USS Little Rock's Admiral's Spaces

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

That is a big old suite . Must take up a lot of space . It is important as Ryan said for entertaining and conferring to make a good impression . He didn't say if it had a separate galley or pantry . They certainly have done a good job restoring it .

[@robertf3479]

I'm not sure about the Little Rock, but flagships with designed in Flag Spaces and Quarters often did and do. The last ship I served in actually had spaces for TWO Flag Officers, a Navy Rear Admiral (Amphib Group Commander) or Vice Admiral (Second Fleet) (one or the other) and the Marine Flag Officer commanding the Landing Force, usually a 1 Star Brigadier General. There was a central Flag Mess and Galley for them plus the Officer's Wardroom serving both the ship's officers and the Marine officers. Ships serving as Flagships WITHOUT designed in Flag accommodations (destroyers and Ticonderoga cruisers or smaller amphibious ships) usually have the Flag Officer living in the Captain's inport cabin and the staff officers bunking in the Wardroom in any spare cabins or bunks that ship's company aren't using. Trust me, there aren't usually many of those in the smaller ships. 😉 ALL of the officers dine in the Wardroom.

[@maxbeep68]

Sixth Fleet is a 3 star Admiral. I know, I flew him around off USS SPRINGFIELD, in 1971. I was a LTJG and and a member of the help detachment from HC-4 in Lakehurst New Jersey.

[@dabluesgarage]

The Compass binnacle on the weather deck of the USS Little Rock is from the USS Springfield.

[@localcrew]

My gf and I spent an afternoon at the Naval Shipyard in Buffalo a few years back. Wonderful exhibits there. Strongly recommend. 👍

[@daveh7720]

My father was a radioman aboard the USS Little Rock in the late 1960s. He was aboard when they went to the aid of the USS Liberty in 1967. I think he transferred off to shore duty in 1969 and retired in 1971. I toured the Little Rock about five years ago with my brother, but the radio shack was closed to visitors because there was a ham radio contest going on and the radio club was using its facilities.

[@montecorbit8280]

You should have mentioned the name of your father and his duties. They may have been willing to allow you to lie stand in there and soak up the ambiance.... If not, they were total jerks and shouldn't be lit on the ship again!!

[@daveh7720]

@@montecorbit8280 I'm an amateur radio operator myself and I understand the need to focus during a contest. It wasn't going to press the issue. All the members of that club are volunteers who maintain the ship as a museum. As far as I'm concerned, they earned the right to use that space.

[@montecorbit8280]

@@daveh7720 I am an amateur radio operator as well, but I don't do competitions.... If that's the way you want to do handle it, guess it's okay....but it partially ruined your tour and your trip. Signing off....

[@Greg-xw6xx]

Welcome to Buffalo! Hope you enjoyed your stay in our little city!

[@montecorbit8280]

You're taking care of it it seems, it should have been in Little Rock though....Little Rock is a port city, they do have shipping the Arkansas River Uncle way to Tulsa OK. They floated the USS Razorback up the river to Little Rock a few years back....so there should be no problems!!

[@kevinmurphy3464]

Another great job by Ryan and Libby.

[@shawnbauman5463]

Just visited buffalo naval park last Monday. The wife wasn't happy with how small the destroyer and submarine was. She definitely noticed how much smaller little rock is compared to NJ which we visited last fall. The Talos missile system is impressively massive. The turrets are so small. Little to no armor too.

[@fredderf3207]

So now she knows some of the difference between Battleships, Cruisers and Destroyers. Now take her to Albany, NY and visit the USS Slater, Escort Destroyer.

[@-Cece]

And she saw 3 ships (and a museum building) for less than the price of a ticket on New Jersey.

[@rawhides]

@@-Ceceokay are you trying to be literal, or are you trying to be passive aggressive and act like a $30 ticket is expensive, seemingly even unreasonable to tour a ship like BB62? Dude it’s the largest battleship the USA has ever fielded and it has to pay the bills somehow. I would be more inclined give New Jersey more of a pass to even charge Disney’s current prices than Disney themselves! At least with BB62 that $30 nets you the ability to actually educate yourself on the history of this country, the sacrifice our service members make on the daily, and furthermore is freaking an awe-inspiring piece of engineering and human ingenuity if you don’t care about the other two things.

[@DavidCaban-m7w]

I was onboard and saw them missiles and boy they were huge

[@dennisd5776]

All numbered fleets are commanded by Vice Admirals ( three stars). CINCPACFLT and CINCLANTFLT are full Admirals and do have assigned flag ships, but they never deploy. The Navy now uses LCC's for the forward deployed 6th and 7th Fleets because of their communication capabilities.

[@robertkelley3437]

How many staff members would the flag officer have? How many staff would the flag area accommodate?

[@penultimateh766]

I'm guessing dozens. Fifty or something.

[@patrickmccrann991]

We had about 100 staff on the USS Belknap (CG-26) which served as 6th Fleet Flagship from 1986-1995. However, not all members of the staff were on the ship. About 35-40 were assigned as Laisson Officers to the NATO countries or on the 6th Fleet Det in our homeport of Gaeta, Italy. ComSixthFlt was also ComStrikeForceSouth in NATO as the senior afloat commander in NATO.

[@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24]

25,000 including cabin boys

[@Joseph_Greco]

We had about 50 flag officers and about 120 flag enlisted on Little Rock (including the Sixth Fleet band).

[@garymccreery7252]

I spent time on the little rock as a child. My father was signed to it in Italy. I remember going into the Admiral quarters when signed his last contract in early 70's.

[@lriper4702]

I want to see the engines of USS New Jersey restored, so it can steam with her own power again, visiting ports around the world 😊

[@knottyash9908]

Those flag spaces are a lot bigger than the flag spaces on a modern Ticonderoga class cruiser. They are designed for task group commanders, one or two star admirals.

[@jimmccormick6091]

More than a few years ago, a group of aboy 10 to 12 of us were on our way home from Toronto. We decided to stop in Buffalo, to see the Little Rock, etc etc. I had been out of the serverice (Navy) just over a year, and, felt "too cool" to be bothered with this "touristy stuff" (although we had 5 oter veterans who did want to stop, including an army air corp airman that was captured at Bataan, a Marine who was an embassy guard once upon a time, a Vietnam vet, and an air force vet. So, we all gathered, and the guide explaned to us what he was going to show us, and asked if we had any veterans, and we that were raised our hands. He politely asked me to keep in mind, it was his tour, and I obliged to keep any comments to myself. He began by explaining to us that we must always keep in mind, steel does not give, so please, please, PLEASE make sure to duck through the hatches. I knew this, I learned it the hard way when I was on my ship. He also explained why they called the edge a "knife edge", and again, make damn damn sure you minded your head. He told, in a kind way, if we slammed our head into the hatch, take a seat. Dont try to fight through a black out, just sit down till you are sure. I though back to my own experience, and how I hit that hatch, and went down like Joe Frazier. I recall a BM1 telling me "they make thse things called chairs... great for sitting down"..... and I remember what a qm2 told me, which I got to share with an air force puke. So, we were moving through Little Rock, and it was a great tour. The guide was informative, and took his time for some of our older fellas. So, we are coming through a hatch, and the air force guys slaps HARD. It was clear, he was pretty much out cold. We got him down before he fell, and he took a few minutes before he was ready to even try to stand up. I remembered what that QM2 told me, when I did the same thing...... "unless you are REALLY, REALLY stupid, you will never make that mistake again!" I am pretty sure the tour guide tuened away to keep from laughing. The wing wiper? didn't appreciate it....... go figure

[@tankman7711]

Did anyone else notice that The Marine Officer Commanding the Marine Company, is wearing an Aviators Device(Pilots Wings)? Rare for a young pilot to be attached as an Officer to Marine detail sheps attachment! Very interesting! Liked the video showing what an Admiral sees as they Come Aboard...side boys, Skipper at gang plank receiving a long w/his Officers & ships Company in Cracker Jacks & officers in blues and Ships Attachments of Marines in Blues and Armed! Man, those were the days! The USA could really impress with a power show....just coming aboard!

[@jamesgossens6853]

Little Rock docked in Tunis a couple times in the mid-70's and family and friends of US Embassy staff visited. At the time, she was CLG-4, and somewhere in my parents attic, we still have a hat with that on the front.

[@DavidCaban-m7w]

I remember those times. I was a Hull-Tech 1st Class at that time. I have been thru every crevice of that ship. I wish I can turn back the clock. I lived on board and off board this vessel in Gaeta, Italy from 1973-1976 before the ship was mothballed and sent to Buffalo, NY and it sits alongside the Sullivans which was a Historic Proud ship which was given the name after their ship the USS Juneau was sunk by a Japanese torpedo somewhere in the Pacific during World War Two. All five Sullivan brothers died in that ship. I am so proud that my Dear ship sits alongside the Sullivan. God Bless all future sailors and Military personnel from all branches. Veteran US-Navy of the Little Rock CLG-4. Thanks for the Video.

[@alanwerner3239]

I served aboard this ship 71-72. I was in AC repair. Got into a lot of different parts of the ship but this area you just talked about and the nuke missile house. I need to pay a visit.

[@russellrico1378]

I was stationed on Little Rock as a radioman during the six day war and Vice Adm Martin was Sixth Flt at the time. Also when the Uss Liberty was attacked by Israel planes and torpedo boats. Loved that ship

[@Wpns175]

Nice little looksee Ryan! I love the way you say Museum!

[@SlackingSince1969]

I don't know if you have ever seen or heard of the BBC documentary HMS Brilliant. All but one episode are on You Tube. From the fall of 1995 I believe. In one episode the Captain has a small lunch in his office/wardroom for local dignitaries. I don't remember which episode however. The documentary was made during a deployment to the Med to help with the embargo to Yugoslavia. All episodes are fantastic and well worth the watch. I saw it decades ago when it aired. So happy it has been made publicly available. I really enjoy your channel. Keep up the good work.

[@jamescameron2490]

Three of the Northampton class treaty cruisers (Chicago, Houston, Augusta) had extended forecastles to allow them to serve as flagships. Likewise, battleship South Dakota made space for flag accommodations by deleting two 5" mounts.

[@levijudd3480]

Loved meeting you in buffalo ryan!

[@tangentradio7272]

Great video, thank you.

[@genericscottishchannel1603]

1:49 RIP cameraman

[@patrickmccrann991]

The last cruiser to serve as a Fleet Flagship was USS Belknap (CG-26). She served as the 6th Fleet Flagship from 1986-1995 homeported in Gaeta, Italy. I served on her from April 1989 to March 1991, first as OI Division LCPO (8 months) then CMS Custodian (16 months). We had two exceptional Commanding Officers, Capt Harold Gehman (Retired as 4 star Vice CJCS) and Capt John Sigler (Retired as 2 star). OSCS(SW) USN RET'D 1978-2002

[@BobCollier-z3q]

Love listening to you Ryan. I think you also need to give a bit of mention to the other light cruisers that were converted to carry flag in the late 50's. USS Oklahoma City CLG-5, USS Providence CLG-6 (my ship), and USS Springfield CLG-7, The latter 2 using the mid-range Terrier missiles vs Talos.

[@jessicawells5145]

Did you see the video today, Iowa operated number 3 turret,so exciting to see her rotate for the first time since the 90s

[@richardfredericks4069]

My dad was stationed on the Liite Rock briefly. Long enough to get a ships wall plaque

[@darrenerickson1288]

Great video!

[@jimdennis2451]

I loved when the Admiral moved in for a kiss... which was the custom at the time.

[@graymodeler]

I served on the USS Oklahoma City CLG 5 which was also commander of 6th Fleet. I remember rigging those canvas tents for the parties they would have.

[@Joseph_Greco]

The Oklahoma City was 7th Fleet flagship

[@paulgreen6854]

When I was A boy scout the navy museum hosted overnights. I stayed on little rock several times. Had KP duty. Mopped Stayed where troops in transport stayed. I hope they still do those. The Sullivan was in poor shape. The frog! I would like to see the gally of frog operational. What a boy scout adventure! Lunch on a sub!

[@BrianHoff04]

I always admire & appreciate Ryan's videos. It's a lot of work and I learn something every time. I can see the Admiral spaces and my head fills with how little importance all these extra spaces/ extravagances have to being an effective ship of war. All the weird heraldry, unusual and in-effective "extras" that seem to be needed due to the presence of a high ranking military person. Had I ever been a person of such rank it would grate on me to think that we are making the ship less effective just to appease a "tradition" of extraordinary accommodation due to my rank that is actually reducing the ships capability to do what it was designed to do. That would drive me nuts. Not 100% of it is useless, but a great deal of it is and this is without mentioning all the extra attention / effort the crew must provide that actually interferes with the purpose and functionality of the ship. That's about all I can think about when Ryan decides to discuss / show the spaces that dealt with Admirals or Flagship topics. Apparently, not my thing.

[@JoshuaTootell]

Nature vs nurture: Do people who rise to these positions become like that, or is it the people attracted to the pomp and circumstance the ones who rise to the position?

[@BrianHoff04]

@@JoshuaTootell interesting question. When I think about it I end up at both places.

[@kmbbmj5857]

I wasn't Navy (Air Force), but you have to consider that at that level, all those little extras are actually a key part of the job. A flag officer at that level is as much, or more, a diplomat, political leader, and business executive as a military commander. I was assigned to a 4 star headquarters and was astounded at first how much time went into supporting those functions.

[@philipciaffa6643]

Where does one begin? You have no context for shipboard life in the US Navy in the second half of the Twentieth Century. You have no understanding of the technologies available and the limitations to conduct operations, administration, communications, logistics, battlespace management, afloat staff tasking and time management, physical travel for embarked personnel from ship to shore, foreign port visits, physical and operational security issues, emerging diplomatic or national security issues between World War II and the ship's decommissioning. Compare the awesome responsibilities, power and stewardship of a 3-Star Fleet Commander with the CEO of a multinational civilian corporation in charge of 50,000 personnel. As the personal representative of the President of the United States in his area of responsibility, a Fleet Commander is at the top of his profession and took 20-25 years to get there. Having never served a day in uniform, you would have no understanding of any of this. The Flag Spaces and accommodations for his Afloat Staff served their purpose, even if it is not your thing!

[@kcburmeister]

I would love to see a tour of the forward fighting top on the USS Texas... even better if it can get restored - I've always wanted to see the view from up top!

[@cmcb7230]

If love to see the warhead magazine on Little Rock restored. I don’t think it would be feasible for visitors to go down there but cool either way.

[@wulfeman9948]

that was a good ship .. i was on it back in the day

[@oligoprimer]

I love that Turnbull chair that Ryan’s sitting in at the start of the video. Turnbull still makes ready room and other chairs for the Navy, why not a video on them? They’re just down in Baltimore.

[@brianwilson3458]

Another winner!

[@Willigula]

I love his videos!

[@mokdumoknonsharrall1868]

What would the in-port flag-officer and captain's cabins be used for while at sea?

[@todds2248]

My Dad proudly served on the USS Columbus CA-74 in the 1950's. Apparently it was the flag ship of the Mediterranean at the time.

[@Bellthorian]

What do they do in the modern Navy for Flag spaces?

[@davidsanders4254]

I worked in the evaps and would love to see them restored

[@henrycarlson7514]

Interesting , Thank You

[@jmd1743]

Would love to see you to take a tour of those odd ball Blue Ridge ships before they're decommissioned.

[@olegadodasguerras3795]

Best KZbin channel

[@johnhoffman2818]

My father was on the Little Rock during WWII. He was one of the original crew members after it was launched. A blank holder as they say. He has a picture of the Little Rock listing at low tide parked at Rio de Janeiro. He said they came back to port and had a wonderful leave. All the milk and food they could eat. They put out to;see and the captain made an announcement that they were heading to Japan to take part in the invasion. They were to head into Tokyo Bay and intercept the suicide planes. Then the bomb dropped and the war ended. Needless to say they were all pretty happy. Don’t know how true that is but I’m pretty sure it was. He also has some fun pictures of the guys getting their fake metals from King Neptune when they passed over the equator.

[@KJAkk]

Are you going to show the missile fire control spaces?

[@Taospark]

Are most fleet admirals at three stars or above at land-based naval bases since the end of the Cold War?

[@rsr3162000]

I toured this ship last week, was disappointed to not see engine room.

[@lawdog89]

My father Frank Holloway served on the Little Rock during that time.

[@andrewvelonis5940]

I've been aboard the Little Rock, but those newly restored areas had not yet been restored.

[@ryancampbell4119]

My grandfather served on Little Rock when she was the flag ship. I remember him telling me how they had gotten the ship stuck on a sand bank at least I think that was what he said.

[@Odin029]

Secretary of the Navy's Flag... hmm I think that might be tops for any of the museum ship fleet when it comes to flags onboard.

[@ericchampion6993]

Ryan, if the USN were to build a modern big gun battleship, what would it look like and what power plants, wha 4:40 4:40 t caliber guns? I know this is unlikely to happen. But i would like your opinion on this question.

[@jesusismful]

Is the US Navy holding out on you guys any battleship documentation or parts in some warehouse that you know about? Do you think they might be? I know you touched on the Navy being hands-off completely with the ships they don't own. I just figured it's such a huge organization that things might have been forgotten about. Be a shame if anything that was forgotten, ended up being destroyed by someone who doesn't understand their significance. I like seeing you go to other museum ships, thanks for doing that, and thanks to the donator's that enable it!

[@williestyle35]

Maybe. Ryan has talked about a warehouse that he visited that had parts recovered from ships that went to scrapping. And Ryan has a recent video about some parts the Navy "requisitioned" from Little Rock, that may have went to spares in warehouses, or to Battleships as they were reactivated.

[@MrWlbblw]

Here's my list of Flagship cruisers of the late 60s - late 70s Cold War era: Existing heavy cruisers: CAG-1/CA-69 USS Boston, 6th Fleet CAG-2/CA-70 USS Canberra CA-73 USS St. Paul (Enhanced flag facilities installed 1956 by removing forward 5" mount & adding rooms amidships) 1st Fleet CA-148 USS Newport News (Enhanced flag facilities installed 1962 by adding extra deckhouses) 2nd & 7th Fleets Converted Oregon City command cruiser: CLC-1 USS Northampton, 6th, 2nd Fleet Converted Oregon City/Baltimore Class CG: CG-10 USS Albany, 6th, 2nd Fleet CG-11 USS Chicago, 1st Fleet, AAW "Red Crown"/PIRAZ Vietnam CG-12 USS Columbus, 2nd Fleet Converted Cleveland Class CLG/CG: CLG/CG-4 USS Little Rock, 6th, 2nd Fleet CLG/CG-5 USS Oklahoma City, 7th Fleet CLG/CG-6 USS Providence, 7th Fleet CLG/CG-7 USS Springfield, 7th, 6th & 2nd Fleets As built: CGN-9 USS Long Beach, 2nd Fleet, AAW "Red Crown" PIRAZ Vietnam DLG/CG-26 USS Belknap, 6th Fleet (Flag facilities added 1985-86 by installing extra deckhouses)

[@PaulSteinmayer]

USS Ranger CV-61 served as the 7th Fleet Flagship during the 4 years I spent aboard her (1987 to 1991). I'm not sure if all four Forrestal Class carriers served a flag ships though.

[@giovannibattistaponzetto5860]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5nQmJ-bbauqb9k This is a clip my father filmed on the Little Rock in Gaeta, Italy, where the Ship was stationed in the 1970iesand occasionally accepted civilians on board.

[@delberthageman1152]

Admiral I feel was the best officer the navy has ever produced

[@frankbodenschatz173]

Hello all

[@jamescherney5874]

I did my 1st Class cruise in 1974 while a midshipman at the US Naval Academy. The Little Rock was a real rust bucket that they constantly painted to try and make it look good. We had the worst place to sleep around the lower part of the turrets. It leaked and we usually had water 2 inches below the lowest racks. Didn't see any Admirals or senior officers. They all lived ashore and never came on board. The week that we were out in the Med it was just ship ' s company. Was not impressed with the ship or crew.

[@davidsanders4254]

I saw a video on the evaps but it didn't look the same as I was on in 67-68

[@chrishigson3609]

What can you tell us about USS MASSACHUSETTS

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

We've got a whole playlist from Battleship Cove where USS Massachusetts is: kzbin.info/aero/PLALOZV63REes2AN8G_Kq7Rk1mn_EJrRBE

[@dogloversrule8476]

When not being used as a flag ship, what were the flag areas used for?

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

Cruisers are the best option for this role, ask Spruance. Kurita thought so too. Halsey might not have ended up looking like such a fool at Leyte Gulf if he had had a cruiser as his flagship instead of New Jersey. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt there.

[@petershen6924]

If I were the admiral to pick a flag ship, I would have picked the USS Iowa (BB-61) because it has a bath tub from FDR.

[@tankman7711]

FASH TRAFFIC...FLASH TRAFFIC.... We are interested as to see if BATTLESHIP NEW JERSEY has video like that, showng how an Admiral or VIP or Dignitary would be recieved coming aboard?

[@wfoj21]

he already got the prime space of interest - missile launcher and magazine. that was for TALOS. I wish there was a magazine ship with a Tarter or Terrier Missile Magazine he could provide a video. I am being lazy - confidant none in the USA. Found one for the Tarter Launcher - Germany- Molder. Oh - at 3:17 in video- I say that is a Kotlin class destroyer - Russian.

[@cnknguyen]

Id like to see the engineering spaces restored, and the boilers fired up on any of the BBs.....lol. Id give a kidney to see those guns fire once in my lifetime.

[@JoshuaTootell]

Not going to happen and not going to happen.

[@cnknguyen]

@JoshuaTootell thanks for clarifying 👍 but I was answering Ryan's questions, i wasnt asking for a rando who isnt affiliated with anything to chime in. Thanks again.

[@Knight6831]

0:15 you mean what is left of it Ryan

[@ronaldmiller2740]

RYAN ,,, VERY COOOL VIDEO MY SON MAX 8 SAYS I AGREE!!!!! I LKE THE OLDIES VIDEO TOO..

[@bigsarge2085]

👍👍

[@carmatic]

6:57 if that flag is not of a 4-Star Admiral, then why does it have 4 stars on it?

[@vrod665]

I don’t know that I “a space” I’d like to see restored. I’d like to see a ship restored - to a period in its service. Restored - as in … with all of the equipment (or similar stand ins). Going to a ship and looking into an empty space is disappointing. I know the equipment is difficult to get at best and nonexistent in other cases BUT … you asked, I answered reaching for the stars.

[@richhoule3462]

That bridge looks about as good as Buffalo

[@dannyv2335]

I just want to see clean teak and no rust running stains

[@charlesgantz5865]

It's pretty obvious why the Captain has an at sea cabin, but what is the point of the Admiral having one.

[@politicsuncensored5617]

I love cruisers like the USS Little Rock, but that had to be sort of a kick in the balls when compared to a battleship or aircraft carrier. PJ

[@stephenbritton9297]

When I visited the LITTLE ROCK, I was very disappointed in the bridge, it was gutted and had some kind of exhibit it in. Would be nice to get that back to normal.

[@williestyle35]

Hard for Little Rock to get its bridge back to "normal" because so much equipment was removed ( like Ryan showed in "forward plot").

[@stephenbritton9297]

@@williestyle35 unfortunately, yes. But one can alway hope!

[@KennethStone]

I'd like to see more of the flag space and captain and admiral's in-port birthing restored and opened up on the ship I work on, USS Hornet. The rooms all look good, but because the flight deck leaks, there was some water damage in there (on the 02 level).

[@ghost307]

Is there a reason other than ego that flagships are usually the largest or most impressive ships? Had a smaller ship like a DD or Corvette been selected to be a flagship?

[@PoorMan972]

Little boys can't accommodate the staff an admiral. Way too spartan for the admiral himself. No space for all the communications gear required, And, admirals don't like water hours 😁.

[@davidstearns9664]

Ah Ha Now I know why curator's wear a carabiner on their belt..... To hold their hat..... 😬🧢

[@petershen6924]

Flag ships always have the privilege as the party ship.

[@merlinwizard1000]

16th, 28 June 2023

[@harpomarx7777]

Look directly at the camera and hold your gaze ... shifting your eyes all around the room makes you look insincere and deceptive. I've posted this to you before and you haven't worked on it.

[@localcrew]

He has probably ignored you.

[@JoshuaTootell]

Ryan is doing an amazing job without your assistance.

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

Er , the whole idea is to show off the ships , their equipment and how it worked . . . not yourself .

[@happykillmore349]

Haha, he said "little rock"