Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum

Overview: Patriot’s Point is a Naval and Maritime Museum located on the North side of Charleston Harbor

Overview:

Patriot’s Point is a Naval and Maritime Museum located on the North side of Charleston Harbor. Exhibits in the (1) USS Yorktown (CV10), a WWII aircraft carrier; (2) the USS Laffey (DD724), a WWII destroyer; (3) Ingram (WHEC-35), a Coast Guard cutter that served in WWII, (4) the USS Clamagore (SS-343), a diesel attack submarine, (5) the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s museum and headquarters, and (6) a Navy Advance Tactical Support base from the Vietnam era.

Directions: Patriot’s Point is a two-hour drive down highway 17 from Mrytle Beach.

Price: Adults - , Children - .

USS Yorktown:

The Yorktown is the primary draw of the museum. The entrance leads into the hangar bay where a snack bar and the primary visitor information center is located. There are eight separate self-guided tour originating from the hangar bay. On all tours be prepared to go up and down several flights of very steep shipboard staircases. There are approximately 25 aircraft available for viewing in the hangar bay and on the flight deck. Tours include the Flight deck, engine rooms, officer and enlisted berthing areas, medical facilities, galleys, machine shops, ship's laundry, catapult rooms, and the bridge. Photography is permitted in the museum.

USS Laffey:

This is a significantly shorter tour than the Yorktown. There is basically one self-guided tour onboard. Many of the viewing areas are miniature versions of what you just saw on the Yorktown. The major difference is the opportunity to view the internal areas of the gun turrets.

USS Clamagore:

I believe almost everyone has a fascination for touring a submarine. The tour begins in the forward torpedo room and continues past the officers quarters, communications room, galley, engine room, crew quarters, and the aft torpedo room. You are not permitted to enter the conning tower, but a grated hatch cover allows you to get a glimpse of the periscope. A short tour, but worth the time.

Navy Support Base:

Being a Vietnam veteran, this was of particular interest to me. I enjoyed seeing the Huey Cobra, the UH-1 Medevac, and another UH-1 with a 2.75" rocket launcher and 7.62mm mini-gun. Also on display is a guard tower, a couple of huts, an ammo bunker, a mortar pit, and a "brown water" river patrol boat. Another nice display.

Other Comments:

On the Yorktown was another interesting benefit that I haven’t see on other "floating" museums: the CPO mess, located one deck below the hangar bay, is open to the public for lunch from 11:30 am until 2 pm., serving an authentic aircrew meal. The price is extremely reasonable, basically the same price as sandwich combo from the snack area, but a much better meal selection. Give it a try.

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yorktown

USS Yorktown:

The Yorktown is the primary draw of the museum. According the material provided at the museum, she was "Commissioned on April 15, 1943, 'The Fighting Lady' was named for USS YORKTOWN (CV-5), sunk at Midway. She played a leading part in the war in the Pacific, receiving a Presidential Unit Citation and 11 battle stars for her service in World War II. Naval aircraft launched from her flight deck helped sink the largest battleship ever built, the Imperial Japanese Navy's Yamato. Converted for jet use by the addition of an angled flight deck in 1955, she served as an anti-submarine carrier in Vietnam."

The tour entrance leads into the hangar bay where a snack bar and the primary visitor information center is located. There are eight separate self-guided tour originating from the hangar bay. On all tours be prepared to go up and down several flights of very steep shipboard staircases. There are approximately 25 aircraft available for viewing in the hangar bay and on the flight deck. Tours include the Flight deck, engine rooms, officer and enlisted berthing areas, medical facilities, galleys, machine shops, ship's laundry, catapult rooms, and the bridge. Photography is permitted in the museum.

Other Comments:

On the Yorktown was another interesting benefit that I haven’t see on other "floating" museums: the CPO mess, located one deck below the hangar bay, is open to the public for lunch from 11:30 am until 2 pm., serving an authentic aircrew meal. The price is extremely reasonable, basically the same price as sandwich combo from the snack area, but a much better meal selection. Give it a try.

 

 

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Aircraft on the USS Yorktown:

There are several aircraft on exhibit about the USS Yorktown. These include an (1) F-4 Phantom, (2) A-4 Skyhawk, (3) HH-53 helocopter, (4) A-6 Intruder, (5) A-7 Corsair, (6) F-8 Crusader, and an (7) F-14 Tomcat. There are located on the flightdeck. There are some additional aircraft in the hangar bay, one of which allows visitor to sit in the cockpit.

laffey

USS Laffey:

The detsroyer LAFFEY has a very interesting history. According the material provided at the museum, "'The heroic destroyer LAFFEY, commissioned on February 8, 1944, participated in the D-Day landings of Allied troops at Normandy four months later. Transferred to the Pacific, she was attacked by 22 Japanese planes and hit by four bombs and six kamikazes during a single hour in combat off Okinawa on April 16, 1945. Her gallant crew not only kept her afloat, but managed to shoot down 11 planes during the attack.'

The tour entrance begins at the rear of the ship and is a single route, self-guided tour that includes the berthing areas, post office, ship's store, combat information center, bridge, and one of the gun turrets. As stated, the main draw at this museum is the aircraft carrier; with the exception of the gun turrets, most of the sights on the LAFFEY were smaller versions of what you see on the carrier. The admission price includes all exhibits, so see as much as you can.

Other Comments:

. If you're really interested in the destroyer-class vessels, I would suggest you also make the trip up to Wilmington and visit the USS NORTH CAROLINA; this is another very worthwhile trip.

 

 

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USS Clamagore:

After the Yorktown, the Clamagore is the next largest draw of the museum. Everyone has a fascination for seeing what life is like aboard a submarine. If you only have time to tour two vessels, I would definitely make the Clamagore one of them. I have also toured the USS Torsk, a WWII vintage submarine, in Baltimore. The Clamagore is at least twice as large at the Torsk--maybe more.

According the material provided at the museum, she was "commissioned on June 28, 1945, as the war in the Pacific was drawing to a close. Based at Charleston for much of her career, she cruised Atlantic and Mediterranean waters for nearly thirty years, including critical patrols at the height of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Twice modified from her original World War II configuration, Clamagore continued in service as one of the U. S. Navy's last diesel-powered submarines until decommissioned in 1975."

The tour entrance begins on the forwards deck and leads down into the forward torpedo room. The left tube is empty providing a excellent view of the torpedo tube. The right tube has a torpedo partially inserted into the tube. My wife was astonished by the fact that there were crew bunks in this room directly above the area where they stored the torpedoes.

The tour continues towards the rear of the vessel and passes thru the officer berthing areas, the officers dining mess, the communications room, the crew mess, the engine room, and the rear torpedo room. Midway down the vessel there are two metal grate that allow you a glimpse of the crew berthing area below the main deck, and a look up into the conning tower were you can get a decent view of the periscope, if you look closely.

Other Comments:

I honestly have to say that I have a heightened respect for those individuals who served aboard vessels like the Clamagore. Personally, I cannot fathom being isolated on one of these things, hundreds of feet below the water, for months at a time. Anyone who can make a career of this and come out of it still sane, deserves our respect..

 

 

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Navy Advanced Tactical Support Base:

Being a Vietnam vet, this was probably my favorite exhibit. The entire support base is surrounded by protective wire fencing. As you approach from the visitor's entrance area the first thing you see is Huey Cobra helicopter off to the right. As you approach the entrance to the camp, you pass a 31-foot river patrol boat (PBR), the workhorse of the "Brown Water Navy."

Once inside the perimeter, you can visit the individual exhibits including a dining facility, sleeping quarters (hootch), mortar pit, gun and observation tower, ammo bunker, and two UH-1 helicopters. To the best of my recollection, these exhibits are excellent representations of the original structures. The hootch was certainly representative of the one I lived in for almost a year. Having been on an Air Force base, my hootch was probably three times longer than this one.

I was also fascinated by the gun and observation tower. I recall visiting the towers around our facility on my nights off, we often visited the sentries and viewed the perimeter through the "Starlight" scopes on the weapons.

On the two UH-1 helicopters, one was configured for Medevac and the other for assault missions. The assault chopper is armed with a 2.75 rocket launcher and a 7.62mm minigun. I have seen both of these weapons used in combat situations and I can tell you the minigun is a sight to behold, particularly when fired at night. Capable of firing 7,200 rounds per minute, it is generally governed down to 6,000 round per minute to keep the barrels from overheating. Even with a tracer round inserted every five rounds, at this firing rate the tracer rounds look like red rain. If you've ever seen it, you won't forget it.

Other Comments:

Just because this exhibit is located on land, don't miss it, and don't pass it up.