A few timepieces from the Falkland war erea

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River Rat
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A few timepieces from the Falkland war erea

Post by River Rat » Wed Feb 16, 2022 10:08 am

I have a few issued timepieces from the Falkland war era. Figured I would post them.
First up my CWC issued Chronograph.
Image
Image
Issued in 1981
Image
Next up my Elliott British Navy deck clock from the right era and possibly on one the Naval ships that served during the war.
Here are a few photos from my cruise book from the USS Proteus AS-19 when I was aboard it we were in Diego Garcia a little atoll in the Indian Ocean around 1981. Was on a sub tender a ship that does maintenance to submarines but in Diego Gacia we did Maintenance to any type of ship that came along side. We were anchored in the middle of the bay there. On a tender we have anchors on both ends of the ship so when you anchor to service ships you stay put and don't swing. Because ships getting service tie up to your ship. We used liberty boats to get to shore we had a 40ft and 50 ft UB boats for that the captain had his own boat a captain's gig. We had a barge tied to the ship with a brow to walk down to from the ship to get to those boats. The water can get rough there, so we welded car tires to the bottom of the brow to roll with the waves. The Boatswain said paint the tires like white walls so now we had white wall tires our liberty boats tied up the barge so made it easy to board them to get to shore. Long story short the HMS Shefield came along side for some maintenance they use are liberty boats to get to shore they only had one two bars on the island so the only place to get drunk. Dam we were burning up and the brits were nice and cool they got to wear shorts as part of their uniform and sandles. Plus, they even had a bar on board I was told. We got to know there crew pretty good and even had a long talk with their XO. And the war in the Falklands broke out they had to rush and get there. And was not a great outcome for them. From what I read about it was when the Exocet missile hit took out the loop system that's what charges the sea water for charging the fire hoses if their navy like ours then you set up portable pumps as a backup and throw a hose over the side to suck sea water up to charge fire hoses makes it tougher to try to save your ship and your trained hard to save it. Just too bad they weren't able to save there's. A sad ending to their ship. A few photos from my cruise book.
Image
Image
Photo below of the USS Proteus AS-19 believe this it was in Tokyo harbor at the WW2 surrender ceremony. The actor Tony Curtis was a crew member then. The US Navy use to keep ships a very long time and get their money worth out of them.
Image

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Ryeguy
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Re: A few timepieces from the Falkland war erea

Post by Ryeguy » Wed Feb 16, 2022 10:41 am

I used to work with a guy who was an engineer on the Sheffield. He was actually called in to testify during the board of inquiry after the sinking of the ship. He had very little positive to say about the ship's control and targeting radar (which failed during the attack) or the Royal Navy's use of synthetic fiber uniforms during that time period (which melted to his and his crew's skin while attempting to fight the fires).

I was amazed to learn the Royal Navy also allowed the ship to have carpeting, which my colleague stated all caught fire after the missile struck the ship.

River Rat
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Re: A few timepieces from the Falkland war erea

Post by River Rat » Wed Feb 16, 2022 11:06 am

Your right carpeting in there berthing space we had cold tile when your feet hit it in the morning but made out of asbestos you can't win. But the fire hazard with carpeting was stupid. Think the US Navy had to do some changes to their uniforms for the same reason a fire hazard.

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Re: A few timepieces from the Falkland war erea

Post by HapaHapa » Wed Feb 16, 2022 11:26 am

Ryeguy wrote:
Wed Feb 16, 2022 10:41 am
I used to work with a guy who was an engineer on the Sheffield. He was actually called in to testify during the board of inquiry after the sinking of the ship. He had very little positive to say about the ship's control and targeting radar (which failed during the attack) or the Royal Navy's use of synthetic fiber uniforms during that time period (which melted to his and his crew's skin while attempting to fight the fires).

I was amazed to learn the Royal Navy also allowed the ship to have carpeting, which my colleague stated all caught fire after the missile struck the ship.
General rule when I worked at an oil refinery was no synthetic fiber clothing, for the same reason.

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Re: A few timepieces from the Falkland war erea

Post by River Rat » Wed Feb 16, 2022 12:06 pm

Do you guys want to hear a funny story how I started a fire on the USS Porteus. How I said we had fore and aft anchors. Well, I was brakeman on the aft anchor during sea and anchor detail. Well, we were pulling up the anchor when you turn off the windless that's the motor the pulls up the anchor it locks in place stopping the anchor this time it did not the anchor just started flying to the bottom of the sea if the bitter end of this heavy anchor chain came out of the chain locker would have ripped up the overhead and maybe took some people out and lost the anchor chain, I was ordered to set the brake to stop the anchor chain the friction of the brake created a fire in the chain locker then we heard the fire alarm fire fire fire in whatever deck it was at and in the chain locker. It saved the ship from losing the anchor chain and I got an attaboy for saving the anchor and did not get in trouble for the fire.

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Re: A few timepieces from the Falkland war erea

Post by Ryeguy » Wed Feb 16, 2022 1:19 pm

HapaHapa wrote:
Wed Feb 16, 2022 11:26 am
Ryeguy wrote:
Wed Feb 16, 2022 10:41 am
I used to work with a guy who was an engineer on the Sheffield. He was actually called in to testify during the board of inquiry after the sinking of the ship. He had very little positive to say about the ship's control and targeting radar (which failed during the attack) or the Royal Navy's use of synthetic fiber uniforms during that time period (which melted to his and his crew's skin while attempting to fight the fires).

I was amazed to learn the Royal Navy also allowed the ship to have carpeting, which my colleague stated all caught fire after the missile struck the ship.
General rule when I worked at an oil refinery was no synthetic fiber clothing, for the same reason.
Yes, my father said the same thing when he worked in a steel mill right after his college graduation. Wool only - no cotton, no synthetics.

A bit off topic, but it really is the little details that make a difference. For example, if you have ever worked in a chemical facility (or any volatile substance facility) you'll note that no one noses their car into a parking space. Everyone backs in so in the event of an evacuation you can accelerate straight out of your spot.

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Re: A few timepieces from the Falkland war erea

Post by amckiwi » Wed Feb 16, 2022 3:27 pm

Thanks for sharing

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Ryeguy
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Re: A few timepieces from the Falkland war erea

Post by Ryeguy » Wed Feb 16, 2022 4:17 pm

River Rat wrote:
Wed Feb 16, 2022 12:06 pm
Do you guys want to hear a funny story how I started a fire on the USS Porteus. How I said we had fore and aft anchors. Well, I was brakeman on the aft anchor during sea and anchor detail. Well, we were pulling up the anchor when you turn off the windless that's the motor the pulls up the anchor it locks in place stopping the anchor this time it did not the anchor just started flying to the bottom of the sea if the bitter end of this heavy anchor chain came out of the chain locker would have ripped up the overhead and maybe took some people out and lost the anchor chain, I was ordered to set the brake to stop the anchor chain the friction of the brake created a fire in the chain locker then we heard the fire alarm fire fire fire in whatever deck it was at and in the chain locker. It saved the ship from losing the anchor chain and I got an attaboy for saving the anchor and did not get in trouble for the fire.
I’ve never seen this in Navy vessels or large commercial ships, but I’ve seen it happen a few times on the smaller boats around here.

It’s somewhat common here for anchors to get get hung up on crap on the bottom, then stripping all the line out of the locker as the pull of the current overpowers the windlass.

We have about a 9 foot tide here, so when it gets moving in the river, having a hung up anchor gets really dangerous. Having a stuck bow anchor can be a pain, but with a proud enough bow flair you can typically keep the boat from going under.

Stuck stern anchors are way more dangerous. I’ve seen a hung up stern anchor pull the rear of a boat underwater, swamping the vessel.

FWIW, this is why we run chain on only the first 15 or so feet of line, then switch to rope. This way if you can’t free the anchor, you can just cut the line.

I have friends who make a few bucks every summer diving for lost anchors.

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Re: A few timepieces from the Falkland war erea

Post by Captdave » Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:08 pm

River Rat wrote:Do you guys want to hear a funny story how I started a fire on the USS Porteus. How I said we had fore and aft anchors. Well, I was brakeman on the aft anchor during sea and anchor detail. Well, we were pulling up the anchor when you turn off the windless that's the motor the pulls up the anchor it locks in place stopping the anchor this time it did not the anchor just started flying to the bottom of the sea if the bitter end of this heavy anchor chain came out of the chain locker would have ripped up the overhead and maybe took some people out and lost the anchor chain, I was ordered to set the brake to stop the anchor chain the friction of the brake created a fire in the chain locker then we heard the fire alarm fire fire fire in whatever deck it was at and in the chain locker. It saved the ship from losing the anchor chain and I got an attaboy for saving the anchor and did not get in trouble for the fire.
Anchors and chain is expensive and expensive to get back. In shallow water usually walk anchor out one shot then let it run free while backing at about 1 to 2 knots. Chain lays out nicely no worries about running away on you. Deep water walk anchor out to the bottom and dredge it into position then slowly walk out desired scope using engine to control sternway so as to not override the windless or brake. There are pretty specific formulas for braking power versus weight of anchor and ground tackle that are used as well as generalized rules of thumb for both paying out and heaving anchors.


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Re: A few timepieces from the Falkland war erea

Post by ncstate1201 » Mon Feb 28, 2022 12:09 pm

River Rat wrote:I have a few issued timepieces from the Falkland war era. Figured I would post them.
First up my CWC issued Chronograph.
Image
Image
Issued in 1981
Image
Next up my Elliott British Navy deck clock from the right era and possibly on one the Naval ships that served during the war.
Here are a few photos from my cruise book from the USS Proteus AS-19 when I was aboard it we were in Diego Garcia a little atoll in the Indian Ocean around 1981. Was on a sub tender a ship that does maintenance to submarines but in Diego Gacia we did Maintenance to any type of ship that came along side. We were anchored in the middle of the bay there. On a tender we have anchors on both ends of the ship so when you anchor to service ships you stay put and don't swing. Because ships getting service tie up to your ship. We used liberty boats to get to shore we had a 40ft and 50 ft UB boats for that the captain had his own boat a captain's gig. We had a barge tied to the ship with a brow to walk down to from the ship to get to those boats. The water can get rough there, so we welded car tires to the bottom of the brow to roll with the waves. The Boatswain said paint the tires like white walls so now we had white wall tires our liberty boats tied up the barge so made it easy to board them to get to shore. Long story short the HMS Shefield came along side for some maintenance they use are liberty boats to get to shore they only had one two bars on the island so the only place to get drunk. Dam we were burning up and the brits were nice and cool they got to wear shorts as part of their uniform and sandles. Plus, they even had a bar on board I was told. We got to know there crew pretty good and even had a long talk with their XO. And the war in the Falklands broke out they had to rush and get there. And was not a great outcome for them. From what I read about it was when the Exocet missile hit took out the loop system that's what charges the sea water for charging the fire hoses if their navy like ours then you set up portable pumps as a backup and throw a hose over the side to suck sea water up to charge fire hoses makes it tougher to try to save your ship and your trained hard to save it. Just too bad they weren't able to save there's. A sad ending to their ship. A few photos from my cruise book.
Image
Image
Photo below of the USS Proteus AS-19 believe this it was in Tokyo harbor at the WW2 surrender ceremony. The actor Tony Curtis was a crew member then. The US Navy use to keep ships a very long time and get their money worth out of them.
Image
Nice collection...always enjoy your posts... no cwc fatboy? Would be great with your chrono but I am biased...

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