The Mighty Mo

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Ed Gorman & Pete Groom,

Apologies to the NWHS listers for continuing this non-N&W dialogue but here goes anyway.

For details of the 1950 two week grounding of USS Missouri between Thimble Shoal and Old Point Comfort, see "Strike Able-Peter, The Stranding and Salvage of the USS Missouri" by John A. Butler, Naval Institute Press, 1995.

"Able-Peter" was the international naval code flag indicating "I am aground" hoisted 17 Jan 1950 on the "Big Mo" and struck ("lowered" for you ground types) two weeks later after a fleet of 23 smaller ships succeeded in freeing her in what became known as "the big pull."

Butler's book gives no indication that the ship's 16 inch gun battery was used, or even considered, to assist the stranded vessel. For one thing, virtually everything movable, including the ship's anchors, were taken off to make the hull lighter. The "Mo" had driven herself onto the shoal with such force (57,000 tons at 12+ knots) that her entire bulk was lifted 7 feet up! More than 11,000 tons of gear was removed, including the hundreds of one-ton projos for her main battery.

The crew also assisted by "sallying" in an attempt to break the suction between the hull and the bottom. 102 tons of sailors (approximately 1360 men), organized into 3 units (fore, aft and amidships,) "...scurried from side to side at precisely called six-second intervals..." to try to"rock the boat."

Albert Burckard

PS: The only N&W connection to Harry Truman's favorite ship that I can imagine is that probably a lot of the ships stores, and the crew also, would have been transported into Portsmouth and Norfolk via N&W. The ammo, however, would probably have been brought into the Yorktown Naval Weapon's Station via C&O.

---- Original Message ----- 
  From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
  To: NW Mailing List 
  Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2005 10:59 PM
  Subject: Re: NW-Mailing-List Digest, Vol 18, Issue 17


  It was the end of his career, if I remember correctly.  My father was in the JAG office @ the NOB Norfolk (next to Sewell's Pt Yd!), '49 - '51.  IIRC, he was new to the command and MAY have been a Washington big shot on his way to being the top admiral in the Navy.  If he didn't retire, he was probably made Commandant of either a mothball fleet or a records center somewhere.  That's the way the Navy was then and maybe still is.  Regardless of who was at fault, if you hit the papers, you were toast.


  pete groom




  On Aug 20, 2005, at 8:12 AM, nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org wrote:


  Thanks to Jerry Kay for clarifying that the facility in Portsmouth is properly called the Norfolk Naval SHIPYARD. I was fortunate to be able to be in Portsmouth sometime between 1948 and 1952 and being able to tour the Battleship Missouri while it was in the Shipyard. Not long after that tour, “The Mighty Mo” ran aground in the Norfolk Harbor. Of the many things they did to try to free her, the most exciting was the firing of the 16 inch guns to try to rock her to loosen the grip of the harbor sands. I don’t recall how long she was aground, but it sure was an embarrassing time for The Missouri and her Captain.



  Ed Gorman



  -----Original Message-----
  From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
  Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 7:23 PM
  To: NW Mailing List
  Subject: Re: NW-Mailing-List Digest, Vol 18, Issue 17



  Dave, The Norfolk Naval Base is not located in Portsmouth. The Norfolk Naval Base is located in Norfolk.  The Norfolk Naval SHIPYARD is located in Portsmouth. 



  Jerry Kay

  Assistant Apprentice Program Administrator

  Norfolk Naval Shipyard

    -------------- Original message from nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org: -------------- 


    > Regarding Military locos in the Norfolk area, I have not found any 
    > indication that they ever ventured off of the Military bases. Most 
    > interchange in the region was performed by the Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt 
    > Line Railroad or it's parent roads. I have seen Belt Line trains delivering 
    > cars to the Norfolk Naval Base in Portsmouth and a couple of other nearby 
    > bases. 
    > 
    > Dave George 

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