International Tractor found on USS Hornet After 76 years

[ranma]

The USS Hornet famous for the Dolittle Raid was just found in 2019, It's amazing how well preserved the ship and this little IH tractor that some how remained aboard the  Air craft carrier.

[cobraman]

That is very interesting.

[Mike999]

That is amazing.  Thanks.  

I worked with a guy once who helped re-commission the Iowa-class battleships in 1981.  He said one of the biggest problems was finding parts for the 16-inch guns.  None of those guns had been made since about 1940.

They found some gun parts at old Coastal Artillery batteries in the USA and the Pacific islands.  

The fun part was when they went aboard museum ships looking for parts.  The curators would only let them aboard at night, after the public had cleared out.  They had to wear socks or bedroom slippers, to avoid messing up the wooden decks.  But he said they did find a lot of useful stuff on the museum ships, often stuck in out-of-the-way places where nobody had looked for decades.

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, Mike999 said:

 I worked with a guy once who helped re-commission the Iowa-class battleships in 1981...

That, sir, is pretty damm cool.

Edited June 26, 2020 by Ace-Garageguy

[charlie8575]

Absolutely amazing.

Charlie Larkin

[Tom Geiger]

That would be cool to pull up and put in a museum. I don’t think it will run though!

[iamsuperdan]

Interesting. 

Confused me at first though, because the USS Hornet I'm familiar with is currently a museum in Alameda.

Why do navies re-use ship names?

[Snake45]

I thought the pic looked suspiciously like a fairly well done model, so I googled it. Apparently it's real. 

And some wag has posted a classified ad with the pic, too: Antique International Harvester tractor, complete, never wrecked or damaged, low miles, running when parked, as-is, where-is. 

[SSNJim]

7 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Why do navies re-use ship names?

Generally to honor previous ships and heroes. There are, for example, 9 ships named Enterprise and 8 named Hornet dating back to the Revolutionary War, Navies will often reuse names of successful ships, and drop the unsuccessful ones. After WWII, only the more notable and successful submarine names were passed on. That's why there was a Greenling, Gato, Tang, Wahoo, and Flasher post-war, but no Capelin or Tigrone.

[Plowboy]

On 6/25/2020 at 5:15 PM, ranma said:

The USS Hornet famous for the Dolittle Raid was just found in 2019, It's amazing how well preserved the ship and this little IH tractor that some how remained aboard the  Air craft carrier.

I don't know on this. To me, it looks fake. Just look at the International Harvester sticker. No way the lettering would still be that clean and bright after all that time under water. There's also things on the engine that doesn't look right. With a light shining on it to photograph it, there should be a shadow from the chain. There's too many things that look molded in like the clutch pedal, manifold and muffler. Note the lack of slots on the grille. No space at the rear of the engine. Looks Photoshopped especially around the steering wheel and hood. If it's real, it's the most fake looking real photo I've ever seen. I think it's a well weathered diecast.   

[Lunajammer]

6 hours ago, Plowboy said:

I don't know on this. To me, it looks fake. 

I don't disagree with your reasoning, but after looking at many other photos of the wreck, it's clear that the ship has deteriorated very little. Much better than the condition the Titanic was in after roughly the same number of years under water upon discovery. Remarkable condition. I'm willing to accept the pic as real.

Edited June 28, 2020 by Lunajammer

[ranma]

The USS Hornet is just over 3 miles under the ocean. If you look closer you will see the shadow of the chain running across the rear wheel. It's not a fake and live video was shown on ABC news. Video can be watched on You Tube of the actual discovery of the USS Hornet....

[ranma]

Two more Picture of From the USS Hornet wreckage.

[Tom Geiger]

Ships deteriorate at different rates depending on where they are and no doubt by the quality and armor of their metal.  I understand that ships very deep can be deeper than sea life and very cold water can be very well preserved. 

[ranma]

15 hours ago, Plowboy said:

photograph it, there should be a shadow from the chain.

The shadow of the chain runs across the rear wheel of the Tractor, and if you look behind the tractor there is a tie down cable hooked to the back of it which also has a shadow. 

[Goose1957]

Sure, this thing's been under SALT water for seventy-plus years and looks like it could be rinsed off and fired right up, but my Scout II rusted to pieces in just 10 years. Looks like International got cheap with the metal over the years, lol. Cool pics, may she rest in piece.

Jeff 

[ranma]

1 hour ago, Goose1957 said:

like International got cheap with the metal over the years,

If I recall correctly all auto makes got bad steel in the 70's not just IH. Look at most any unrestored car/pickup that's been left to the element's from that time period

[Joe Handley]

6 hours ago, Goose1957 said:

Sure, this thing's been under SALT water for seventy-plus years and looks like it could be rinsed off and fired right up, but my Scout II rusted to pieces in just 10 years. Looks like International got cheap with the metal over the years, lol. Cool pics, may she rest in piece.

Jeff 

I think the main reason is that while that tractor is still submerged in saltwater with no exposure to oxygen, I seem to remember seeing somewhere that oxygen exposure is what really kicks off the rusting process in those situations.

[espo]

In most cases, on the mainland anyways, the rate at which a car body deteriorates can depend on the road conditions it is exposed to and how it is cared for. Different parts of the country where salt based compounds are used are very detrimental to any metal bodies. About the only thing worse would be having the car parked outside near a body of water with an onshore breeze that will put moist air into every crevice in the body. This gets even worse when the vehicle isn't washed on and waxed on a regular basis .   

[metalhead]

There are a number of wrecks that are very well preserved. The Hornet, Wasp, Indianapolis, Bismark and others. The deeper they are, the less oxygen there is. There is deterioration, but it is so slow, it will probably take hundreds of years to have any real effect on the structural integrity of the wreck.  There are shipwrecks on the great lakes that have been there for a hundred years or more and they look like they sank yesterday.

[Snake45]

Airplanes have been hauled out of both the Pacific and the Great Lakes, having been there since WWII, and restored to fly again. And at least a couple out of European lakes, too, come to think of it. 

[Tom Geiger]

On 6/28/2020 at 12:00 PM, ranma said:

 

Before and after pix?   They raised it and gave it a good power washing? ?

[1930fordpickup]

A Raymond Loewy Design beauty that needs to be topside once again. 

 

[1930fordpickup]

I just noticed the seat was up to keep the dew off of it. I think it is still wet. 

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, 1930fordpickup said:

I just noticed the seat was up to keep the dew off of it. I think it is still wet. 

I just thought it had a cool seat back. Shows what I know about tractors.