D-Day 70th Anniversary, Normandy
Photos by George Hecht from his recent visit to France for the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. All images ©2014 by George Hecht, All rights resserved, used with permission.
HL Hunley Submarine
The HL Hunley (also known, incorrectly, as the CSS Hunley) was the the first submarine to see successful combat. After sinking and killing it’s first two crews – including HL Hunley himself on the second test sailing – the third time was a charm and the submarine successfully sank the USS Housatonic in Charleston harbor. During its escape from this action, the Hunley was swamped and sank for the third and final time. It remained on the bottom of the harbor until the wreck was located by Clive Cussler’s NUMA team in April of 1995. The submarine was subsequently raised on August 8, 2000 and now resides at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, SC.
These photos were taken April 12, 2014. This was my second trip to see the Hunley; on the first visit photographs of the sub in the tank were not allowed. This time, that restriction had been lifted; however, glass panels have been placed in front of the tank, and windows in the upper part of the building make it very difficult to get clear photos. So these have obvious reflections and can be difficult to make out. The remaining photos are of the rest of the museum, mostly in the order it would be seen on a typical visit.
To start off, here’s a video I took, again there’s a lot of noise from various reflections.
[jwplayer mediaid=”5119″]
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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.
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