Farewell USNS Concord

Great video from RIMPAC. HMCS Victoria (SSK 876) fires a Mk-48 into the USNS Concord, off of the Pacific Missile Range in Hawaii during RIMPAC 2012. The video was shot from a Canadian CP-140 Aurora.

It seems like such a minor boom when it hits.

Wow thats pretty cool.

Hey why don't they get some HD cams going, Payperview these type of de-commissions, hell rig them ships up with remote controls like our drones and have giant mock battles with Decommissioned ships.

Go full roman already, we have already started that decline so might as well have all the perks...

Nice clip. I just wish they recycled the metal. I wonder if they ever retrieve the sunken ships even after using it for testing live fire from subs. I know they have recovery vessels that will submerge and raise marine vessels.

reply to post by hp1229


They generally leave them as artificial reefs down there. They make wonderful reefs, and it doesn't take long before huge populations of marine life call them home.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
reply to post by hp1229

 

They generally leave them as artificial reefs down there. They make wonderful reefs, and it doesn't take long before huge populations of marine life call them home.

Yeah I know about that too and have seen many documentaries on it. However the amount of money spent to build the darn thing in the first place is just amazing and to watch it go down isn't that easy as a tax payer

reply to post by hp1229


True, but we've gotten more than our moneys worth out of them. Usually by the time they hit the graveyard "fleet" at Pearl Harbor there is usually some major upgrade, or repair done that would cost too much to do.

For example, USS Tarawa (LHA-1). She is in the "fleet" sitting behind Leeward Community College at Pearl Harbor, waiting to eventually be sunk. She was ordered in 1969, and commissioned in 1976, and decommissioned in 2009. She's currently in Category B Reserve at Middle Loch. She had a 30+ year run, which is amazing for a warship.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
reply to post by hp1229

 

True, but we've gotten more than our moneys worth out of them. Usually by the time they hit the graveyard "fleet" at Pearl Harbor there is usually some major upgrade, or repair done that would cost too much to do.

For example, USS Tarawa (LHA-1). She is in the "fleet" sitting behind Leeward Community College at Pearl Harbor, waiting to eventually be sunk. She was ordered in 1969, and commissioned in 1976, and decommissioned in 2009. She's currently in Category B Reserve at Middle Loch. She had a 30+ year run, which is amazing for a warship.

Or put some of the unemployed to work and have them dismantle the ship for recycling. It doesn't need to be upgraded but definitely it can be sold on the scrap market. I know they usually have some third world country buy up commercial ships for scraps. Surely we cannot sell military vessels to foreign nations for scraps but definitely it might put bread on hundreds of family dinner tables if done right (without the unions).

reply to post by hp1229


They actually do that with some of them. The ones at Pearl they don't, but some of the ones in Texas, and San Diego they do sometimes. They strip everything off them, cut them apart, and sell it for scrap. It partly depends on how hard it's going to be to make it non-toxic. Some of them have had too many years of crap in them to make it safe to cut it apart, it's safer to leave it in one piece than to disassemble the parts.

reply to post by Zaphod58

Yep. The thought of contamination did cross my mind. But many of the older ships were not nuclear powered

Originally posted by hp1229
reply to post by Zaphod58

 

Yep. The thought of contamination did cross my mind. But many of the older ships were not nuclear powered

Its the amount of Asbestos in them, toxins left in the fuel tanks, lead based paint, and on and on.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
Great video from RIMPAC. HMCS Victoria (SSK 876) fires a Mk-48 into the USNS Concord, off of the Pacific Missile Range in Hawaii during RIMPAC 2012. The video was shot from a Canadian CP-140 Aurora.

It seems like such a minor boom when it hits.

Hmm, interesting. The news here in Australia showed an Australian submarine firing a torpedo and sinking a retired US vessel.

reply to post by BLV12A


I think this year they sank at least two, possibly three. They sink a couple every RIMPAC.

reply to post by hp1229


no not nuke powered but what about asbestos it was commonly used on ships piping as insulation and they might be fearful of that getting out into the air.