[Milsurplus] MSTS chat

[Hubert Miller]

>Hue, 
Which of the MSTS ships were you in? When I was back in college, we'd take a trip to the James River Reserve fleet once each Fall to retrieve spares for our training ship from a few of the old Victories and P-2 passenger ships when they were strike for scrap. I have a few pictures if the interiors of the "lounges" somewhere in slides. I remember murals and platoon/squadron insignia and so forth painted on the bulkheads.
Matt W2NS

>>As I remember, the ships were "U.S.S. General Harry Taylor" and "U.S.N.S. General Alexander Patch". I was under 12 years old. If you have any shareable photos of the insides of this type ship,I would love to see any, or maybe you can recommend a book with photos, or maybe I should be looking up a book, but I kinda doubt one exists. It was not a bad trip at all, except the grey paint smell got to me, and after an hour onboard I was already sick. The service, for military men and their dependents, was actually superb. The ships were noisy though, and rolled quite a bit with the weather. The engine during rolling seas made a hell of a banging noise. A lot of the ships was off limits. My father made 3 trips on his own, once on a troop carrier in 1942. I wish I had asked him about which one. The accommodations were a lot less comfortable for the troops. He also told me about going from North Africa to Italy in an LST, also loaded with ( French North African colonial troops ) Goums and their goats and dogs. The crossing was rough and all the dogs got seasick too. The 18 inches or so of water that's at the bottom of an LST was full of vomit and crap. What fun. Thanks for your note!
-Hue 

>Hue, 
I have to dig through the slides that I have in storage. We did a good job cleaning out the engine room spares of the USNS GENERAL GORDON. I don't remember the names of the other P-2s that we visited, but have quite a few pictured that I will try to find.
I do remember getting the reserve crystal radio receiver from the center of the radio console of the GORDON as well as a Hammerlund HQ-180A from a Rec Room and a TMC FFR-49 from a fax machine.  There was a year that we went through a line of Victory ships as well, but those were only in cargo service with no particular military affiliation.

>>Around 1995 I bought from a retired mariner an SX-62B Hallicrafters that he had gotten from an armed freighter, I think APA something, that was being refurbed at Tacoma WA.
I kept it for a few years - I like the great audio and the audio adjustments, but I didn't like the lack of bandspread and the short part of the dial the FM BC band occupied. I sold
it plus a parts unit $75 both. Sort of regret it now, "sort of".
-H