14 | July | 2011 | tugster: a waterblog

A thrill of looking at naval vessels is their uniformity. To the layperson, which I am, this poorly shot foto shows the stern of a warship of some sort.

Uniformity means anonymity; it does not mean pusillanimity. Warships exude power.

But still, imagine my surprise–if wikipedia is correct about this–when I learned that this vessel–USS Simpson (FFG-56) is one of only TWO total US naval vessels presently commissioned that can claim to have sunk an enemy vessel with its shipboard weaponry . . . aircraft are not “shipboard weaponry.” Can you guess the other? A clue is that it cost less than $4000 to build. And foolish me .. . I didn’t even get a proper foto! In the foreground is an unidentified USACE vessel. Learning the secret of FFG-56 was similar to seeing–and then immediately knowing the back story of–Turner Joy last summer.

Yet another shot of C-Tractor 5 hooking up to

move USS Klakring off the dock.

Here a launch hurries over to attend to booms after Klakring departs.

Also in port was CG-69 USS Vicksburg, again . . . uniform but powerful would be an understatement. .

I wish I’d taken more fotos, but copious fotos or no . . . I shall remember and appreciate my visit to Mayport.

Oh . . . that other currently commissioned US Navy vessel that has sunk enemy vessel usiing shipboard weaponry . . . is USS Constitution. The vessel it sunk was HMS Guerriere, which although was battling for the British was French-built, taken by the British as a war prize in July 1806.