Museum ship
A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small number of museum ships that are still operational and thus capable of regular movement.[1]
Several hundred museum ships are kept around the world, with around 175 of them organised in the Historic Naval Ships Association
Significance
Relatively few ships are preserved beyond their useful life, due to the high cost of maintaining them against the ravages of the elements. Most are broken up and sold for scrap, while a relative handful are sunk as naval target practice, scuttled to create artificial reefs, and so on. Some survive because of historical significance, but more often due to luck and circumstance. Since an old ship tied up at dockside, without attention, still decays and eventually sinks, the practice of recent years has been to form some sort of preservation society, solicit donations from governments or private individuals, organize volunteer labor from the enthusiasts, and open the restored ship to visitors, usually for a fee.
When the USN turns over one of their ships to a museum, a contract must be signed, stating that the Navy bears no responsibility for the costs of restoration, preservation and maintenance. Also, major pieces of equipment such as engines and generators must be permanently disabled. If the ship requires services such as electricity and water, they must come through shore connections.[3]
The
Another consideration is the distinction between a "real" museum ship, and a ship replica. As repairs accumulate over time, less and less of the ship is of the original materials, and the lack of old parts (or even "appropriate" work tools) may lead to the use of modern "short-cuts" (such as welding a metal plate instead of riveting it, as would be the case during the ships' historical period).[7] Visitors without historical background are also often unable to distinguish between a historical museum ship and a (more-or-less historically relevant) ship replica, which may serve solely as a tourist attraction.[4]
Museum usage
Typically the visitor enters via gangplank, wanders around on the deck, then goes below, usually using the original stairways, giving a sense of how the crew got around. The interior features restored but inactivated equipment, enhanced with mementos including old photographs, explanatory displays, pages from the ship's logs, menus, and the like. Some add recorded sound effects, audio tours or video displays to enhance the experience.
In some cases, the ships radio room has been brought back into use, with volunteers operating
A number of the larger museum ships have begun to offer hosting for weddings, meetings, other events, and sleepovers, and on a few ships still seaworthy, cruises. In the United States, this includes USS Constitution's annual "turnaround", when the old ship is towed out into the harbor and brought back in facing the other way, so as to weather evenly. A place on the deck is by invitation or lottery only, and highly prized.[8]
Many[who?] consider the tourism appeal of an interesting old vessel on the city waterfront strong enough that any port city should showcase one or more museum ships. This may even include building a replica ship at great expense.[9]
Gallery
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HMS Victory: the only ship of the line that is preserved.
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screw frigatethat is preserved.
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Georgios Averof: the only armored cruiser that is preserved
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USS Salem: the only heavy cruiser that is preserved.
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Mikasa: the only pre-dreadnought battleship that is preserved.
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dreadnought battleshipthat is preserved.
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German submarine U-995 of World War II used as a museum.
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USS Yorktown: the first aircraft carrier converted into a museum.
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USS Constellation: sloop-of-war, the last sail-only warship designed and built by the United States Navy, preserved as a museum ship in Baltimore.
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protected cruiserscurrently preserved.
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HMS Caroline: WW1 light cruiser.
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HMS Belfast: WW2 light cruiser.
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Huáscar: one of the earliest ironclad warships to be preserved afloat.
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USS Sarsfield: served in the Republic of China Navy as ROCS Te Yang (DDG-925), now preserved in Anping.
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USS Pueblo: captured by North Korea in 1968, preserved as a museum ship in Pyongyang.
See also
References
- ^ Activities of the Historic Naval Ships Association Archived 2007-08-08 at the Wayback Machine (the international Historic Naval Ships Association website. Accessed 2008-06-06.)
- ^ About The Historic Naval Ships Association Archived 2008-05-14 at the Wayback Machine (the international Historic Naval Ships Association website. Accessed 2008-06-06.)
- ^ Surface Ships from Cradle to Grave
- ^ a b Museum ships built in 1999: Remarks on the reconstruction of historical inland and sea-going vessels (abstract) Archived 2003-11-11 at archive.today - Ingo Heidbrink, Ingo; Deutsches Schiffahrtsarchiv (DSA) 22, 1999, Page 43–58
- San Francisco Maritime Park Associationwebsite)
- ^ The "Barcelona Charter", European Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Traditional Ships in Operation - Ingo Heidbrink (editor), Bremen (Hauschildt Verlag, 2003
- San Francisco Maritime Park Associationwebsite
- ^ "The Museum Resource". Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ A Proposal to Recreate the Royal Yacht Ha'Aheo o Hawai'i (Pride of Hawaii) (International Historic Watercraft Society, via a website of the USCIS Regional Center Immigrant Investor Program. Accessed 2008-03-26.)
Further reading
- Aymar, B. (1967). A pictorial treasury of the marine museums of the world; A guide to the maritime collections, restorations, replicas, and marine museums in twenty-three countries. New York: Crown.
- Evans, M. H., & West, J. (1998). Maritime museums: A guide to the collections and museum ships in Britain and Ireland. London: Chatham Pub.
- Stammers, M. (1978). Discovering maritime museums and historic ships. Discovering series, no. 228. Aylesbury [England]: Shire Publications
- Sullivan, D. (1978). Old ships, boats & maritime museums. London: Coracle Books.
- Heidbrink, I. (1994). Schrott oder Kulturgut. Zur Bewertung historischer Wasserfahrzeuge aus der Perspektive des Historikers. Bestandserfassung - Bewertung - quellengerechte Erhaltung. Lage / Lippe: Fritz Heidbrink.
External links
- Media related to Museum ships at Wikimedia Commons
- Historic Naval Ship Visitors' Guide (from the international Historic Naval Ships Association website)