Ship Spotting

[Jschmus]

The following photos were taken on various days from the beginning of October to the middle of November.  I haven't had a lot of plane-spotting opportunities since I moved, but after being away from the ocean for nearly ten years, I figured I try to make up the difference in ships and whatnot.

The BAE Systems (Norshipco) Titan, one of the largest floating drydocks in the world.



The guided missile cruisers USS Shiloh (CG 67) and USS Vella Gulf (CG 72)



A Totally Enclosed Life Boat (TELB).



The Argentine tall ship ARA Libertad

[Jschmus]

A couple of weeks back, I visited the Portsmouth Military History Museum.  The inside exhibits didn't inspire much, but there was a twin 3-inch AA gun outside.



I'm not sure of the type, but I spotted this Southwest Airlines bird flying towards ORF.



A couple of days later, I visited Nauticus, the "National Maritime Center".  It was supposed to be a major attraction on the Norfolk riverfront, but it was kind of underwhelming.  The USS Wisconsin, parked outside, is actually maintained by an all-volunteer organization unaffiliated with the museum.



Above the ship-side entrance is this A-4F Skyhawk.

[Jschmus]

Inside the building, there was a Naval History Museum manned by Navy volunteers.  They had some nice displays, including this model of Eugene Ely's Curtiss biplane.



And this 1/12 model of an A-6 Intruder.

[elmayerle]

Southwest Airlines?  It has to be some variant of the 737, that's all they fly.  I'd hesitate, though, to say just what variant.

Thanks for the gorgeous pictures.

[lancer]

Yeah, some really great pictures there Jason, thanks.

[B777LR]

Southwest Airlines?  It has to be some variant of the 737, that's all they fly.  I'd hesitate, though, to say just what variant.

Thanks for the gorgeous pictures.

To be correct, its a 737-700 You can tell from the longer wing-span and larger flaps  

[jon_rose]

Well, I could tell it was a 737NG because it has winglets, which have only been an option on the NG Models...

[B777LR]

Well, I could tell it was a 737NG because it has winglets, which have only been an option on the NG Models...

Not true actually, it is possible to add winglets to older 737s as well Only 737s without winglets today are the -100s and 600s

See:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1302...=1301734&size=L

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=0766...ev_id=&next_id=

757s look good with winglets as well:

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1302...ev_id=&next_id=

[Captain Canada]

Nice shots, Jason....the more ships the merrier ! But I gotta wonder....what are you guys trying to hide under all of those tarps ?

[Sentinel Chicken]

Southwest paints the flap track/actuator fairings red on the 737-700 to help the groundcrews distinguish the NGs from the 737-300/500. So even if a -300 has winglets, it's flap track/actuator fairings will be gray.