Sunday, March 29, 2009

2009 Summer Internship

The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is currently offering paid summer internship to work with the education department. Interns will work within the Education Department of HRNM.

The Summer Education Internship is a full-time, twelve-week, paid internship working with curators, educators and editors on all summer programs. The intern’s tasks may range from research, and writing, to implementing daily public programs and educational tours. Interns will assist with the development and implementation of teacher workshops and educational programs. The internship will require excellent people and presentation skills, and the ability to multi-task. Knowledge of American and Military history is preferred.

For more information, go to http://www.hrnm.navy.mil

Thursday, March 26, 2009

AIM-9 Sidewinder Missile

This is an AIM-9 "Sidewinder" missile currently on display in the museum's Cold War gallery. The Sidewinder is an air-to-air, heat-seeking weapon used by all branches of the United States Armed Forces and over two dozen allied air forces. Many other countries have copied its design for use in their own arsenals.

First developed in the 1950s, it only has a few moving parts and is easy to upgrade. Variant "X" was rolled out in 1999. Since its first deployment, the system is responsible for at least 250 air-to-air kills worldwide. It is one of the most successful weapon systems ever produced.
Read more about the system at http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=2200&tid=1000&ct=2.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

USS New Ironsides Engine Room Clock

Currently on display in our Civil War gallery is the engine room clock from the ironclad USS New Ironsides. The clock face is silver and the numbers and script were hand etech into the metal. Notice how the clock says "USS Ironsides." That was the original name of the ship until somebody decided that the public might confuse her with "Old Ironsides" a.k.a. the frigate Constitution. Thus her name was changed. The clock maker apparently decided he had already put enough hard work into it and kept the original name.

The clock was restore by a museum volunteer and it does work if properly wound. It uses four small precious stones (two clear sapphires, a diamond, and a ruby) to keep the gears running accurately. As it was hardwired to the engine, the clock also kept track of the number of revolutions the ship's shaft spun (the number "1862" is the counter). By looking at the clock and the shaft speed, an engineer could tell how fast his ship was moving.

Friday, March 6, 2009

New Daybook Published

Volume 13 Issue 3 of The Daybook, the museum's journal of local naval history and museum events, is currently online at http://www.hrnm.navy.mil/daybook.html. The main article is looks at the William R. Trigg Company, which was a Richmond, VA-based shipyard that made an attempt to build warships for the new "Steel Navy" between 1898 and 1903.

Also in this issue is another installment of the diary of Petty Officer Stoffer, a machinsit's mate aboard the battleship USS Kansas (BB-21) during the 1907-09 voyage of the Great White Fleet.

The print version should be out in the mail in the next couple of weeks. If you wish to get a print copy, e-mail us at gordon.b.calhoun@navy.mil. There is no charge.