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To: WayneS

A great idea, but...

USS Long Beach  CGN-9
If you wanted to serve on a ship that rarely left port in the US, the Long Beach was where to be. We couldn’t do much more than 30 knots with a clean hull, so we couldn’t keep up with the carriers, so we rarely left port. The reason was that the Long Beach was originally going to be a DLG weighing 12,000 tons. By the time the USN was done expanding it, it weighed 14,000 tons. During sea trials, it was feared that the ship would roll over because it was so top heavy, so 2000 tons of lead was added along the keel to raise the weight to 16,000 tons.

In the mid 1960’s, the 2000 tons of lead in the keel shifted so the ship didn’t roll symmetrically, and jerked 2 or three times each way rather than rolling smoothly and then snapped upright. Additionally, one of the shafts was out of balance so it vibrated a lot when it was over 20 knots. The top heaviness also caused it to roll up to 35 degrees to each side which made the steam generator sloshing from side to side real interesting and left foot prints 6 feet up the walls at the ends of the athwart ship passage ways where a sailor was forced to stop himself during a roll. In heavy seas, the nose would dive, and water would come up thru the bull nose and cover the forward Tarrier launchers. What a ride!

https://uglyships.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/uss-long-beach/


40 posted on 03/09/2018 1:54:57 PM PST by sparklite2 (See more at Sparklite Times)
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To: sparklite2

Hey, an American Vasa ship!


41 posted on 03/09/2018 1:57:28 PM PST by Professional
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To: sparklite2

...and people say a 70 year old ship is impractical to keep in the Navy.


42 posted on 03/09/2018 1:58:44 PM PST by WayneS (An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last. - Winston Churchill.)
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To: sparklite2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia-class_cruiser

Yeah, but they got the CGN right with the Virginia’s.


43 posted on 03/09/2018 2:04:15 PM PST by Snickering Hound
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To: sparklite2

I always wondered if the Long Beach was as unstable as it looked. Wonder about the Chicago/Albany CLG’s as well.


51 posted on 03/12/2018 12:22:15 PM PDT by sarge83
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