James Ruth, the Machine Repairman With a Camera
James Ruth MR2 1951 - 1952
Some pictures from 1951
Battleship Massachusetts in Portsmouth, VA, 1951. Ashland scroungers had a field day on her.
Skippers Gig that was "Liberated" in San Diego in April 1951
ASHLAND was in Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Baltimore, Maryland, April 1951 to August 1951 for overhaul. When she was recommissioned in December 1951, the crew found her to be in the same condition as the WWII decommissioning crew had left her.
Covers over main engines during repairs.
Well Deck before mezzanine and superdeck was added.
New radar was added. Not shown is a catwalk that was later added across the ship. See the speaker located at the base of the mast. The catwalk was at the bottom of the port-to-starboard steel. Not only did it faciliate movement from one side of the ship to the other, but also served as a great place to watch movies. The movie screen was hung between the stacks, with a speaker on each stack.
An opening cut to allow access to port pumproom.
Anchor Windless Hatch.
Stiffiners added to port stack.
Sheet metal shop before bulkhead was added to enclose the shop.
Superdeck almost completed. View from the 03 deck starboard side gun tub.
Messanine deck and ramp, and superdeck
View looking aft, of ramp built for MK1 Buffaloes. The new LSD's have a ramp from the welldeck up to the superdeck. Remember, this was 1951, so the idea was not new. The first trials were held on September 25, 1951. The Marines arrived in MK2's, which were two feet wider than the MK1. The MK2's had to be loaded and unloaded by cranes. Later,the ramps were removed and never replaced. On the right side of the picture you can see the Skipper found a place for the "Liberated" gig.
LCM's in the well deck, September 1951
This page updated January 17, 2001
New radar was added. Not shown is a catwalk that was later added across the ship. See the speaker located at the base of the mast. The catwalk was at the bottom of the port-to-starboard steel. Not only did it faciliate movement from one side of the ship to the other, but also served as a great place to watch movies. The movie screen was hung between the stacks, with a speaker on each stack.
View looking aft, of ramp built for MK1 Buffaloes. The new LSD's have a ramp from the welldeck up to the superdeck. Remember, this was 1951, so the idea was not new. The first trials were held on September 25, 1951. The Marines arrived in MK2's, which were two feet wider than the MK1. The MK2's had to be loaded and unloaded by cranes. Later,the ramps were removed and never replaced. On the right side of the picture you can see the Skipper found a place for the "Liberated" gig.