How "Tin Can Sailors" earn their Sea Pay! by brigadier
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Description
How "Tin Can Sailors" earn their Sea Pay! (for 3dsync)
I rode a Gearing Class destroyer out of Norfolk Virginia for 3 1/2 years, once through a nasty storm in the North Atlantic.
The USS Robert L. Wilson DD-847 (lovingly referred to by the crew as the "Willie Boat") was the first ship of my 20+ year career.
The first picture in the set is a stock photo of the Wilson from the US Naval Archives (Nice weather in this one)
The second and third pics are typical of a "Tin Can" in rough weather. For several days, we had been in a storm where the bulkheads of the ship were often closer to being horizontal than the decks were. These two pictures were taken by a crewmember of the Aircraft Carrier we were coming alongside to refuel from.
One thing people would find difficult to believe is that as soon as we were directly alongside, there would be 25 or so crew members down on the main deck where the waves are washing along. These men were there to use a line from the carrier to pull the fuel transfer rigging and hose over to us. Quite a brutal task in weather like this, often with some of them being washed all the way back to the fantail of the ship. Never lost anyone though.
Thanks to 3dsync, who captured the feeling of the "Gut Wrenching" ride of a destroyer in a storm in his "Rough Seas"
(http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1755833&member) and reminded me of these pictures.
And many thanks to my shipmates at the USS Robert L Wilson Association for the use of the pictures from our website.
Comments (15)
frankie96
A labor of love...and survival....
Osper
Great pictures. It's the little guys that get the rides.
camtheman
wow! that would be a hell of a fun time being out on that boat during that weather!!! great shots!
West_coaster07
Nicely put together!!!
vkoontz
Great shots, chief!
DennisReed
Fantastic ride & pics! Thanks for the Actions!
debbielove
Like amazing! You earn my full respect, as do any Destroyer (or smaller), sailers out in a storm like that! Thanks for showing to us, Rob.
Buffalo1
The old sea chanty says, "She was divin' bows under, the sailors all wet. Doin' 12 knots with her maincastle set..." Great DD series. The top pic is the later FRAM conversion of the Gearing Class, isn't it? The angle isn't good on the other two and ther mis a bit of water in the way, but they might be pre-FRAM?
kanaa
Well earned pay indeed!Jeeez, you seamen are all a tough lot!VERY impressive images!
Faemike55
Fantastic photos! and what people don't realize is that aircraft carriers have some interesting moves in some severe storms.
intro
Thank you sir, for your distinguished service, your patriotism, and your images. You do us proud! I cannot imagine keeping my chow down in anything like that:)
eekdog Online Now!
great collage of pics.. steve
jif3d
Glad I'm not in the galley or toilet in that swell, although I did learn to swim in swell just like that on a sea cruise when I was a kid ! Neat collage & ~Cheers~
bmac62
From a 20+ year Army veteran to a 20+ year Navy vet...hats off to you, and many thanks for adding me to your favorite artists list! Super images here!
Desgar
A tip of the hat to you and all the sea dogs. You earned your sea pay and double, I'd like to think...