Wonder if they can right her and fix her. Heard she was only in five feet of water, but that she could completely turn on her side. I guess they know what they are doing but even though very heavy you would think with some equipment they could pull her straight up and pump her out? Even if they can patch the leak, I didn’t know the hull on those is only 3/8” thick. But they were soon scheduled to repair her anyway, just a little too late for now.
Yeah, I mean hope they can, but how long can you save these old ships? With proper maintenance and funds, indefinitely? They never move. Of course, look at the USS Constitution.
Indefinitely, yes. Although I imagine that replacing hull plates on a steel warship is a bit more difficult than replacing the planks on a wooden one.
The USS Constitution is a commissioned ship in the US Navy. As such, they do not need to worry about paying for anything - from repairs & drydocking to dock fees - it all comes out of the Navy budget. Most US museum ships have to rely on attendance, merchandise, & donations to cover their costs.
I just saw an article which was fairly optimistic; she's floating upright and divers' inspections were favorable. It included an interesting picture: In the middle of the photo we see the aft twin 3"50 mount, but further forward, by the funnels, is what appears to be a twin 40mm. The 3"50 modification installed in the 1950s provided three twin mounts for the Fletcher class, including one each side amidships. The 1962 photo below confirms that The Sullivans was in this configuration. Apparently at some point the midships mounts were removed, possibly for reinstallation in new construction; they were used in amphibious ships and auxiliaries into the 1970s. It seems odd that the obsolescent 40mms would have been put back into an operational destroyer, but they are an interesting addition to a museum ship. I wonder if the museum organization was able to acquire and install them?
