soc.history.war.world-war-ii

a425couple wrote:
> What significance does a ship's name have?
> How perminent is it?
>
> Ships Cassin DD372, and Downes DD375
>
> A few months ago, I was looking at some pictures
> (from a site friend Jack posted - maybe he'll repost
> here in 'reply' - to make it easy for all to follow)
> and looked at many views of two very 'ucheyed' up
> destroyers in a dry dock following the Pearl Harbor
> attack, Dec. 7, 1941.
>
> One maybe didn't look "too awful", but other was
> on it's side against the first, both badly burnt,
> deformed etc.
>
> Mildly interested, I went for more of "the story"
> to my book "Blood on the Sea". They were not
> in there!! So that means they were not lost?!?
>
> Well, the story gets a bit convoluted.
> Seems that all that was savable was some of the
> engine machinery, and like some gun mounts.
> These were pulled out, sent to CONUS, where
> in a new construction shipyard, they were put into
> a new 'ship' - which then went right back on the
> rolls - as the "old" ship name and number.
>
> (yeah, yeah, really I think I have a pretty good
> answer to my first rhetorical question
> - the name and number are what the USN want
> them to be (esp. considering morale and bugeting
> concerns - and those complicated side issues!!)
> But, still, seemed like this post might be of interest.
>
> But meanwhile, recall the Pearl Harbor pictures
> of the huge explosion over the harbor, from
> the magazine on the drydocked Shaw DD373?
>
> Wow! That had to be wrecked! No!
> Very legitimate - and kinda surprising. That huge
> explosion pretty much only ruined the front.
> So they choped off (from not very far forward
> of front smoke stack), welded on a new crude
> nose (kinda like how a kid might make a toy
> boat if all he has is a circular saw) and sailed it
> under it's own steam to a west coast new ship
> shipyard, where a new and proper front was
> put on it. Back to action!!

A front??? Swabbies the world over probably shuddered en masse at the
terminology. A fore section, forecastle or a bow, but a front???? A front
is something that brings weather with it.....it's not part of a ship (or of
a boat either, for that matter).