A Revolutionary War Ship Reappears
She guarded Boston Harbor on the eve of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, and provided fire support for the Redcoats' advance during the Battle of Bunker Hill. Paul Revere slipped past her on the way to his famous ride, and she was immortalized in verse by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "A phantom ship, with each mast and spar/ Across the moon like a prison bar/ And a huge black hulk, that was magnified/ By its own reflection in the tide."
She is the British 70-gun ship-of-the-line Somerset III, a vessel that saw duty in one historic event after another before crashing on a Cape Cod sandbar while chasing French warships along the Massachusetts coast on 2 November 1778.
Since then, as if fulfilling her poetic description as a "phantom ship," the wrecked remains of the Somerset have occasionally shown themselves, resurfacing from their grave in Dead Man's Hollow near Provincetown, only to disappear again in the shifting of wind, sand, and waves. She reappeared in the 1870s, then again in 1973 in the wake of heavy storms. And this past April, the Somerset's timbers emerged anew, protruding in the wet sand of low tide after rough, eroding storms tore across the coast.
The temporary reappearance is a golden, albeit fleeting, opportunity to study and map what the National Park Service has deemed "federally protected archaeological resources." Any attempt at a full-blown excavation could harm the bulk of the ship that remains buried, so researchers have been wasting no time in their efforts to scan the currently visible parts of the wreck and "digitally preserve" them via 3D-laser imaging technology.
Cape Cod National Seashore officials hired the Boston-based land-surveying outfit Harry R. Feldman Inc. to conduct the high-tech site scan. "The great thing about this technology," Feldman told The Boston Globe, "is it not only shows a three-dimensional picture or video of what's there, it also obtains data down to quarter-inch accuracy.'' In addition to collecting data points with a laser scanner, the archaeological efforts included bringing GPS to bear as well, using satellite navigation to chart the contours and precise location of the shipwreck so that it can be pinpointed after it resubmerges.
Prior to her famous presence on the front line of Revolutionary War history, HMS Somerset III played a prominent role in key French and Indian War engagements. She took part in the siege and capture of Louisbourg in 1758 as well as the 1759 expedition against Quebec, a campaign that culminated in British victory on the Plains of Abraham.
Thanks to the 2010 Somerset imaging initiative, the National Park Service will have "an animated fly-through of the wreck site," the Globe reported, "and anyone interested in seeing it won't have to wait for the timbers to reappear."
That's a good thing, for as Cape Cod National Seashore historian William P. Burke put it, "We know the wreck is going to disappear again under the sand, and it may not resurface again in our lifetimes."
Olympia Update: Prospects Grow Gloomier
As reported in the last issue of Naval History, the Olympia, the world's oldest floating steel warship and a National Historic Landmark, faces an uncertain future thanks to a deteriorating hull and Philadelphia budget constraints (see "Who Will Save the Olympia" pp. 12-13, June 2010). On 23 May, the story took an even more dire turn when The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the iconic vessel that served as Commodore George Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay could face "an ignoble end" as an artificial reef, sunk in the waters off Cape May, New Jersey.
The sole surviving naval craft of the Spanish-American War has a stay of execution at least until September, but if a new home for the ship is not found by then, she may be hauled out from the Philadelphia waterfront that has been her home for decades and summarily sent to the bottom of the sea.
Harry Burkhardt, president of the nonprofit Friends of the Cruiser Olympia, told the Inquirer that the history-steeped ship once "was a symbol of America's might and freedom. Now she's a symbol of negligence."
Naval historian Lawrence Burr added, "It will be a national disgrace and major embarrassment for Philadelphia and Pennsylvania if Olympia is disposed of by scrapping or being sunk off the coast of New Jersey."
Independence Seaport Museum, which has owned and maintained the aged cruiser since 1995, has spent more than $5 million on upkeep, repair, preservation, and restoration over the years. But another $10 million is required to restore the hull and deck, and possibly as much as $20 million is required for a complete restoration. A recent feasibility study determined that the museum would be unable to raise the funds needed to preserve the Olympia "while also financing the implementation of the museum's new strategic plan," said Peter McCausland, chairman of the museum's Board of Port Wardens.
While both the museum and the U.S. Navy have been in discussions with New Jersey Artificial Reef Program officials, nothing has been conclusively determined. The museum has indicated that there are a couple of entities interested in taking the ship off its hands, but no concrete moves have been made in that direction, and this appears to be the last summer during which visitors may tour the Olympia at her Philadelphia berth.
The abovementioned Friends of the Cruiser Olympia is a grassroots organization attempting to raise money to save the ship. To make a donation, visit www.fotco.org.
Speculation Surrounds Abrupt Resignation of Intrepid Chief
The naval-historical community was taken by surprise on 19 May when Bill White, popular president of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, suddenly resigned from the ship where he had worked since 1992. The announcement came just days before Fleet Week, the Intrepid's largest event of the year.
The museum on Manhattan's West Side riverfront attracts more than 750,000 visitors annually. While the aicraft carrier Intrepid is the centerpiece, the site features a variety of other exhibits and attractions as well, and at press time was close to finding out whether it would be getting a decommissioned space shuttle from NASA
a goal White had been pursuing for months.Described by The Wall Street Journal as "a fixture in New York City civic and social circles," White has been targeted in an investigation into state pension-fund violations. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed White in May 2009. A spokesman for the Intrepid denied any causal link between the probe and White's sudden step-down, while White himself has declined to comment in detail as the case is ongoing.
White has been a tireless champion of the Intrepid and was hailed for his donor-cultivation abilities. In addition to leaving his presidential post, he has resigned from the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the Intrepid Relief Fund, museum-related veterans' charities.
White received the Navy's Meritorious Public Service Award in 1996, and in 2008 he was under consideration for the position of secretary of the Navy.
Regarding his resignations, White released a statement through a spokesman: "These are institutions to which I have dedicated the last 20 years and will continue to support in absolutely every way possible. This has not been an easy decision for me, but I feel the time has come for me to pursue new challenges with similar goals."
Mystery Plane: Oregon Loggers Discover WWII Helldiver
A logging crew working in a dense coastal forest near Wheeler, Oregon, stumbled on the wreckage of a U.S. Navy dive-bomber on 18 March. Human remains might be in or near the World War II
era Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, according to the Navy and the Oregon State Police.A wing, a tail section, landing gear, engine parts, and other detritus are scattered across a 200-yard wreck site; the crash impact is believed to have been intense. Where did the plane come from
The Navy is not certain but is now actively trying to retrace a 60-year-old doomed flight path back to one of several naval air stations that were operating in the area during World War II.The most likely point of origin would have been the nearby former Naval Air Station Tillamook, now home of the Tillamook Air Museum. According to Christian Gurling, the museum's curator, NAS Tillamook originally was a base for blimps on Pacific coast patrol, but planes also had a presence there as the war continued.
Once Oregon State Police bomb-disposal technicians combed the site and declared it clear of unexploded ordnance, the state police, the Tillamook County Sheriff's Office, and the U.S. Navy began the process of exhaustively investigating the scene. Joining them in their forensic efforts were officials from the Joint Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Command. Headquartered in Hawaii, it seeks to track down information on Americans still classified as missing in action from past wars.
The carrier-based SB2C Helldiver had a two-man crew: a pilot and a gunner/radio operator. Faster than the Douglas SBD Dauntless that it replaced, the SB2C was considered a tough plane to handle; fliers nicknamed their problematic craft "the Beast," or, playing off its designation code, "Son of a Bitch 2nd Class."
Earlier this year, another Helldiver, an SB2C-1, was discovered, caked in coral and missing its tail section, submerged in Maalaea Bay off South Maui, Hawaii.
Campaign Under Way to Make JFK a Floating Museum
The nonprofit Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame Inc. announced in May the launch of an effort to bring the retired aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy to Newport County, Rhode Island. The U.S. Navy made the Kennedy available for donation in November 2009, and potential applicants were given 60 days to submit detailed letters of intent describing plans for the ship. Since her 2007 retirement, the carrier has been maintained in a fully functional reserve status.
"I have long been a supporter of bringing a retired aircraft carrier to Rhode Island, for the job creation and tourism opportunities it presents, " said Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI), a nephew of the 35th U.S. president whose name the ship commemorates. "The fact that this particular vessel is named for President Kennedy brings even greater significance to this project, considering his strong ties and affection for our state."
After completing naval reserve officers training school, the young John F. Kennedy attended the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island, from October to December 1942. Further cementing his connection to the state, he and Rhode Islander Jacqueline Bouvier were married in Newport in 1953. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy's nearby childhood home, Hammersmith Farm, became known as the "Summer White House" during Kennedy's presidential years.
Naval Sea Systems Command (NavSea) qualified Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame to move forward with its plans, which call for the Kennedy to become a tourist destination and regional economic engine.
Nicknamed "Big John," the Kennedy was commissioned on 7 September 1968 and decommissioned on 1 August 2007. Since then, she has been berthed at the NavSea inactive-ships facility in Philadelphia.