Mike Hanson

Ft. Sumter South Carolina

Posted by Mike Hanson on Apr 11, 2014 | Comments Off on Ft. Sumter South Carolina

April 12, 1861, 0430. The first shots of the Civil War are fired from Charleston, SC at Fort Sumter, a Union bastion in the harbor. The Fort was an impressive structure, with a history dating back to the war of 1812 when the fort was commissioned. Construction of the pentagonal structure began in 1820. It has five-foot thick brick walls that are 90 feet above the low tide mark. Though it was never staffed to its full capacity, it was designed to hold 650 troops, manning 135 guns in three tiered emplacements.

In 1898, at the beginning of the Spanish-American war the site was renovated, with new emplacements – named Battery Huger – based on the Endicott system installed in the center of the fort. Today, there are large black block-house structures in the center area of the fort which housed coastal defense guns, including disappearing guns and mortars. These were removed in 1943, and 90mm antiaircraft batteries were installed for the duration of WWII.

In 1948 the site was transferred to the National Park Service and become a historic site.

These photos were taken the day before the 153rd anniversary of that first shot of the Civil War. The ferry takes around 30 minutes to get to the Fort from the visitor center in Charleston. Upon arrival, there’s a bit over an hour to tour the site, take photos, visit the on-site museum and gift shop before having to re-board the ferry for the trip back.

Ft. Sumter, SC

Castle Pinckney

USS Laffey

Posted by Mike Hanson on Apr 7, 2014 | Comments Off on USS Laffey

On a trip to Charleston, SC, I was finally able to stop by Patriots Point and visit the USS Laffey, DD-724. I’ve toured aircraft carriers and battleships, but always wanted to walk through a WWII era destroyer. The Laffey is a famous ship, known as “The Ship that wouldn’t die’ because it was hit by numerous kamikaze strikes, bombs, and torpedoes, and still managed to bring most of her crew home. She saw service through the Korean conflict and was transferred to Patriot’s Point as a museum ship in 1981. Here is just under 200 photos of the exterior and interior of the ship. The day was overcast, so the exterior shots are not as good as I’d like, but I had to take what I could get during the trip.

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Stern

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Bow 5″ gun

USS Laffey – Bow

USS Laffey – Forward 5″ guns

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Bridge and forward 5″ gun

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Bridge and mast

USS Laffey – Anchor

USS Laffey – Captain’s Gig

USS Laffey – Deck hardware

USS Laffey – Bridge

USS Laffey – Deck Hardware

USS Laffey – Aft 5″ gun

USS Laffey – 5″ gun detail

USS Laffey – Aft 5″ gun, looking forward

USS Laffey – Deck hardware

USS Laffey – Hatch

USS Laffey – Starboard side, looking forward

USS Laffey – Interior, 5″ gun

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – 5″ gun detail

USS Laffey – Bow

USS Laffey – Forward 5″ gun

USS Laffey – Deck hardware

USS Laffey – Bow detail

USS Laffey – 5″ gun detail

USS Laffey – Bow detail

USS Laffey – Deck hardware

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Port side looking aft

USS Laffey – Turret detail

USS Laffey – Port side looking aft

USS Laffey – ‘Teardrop’ depth charge

USS Laffey – Depth charge launcher

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Depth charge launcher

USS Laffey – looking down into crew areas

USS Laffey – Port side looking forward

USS Laffey – Depth charge launcher

USS Laffey – History

USS Laffey – Model

USS Laffey – Dazzle camoflage

USS Laffey – Port side interior corridor, looking forward

USS Laffey – Interior hardware

USS Laffey – USS Ward model

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – USS Ward model

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – USS Ward model

USS Laffey – Galley

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Galley

USS Laffey – Corridor

USS Laffey – Captians quarters

USS Laffey – Radar room

USS Laffey – Chart room

USS Laffey – rear stack, looking aft

USS Laffey – Mk 32 torpedo launcher

USS Laffey – 5″ gun practice mount

USS Laffey – Forward stack, looking forward

USS Laffey – Captains gig

USS Laffey – Captain’s Gig

USS Laffey – Torpedo launcher detail

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Bridge

USS Laffey – Looking forward from bridge

USS Laffey – Bridge

USS Laffey – Looking forward from bridge

USS Laffey – signal box

USS Laffey – Range finder, mast

USS Laffey – Captain’s sea cabin

USS Laffey – forward mast

USS Laffey – Range finder

USS Laffey – Signal bridge

USS Laffey – Range finder, mast

USS Laffey – Signal bridge

USS Laffey – Looking forward from signal bridge

USS Laffey – Range finder

USS Laffey – Deck hardware

USS Laffey – Signal bridge

USS Laffey – Range finder

USS Laffey – Signal bridge

USS Laffey – Mast

USS Laffey – 5″ shells loading

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Looking down in front of the forward stack

USS Laffey – Gun control computer

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Crew quarters

USS Laffey – Gun control computer

USS Laffey – Generator room

USS Laffey – Engine room

USS Laffey – Crew quarters

USS Laffey – Generator

USS Laffey – Turbine

USS Laffey – Engine room

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Engine room

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Forward 5″ guns

USS Laffey – Bridge, range finder, mast

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Stern 5″ gun

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Stern

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Captain’s Gig

USS Laffey

USS Laffey – Torpedo launcher

USS Laffey – Mast

National WWII Museum

Posted by Mike Hanson on Mar 28, 2014 | Comments Off on National WWII Museum

This gallery of photos are from a visit to New Orleans a couple years ago. Unfortunately, the museum does not allow flash photography, and the exhibits inside are very dark so most of these photos are in the atrium and open spaces. My new camera has a lens that does really well in low light, so next time there will be more photos. In the meantime, here are 55 images; my favorite is at the very end, the Army pigeon coop.

National WWII Museum

Grumman A-6 Intruder

Posted by Mike Hanson on Mar 28, 2014 | 1 comment

The A-6 was built to meet the Navy’s need for an all-weather attack fighter. Grumman won the bid and the prototype A-6 flew on April 19, 1960. Not the prettiest of aircraft, it has a reputation for durability and is consider a workhorse by many battle group commanders. The fact that the A-6 endured for 34 years is a testament to the appeal of this Navy fighter. This example at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola was originally delivered to the Navy in 1968 and served with Attack Squadron 196 aboard the USS Enterprise and USS Ranger.

Grumman A-6 Intruder

1993 Chevy Camaro Trans-Am

Posted by Mike Hanson on Mar 28, 2014 | Comments Off on 1993 Chevy Camaro Trans-Am

Chevrolet has the record for the most manufacturer’s titles won in the Trans-Am racing series, and the Camaro has won more than any other model in the history of the race. This car was originally driven by Jack Baldwin in that series, and he was the first driver to complete every lap in a season. The Camaro has a custom-built tube-frame chassis by Riley & Scott, with fiberglass panels replicating the look of a production car on every surface except the roof and windshield, which according to Trans-Am rules had to be the parts from the street car. The powerplant is a 570 horsepower, 310 cubic-inch Chevy V-8.