Ship Withdrawl

With the closing of the Poe Lock, ship traffic is pretty much down to nothing.  There are a few ships making some winter runs but they are rare.  On one hand this is good because it lets me concentrate on other things for a couple of months but on the other hand, I like taking ship pictures.

 Fortunately, I have somewhat of a solution...but it's not quite the same.  The USS Missouri was the ship that the Japanese signed the surrender on.  She was the last battleship to be built by the United States.  She was commissioned in 1944 and saw some action in the Pacific.  She was hit by a kamikaze during the battle of Okinawa but suffered superficial damage.

 She saw some action during the Korean War but was deactivated after that.  In 1980, she was reactivated after some extensive modifications and the addition of missiles.  She saw a little action in the Gulf War and was decomissioned after that.  She is currently a museum ship at Pearl Harbor.

 The USS Fletcher was the lead ship of a class of destroyers that served during World War II.  She earned 15 battle stars for her World War II service and another five in the Korean War.  She was decomissioned in 1969 and scrapped in 1972.

 The USS Ticonderoga was the lead ship of a class of cruisers.  She was the first to be equipped with the Aegis system which was an air defense system designed to counter the threat of Soviet cruise missiles.  Later this system was adopted to act in missile defense.  Fairly recently, the USS Lake Erie used that system to intercept a damaged satellite.  The Ticonderoga was decomissioned in 2004.  She may end up as a museum ship.

The B-17 Flying Fortress was probably the most famous bomber during World War II.   It could take a bunch of punishment and continue on.  Out of the thousands built, only a handful remain today.