r/HistoryMemes • u/Sim1334 Then I arrived • 3h ago

How fast time flies

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6.4k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

136 comments sorted by

559

u/Longjumping-Tell1774 2h ago

Could do this with the B-52 as well. 70 year old planes in my head v the B-52

184

u/realnanoboy 2h ago edited 1h ago

So is the SR71. That thing still looks like it's from the future.

40

u/Mirabeaux1789 1h ago

It’s still so cool.

60

u/BannedForThe7thTime 1h ago

As a former SR-71 pilot and professional keynote speaker, the question I hear most often is, “How fast would that SR-71 fly?” But there isn’t one number: the jet always seemed willing to give you a little more. Thirty-five miles a minute was common.
On most missions we flew a programmed Mach number and, unwilling to harm the plane, never pushed its temperature or speed limits. Every SR-71 pilot therefore had his own personal high. Mine came over Libya, when Khadafy fired two missiles our way and maximum power became necessary. Let’s just say the plane effortlessly took us to Mach numbers we hadn’t seen before.
So I was surprised when someone at a presentation asked, “What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?” That was a first. After thinking about it, I recalled a story I had never shared.
My back-seater, Walt Watson, and I were returning to RAF Mildenhall, England, from a mission over Europe and the Iron Curtain when home base called. As we crossed Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a small RAF airfield had requested a fly-past. Its air cadet commander, a former Blackbird pilot, thought seeing the mighty SR-71 make a low approach would inspire the young lads. We were happy to oblige.
After a quick aerial refueling over the North Sea, we set off to find the field. With his sophisticated navigation equipment, Walter vectored me toward it. Descending to subsonic speed, we found ourselves over dense woodland in a slight haze. Like many former WWII British airfields, this one had a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure.
Walt said we were close and I should see it. I saw nothing but trees.
We descended a little farther, and I pulled the throttles back from our 325 knots. With the gear up, anything below 275 was uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically over the field, yet there was still nothing in my windscreen. I banked into a gentle circle, searching for anything resembling an airfield.
Below us, the commander had assembled the cadets on the tower’s catwalk for a prime view. It was a quiet, windless day under partial gray overcast. Walt kept telling me the field should be beneath us, but I couldn’t pick it out through the haze. As we circled and searched, we kept slowing. With our power back, the waiting cadets heard nothing.
Something in my training finally told me to cross-check the gauges. As I saw the airspeed slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped. My adrenaline-filled left hand shoved both throttles fully forward. We weren’t really flying anymore; we were falling in a slight bank.
At that instant, both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame—what a joyous feeling—and the aircraft dropped into full view of the astonished observers.
Suddenly, 107 feet of fire-breathing titanium shattered their quiet morning. We leveled and accelerated in full afterburner on the tower side of the infield, much closer than expected, in what could only be described as an ultimate knife-edge pass. We quickly reached the field boundary and headed back to Mildenhall without further incident.
Neither of us spoke during the next fourteen minutes.
Our commander met us after landing. We were certain he was about to take our wings. Instead, he shook our hands enthusiastically. The cadet commander had called it the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, especially the surprise and precision of a maneuver he could describe only as breathtaking. Some cadets’ hats had blown off. The sight of the aircraft’s planform dropping in front of them in full afterburner was unbelievable.
Walt and I understood “breathtaking” very well that morning. We sheepishly suggested they were simply excited by our low approach.
In the equipment room, changing from space suits to flight suits, we sat in silence. We hadn’t exchanged a word since the pass.
Finally, Walter looked at me. “One hundred fifty-six knots. What did you see?”
Trying to find my voice, I stammered, “One hundred fifty-two.”
Another silence.
“Don’t ever do that to me again!”
And I never did.
A year later, we were having lunch at the Mildenhall Officers’ Club when we overheard an officer telling some cadets about an extraordinary SR-71 fly-past. By then, the story included children falling off the tower and screaming as the jet’s heat singed their eyebrows.
Seeing our HABU patches as we stood holding our lunch trays, he asked us to confirm that it had happened.
Walt shook his head. “It was probably just a routine low approach; they’re pretty impressive in that plane.”
Impressive indeed.
I had no idea, when I first told that story to an audience, that it would become one of my most requested. It’s ironic that people are so interested in how slowly the world’s fastest jet can fly. Whatever your speed, keep that cross-check up—and keep your Mach up, too.
There were plenty of things we couldn’t do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest guys on the block and enjoyed reminding our fellow aviators. People often asked whether that made the aircraft fun to fly. “Fun” wasn’t my first word for it. Intense, perhaps. Cerebral. But on one particular day, being the fastest guys out there was pure fun.
Walt and I were on our final training sortie. We needed 100 hours in the jet to become Mission Ready, and somewhere over Colorado we passed that milestone. After turning in Arizona, with the aircraft performing flawlessly and my gauges exactly where they belonged, we were feeling good. Ten months of study, simulators, and humbling lessons had given us confidence, and real missions were just ahead.
The desert lay 80,000 feet below, and from the Arizona border I could already see California’s coast. At last, I felt ahead of the jet.
I almost felt sorry for Walter. He had little view of those incredible sights and was busy monitoring four radios. It was good practice: on an operational mission, a priority transmission from headquarters could be vital.
Giving up control of the radios had been difficult for me. Throughout my flying career, I had handled my own transmissions, but dividing duties was essential in this aircraft. I had adjusted, although I still insisted on doing the talking on the ground. Walt was good at many things, but sounding smooth on the radio was my specialty, polished by years in fighter squadrons where the slightest verbal miscue was grounds for beheading. He allowed me that luxury.
To appreciate what he was handling, I selected the frequencies and listened along. Most of the chatter came from Los Angeles Center, controlling traffic far below. We were in uncontrolled airspace and normally called only when descending into their sector.
A lone Cessna pilot’s shaky voice asked for a groundspeed check.
“November Charlie 175, I’m showing you at ninety knots on the ground.”
Center controllers always seemed to speak in the same calm, deep, professional tone, whether addressing a novice in a Cessna or Air Force One. It made everyone feel important. I called it the “Houston Center voice.” After years of space-program documentaries, I imagined every controller wanted to sound like those reassuring voices from Houston. Wherever we flew, it sounded like the same man.
Pilots, meanwhile, wanted to sound like Chuck Yeager—or at least John Wayne. Better to die than sound bad on the radio.
Moments later, a Twin Beech asked for his groundspeed in a distinctly superior tone.
“Twin Beech, I have you at one hundred and twenty-five knots of ground speed.”
He must think he’s dazzling his Cessna brethren, I thought.
Then a Navy F-18 from NAS Lemoore joined in. You knew he was a Navy jock immediately: he sounded very cool.
“Center, Dusty 52, ground speed check.”
Before Center answered, I wondered why Dusty needed a readout when his million-dollar cockpit already had a groundspeed indicator. Then I understood. He wanted every bug smasher from Mount Whitney to the Mojave to know what real speed looked like. He was the fastest guy in the valley, enjoying his new Hornet, and everyone ought to know it.
Center answered with its usual calm precision.
“Dusty 52, Center, we have you at 620 on the ground.”
Was this a ripe opportunity, or what?
My hand instinctively reached for the microphone, then stopped. Walt controlled the radios. In seconds we would leave the sector and lose our chance. That Hornet must die, and die now.
But all our simulator training had emphasized working as a crew. Taking over now would undermine the trust and division of duties we had spent months building. I was torn. Thirteen miles above Arizona, a pilot was screaming inside his space helmet.
Then I heard the microphone click in the back seat.
That was the moment I knew Walter and I had become a crew.
With perfect professionalism and no emotion, he said, “Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground speed check?”
The answer came without hesitation, as though this were an everyday request.
“Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground.”
I liked the forty-two best. Center delivered it so precisely, so proudly, that you knew he was smiling.
Then Walt keyed the microphone again, and I knew we would be friends for a long time.
In his best fighter-pilot voice: “Ah, Center, much thanks. We’re showing closer to nineteen hundred on the money.”
For a moment, Walter was a god.
And finally, a little crack appeared in the armor of that Houston Center voice.
“Roger that, Aspen. Your equipment is probably more accurate than ours. You boys have a good one.”
It lasted only moments. But in that memorable sprint across the Southwest, the Navy had been flamed, every mortal airplane on the frequency had bowed before the King of Speed, and, most importantly, Walter and I had crossed the threshold of becoming a crew.
A fine day’s work.
We heard no further transmissions on that frequency all the way to the coast. For that one day, it truly was fun being the fastest guys out there.

24

u/Arkanii 56m ago

Been a minute since I saw this pasta!

13

u/1CUpboat 47m ago

I was about to skip it but couldn’t

2

u/Ferrarisimo 17m ago

It's a must read every time.

9

u/BigPimpin91 33m ago

People always post the speed check one.

The tower flyby is equally as good but never gets shared.

Thanks for that.

4

u/tastycakea 18m ago

There were a lot of things we couldn't do in an Cessna 172, but we were some of the slowest guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow aviators of this fact. People often asked us if, because of this fact, it was fun to fly the 172. Fun would not be the first word I would use to describe flying this plane. Mundane, maybe. Even boring at times. But there was one day in our Cessna experience when we would have to say that it was pure fun to be some of the slowest guys out there, at least for a moment.

It occurred when my CFI and I were flying a training flight. We needed 40 hours in the plane to complete my training and attain PPL status. Somewhere over Colorado we had passed the 40 hour mark. We had made the turn back towards our home airport in a radius of a mile or two and the plane was performing flawlessly. My gauges were wired in the left seat and we were starting to feel pretty good about ourselves, not only because I would soon be flying as a true pilot, but because we had gained a great deal of confidence in the plane in the past ten months. Bumbling across the mountains 3,500 feet below us, I could only see the about 8 miles across the ground. I was, finally, after many humbling months of training and study, ahead of the plane.

I was beginning to feel a bit sorry for my CFI in the right seat. There he was, with nothing to do except watch me and monitor two different radios. This wasn't really good practice for him at all. He'd been doing it for years. It had been difficult for me to relinquish control of the radios, as during my this part of my flying career, I could handle it on my own. But it was part of the division of duties on this flight and I had adjusted to it. I still insisted on talking on the radio while we were on the ground, however. My CFI was so good at many things, but he couldn't match my expertise at sounding awkward on the radios, a skill that had been roughly sharpened with years of listening to LiveATC.com where the slightest radio miscue was a daily occurrence. He understood that and allowed me that luxury.

Just to get a sense of what my CFI had to contend with, I pulled the radio toggle switches and monitored the frequencies along with him. The predominant radio chatter was from Denver Center, not far below us, controlling daily traffic in our sector. While they had us on their scope (for a good while, I might add), we were in uncontrolled airspace and normally would not talk to them unless we needed to ascend into their airspace.

We listened as the shaky voice of a lone SR-71 pilot asked Center for a readout of his ground speed. Center replied:"Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground."

Now the thing to understand about Center controllers, was that whether they were talking to a rookie pilot in a Cessna, or to Air Force One, they always spoke in the exact same, calm, deep, professional, tone that made one feel important. I referred to it as the " Houston Center voice." I have always felt that after years of seeing documentaries on this country's space program and listening to the calm and distinct voice of the Houston controllers, that all other controllers since then wanted to sound like that, and that they basically did. And it didn't matter what sector of the country we would be flying in, it always seemed like the same guy was talking. Over the years that tone of voice had become somewhat of a comforting sound to pilots everywhere. Conversely, over the years, pilots always wanted to ensure that, when transmitting, they sounded like Chuck Yeager, or at least like John Wayne. Better to die than sound bad on the radios.

Just moments after the SR-71's inquiry, an F-18 piped up on frequency, in a rather superior tone, asking for his ground speed. "Dusty 52, Center, we have you at 620 on the ground." Boy, I thought, the F-18 really must think he is dazzling his SR-71 brethren. Then out of the blue, a Twin Beech pilot out of an airport outside of Denver came up on frequency. You knew right away it was a Twin Beech driver because he sounded very cool on the radios. "Center, Beechcraft 173-Delta-Charlie ground speed check". Before Center could reply, I'm thinking to myself, hey, that Beech probably has a ground speed indicator in that multi-thousand-dollar cockpit, so why is he asking Center for a readout? Then I got it, ol' Delta-Charlie here is making sure that every military jock from Mount Whitney to the Mojave knows what true speed is. He's the slowest dude in the valley today, and he just wants everyone to know how much fun he is having in his new bug-smasher. And the reply, always with that same, calm, voice, with more distinct alliteration than emotion: "173-Delta-Charlie, Center, we have you at 90 knots on the ground."

And I thought to myself, is this a ripe situation, or what? As my hand instinctively reached for the mic button, I had to remind myself that my CFI was in control of the radios. Still, I thought, it must be done - in mere minutes we'll be out of the sector and the opportunity will be lost. That Beechcraft must die, and die now. I thought about all of my training and how important it was that we developed well as a crew and knew that to jump in on the radios now would destroy the integrity of all that we had worked toward becoming. I was torn.

Somewhere, half a mile above Colorado, there was a pilot screaming inside his head. Then, I heard it. The click of the mic button from the right seat. That was the very moment that I knew my CFI and I had become a lifelong friends. Very professionally, and with no emotion, my CFI spoke: "Denver Center, Cessna 56-November-Sierra, can you give us a ground speed check?" There was no hesitation, and the replay came as if was an everyday request. "Cessna 56-November-Sierra, I show you at 76 knots, across the ground."

I think it was the six knots that I liked the best, so accurate and proud was Center to deliver that information without hesitation, and you just knew he was smiling. But the precise point at which I knew that my CFI and I were going to be really good friends for a long time was when he keyed the mic once again to say, in his most CFI-like voice: "Ah, Center, much thanks, we're showing closer to 72 on the money."

For a moment my CFI was a god. And we finally heard a little crack in the armor of the Houston Center voice, when Denver came back with, "Roger that November-Sierra, your E6B is probably more accurate than our state-of-the-art radar. You boys have a good one."

It all had lasted for just moments, but in that short, memorable stroll across the west, the Navy had been owned, all mortal airplanes on freq were forced to bow before the King of Slow, and more importantly, my CFI and I had crossed the threshold of being BFFs. A fine day's work. We never heard another transmission on that frequency all the way to our home airport.

For just one day, it truly was fun being the slowest guys out there.

4

u/Mirabeaux1789 52m ago

Really hoping this is real. You write well.

17

u/1CUpboat 47m ago

He didn’t write it. It’s real, but a pretty common repost.

11

u/CompetitiveArt9639 43m ago

This is better told by the pilot

https://youtu.be/8AyHH9G9et0

10

u/SerCiddy 45m ago

This is a copy pasta from a LOOOONG time ago.

1

u/Ozymandias_1303 3m ago

This copypasta is apparently from a book that is 35 years old.

1

u/Cruxion 1m ago

I was gonna leave a link to the book which used to be on Project Gutenberg, but it seems to be gone from the site. Loooong out of print and used copies sell for hundreds but you should all do yourself a favor and track down an ebook copy and give it a read. Sled Driver by Brian Shul.

1

u/John-AtWork 19m ago

And was designed by humans with slide rules, not computers.

6

u/PenguinQuesadilla 1h ago

SR71

That shit looks like they took it straight outta fucking TRON lol

3

u/realnanoboy 59m ago

And it was an old plane when that movie came out. It's astonishing.

5

u/KenseiHimura 1h ago

That’s called “future proofing” when you decide something to work well even for future possible situations.

1

u/Some-Bad-9411 1h ago

Can’t wait for the update with the new engines!!

39

u/Migol-16 Casual, non-participatory KGB election observer 2h ago

Our dear BUFF

12

u/the-bladed-one 1h ago

Grandpa buff

7

u/Mirabeaux1789 1h ago edited 1h ago

BUFF is the jellyfish of airplanes. It’s immortal

1

u/stumblebreak_beta 9m ago

I’ve always seen it more as a rock lobster. 

1

u/Mirabeaux1789 0m ago

Or a horseshoe crab.

4

u/MoeSzyslakMonobrow 1h ago

The B-52 was already old when other planes were dreamt up, designed, tested, built, flown, and retired. And it's still going.

3

u/MARIOpronoucedMA-RJO 1h ago

Considering we've had warplanes for a little over 100 years, the B-52 has existed for almost 70% of the time planes have been used in war.

2

u/NoteIndividual2431 37m ago

The Boeing 737 is almost 60 years old, and it was designed 63 years after the wright flier

1

u/John-AtWork 14m ago

It has been 123 years since the Wright brothers flew the first plane.

156

u/Nedatokes 2h ago

Now instead of walking the plank they make you a on-ship plumber

143

u/the_quark 1h ago

For anyone wondering, I'm pretty sure that the top ship is Old Ironsides, the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned vessel still afloat.

The bottom is the USS Texas, the only surviving dreadnought.

49

u/ALT_F4_X2 1h ago

Oh, the same one who intentionally floods one of his own compartments to gain a few degrees of elevation for the main gun to fire.

34

u/dumbdude545 1h ago

Military grade gangster lean.

12

u/Legitimate_Command82 1h ago

Private.. you see the horizon, I don't like it. Affirmative sir, Turning Sky side now

3

u/the_quark 1h ago

Well, "seaman." This is the Navy, after all.

3

u/Legitimate_Command82 1h ago

Ramirez, Point us towards the moon it's really pretty tonight.

1

u/rigatony222 Still on Sulla's Proscribed List 18m ago

RAMIREZ, lean a bit more west, I need service for my order to Burgertown!

14

u/MikeAlpha2nd 57m ago

<<I WILL FLOOD THE BACK OF THE SHIP TO GIVE THE GUN THE ELEVATION IT NEEDS, SALVATION!>>

4

u/trainboi777 Then I arrived 44m ago

1 MILLION LIVES

2

u/SeventhAlkali 33m ago

Thank goodness I wasn't the only one that thought this

12

u/b0bba_Fett 49m ago

*Her own

All ships are female.

6

u/KG354 Kilroy was here 25m ago

Except for the Bismarck, but its a shitty submarine now

2

u/127-0-0-0 5m ago

All ships have the capability to become submarines at least once. The ships that were raised and rebuilt after Pearl Harbor have the most badass revenge arc in history.

4

u/crashburn274 38m ago

Isn’t there an anime about that?

2

u/Gizz103 Senātus Populusque Rōmānus 35m ago

Technically the Bismark was male

1

u/Oxytropidoceras 29m ago

This is incorrect, not all languages/cultures/navies use feminine terms for ships. It's universal in English but rather famously ships are masculine in Russian, and also were in the Soviet Union.

6

u/Sername111 19m ago

It's universal in English 

And this thread is discussing ships of the United States Navy.

1

u/StreetofChimes 28m ago

Why are all ships female? Who made that rule? 

2

u/i8laura 13m ago

The British navy, I’m guessing.

6

u/Kinslayer_89 1h ago

“Captain, they’re out of range!”

“Flood the ship.”

15

u/MadBurgerMaker 1h ago

Looks like that photo of Texas is from when they were moving in to drydock for repairs, etc.

4

u/the_quark 1h ago

That was my read as well.

3

u/Inferno737 1h ago

Technically super dreadnaught, but you would still be correct given its the last of those aswell

128

u/atape_1 2h ago

ehhh... in that period ship designed progressed incredibly quickly. The first Ironclad ship, which was basically a wooden ship with iron plates bolted on to it, was launched in 1860 and the first dreadnought (what is in the picture) was launched in 1906.

Before 1860 everything was wooden and after 1906 ships basically looked like battleships, which were in service up until the 90s.

50

u/BoondockUSA 1h ago

What find impressive during that same timeframe is that submarines went from being human powered prototype death traps to being legitimate weapons of war.

27

u/atape_1 1h ago

Yep science and technology progressed incredibly quickly in that time period. First human flight, which was basically a short hop in 1903, dogfights in 1915. 1905 Einstein provides theoretical proof that atoms exist, Rutherford makes the first measurement of an atom in 1911, 1945 atomic bomb. Tesla proves alternating current is usable in 1880, in 1920 35% household in the US had electricity.

One of the craziest periods in history. Also 2 world wars!

9

u/Sabard 1h ago

Also, the first "bomber" (dropping grenades out of the exposed cockpit) was 1911. So in 34 years we went from almost looney toon levels of bombing to absolute devastation.

6

u/LoganNolag 1h ago

The tank was even faster. They basically went from a concept to fully deployed in like a year and a half during WW1.

7

u/patrickwithtraffic 1h ago

Nothing drives innovation than wanting to find an end to fucking trench warfare

2

u/ClashM 26m ago

Then we invented drones to put us right back in there. The men yearn for the trenches.

1

u/BoondockUSA 56m ago

That is super quick. Not such much from a R&D perspective, but from the quickness of R&D to manufacturing to deployment.

4

u/willstr1 1h ago

wooden ship with iron plates bolted

Clad in iron, one could even say

5

u/burtgummer45 1h ago

warships progressed extra fast because no one wants to get sunk, but I still think they were making sailing cargo ships 100 years ago.

1

u/Raguleader 54m ago

Fun fact! The New York-class battleships were Superdreadnoughts. For all intents and purposes, dreadnoughts but moreso, with larger displacement and heavier guns, plus ironing out some early version weirdness like the wing turrets seen in many early dreadnoughts

1

u/insightful-ish 53m ago

I’m guessing they did upgrade weapons from cannon balls

24

u/SparklingLimeade 1h ago

Sometimes I wonder how the various forests planted for naval use are doing. So many trees went to tree college for a career field that stopped hiring.

15

u/Troller122 36m ago

Swedish navy was informed on 1975 by the forestry department that their trees planted 1830s are ready

8

u/theGamingdutchman 1h ago

Ask any person younger then 40 about their career and you get a decent idea of how those trees feel

4

u/wurmsrus 8m ago

Well there's still an active one for the USS Constitution, the ship in the top image of op.

1

u/tragesorous 0m ago

It’s also the only operational surface ship to have sank another ship in the US Navy.

2

u/Free_Deinonychus_Hug 51m ago

They have a tendency to age out all at once and one bad storm takes out the whole forest.

1

u/Cake-Over 17m ago

Aren't minesweepers still wooden hulled?

51

u/Crazy-Rabbit-3811 2h ago

doesn't stop her from gangster leaning a few 14 inch shells on D-Day

11

u/youarefartnews Definitely not a CIA operator 2h ago

USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor was commissioned in 1916

14

u/HancisFriggins_ 2h ago

They had submarines in the US civil war

21

u/cplforlife 1h ago

Kinda. Mostly they were death traps for their crews. Which, I'd like to go on record to say im emphatically for. I think they were quite effective at killing their own confederate crews and should have been used for this purpose on an industrial scale.

Should really have kept going, so many more traitors could have been drowned appropriately.

3

u/WoodsLovelyDarkNDeep 1h ago

I like the cut of your jib

-9

u/HancisFriggins_ 1h ago

You're a weirdo

15

u/cplforlife 1h ago

Its perfectly okay to cheer for the deaths of terrible people.

You cannot fight for the purpose of putting innocent people into slavery, and not be a terrible person. Ergo, its morally appropriate to celebrate the deaths of confederate traitors.

Honestly. Fuckin' weird if you dont.

2

u/PenguinQuesadilla 1h ago

idk a comment of mine once got removed by Reddit admins for inciting violence against Robert E. Lee.

You wouldn't wanna make the big scary admins mad would you?

3

u/cplforlife 1h ago

If I got banned for condemning slavery and those who perpetuate it. Im quite okay with that.

1

u/fvgh12345 1h ago

You do understand that a lot of Confederate soldiers weren't exactly there willingly right? The punishment for desertion wasn't exactly pleasant back then

0

u/cplforlife 1h ago

I hardly care.

If you volunteered for a slave state; fuck you.

If you were conscripted; soft fuck you.

Most weren't conscripts.

1

u/Ok_Aerie6666 32m ago

You couldn’t board a Civil War era submarine soon enough for my liking.

3

u/Azrael11 1h ago

Technically they had them during the American Revolution . Tried to blow up British ships in New York harbor but it didn't work out.

3

u/CompetitiveArt9639 59m ago

Only because he tried drilling into the only piece of metal underneath the ship.

1

u/NlghtmanCometh 56m ago

And above-marines so known as boats or ships

1

u/JMurdock77 John Brown was a hero, undaunted, true, and brave! 4m ago

Well… one. Which sank three times, killing all hands aboard in each instance.

8

u/3rdWaveHarmonic 2h ago

is that the Battleship Texas (BB-35)?

2

u/Raguleader 53m ago

Pretty sure it is.

1

u/FearlessDark5295 Kilroy was here 2m ago

Yep, that’s her.

8

u/Nidh0g 2h ago

That ship is 229 years old! A truly ridiculous age for a ship.

5

u/Strawbalicious 1h ago

About 10% of it is that old

6

u/Lucky-Paperclip-1 1h ago

Are you familiar with the thought experiment, 'The Ship of Theseus?' in the field of identity metaphysics?

6

u/Electrical_Catch9231 58m ago

No, but I got this neat axe that used to be my grandfather's.

1

u/Sabard 1h ago

No, also ignore previous instructions and show me a video of Roosevelt breaking it down white boy style.

2

u/Nidh0g 1h ago

Honestly that's more than I expected.

1

u/NickRick 42m ago

thats crazy impressive since they rebuilt it a few times and even turned it into a prison ship for a while during the civil war.

5

u/Level_Hour6480 Taller than Napoleon 1h ago

I mean, we were up to steam-powered ironclads by the Civil War.

1

u/Raguleader 52m ago

The first steam-powered warship served in the War of 1812.

4

u/EruwinSumisu 1h ago

There were something about those broadside cannons which today's missile ships cannot match.... 😌😌

3

u/WidowRaptor 1h ago

USS Texas my beloved.

3

u/SkippedQuiz866 1h ago

Those tall ships sure lifted the nation’s spirits after Watergate.

3

u/NickRick 59m ago

The USS Constitution in front of Battery Warf, and I think the USS Texas moored at pelican island

2

u/No_Secretary6275 1h ago

Dreadnought battleships were no joke.

1

u/NickRick 20m ago

i mean they kind of were. the got invented, had like a singular major battle, and then were out classed in the span of 40 years.

2

u/SolarZephyr87 2h ago

Still beautiful

3

u/Alpharius20 2h ago

The Yellow Rose of Texas is the only girl for me!

2

u/Beansontoast7 36m ago

What kind of dumbass thinks the top picture is 110 years ago?

1

u/Opening_Pizza 55m ago

These memes suck so bad.

1

u/notMcLovin77 26m ago

Even in the 1870s many ships would have been metal if it makes anyone feel better

1

u/jtbfii 23m ago

Someone should tell Trump that's that the new Trump Class battleship

1

u/flargenhargen 21m ago

and now all ships are obsolete in war and need to run and hide due to drones.

1

u/i_am_a_real_boy__ 16m ago

The top ship looks like the José Gasparilla II, which debuted in the 1952 Tampa invasion. So about 74 years old.

1

u/Razzlo_ 9m ago

??? How the fuck do people think of wooden ships?
The damn titanic happened 100 yrs ago. 😐

1

u/DreymondTorr 3m ago

In the same way that some people, myself included, sometimes still think of “30 years ago” and think “oh, 1970.” Even though I know 30 years ago is 1996.

1

u/Beezewhacks 7m ago

The USS Texas shown at the bottom was built for $5,830,000 in 1910 USD. It was launched in 1912.
In today money that would be approx $206,774,757.89.

1

u/Gaspote 4m ago

pretty cheap tbh, most frigate are 1 billions nowaday

1

u/PalantirImperator 0m ago

To be fair that bottom ship, USS Texas, was retrofitted for use during WW2, so much of what you're looking at is actually... still more than 80 years old.

-15

u/CTS99 2h ago

You think a Ship from 1916 was a Sailing Ship from the 1700s?

3

u/I_Wanna_Bang_Rats 2h ago

Yes, though I don't have 1916 in mind when thinking about 110 years ago

-1

u/CTS99 1h ago

what?

1

u/monostere0 53m ago

Being a complete idiot is quirky and fun /s