Boston National Historical Park - USS Cassin Young

The second ship that we visited at the Charlestown Shipyard was the USS Cassin Young, a ship from a period much later than the USS Constitution.  It wasn't the first World War II ship that I'd visited as I got to go aboard the German U-boat U-505 back in 2007 (though sadly no pictures were allowed) and spent several hours aboard the USS Wisconsin at Nauticus.  The Cassin Young is a destroyer built in 1943.

Built for speed and capability, USS Cassin Young engaged in seven Pacific battles in World War II, survived two Kamikaze hits, and served another full decade beyond her expected lifetime. Built in 1943 in San Pedro, California, she is one of 175 Fletcher-class destroyers built during World War II. Here in Charlestown, this navy yard built dozens of similar ships during the war. In the 1950s, Cassin Young and many other destroyers received regular repairs and modernization in Charlestown.
--from Boston NHS website

While nowhere near as big as the Wisconsin had been there was still plenty to explore aboard the Cassin Young.

A number of torpedoes were stored above deck, ready to be launched when necessary against an enemy vessel.

Anti-aircraft guns like these 40 mm ones were essential, especially in the Pacific theater.  "Each gun mount had two barrels, and each barrel could fire 160 rounds per minute..."  Ships wanted as many options as possible when faced by suicide plane (kamikaze) attacks.

The equipment in the galley (the ship's kitchen) was large as it was designed to be able to feed quite a few people.

This was the Combat Information Center (CIC) was the hub of the ship's operations.

"Information collected by visual means and by radar, sonar, and radio was assembled and evaluated here and then relayed to the appropriate combat stations on the ship or to neighboring vessels."

While the ship was in port this was the captain's cabin.

This might have been the officer's mess.

Not all areas of the ship were open to tour.

The anti-submarine homing torpedo (Mk32) was developed after World War II as a weapon against increasingly high-speed submarines.  This torpedo was self-propelled and actively sought out its target by detecting noise made by a submarine.  The MK32 torpedo's fins were wider than its body,a nd so it could not be launched from tubes.  Instead they were "thrown" over the side by a launch system.  The Cassin Young carried one launcher with three torpedoes on each side of her deck.
--from exhibit signage

Shells for the big 5 inch guns.

The five inch guns were the ship's largest weapons, but by no means its only means of attack.

These 20mm anti-aircraft guns provided a final line of defense against attacks.  They were apparently all removed during a modernization of the ship in 1952 at the Charlestown Navy Yards and must have been put back later when it was prepared as a Museum ship.

 Depth charges were explosive charges used to attack submerged submarines.

After leaving the Cassin Young we headed back to see one more part of the shipyard.  First were these flags showing the flags used during the Barbary War and the War of 1812.

Behind the flags was a now-empty, but once bustling dry dock.

This dry dock was first used by the USS Constitution in 1833.

The dry dock worked on a similar principle as a lock on a canal.  The interior was flooded, the ship was brought inside, and then the water was gradually pumped out until the vessel could be fully supported without the water.

This was the caisson at the ocean end of the dry dock.

You can view these pictures and more from the ship yards in this album.

~Matt