Officer, 6
crewmembers and 10 trainees.
She participated in The Tall Ships Races for the first time in 1972 has been a
regular participant ever since. She won the Cutty Sark Trophy in 1976 and the
Hans Reith Memorial Trophy and the Sail Training International Ince Trophy in
2003. She has covered 300.000 Nautical miles (557.000 km) since 1961 till September 2008.
Total of sailing hours since commissioned, 30,061 hours till September 2008.

Belgium 2012 sg?, scott?

Source: http://www.yachtweb.be/yachting/zenobegramme.pdf. Belgium Navy web-site.

LAS PALMAS (A-52)

Built as a tug/supply vessel under yard No 208 by Chantiers de l’Atlantico yard in Santander for Campina-Hispano-Americano de Offshore S.A., Santander, Spain.
Launched as the SOMIEDO.
Tonnage 599 grt, 791 dwt, dim. 41.2 x 11.6 x 5.08m., draught 6.10m.
Powered by two 16-cyl. AESA/Sulzer diesel engines, 7,744 hp, twin shafts, speed 13.5 knots.
1978 Completed.

1981 Sold to the Spanish Navy.
30 July 1981 commissioned and renamed LAS PALMAS (A-52).
Under navy command got a crew of 36.
Used by the navy as a rescue and maritime patrol vessel for pollution of the Spanish coastal waters.
1988 Was she converted to an Antarctic research vessel, was ice strengthened, and fitted out with a modern satellite communication system.
Fitted on deck three containers one used as a reefer store.
Accommodation for 36 crew and 20 scientists.
She was the first Spanish ship that participated in scientific missions in Antarctica.

1989 She rescued the crew of the Argentinean ARA BAHIA PARAISO (B-1) which went aground in the Bismarck Strait, Antarctic on 28 January 1989.
1999 Underwent modification work to comply with the environmental protection as given in the Antarctic Treaty.
27 November 2006 the Russian passengership LYOBOV ORLOVA ran aground on Deception Island, she was towed off by the LAS PALMAS, after which the LYOBOV ORLOVO under her own steam proceeded to Ushuaia.
Every year during the Southern summer she proceeds to the Antarctic waters for the transport of scientific and technical personnel from Argentina and Chile to the two Spanish Antarctic bases.
2013 In service.

Spain 1991 55p sg3139, scott2666.

Source: Marine News. Log Book. Watercraft Philately

CHAKRI NARUEBET HTMS

Built as a V/STOL carrier by Bazan, El Ferrol, Spain for the Royal Thais Navy.
27 March 1992 ordered.
12 July 1994 laid down.
20 January 1996 launched as the HTMS CHAKRI NARUEBET, named in honour of the Chakri Dynasty.
Displacement 10,000 ton standard, 11,486 tons full load. Dim. 182.65 x 22.5 x 6.12m. (draught) Length bpp. 164.1m.
Powered by two GE LM2500 gas turbines, 44,240 shp. and two Bazan-MTU 16V1163 TB83 diesel engines 11,780 shp, twin shafts, speed 25.5 knots.
Range by a speed of 12 knots, 10,000 mile.
Armament: 2 – 0.5 inch MG, 3 – sextuple Sadral launchers for Mistral surface-to-air missiles.
Aircraft carried when built 6 AV-8S Matadors, 4 -6-70B Seahawk helicopters and up to 14 additional helicopters when required.
Crew 457, 146 aircrew and up to 675 soldiers.
27 March 1997 commissioned.

HTMS CHAKRI NARUEBET, meaning "In honour of the Chakri Dynasty") is the flagship of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN), and Thailand's first and only aircraft carrier. Based on the Spanish Navy’s PRINCIPE DE ASTURIAS design and constructed by Spanish shipbuilder Bazán, CHAKRI NARUEBET was ordered in 1992, launched in 1996, and commissioned into the RTN in 1997.
The aircraft carrier is designed to operate an air group of V/STOL fighter aircraft and helicopters, and is fitted with a ski-jump. Initial intentions were to operate a mixed air group of Matador V/STOL aircraft and S-70B Seahawk helicopters. However, by 1999, only one Matador was operational, and the entire V/STOL fleet was removed from service in 2006. Although CHAKRI NARUEBET was intended for patrols and force projection in Thai waters, a lack of funding brought on by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis means that the carrier has spent much of her career docked at the Sattahip naval base.
CHAKRI NARUEBET has been deployed on several disaster relief operations, including in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and in response to separate flooding incidents in late 2010 and early 2011. Outside of disaster relief, the carrier's few other departures from port are for a single training day per month, and transportation of the Royal Family of Thailand, leading to claims by some naval commentators that the ship is merely an oversized royal yacht.
When Typhoon Gay hit Thailand in 1989, the Royal Thai Navy, as the main unit responsible for search and rescue missions, found that its ships and aircraft were unable to withstand the rough weather at sea. Moreover, the Royal Thai Navy needed a new, high-technology ship to modernize its fleet. The original plan was to acquire a 7,800 ton vessel from Bremer Vulcan, but the Thai government cancelled the contract on 22 July 1991. A new contract for a larger warship to be constructed at Bazán's shipyard in Ferrol, Spain, and was signed by the Thai and Spanish governments on 27 March 1992.The proposed vessel was based on the design of the Spanish Navy aircraft carrier PRINCIPE DE ASTURIAS, which in turn was based on the United States Navy's Sea Control Ship concept. Some defence industry websites refer to the ship as an "Offshore Patrol Helicopter Carrier".
CHAKRI NARUEBET is the smallest aircraft carrier in operation in the world.
CHAKRI NARUEBET is fitted with two 0.5-inch machine guns, and three Matra Sadral sextuple surface-to-air missile launchers firing Mistral missiles. The missile launchers were installed in 2001. The vessel is also fitted for but not with an 8-cell Mark 41 Vertical launch system for Sea Sparrow missiles, and four Phalanx close-in weapon systems.
The carrier was designed to operate an air group of up to six AV-8S Matador V/STOL aircraft, plus four to six S-70B Seahawk helicopters. CHAKRI NARUEBET is also capable of carrying up to fourteen additional helicopters; a mix of Sikorsky Sea King, Sikorsky S-76, and CH-47 Chinook. There is only enough hangar space for ten aircraft.
The Matador is a first generation export version of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, acquired secondhand from the Spanish Navy in 1997. The nine Spanish aircraft (seven standard version plus two TAV-8S trainer aircraft) were refurbished by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA firm before delivery. By 1999, only one aircraft was operational, and the RTN was looking for other first-generation Harriers to cannibalize for spares. In 2003, the navy attempted to acquire several second-generation, ex-Royal Navy Sea Harriers FA2 aircraft from British Aerospace, but the deal did not go ahead. The inoperative Matadors were finally eliminated from service lists in 2006. Thailand was the last remaining government using first generation Harrier airframes.
The flight deck measures 174.6 by 27.5 meters (573 by 90 ft). A 12° ski-jump assists V/STOL aircraft to take off. There are two aircraft lifts, each capable of lifting 20 tons.
She arrived in Thai waters at the start of August 1997, and formally entered service on 10 August.
CHAKR NARUEBET cost US$336 million to build.
CHAKRI NARUEBET is the first aircraft carrier to be operated by a Southeast Asian nation She is assigned to the Third Naval Area Command, and her intended duties include operational support of the RTN's amphibious warfare forces, patrols and force projection around Thailand's coastline and economic exclusion zone, disaster relief and humanitarian missions, and search-and-rescue operations. However, at the time the carrier entered service, the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis prevented the necessary funding to operate the ship from being available. Consequently, CHAKRI NARUEBET is usually only operational for a single day per month for training, with the rest of the time spent alongside as a "part-time tourist attraction”. The ship rarely leaves the proximity of the Sattahip naval base, and when she does, it is usually to transport and host the Royal Family of Thailand. Naval commentators consider CHAKRI NARUEBET to be less an aircraft carrier and more the world's most expensive royal yacht, while the Thai media have nicknamed the ship "Thai-tanic", and consider her to be a white elephant.
Between 4 and 7 November 1997, CHAKRI NARUEBET participated in disaster relief operations following the passage of Tropical Storm Linda across the Gulf of Thailand and the Kra Isthmus. The carrier's main task was to search for and assist any fishing vessels affected by the storm.
Flooding in the Songkhla Province resulted in the carrier's mobilization in late November 2000. CHAKRI NARUEBET was anchored at an island marina off Songkhla, and used as a base for helicopters and small boats transporting food, supplies, and wounded.
In January 2003, anti-Thai riots were sparked in Phnom Penh by incorrect news reports of a claim by a Thai actress that the Angkor Wat temple complex belonged to Thailand, not Cambodia. CHAKRI NARUEBET was sent to help with any evacuation of Thai citizens from Cambodia.
Following an undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean, tsunamis struck multiple regions around the Indian Ocean, including the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand. The personnel of CHAKRI NARUEBET were part of a 760-strong response by the Thai military to the disaster. This task force was involved in search-and-rescue around Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands, treatment of wounded and handling of dead, and repair work to schools and government facilities.
During the August 2005 filming of Rescue Dawn, a dramatized biographical film of US Navy pilot Dieter Dengler and his capture during the Vietnam War, the flight deck of CHAKRI NARUEBET was used to represent the carrier USS RANGER.
In November 2010, the ship was involved in flood relief operations following the 2010 Thai floods; anchored off Songkhla Province, relief supplies and food were airlifted to people in the region, while hospital patients were evacuated by the ship's helicopters. CHAKRI NARUEBET was...

Oruwa. Sri Lanka

Term frequently describes a very narrow single-outrigger canoe of western and southern Sri Lanka that engages in several types of fishing, going as far as 40km from shore. Dugout base to which a vertical or tumble home washstrake, ca. 38cm deep, is sewn to each side; replaced by fiberglass hulls. Washstrake extends beyond the dugout and continues the raking line of the ends for ca. 61cm; closed at the ends; bow slightly fuller than the stern; gunwales beaded with shells. Since the opening at the top is only 27-38cm wide, the paddlers may sit on a bamboo platform outboard with just one leg inside the boat. Strengthened by stout battens toward the ends and by rods that serve as thwarts and as tacks for the sail. Two down-curving, flexible booms connect directly with the cigar-shaped float, which is about half the length of the boat; one boom set toward the bow, the other roughly amidships and on the outer end, a raised piece serves as a foothold for 1-2 men who may ride the boom as ballast. Also has 2-3 leeboards. Waterproofed with a black gum; protective coating of coconut oil applied weekly. Steered by foot with a heavy oar that may pass through a hole in the gunwale. Sets a square sail to a single mast stepped amidships or a rectangular sail supported at the top corners by 2 light masts; one forward of the sail, the other aft; one mast fitted into a thick ring of coir while the other steps into a wooden shoe. The outrigger remains on the same side and the V-mast is twisted around, the backstay shifted, and the sail moved to the other side of the mast when sailing in the opposite direction. Sails usually tanned. Rowed when wind fails. Crew of 4-8. Reported lengths 4.6-5.9m
Benin 1999;135f;SG?
Source : A Dictionary of the world’s Watercraft from Aak to Zumbra.

Local afloat rafts of Iraq

Iraq issued a stamp with a picture of the ancient afloat rafts. Quffa.Iraq. In front of stamp image round basket boat,other name “quffa”.This boat still seen occasionally on upper parts of the Tigris and Euphrates. The craft has had at least a 2,500-year history. An all-purpose boat for carrying produce, merchandise,minerals, passengers, and livestock, and for use ferryboat, lighter, or tender. Formed by concentric of interwoven layers of straw and palm fronds bound with palm-fiber rope; strengthened by curved, closely spaced ribs of split withes sewn to the walls. Large boats coated with hot bitumen outside and on the inside to level the floor; to ward off the "evil eye," cowrie shells and blue beads may be pressed in before the bitumen hardens; small boats not coated. Originally leather-covered. Bottom nearly flat; tumble home to sides; stout, cylindrical gunwale; short, wooden bars spaced along the inside on which the paddler may kneel. Paddled in deep water, stroking to left and right; poled in shallow water; going downstream, straw bumpers may be placed at the "bow," and a stone may be dragged behind to keep its head-ing. Crew of 1-2. The large class (the hessan) is 4.9-5.5m in diameter and has a capacity of 12-16t; the medium size ranges between 2.1-4.6m in diameter; the smallest (the qishir), used mainly for fishing, is 0.91-1.8m in diameter and 0.76m deep.
Chalabiya.Iraq.S. In middle of stamp image reed canoe,other name-“chalabiya”.This boat of the Marsh Arabs. Con¬structed of long bundles lashed separately and then together to form the flattened bottom. Sides created by reeds bent U-shaped, reinforced by willow wands. Upper half of the sides "planked up" inside with long bundles. Ends sharp; several stout thwarts fixed in with softened bitumen. Exterior coated with succes¬sive layers of bitumen. Last about a year. Length ca. 3.1m, beam 0.76m. Note also chalabiya.
It is cigar-shaped reed raft that is poled or paddled in the marshes of the lower Tigris River.Used mainly for hunting and fishing by 1-2 men. Reported lengths 2.44-3m; a larger type is called an 'abadije.

Kelek.Iraq
Behind of stamp image raft,other name-“kelek”.
Square or rectangular raft of inflated goat, and sometimes camel, skins. Found mainly on the Tigris River,but also on the Euphrates. In use for at least,2700 years, carrying produce, firewood, grain, pottery,wool and people. Also used in eastern Turkey,sometimes to transport military personnel and equipment. Range from 1-family rafts of 4-6 skins to larges rafts of as many as 1,600 skins that plied the Tigris between Mosul and Baghdad. Usually dismantled upon completing a trip, the poplar framework sold for lumber or firewood, and the skins deflated, retanned, and transported back upstream donkeys might be carried on board to serve as transportation home. Skins lashed to a poplar pole platform or layers of crossed branches on top of which are placed straw mats or a wooden floor. A hut may be constructed for the crew or when carrying special passengers. Skins positioned so they can be re-inflated en route by means of a reed pipe. In hot weather, the skins must be constantly splashed with water to keep them from bursting. Steered with long sweeps. Oars of split willow.Crew of 2-4. Average 3.6-4.6m long, 4.4-4,9 wide;one with 200 skins would be ca. 9m by 6m.

Iraq 2002;150dinar;SG?
Source : A Dictionary of the world’s Watercraft from Aak to Zumbra.

PHILIPPINE SEA USS

Built as an aircraft carrier under yard No 1570 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. at Quincy for the USS Navy.
19 August 1944 laid down as the WRIGHT, but after the Battle of the Philippine Sea renamed.
05 September 1945 launched as the USS PHILIPPINE SEA, christened by Mrs. Albert B. Chandler. She was one of the Essex class.
Displacement 27,100 ton standard, dim. 270.7 x 28.3 x 8.71m. (draught), length bpp. 249.9m.
Powered by four Westinghouse geared steam turbines, 150,000 shp, four shafts, speed 30 knots.
Armament: 4 – 2, 4 – 1 – 5 inch dual purpose guns. 10 – 4 and 2 – 2 Bofors 40mm AA guns.
Carried when built 90 – 100 aircraft.
Crew 3448.
11 May 1946 commissioned. Capt. D.S. Cornwell in command.

In June the ship went to Quonset Point, R.I., for initial training of the crew. By September 1946, she began her shakedown cruise in the Caribbean area with Air Group 20 embarked.

Upon returning from shakedown exercises, PHILIPPINE SEA was ordered back to Boston to prepare for the Navy’s Antarctic Expedition, Operation Highjump. On 29 January 1947, in the Antarctic region of the South Pacific, Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd and his party were flown from the ship to begin their polar explorations from Little America.

During the remainder of 1947, PHILIPPINE SEA operated in the Atlantic and Caribbean. In the spring of 1948, the ship was deployed to the Mediterranean to join Vice Admiral Forrest Sherman’s 6th Fleet. With Air Group 9 on board, PHILIPPINE SEA showed the American ensign in France, Greece, Tunisia and Sicily. In June 1948, the huge carrier returned to the United States.

During the summer, PHILIPPINE SEA was engaged in developing doctrine for carrier control approach landings, the sea going equivalent of GCA. November found her exploring the lower rim of the Arctic Circle in a cold weather operation designed to test planes, ships, and equipment.

In January 1949 the ship was again ordered to the Mediterranean, with Air Group 7 embarked. Returning at the end of May’ the ship went immediately into overhaul at the Boston Naval Shipyard. Early autumn found the ship once more in the Caribbean, “shaking down,” this time with Air Group 1. Operational development projects with jet fighters and task force exercises in the North Atlantic kept the ship and her air group busy until the end of the year.

Operating again from her base at Quonset Point, PHILIPPINE SEA was employed during the winter of 1950 in qualifying carrier pilots and, for part of February and most of March, took part in extensive fleet exercises in the Atlantic and Caribbean. April and May were taken up with demonstration cruises for guests of the Secretary of the Navy, the Armed Forces Industrial College, Air War College, and the Armed Forces Staff College.

On 24 May, PHILIPPINE SEA sailed from Norfolk, Va., passed through the Panama Canal, and arrived at her new homeport of San Diego, Calif., to become a welcome addition to the Pacific Fleet.

With the outbreak of war in Korea, PHILIPPINE SEA was ordered to Pearl Harbor, She sailed for Hawaiian waters on 5 July with Air Group II embarked. The ship departed for the forward area 24 July. Leaving Pearl Harbor, PHILIPPINE SEA sailed at full speed for the Western Pacific, reaching Okinawa 4 August.

PHILIPPINNE SEA sailed into action off Korea as flagship of Task Force 77 on 5 August. She launched air strikes to rain thousands of tons of bombs, rockets, and napalm down on strategic targets. As many as 140 sorties a day were launched from the carrier. Except for time out to re-arm, refuel, or repair for brief periods, PHILIPPINE SEA was in action continuously.

Operating with other carriers of Task Force 77, she hit North Korean rail and communication centers from Seoul to Wonsan in September. In the Yellow Sea she put on a major performance softening up the Inchon invasion coast. D-Day, 15 September, found PHILIPPINE SEA planes ranging far inland to destroy any attempts by the enemy to bring up reinforcements. Following the initial assault, she continued to provide close and deep support for the thrust inland to Seoul.

Two months later when the Chinese Communists surprised the United Nations ground troops with a smashing drive south, down the middle of the peninsula, PHILIPPINE SEA planes dived through snow and sleet to hold back the Red hordes. Throughout the long retreat from the Yalu, the ships’ Panther jets, Skyraider attack bombers and Corsair fighter bombers blasted the path for the trapped Marines. Hill after hill was cleared all the way to Hungnam where PHILIPPINE SEA and other carriers of Task Force 77 sent up a virtual aerial umbrella Hundreds of carrier planes swarmed over the tiny evacuation perimeter from which 150,000 troops and civilians came sea.

Putting into Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, in late March 1951 for rest and repair, PHILIPPINE SEA exchanged Air Group 11 for Air Group 2 from Valley Forge. The same date as the transfer, 28 March, PHILIPPINE SEA became flagship of Vice Admiral H. M. Martin, Commander 7th Fleet.

From the Sea of Japan in April, PHILIPPINE SEA led Task Force 77 and other elements of the 7th Fleet down through the Strait of Formosa to the South China Sea. From the Formosa Strait, planes paraded over the island of Formosa in an attempt to bolster Nationalist morale. After this demonstration of strength, the force steamed back to Korea three days later, in time to lend close air support to the embattled ground forces. Every Chinese offensive of the spring of 1951 suffered staggering losses in personnel as planes of PHILIPPINE SEA peppered the Reds with deadly fragmentation bombs.

PHILIPPINE SEA returned from her operations in Korean waters and the western Pacific to arrive at San Francisco 9 June 1951. Yard availability and operations along the West Coast continued until the ship departed from San Diego 31 December. Arriving at Pearl Harbor 8 January 1952, PHILIPPINE SEA continued on to Yokosuka, Japan, arriving 20 January.

PHILIPPINA SEA returned to San Diego in August 1952. Her designation was changed to CVA in October. With Carrier Air Group 9 embarked, she got underway once more for the Far East early in December 1952. Air strikes from the carrier cut Communist supply and transportation arteries. The North Korean offensive, begun at the same time the first truce overtures were extended, marked the beginning of a series of “round the clock” air sorties in support of frontline UN troops.

The ship arrived in Alameda Naval Air Station 14 August 1953 to off-load Air Group 9, then entered dry-dock at Hunter’s Point for overhaul. On 9 January 1954 PHILIPPINE SEA once more began training off the coast of San Diego. She then headed west 12 March for her fourth tour in the Far East. She operated out of Manila.

The most significant event of the cruise occurred in late July. Communist planes had shot down a Cathay-Pacific Airways passenger liner somewhere near Hainan Island off the Chinese coast. PHILIPPINE SEA was ordered into the area as part of a search mission with the hope that the remaining survivors might be found. While engaged in the search mission, a flight of the ship’s Skyraider aircraft was attacked by two Communist fighter aircraft. Under orders to fire only if actually attacked, the Skyraiders returned the fire and shot down the Communist planes. Later this came to be known unofficially as the “Hainan Incident.”

The ship returned to San Diego, Calif., in November. Remaining in the area for four months, PHILIPPINE SEA conducted extensive training operations off the California coast. She began her fifth cruise of the Far East 1 April 1955 en-route Yokosuka. She operated in waters of Japan, Okinawa, and Taiwan. On 15 November she was redesignated as a...
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Persia

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Persia

Postby john sefton » Wed Jul 04, 2012 3:58 pm

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Persia was a British passenger liner operated by the Cunard Line that won the Blue Riband in 1856 for the fastest westbound transatlantic voyage. She was the first Atlantic record breaker constructed of iron and was the largest ship in the world at the time of her launch. However, the inefficiencies of paddle wheel propulsion rendered Persia obsolete and she was taken out of service in 1868 after only twelve years. Attempts to convert Persia to sail were unsuccessful and the former pride of the British merchant marine was scrapped in 1872.
Type: Steamship
Tonnage: 3300 grt
Length: 398 ft (121 m)
Beam: 45 ft (14 m)
Installed power: 1 × 2-cylinder side-lever steam engine with 100 inch bore and 10 ft stroke
Sail plan: 2 masts
For Persia, Robert Napier and Sons of Glasgow designed an iron ship that was 16% larger than the wooden Collins liners and 50% larger than Cunard's Arabia. Her two-cylinder side-lever engine produced 3,600 horsepower (2,700 kW) and consumed 145 long tons (147 t) of coal per day. Persia's launch in July 1855 was a national event and she touched 17 knots (31 km/h) on her trials, although her normal service speed was limited to 13 knots (24 km/h) because of her high fuel consumption. She carried 250 first class and 50 second class passengers.
On her maiden voyage in 1856, Persia struck an iceberg, but was saved by her clipper bow and the stoutness of her construction. In April, she took the Atlantic speed records in both directions with an eastbound voyage of 9 days, 10 hours, 22 minutes (13.46 knots (24.93 km/h)) and a westbound voyage of 9 days, 16 hours, 16 minutes (13.11 knots (24.28 km/h)). She held both records until 1863 when Cunard commissioned the Scotia, the last paddle wheel Atlantic record holder.Scotia was originally intended to be Persia's sister, but was delayed when the Collins Line collapsed. When Scotia was finally built, she was a larger edition of Persia with an extra deck and power.
In 1861, during the Trent incident, Persia and several other liners were chartered to rush troops to Canada. She was the only ship to reach Quebec before ice closed the St. Lawrence River. The next year, Cunard commissioned the China, its first mail liner with screw propulsion. She proved substantially more profitable than Cunard's mail paddle steamers and the firm quickly ordered two additional screw mail ships to retire the last wooden paddle steamers on the New York express route.
Persia remained paired with Scotia on the New York route until 1867 when Cunard commissioned the Russia, the first screw Cunarder that could match Scotia's speed. Because of her fuel consumption, Persia was not a good fit for the other Cunard services and was laid up in 1868. Her engines were removed and she was sold to MacArthur and Wilson of Glasgow for conversion to sail. However, the conversion didn't take place and Persia was sold for scrap in 1872.
Wikipedia
john sefton
 
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