USS Salem - Last of the heavy cruisers 

Pinned post for Q&A :)

When the Brits are impressed by your heavy cruiser you know you built a good heavy cruiser.

About 20 years ago when I was in boy scouts we did a weekend trip where we stayed aboard the Salem, the museum staff gave us damage control and first aid training that they were able to make fun and we got to play hide and seek on the cruiser, framed as a training exercise to find a missing and injured sailor. Easily one of my best childhood memories.

Now imagine seeing such a ship in action. Early in my career aboard USS Chicago, I had the pleasure of seeing Salem's sister Newport News as well as the older Saint Paul on the "gun line" off Vietnam. Night-time fire missions were particularly spectacular.

On the topic of Museum ship hospitality in the US, I volunteered on the USS Midway for around 8 or 9 months before leaving for college. Despite being in the safety team and not being the main people guests will talk to, we were still trained to be as polite as possible and to know information about the ship. The reason why I believe most of these museum crews are so kind in the US is because most of us are volunteers who want to be here and want to share our love of these ships. It creates an real appreciation for our guests.

Like so many of our old war ships, she needs some love. Thank you for bringing our attention to her. USS Texas is sitting wonderfully in dry dock, getting some well earned rest and refit.

"Do not put hands in hoist" is like "Do not place head in Guillotine". How much smarter are the designers of this system compared to the expected operators ? So, if you meet an older fellow with an anchor tattoo on his forearm but no hand……. Don’t ask. I’m glad that everyone here in the US treated you very well. I’m sure that your videos will increase visitation making it easier to maintain our ships. I'm sure that everyone interested in naval history, WWII, etc. watches all of your videos. God bless the Queen. Long live the King.

Ah yes, the ship capable of flinging over a ton of shell downrange *every six seconds*

In regards to going to museum ships I remember going to see USS Texas before she went to dry dock. So very happy she’s getting the work done she deserves.

2:16 “Hello Friend” gotta love Mrs Drac! 🤣🤣🤣

I served on the Newport News during her last Vietnam deployment. She was the most powerful and best looking ship in the world at that time - yeah the bird farmers might disagree with me, but the News and her sisters were built to rule the seas. I worked down in the engine room and didn't get to see the sun very often but I'll brag on the fact that our high mileage ship was fast and surprisingly reliable. The Des Moines class cruisers were of course a much later and heavier design, but the time traveler in me says that a couple of these gunships would have owned the waters around Guadalcanal. At night or in poor visibility I'd go against the Yamato with two Des Moines cruisers.

When my older brother was stationed in Hawaii, we all went to see the USS Missouri. Seeing that beast from the pier was awe inspiring. Seeing a ship like that from the waterline truly does impart the grandness of scale one won’t get standing on the deck. One has to look almost straight up to see it all. We then did a deck walk. One, it definitely took a few minutes to walk from bow to stern. And two, I remember touching turret one and feeling how solid it felt. So much steel. Steel, everywhere. Haha 😂

Love this heavy cruiser to bits. Have visited her recently with a friend and meet the staff who are indeed awesome and very nice. Hope more people can visit Salem, you can’t find a ship like this anywhere else anymore.

that section in the gunpit made me realize how impressive it is that these guns were all-angle autoloading. The entire loading mechanism had to swing downward along with the gun into the pit Also I've been on the Salem numerous times, and this is the first time I've ever seen the gunpits and magazines. Those areas are normally blocked off from the general public

Hope you're feeling better Drach!

So, me and wifey driving back from Boston to NYC, desided we got time to check out USS Salem in Quincy, MA, back on 09/11/22. I also touched those 16" shells at the entrance but the yellow paint was fresh, still, and the lady at the entrance had a good laugh. Upon entering the ship I saw 4 ppl following an elder volunteer, I promptly forgot his name but he is present in a couple of pictures I took, so I will remember him forever, because this dude took our group anywhere we wanted, and when the museum closed we stayed for another couple of hours with him. We went to last armored pilot house, the bridge, upper decks, engine room, aft hangar, #2 main battery turret... I mean, we werr there with him for over 5 hours, and the reason we left was immence hunger and a thought of another 4-5 hours drive back home in a nasty rain in the evening. This guy is close to 70yo, former navy man, who is in charge of electric and mech parts of the ship and he HAD STORIES I wish I was recording, but I took pictures instead. Even my wife, who will not watch a movie about war or read a book pertaining to history, was hanging on his every word, climbing multitudes of steep stairs and stepping in inevitable machine oil puddles in areas marked "NO ADMITTANCE", cause we stuck our noses everywhere. The guy begged us to talk up the ship on social media, which kinda sucks, because I dont have FB, Twatter or IG. I dumped some pics on my WOWS clans Discord channel, but not many ppl will see. Point is, if anyone is interested in US history, engineering, etc, needs to visit places like these, because they are slowly getting whittled away by time and especially the people who still work on this ship will eventually dissapear. I saw some young volunteers but I doubt their knowledge and willingness to spend hours on such personalized tour. Guy refused any tips, so I dropped some money into the donation box before exiting. Oh, and if anyone is going to Battleship Cove, USS Massachusetts is under repair. JPKennedy and Lionfish were accessible, as well as USS Cassin Young back in Boston. Note, that USS Constitution is under "active duty", so the cops with metal detectors will stop you from going through if you got a pocket knife in your jeans pocket... ahem. Had to leave it with wife and go alone and let her have a turn. USS Constitution has very low ceiling on lower deck and I slammed my forehead a few times, so be warned. Plan your trip fast ppl, the winter is not too far off and Im not sure how accesible those ships are in the winter!

I'm so glad you were treated well by the museum crew. I'm sure they, like most of us, appreciate the interest in Naval history and museum ships you generate with your channel.

Ah yes, a tour of the Admiral Graf Spee. Thank you, Drach and hope you feel better

The finest gun system ever used on a warship in my opinion.

A main reason why the US Navy switched to the 3"L50 Automatic Cannon is that, unlike the 40mm shells, its shells could be fitted with VT (proxy) fuses for improved AA protection.

As far as ship size prospective goes I think USS Wisconsin is one of the best, absolutely took my breath away when I rounded the corner onto the road directly towards her. Then going up a 6 story parking garage to take pics at radar height was awesome.

Quite a beautiful ship, my grandfather served on the Canberra in 43'

I hope you saw our small museum aboard USS Salem, our crew (USS Newport News) have working parties aboard Salem USS Newport News (CA-148) The last all gun Heavy Cruiser. My time aboard 1968-69-70 Call sign THUNDER flag hoist; November - India - Quebec - Quebec Then onboard the USS Springfield (CLG-7) 71-72 Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign: November - Whiskey - Delta - Mike "Fair Winds and Following Seas" Brothers Very good video that brings back memories.

I want to take my kids to go see this soooo badly. Hope it will help to explain my recent obsession with Naval Ships and this channel!

The "claw-type device" is called a parbuckle, and is also present in larger caliber shell handling rooms on various USN ships.

As a Marine, I wish we still had fire support like this. Those 8inch autoloaders are probably why this is my favorite class of cruiser by far. Also, I think I've mentioned it on your Des Moines-class 5-minute guide, but I seriously think a Des Moines could wreck early WW1-era superdreadnoughts in a 1:1 (due to the advantages of speed and radar fire control).

Salem, along with Massachusetts and Forrestal have a special place in my heart as the ships that my great-uncle used to take me to see as a kid (in Forrestal's case, we didn't visit her so much as drive past her on the way to his doctor's appointments at NAVSTA Newport. At least, while she was still there)

I was there for the chat, Drach. It was a great time and very informative! I'm the guy who gave you the Lego Royal Navy Sailor ;)

USS Salem was in the role of Graf Spee in british movie "The Battle of the River Plate".

My Dad served on the Salem during his final summer at the USNA in 1956. We live locally, and have visited many times, along with the Constitution, and the battleship USS Massachusetts, and other ships, in Fall River. I consider myself very lucky to be on these wonderful museum ships with a naval veteran who KNOWS what he’s takin about! Thanks for visiting Massachusetts and we hope you enjoyed your stay!

Awesome video! I was onboard that day, I was the kid with the "Illustrated Design History of U.S Cruisers". As one of the volunteers, it was a pleasure meeting you.

The USS Iowa is moored next to the Port of Los Angeles cruise terminal. In addition to the quay being rather high out of the water, it is dwarfed by the cruise ships and container vessels docked next to it.

Visited the Salem in 2010 and my dad served as a ship board Marine officer in the 1955 range, when she was part of the Mediterranean fleet. Back then, the final port of call before heading home was Havana. Scattered some of my dad's ashes over the side when no one was looking.

Heck, a ship in the USN doesn't need to be in mothballs to be cannibalized for spares! It routinely happens to ships that are just in the shipyard for overhaul/repair or modernization. I've been on both sides of it (having parts from my boat cannibalized and going to other boats in the yard to take their parts.)

Awesome look inside the ship. Much too short. I could spend days crawling all over that ship. Thank you for sharing.

Welcome to the United States. Im glad you found our museums hospitable.

What truly boggles the mind is that that ship was blueprinted without the use of computers. And then to build her with all that internal complexity.

Drach, I made a short video about Salem about a month here on RU-vid, luckily it got lots of traction! Hope your video brings more attention to Salem and prompts support for her restoration!

Awww... it's nice to see family that's been separated by such long distances.

I visited USS Salem 3 days before I moved from Quincy Ma. I decided after living there for a few years I could not leave without seeing that ship, so I had to rush through in an afternoon, while my wife packed. I have no regrets. :D

Hi I stand to be corrected but here goes! A British war film, Battle of the River Plate, made in 1956, need a ship to represent the German Battleship Graf Spee, the ship they used was the USS Salem! God Bless all the armed forces of the free world for keeping us all safe.

Wonderful program , it’s just like being back on board. They sailed so well, stable with responsive handling and projected power. And the guns, just awesome. They were fast and commodious , the time of my life. All three sat like Queens in Phila, even the missing rifle from number two turret on NN not diminishing their grace and beauty.

Awesome! Glad you enjoyed your journey to the U.S. and our naval history.

Hooray! More America trip videos!

Thank you for visiting and reviewing the Salem. I love this ship. We would sleep over on her and Mammy as kids during field trips or scouts. They turn the Sea Witch into a haunted house for Halloween and it’s terrifying. It needs a little TLC so every $5-10 donation counts! I wish the state put as much care into her as Constitution but I get it. The ship is huge, it’s over 700ft long so I can’t imagine maintaining it. Our weather is obv famously bad half the year so she sits in snow, heat, salt, wind, sun, you name it. Still looks beautiful though and is a real statement to US power projection in the early Cold War years.

Looking at the mechanisms of the gun turrets made me think of all the old technologies of the twentieth century that have essentially been lost. Even when we have complete examples left we don't have an understanding of how they were used let alone how they were manufactured. Vacuum tubes for example. We know the theory of their design and a historically minded artisan might be able to produce one but the actual methods and machinery of how they were mass produced have been lost. Designs for individual pieces of equipment might still exist buried in an patent archive somewhere but finding them and relating them in context to each other would be like finding the lost Ark.

Navigation is perfect, that beautiful sunrise and the silhouette of the ship. Brings back some memories as a Merchant seaman drinking my coffee of course.

I like to start my day with a "whilst" from Drach! As an English major, I appreciate the uncommon word choice. Cheers!

Drach, I think it's worth mentioning that the industrial area where the USS Salem is located was once the Fore River Shipyard. Both Lexingtons were built there as well as USS Wasp, Bunker Hill, Philippine Sea, and Hancock. Both the Des Moines and Salem, along with Long Beach, Portland, Quincy and Vincennes. The list is very long and worth googling. Sadly, shipbuilding ceased in 1986.

Great video! I agree with others that the USS Salem is one of my favorite museum ships I have seen. The ship is technologically impressive, but (at least when I went on a weekend) there were so many guides that everyone was basically getting private tours. It really makes all the difference to hear the history / stories that goes with the ship. Definitely worth the visit.

Constitution being only a few miles away, the Navy's last wooden frigate (and the oldest commissioned ship in the world) overshadows both the Cassin Downes (moored across the pier from Constitution) and the Salem (moored in Quincy). Any attention the Salem can get is a good thing, so thank you very much for giving the fine old lady of the South Shore some love!

So glad you visited USS Salem. I'll have to see it next time I visit relatives nearby.

Will Mrs. Drach be narrating new episodes on mine warfare? I would listen to that.

Ah. good to see that Ms. Drach got to meet one of her relatives. XD I remember how I got some looks from some of the fans during the Haida meetup, after making a remark about another sea mine there. XD I have to assume they weren't familiar with that rather famous episode. :D

I live right up the street from the Salem. Super excited you finally did a video on it!

Thanks for getting close to my fathers ship as it was the USS SAINT PAUL CA-73 "THE FIGHTING SAINT" class of 1954, both of which are no longer with us, RIP. ⚓

35:07 I am thoroughly disappointed we didn't a Toy Story "The CLaaaawwwww" moment. All jokes aside, great video, the autoloader mechanism looks insanely complex, but I gather it was pretty reliable. I hope she gets a bit more footfall, she looks a little tired and like Texas, she's basically unique. Every museum ship is precious as every ship has a story to tell, but when a ship is the representative of her type or generation, then she becomes even more important to preserve. As a Brit, I lament Vanguard and Warspite going to the scrap yard, and even more modern ships like the Tiger class and Invincible class all just vanish into little more than cutlery and imagines in history books.

Love your work with Tino Struckmann and Appearances elsewhere! Would love to see you make a trip to Japan to see the Yamato Muesum or Mikasa.

A mechanical engineer's dream! Thanks so much for the tour Drach!!

I love your commentary! Thank you for highlighting this wonderful ship!

I wish you could have seen the USS Lexington, she's enormous...

Just donated $10 to her. That old girl definitely needs some TLC. I was glad to see Constitution and Cassin Young last week during a visit for a wedding. Your video on the Constitution was very helpful in recognizing things. It's weird to think that after we retired the Iowa's, the largest naval gun for shore bombardment we now have is substantially outgunned by a Fletcher.

Drach don't underestimate just how much you are changing the perceptions of the public, I'm a flier and really didn't give a fig about the navy until I saw your video's about the Australian Navy and much to my surprise called it such instead of lumping it as commonwealth forces as most channels do. It's not just us it is every country that was involved you pay the same curtesy and it was for that and that alone I subscribed now I'm a fan so thank you from a mad Aussie fly boy.

Love the 'Do not paint over this sign' warning in red at the bottom of the Safety Precautions notice in the charge handling area. Looks like the proclivity of painting everything is a naval tradition over many countries and time spans. As the saying goes 'If it moves salute it, if it is not moving paint it'.

The opening observation regarding the external view is interesting. I had the pleasure of going aboard the USS Iowa on her visit to Pompey Dockyard in the late 80's. I worked in the yard at the time and had a walk around the public didn't get with a middle aged leading seaman re-activated due to the near uniqueness of the Iowa in the US fleet at that time. She was berthed on Pitch House Jetty (from memory) and was a truly menacing sight on a misty pre-dawn morning. The gun house was an inverse Tardis. Massive on the outside, much smaller on the inside. The armoured conning tower gave a similar feeling but more so. I wonder how many other 56 year Olds there are out there that can say they have been on board an active commissioned battleship? The size of Iowa compared to HMS Tiger (or Blake - the memory fades!) Also in Pompey about that time was staggering. Anyway, thanks Drach. Another great video.

The old lady still looks awesome.

It was a pleasure meeting you on Salem Drach! And Constitution, And Massachusetts lol. The drive from new York was worth it. I enjoyed the ships very much and you only made it better.

That “hello friend,” was adorbs.

When she first came to Quincy she was docked closer to the bridge with easy access off the nearby rotary. Unfortunately the bridge had to be torn down and replaced requiring her to be moved to the more out of the way location she is in now. Hopefully one day she can move back to her previous berth.

Never seen a full mechanism, gun loading and traverse system on the Salem before, although I've visited the Salem like 4 times already

Nice! Early in August my wife and I were able to take a trip to the USS Yorktown. She said my expression was priceless as we pulled up. We've decided to plan future vacations around other museum ships. Was definitely one of the coolest things I've done in my life. Looking forward to seeing more of your adventures!

I understand you want to encourage people to visit Salem and other museum ships, but some of us will never get to see Salem in real life or any other museum ships, so thanks for your videos, because it’s the only way some of us will get to see much of these ships.

Well done

Salem was the perfect choice for portraying the Graf Spee in my opinion. Such a powerful ship. I assume she could have taken down all 3 British cruisers without much trouble.

Glad you came over to the U.S. for your tours of WW-2 Museum ships. I've followed you for a few years now and have always enjoyed your presentations on warships. Thanks!

I can remember seeing it the Battle of the River Plate doubling as the Graf Spee

That whole area, Fore River, was once a booming ship building complex and has a history of it's own. As a young boy, I can remember seeing large amounts of old smaller ships from WWII with flat tops built on top. Not sure what the name or class of those ships were but there was quite a few of them all ganged up.

That wasn’t Mrs Drach’s relative, it was one of mine…

I can not thank you enough, sir. I am delighted that you got to experience some great hospitality and thank you so much for 'the good stuff' aka exactly what I was looking for!

To be accurate, you are a light shining out of a magnificent maritime mechanical abyss

If you like puns, just wait till you sea mine! Glad you had fun, visiting but Salem isn't doing so hot herself. Unlike USS Texas, she's not scheduled for drydock time, no money. I've donated several times to help the museum but if we all pitch in she can stay around a lot longer. 🙂

Ow, did you just say that Mrs. Drach lays in wait quietly then explodes when you least expect it?😂

Awesome to see. They recently moved Battleship Texas, which was moored 10 minutes away from me. ( I live where Urban cowboy was filmed) across the street from the old Gilleys bar.

I also visited “Intrepid” few years ago. And it was really impressive. The size and everything. But. When I visited “New Jersey” - one of the “Iowa” class battleships, I will never forget the first impression, when I saw her. I remember that as it was yesterday. Such a beauty. Such a power. And I am so happy that so many ships are preserved as museums in States so we can visit them.

I had the pleasure of seeing the St. Paul whilst my ship was transiting South China Sea after offloading Marines and their equipment at Danang.

I'm so glad that you got to see the Salem Drachinifel! I took my son to the Boston area last summer to see the Salem, Constitution, Cassin Young, Massachusetts, Lionfish, Joseph P Kennedy and last but not least the Hiddensee! The Salem really is a beautiful ship, but she's in rough shape these days. I hope your exposure helps to get her some funding so she can stay beautiful.

I love how America preserves so many of its great warships.

Wonderful video, Can't wait to get up there and see this beautiful ship. Love your details !!!

Des Moines and Alaskas have to be my absolute favourite WW2 cruisers...they just look so picturesque! They're the only class of US cruisers who have turrets that are "proportional" to their hulls, imo

I see this Ship from my House , its like less than half a mile from it (I tried pushing it with my Kayak, Its really BIG) Its a shame that is in what was the Bethlehem Steel - Fore River Shipyard, it has been so gutted its difficult to find a trace of it, other than the enormous size of the place you wouldnt know what was there, . such a disgrace America no longer has these Yards, some famous Ships came our of here, the Quincy , Astoria, they sailed pass ed my House and didn't come back. I hope you make it to the Battleship Massachusetts , its like 40 miles South of this.

I live north of the USS Salem by an hour and a have and have driven by there many times going elsewhere. I have it on my bucket list of things to do when I have a spare moment to go looking at attractions. The Constitution and USS Massachusetts are also on that list. Warships are fascinating to explore. I went to the Alabama when I lived down that way in the 80's and was awestruck by it's size and all the cool stuff that they stuff on a warship. It's wonderful to hear you were treated to some good 'ole New England hospitality

Thank you, and thanks to the crew.

The Gun Pit reminds me of the bascule chambers in the piers of Tower bridge in London, not a good idea to be there when several tonnes of machinery lower to occupy the space. I'm unsurprised by the Welcome you were given, the Americans can be extraordinarily hospitable folks.

There's a video on operation of the 8" & 3" automatic guns: usssalemca139, rapid fire guns video. (Separated into words: USS Salem CA 139)

Fascinating video, thank you very much for this in depth look!

awesome vid - love all that turret info, amazing.

I wish she would get moved to lake Michigan. The fresh water and local love of the sea would be the best thing to happen to this great ship

Industrial Dockyard = Bethlehem Steel Fore River Shipyard. Birthplace of many many hero ships...

I’m really impressed with your knowledge of these ships! I was in the USAF in the very early eighties. I was assigned as a aircraft maintenance specialist working on the B-52G& H models. They were very complex too. So, I admire your skills and appreciate them!

My fav ship maybe ever, It takes real effort to not just keep going out in this in wows so I can make actual progress on tech tree. Trust america to look at 9x 203mm guns and say.. "yes but what if auto-loader?" [shed tear of happiness]. If it was scaled up to Montana would likely have been classed as a WMD. Shame to see it so distraught though, hope she can get a bit more protection soon.