So I was at this event hosted by AMD. That’s the event where AMD announced their interesting and somewhat controversial Eyefinity technology, where one graphics card can drive up to six different displays.
I’ve already commented on that a bit, and will have more on that topic later. What this is about, though, is big tech. Really big, old and still very cool tech. You see, the AMD event was hosted on the USS Hornet.
The USS Hornet is a CV (Essex) class aircraft carrier, commissioned in 1943. This particular Hornet, designated CV-12, replaced the CV-8, also named the USS Hornet, which was scuttled after taking severe damage during the Battle of Santa Cruz. Interestingly, CV-12 was originally going to be named the USS Kearsage, and there’s actually machinery on board the Hornet that bears the Kearsage name.
San Francisco Sunset from the USS Hornet
The carrier was variously designated CV-12, CVA-12 and CVS-12 as its role changed from fleet carrier to attack carrier to anti-submarine warfare vessel. The Hornet was finally decommissioned in 1970, when the first P3 Orion antisubmarine warfare patrol aircraft came online. Squadrons of P3’s were able to cover vastly more territory than a CVS, at less cost and much lower manpower.
A4 Skyhawk. These planes did fly off the Hornet, though this one was actually used in the movie Top Gun
The carrier is now a floating museum in Alamedia, California. The Hornet also hosts a number of historical aircraft, some of which never capable of flying off a carrier. Also on board is a replica of the Apollo 11 capsule; CV-12 picked up the crew of the first Lunar mission upon their return to Earth.
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3 comments
Skip says:
September 12, 2009 at 6:32 pm (UTC -7 )
Nice article, if you ever head up to New England, you should stop by the Mystic Seaport. They are in the process of restoring a whaling ship, and when you realize these boats sailed the open ocean for months with nothing more than a watch, a compass and a sextant for dead reckoning, you have to be amazed.
josh says:
September 13, 2009 at 12:14 am (UTC -7 )
that picture of the tower is awesome! did you use a tripod?
Loyd Case says:
September 13, 2009 at 8:25 am (UTC -7 )
No tripod. I shot it with a D300s @ f2.8 24-70mm lens, at ISO3200. I did use noise reduction software to reduce the noise a bit, though.