us navy photo
USS Orleck
medal for his role in the rescue of 20 people from the grounded SS Lancaster at Casablanca in 1942 and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in action as commanding officer of USS Nauset, when his ship was struck by aerial bombs during the amphibious invasion of Italy on 9 September 1943. USS Orleck earned four battle stars during the Korean conflict and fourteen battle stars in the Vietnam War, and she participated in the retrieval of the Gemini IV space capsule. After her decommissioning in 1982, Orleck was transferred to the Turkish government and renamed TCG Yucetepe; in 1999 Turkey donated her to the Southeast Texas War memorial and Heritage Foundation to become a museum ship. After Hurricane Rita, however, Orleck had to find a new home and was eventually accepted by Lake Charles, LA. Plans for a permanent berth in that location fell through, leaving the destroyer once again looking for a new home. The Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association (JHNSA), which had unsuccessfully pursued the acquisition of the destroyer USS Charles F. Adams, is now hopeful that the Orleck will find a permanent home in their city. As of press time, the Orleck was being prepared
Bernida
museum marked the yacht’s centenary with Bernida’s Birthday Bash with all the trimmings of a 1920s garden party. (MMM, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI; Ph. 269 637-8078; www.michiganmaritimemuseum.org) … It turns out there is more than one way to skin a cat—or strip paint off a hull. The Scottish Maritime Museum employed the services of Eco Dry Ice to clean off the hull of MV Kyles with a technique called cryogenic blasting. Using dry ice pellets is nonabrasive and leaves no residue, characteristics that make the process both gentler on the surface being treated and easier on the environment. The museum was able to take this step, along with further restoration, thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign conducted last year, “Keep the Kyles Afloat!” that raised about £40,000 (about $50,000) in a single month. While she is hauled out, the next step involves
MV Kyles scottish maritime museum
for towing to port Arthur, TX, where she will be inspected in dry dock to determine her overall condition before any further plans are finalized. (www.orleck.org) … The Michigan Maritime Museum is celebrating the 100th birthday of its Universal R Class Sloop Bernida. Designed by George Owen and built by George Lawley & Sons, Bernida started out sailing out of the Corinthian Yacht Club of Marblehead, Massachusetts. By 1925, however, she was competing in the Great Lakes, winning the Bayview-Port Huron Mackinac Race and winning it again just two years later. She then disappeared from the racing circuit, only to be discovered years later in a barn near Frankfort, MI. She was restored in 2010 and competed in—and won—the 2012 Bayview-Port Huron Mackinac Race. She was subsequently donated to the Michigan Maritime Museum, where she serves as an ambassador of the “golden years of American yachting.” The
michigan maritime museum
major restoration from 2008 to 2013, and the following year embarked on her 38th ocean voyage, touring the seaports of New England. (MSM, 75 Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic, CT; Ph. 860 572-0711; www. mysticseaport.org) … The city council of Jacksonville, FL, voted unanimously to approve a development agreement that could lead to the installation of the retired vessel USS Orleck (DD-886) as a naval history museum on the town’s riverfront. The Gearing-class destroyer was launched 12 May 1945 in Orange, TX, and entered service that September. She was named for Lt. Joseph Orleck, USN, who was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps
conducting a thorough inspection and then, if no additional repairs are called for, repainting. Further work will depend on funding; the museum hopes to repair the Kyles’s engine, restore the ship’s cabins, and have the vessel shipshape for the ship’s 150th anniversary next year. The Kyles was built by John Fullerton & Co. in Paisley in 1872; the museum believes she is the oldest floating Clyde-built vessel in the UK. Ownership of the ship has changed hands 24 times; she has served as a cargo coaster, a fishing tender, a sand dredger, and a tanker. She was acquired by the museum in 1984. (SMM, 6 Gottries Road, North Ayrshire, www.scottishmaritimemuseum.org) … The Naval War College Foundation plans to award one grant of up to $4,000, or two grants of up to $2,000 each, to the researcher(s) with the greatest need who can make optimum use of the naval history research materials located in the NWC’s Naval Historical Collection, Naval War College Museum, and Henry E. Eccles Library. The Naval War College’s John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research will provide administrative support during the research visit. The library’s collection can be found at www.usnwc.edu/Learning-commons. Information on the manuscript and archival collections and finding aids from the Naval Historical Collection are available on request by email at nhc@usnwc.edu or via the Naval Historical Collection website at https://usnwcarchives.org. Candidates should submit a CV and a cover letter that details their financial need and describes the research plan for optimal use of NWC materials. (Applications are due by 1 October 2021 and should consist of a pdf emailed to millerfellowship@usnwc.edu. Employees of the Naval War College or any agency of the US Dept. of Defense are not eligible for consideration.)
SEA HISTORY 176, AUTUMN 2021 55