Week Two: World War II Aircraft Carrier, USS Yorktown; Charleston Tea Plantation, North America's Only Tea Plantation

 World War II Aircraft Carrier, USS Yorktown

The aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown, was constructed in less than 17 months to meet the demands of war at Newport News, Virginia in 1942-43. The USS Yorktown participated in the Pacific Offensive against Japanese targets during World War II. The carrier is also distinguished for service as an anti-submarine carrier during the Vietnam War, and retrieving the Apollo 8 astronauts and capsule in 1968.The carrier was decommissioned in 1970, and established as a museum in 1975.

The USS Yorktown. When commissioned in 1943, the carrier was 878 feet long. The carrier was extended to 888 feet in 1956 to meet the needs of jet aircraft.

The carrier is divided into three hanger bays just below the flight deck. Hanger Bay #2 runs the length of this image, and know houses several original World War II aircraft of the type that served on board the USS Yorktown. Wings on fighter aircraft were designed to fold to allow more space for aircraft. The carrier could transport 90 World War II era aircraft, or 44 jet aircraft.

The 888-foot flight deck, which now holds several jet fighters and helicopters on exhibit.

Large ship's plans attached to the wall. Sets of plans were located throughout the ship in case of an emergency. The ship's plans pictured here is just for one level of the ship. This set contains several more pages of plans for other decks of the ship.

Just one section of the engine room. There was no way to really capture the scale of the engines with a camera. On the right is just part of the engine. Below the catwalk in the center, if one looks down, they will notice that engine continues for three or four more levels down.

Deep within the bowels of the carrier. This area was off limits, but I was able to get the camera lens through the gate and capture this image using night mode.

The catapult machine. The catapult was used to aid fighter planes take off and land.

Mapping and sonar room. Personnel also decoded radio transmissions from here to make decisions. With the technology of the time, the radio transmissions were filled with noise interference that listeners had to deal with. If they made a mistake, it could have meant the destruction of the carrier.

The bridge. the round wheel in the center was the ship's helm, which control the rudder. Each port hole had blast covers to help protect the pilot and equipment during combat.

The forward section of the bridge. This was the heart and soul of the carrier.

One of several galleys where food was prepared daily for the carrier's 3,000 crew members.

A machine shop. When out at sea on a mission for extended periods, any repairs and maintenance had to be done on board. Note the yellow rail from the ceiling. These yellow rails snake throughout the ship to move heavy equipment and munitions to their destination.

Chairs for pilots in the briefing room. Here, pilots would receive their mission orders before flight. Note the ashtrays on the left arm of each chair, a feature of a by-gone era.

Charleston Tea Plantation

The next stop for the day was a tour of a very different type at North America's only tea plantation, the Charleston Tea Plantation. The plantation offers a factory tour, explaining how tea leaves are harvested and processed, a tour of the tea fields, and unlimited free samples of a variety of tea.

In the foreground is a specially designed machine for harvesting tea leaves. It is designed for harvesting only the new leaves that grow on the plants. By doing so, tea leaves can be harvested from the same plant several times a growing season. In the background is one of the tea fields.

The withering bed, the first machine in a series of processes. The withering bed removes the moisture from the tea leaves.

The oxidization bed determines the type and quality of the tea. The factory makes four types of tea through the oxidization process: black, which has a 50-minute oxidization; oolong, which has a shorter oxidization process, and is most common at Chinese restaurants; and green, which has a very short oxidization process, resulting in a greener tea due to the leaves remaining mostly green.

Week Three: Mobile, Alabama and Surrounding Regions