Battleship Cove (Part 1)

Battleship Cove is the world's largest exhibit of naval warships. Located in the shadow of the Braga Bridge in Fall River Massachusetts, the World War II battleship USS Massachusetts is the centerpiece of an exhibit that also includes a WWII submarine, and two ships from the Cold War era.

As a kid, my Grandfather would take my brother and me to Battleship Cove every year. We had a great time, climbing up and down the ladders and sitting on the AA guns pretending we were in the midst of an attack by enemy aircraft. It was one of the highlights of every summer's vacation.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally got the chance to go back there when some friends with an interest in history were visiting from out of town.

Admission to the exhibit is a very reasonable $14 (and you can get a $1 off coupon on the website). There are no guided tours, but there are plenty of signs and labels that give some fascinating information about life aboard ship while visitors explore at their own pace.

I took a lot of pictures, so I'm going to do this in two parts. First up will be pictures of the USS Lionfish, the USS Joseph P. Kennedy, and the missile corvette Hiddensee (built in the Soviet Union for the East German navy, this ship was eventually sold to the US and operated under a US flag as a navy research vessel).

First up, the destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy. The ship is named for President Kennedy's older brother, a naval aviator who was killed in action in World War II. The ship is home to the National Destroyermen's Museum and houses the official Massachusetts memorial for soldiers from the state killed in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Here's my friend Steve on the stern deck of the Kennedy.

The USS Joseph P. Kennedy saw action in the Korean War, assisted in recovery of Mercury and Gemini space capsules, and was part of the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The ship is armed with two batteries of 5-inch guns.

 Here are my friends Steve and Mandy at the forward gun turret.

Other armaments included ASROC (Antisubmarine Rocket) launchers and torpedo tubes. I thought the shamrcks painted on the ASROC launcher were a nice touch.

Here is one of the torpedo launchers.

The ladders on all of these ships are very steep.

Looking up, you can see the Braga Bridge overhead. The bridge is named for Charles M. Braga, a Fall River resident who was killed in action in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Also above: The Joseph P. Kennedy's signal flags.

The second ship we visited was the World War II submarine, USS Lionfish.

Here is a shot of the USS Lionfish with Hiddensee and the USS Massachusetts in the background.

Here is the sub's conning tower. The white building in the background is the Fall River Carousel, which is only open in the summer.

The first captain of the Lionfish was Lcdr. Edward D. Spruance, son of the famous World War II admiral, Raymond Spruance.

A closer shot of the conning tower. The two small Japanese flags painted on the tower represent two kills during World War II.

Here I am recapturing some of my childhood as I take a turn manning the deck gun on the Lionfish. Mandy took this picture.

The most incredible thing about the Lionfish is the conditions that the crew had to operate under. This vessel had a crew of 80 men!

Yes, that is a bunk directly over a torpedo in the forward torpedo room! Sixteen men had to sleep in this torpedo room!

Here is a look at the engine room.

And a closeup of some engine room controls.

After touring the Lionfish, we headed over to the Hiddensee, a ship that was built to fight against the US Navy.

Hiddensee is a Tarantul I class corvette built at the Petrovsky Shipyard in the USSR, near what is now St. Petersburg, Russia.

Hiddensee was built for the East German Navy and served as a German naval vessel after the reunification of Germany. The ship was transferred to the US Navy after decomissioning and was used as a research and testing vessel.

Hiddensee's main armament were STYX missiles like this one.

There was also a forward gun and a pair of machine gun turrets for point defense.

Much of the equipment below still had the original Russian markings.

The interior was downright spacious when compared to the Lionfish. The ladders were still pretty steep and tight, though.

Here's Mandy looking up the access ladder that leads to the bridge.

After visiting Hiddensee, it was time for the main event: the battleship USS Massachusetts. I took lots of pictures aboard the battleship, and I'll be posting those in my next post.