After spending the morning at the aquarium, we headed over to Patriots Point. We bought some tickets for the tour of Fort Sumter which involves a ferry trip that leaves from Patriots Point. While we waited for the ferry we took a tour of the carrier Yorktown. Yorktown is a famous name from Pearl Harbour/War in the Pacific but this Yorktown is the successor bearing the same name. It a slightly more modern air craft carrier than that found in WW2, which means larger and more modern war planes. However, it’s still ‘small’ compared to today’s nuclear carriers. We wandered through a number of ‘routes’ that take you to all of the key parts of the carrier. In addition, there were some other non-warship exhibits — for example, a capsule from a Saturn rocket capsule.

This is the Ravenal Bridge with a spectacular span to allow shipping. It connects North Charleston to Patriots Point.A view of the Yorktown from the ferry that was taking us out to Fort Sumter.A plane on display in the hanger deck.The ready room in Yorktown. Squadron briefings would be held here.The torpedo bay for preparing torpedoes and sending them out to the plane hangers hung from the (yellow) I-beams.A control panel in the engine room.The galley and serving station in the foreground.Yes, complete with dentist!The top deck with several planes on display for viewing.A plane viewed from the wing tip.Splashdown! One of the jobs that the crew of the Yorktown performed was to pickup space capsules that splashed into the ocean (Yes, pre-shuttle!)

 

 

South Carolina Aquarium -- 2018
Fort Sumter -- 2018