Countdown to Kickoff II: The Final 24 Days

[gamecock88]

 

[gamecock88]

 

[gamecock88]

 

[gamecock88]

 

[kingofnerf]

Jared Lorenzen.  Can't deny how good the big man was back then for UK.  RIP.

 

[gamecock88]

 

[kingofnerf]

USS Paulding, DD-22.

 

[kingofnerf]

USS Independence, CVL-22.

Rabaul and Gilbert Islands strikes

Independence sailed from Pearl Harbor for Espiritu Santo on 21 October. During an ensuing carrier attack on Rabaul on 11 November, the ship's gunners scored their first success – six Japanese aircraft shot down.  After this operation, the carrier refueled at Espiritu Santo, headed for the Gilbert Islands, and conducted pre-landing strikes on Tarawa 18 to 20 November 1943. During a Japanese counterattack on 20 November, Independence was attacked by a group of aircraft low on the water. Six were shot down, but the aircraft launched at least five torpedoes, one of which hit the carrier's starboard quarter. Seriously damaged, the ship steamed to Funafuti on 23 November for emergency repairs. Independence returned to San Francisco 2 January 1944 for more permanent repairs.

Refitting and training for night operations

The now-veteran carrier returned to Pearl Harbor 3 July 1944. During her repair period, the ship had been fitted with an additional catapult, and upon her arrival in Hawaiian waters, Independence began training for night carrier operations. She continued this pioneering work 24 to 29 August out of Eniwetok. The ship sailed with a large task group 29 August to take part in the Palau operation and the Battle of Peleliu, aimed at securing bases for the final assault on the Philippines in October. Independence provided night reconnaissance and night combat air patrol for Task Force 38 during this operation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Independence_(CVL-22)

 

[kingofnerf]

USS Charleston, C-22.

World War I

On the day of America's entry into World War I on 6 April 1917, Charleston was placed in full commission, and early in May reported for duty with the Patrol Force in the Caribbean. Based on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, she patrolled for commerce raiders through the month of May, then sailed north carrying Marines from Haiti to Philadelphia.

Here she readied to join the escort of the convoy carrying the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force to France, which cleared New York on 14 June, made St. Nazaire, France, after a safe passage through submarine waters on 28 June, and returned to New York on 19 July. After training naval volunteers and reserves for two weeks at Newport, Charleston cleared on 16 August for Havana, Cuba, where she supervised the sailing in tow of several former German ships to New Orleans. She next escorted a convoy from Cristobal to Bermuda, where she rendezvoused with a group of British transports, guarding their passage to Hampton Roads.

In September–October 1918, she made two convoy escort voyages to Nova Scotia, then joined the Cruiser and Transport Force, with which she made five voyages to France carrying occupation troops overseas and returning with combat veterans.

Decommissioning and fate

Charleston sailed from Philadelphia for the west coast on 23 July 1919, reaching Bremerton on 24 August. Here she was placed in reduced commission until late in 1920, when she arrived in San Diego to serve as administrative flagship for Commander, Destroyer Squadrons, Pacific Fleet. She served on this duty until 4 June 1923, when she sailed for Puget Sound Navy Yard and decommissioning on 4 December 1923. She was sold on 6 March 1930.

Charleston was stripped down to the waterline and then sold to the Powell River Company, Ltd. On 25 October 1930, the ship was towed to Powell River, British Columbia, Canada, to serve as a floating breakwater for a large logging mill. The hulk was ballasted, anchored and periodically pumped out to keep her afloat. The following year, she was joined by the hull of the cruiser Huron (formerly South Dakota). In 1961, heavy weather caused Charleston to partially flood, and her hull was towed to Kelsey Bay, on the north coast of Vancouver Island. The hulk was run ashore to serve as a breakwater, where she can be seen to this day.

Silver service

On 1 January 1905, the city of Charleston, South Carolina gave a silver punch service to the ship. The service included a silver bowl with an 18-inch (460 mm) diameter that weighed nearly 19 pounds (8.6 kg). The set was designed and made by Carrington, Thomas & Co. in Charleston and included panels showing Fort Sumter, St. Michael's Episcopal Church, Fort Moultrie, City Hall, and a view of the Battery. The set included a bowl, tray, and ladle that all included the seal of the city. When the ship was decommissioned, the service was returned to Charleston where it was displayed, for a period, at the Charleston Museum; it was again given to the next USS Charleston in 1936 and again returned to the city when that ship was itself decommissioned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Charleston_(C-22)

 

[kingofnerf]

USS New Orleans, CL-22.

USS New Orleans (later designated PG-34 then CL-22) was a United States Navy protected cruiser of the New Orleans class.

She was laid down in 1895 as Amazonas for the Brazilian Navy by Armstrong, Mitchell and Company, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, launched on 4 December 1896, purchased by the U.S. Navy while building on 16 March 1898; and commissioned 18 March 1898 at Gravesend, England, with Lieutenant Commander Arthur P. Nazro in command.

Upon American entry into World War I, she was overhauled at Puget Sound, and sailed for the Panama Canal and the East Coast, arriving at Hampton Roads on 27 August 1917.

New Orleans escorted convoys from New York City to ocean rendezvous with destroyer escorts off the British Isles and the French coast until 16 January 1918, when she cleared New York for the Asiatic Station. She reached Yokohama from Honolulu and Panama on 13 March, cruised to China, and the Philippines, and from 17 July to 20 December 1919 was station ship at Vladivostok, Russia, supporting the Allied force in Siberia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_New_Orleans_(CL-22)

She had one of the coldest duty stations in the world at Vladivostok.

 

[Homebrewcock]

 

[Homebrewcock]

 

[Homebrewcock]

 

[Homebrewcock]

 

[Homebrewcock]

If Watson could have stayed out of trouble......

 

[Homebrewcock]

This one is for today and tomorrow.

 

[Swayin]

BB-22, USS Minnesota. Was launched in 1907 and immediately rendered obsolete by the launching four months earlier of the revolutionary design of the HMS Dreadnaught, which was the basis of battleship design for the next 40 years.

 

[kingofnerf]

#22 Alex English

 

[gamecock88]

 

[kingofnerf]

#22 CB Henry Laws from Conway, SC (1973-75)





Defense


 


 


 


 


 


 




Year


Solo


Ast


Tkl


TFL


Sacks


Int




1973


0


0


50


 


 


4




1974


31


30


61


0


0


3




Tot


31


30


111


0


0


7




 


 


 


 


 


 


 




Kickoff Returns


 


 


 


 


 




Year


Ret


Yds


Avg


TD


 


 




1973


4


175


43.8


0


 


 




Tot


4


175


43.8


0


 


 




 


 


 


 


 


 


 




Punt Returns


 


 


 


 


 




Year


Ret


Yds


Avg


TD


 


 




1974


10


44


4.4


0


 


 




Tot


10


44


4.4


0