Yesterday I took a little detour on my way home from work and swung through the Port of Port Townsend Boat Haven. I noticed this unique US Navy fast boat in the yard for some work.
It is a US Navy Region Northwest Police patrol boat, or fast patrol boat. The boat was manufactured in the USA by Sea Ark Marine Arkansas. The US Navy runs various models of Sea Ark boats, of which this is just one. This particular boat is one of their custom RAM models that is propelled by two 225 hp Mercury outboard engines. That's some serious horsepower for a boat that is only about 25 feet long!
These boats are used for patrolling the harbors and US Navy bases, all over the US and where needed overseas.
Here are a few more shots of this US Navy fast boat:
This last weekend, Sweet Pea and I stopped by a yard sale that was just around the corner from our house........ In a box full of miscellaneous junk, I discovered a mini-treasure stash of some old Russian Mosin-Nagant rifle accessories! I ended up leaving with the whole handful for only a couple of dollars! I don't have a Mosin-Nagant rifle right now, but who knows............. now that I have the "stuff" to go with it, I may have to pick one up. They are currently selling for about $100 to $150 here in the US right now. Pretty darn cheap for a vintage WW2 era rifle!
***UPDATE, Aug. 5, 2012***
I have since purchased a 1943 Mosin Nagant M91/30 rifle and another complete set of accessories and a bayonet. You can use the links below to view the blog entries about these new items. I have quite a number of blog pages covering the Mosin Nagant and the accessories and bayonet during the month of August, 2012, so be sure to check them all out! You can also type "Mosin Nagant" into the Blogger search bar to get a full list of entries..... here are a few links to some of my other Mosin Nagant blog entries to get you started:
http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2012/08/1943-mosin-nagant-m9130-rifle-with.html
http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2012/08/1943-mosin-nagant-m9130-photo-album.html
http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2012/08/czechoslovakian-y-staps-mosin-nagant.html
http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2012/08/mosin-nagant-bayonet-scabbard-modern.html
Here's a shot of the whole grouping of accessories:
The tools are pretty basic rough steel. There is a bolt wrench-screwdriver combo tool, a cleaning jag and firing pin tool.
The ammo pouch is a post-WW2, Soviet model made from an imitation canvas and "rubber" leather-like material with leather reinforcements and straps. I can not make out any markings on the pouch.
The sling is made of a very heavy oiled canvas with leather straps to secure it to the rifle. There are several stamped markings on the inside of the canvas, but I do not know what they mean. I am sure that they indicate date and manufacture information though.
The oil can is a very early Soviet model, probably WW2 or earlier. It was packed in cosmoline grease and required a bit of cleaning prior to photographing. I believe that one side of the dual-can held cleaning fluid and the other side held oil. The can appears to be steel that has been coated with zinc.
Here is a link to web page that shows the wide range of styles and manufacturers of the various Mosin-Nagant accessories: http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinAcc.htm
Here are a couple of shots showing some details of the original Mosin-Nagant rifles. If you look at the photo of the actual rifle, you can see how the small leather straps are used to attach the sling:
To finish up this posting, let's take a look at some soldiers form various countries using the old Mosin-Nagant rifles:
I stopped by our local used building supply store the other day and spotted a very unique hard hat sitting on a back shelf............ it is now in my collection.
The hard hat is marked for use by the US Navy with the hat emblems showing that it was used by an officer from the rank of Captain through Commander. There is a sticker on the back of the helmet listing the phone number extensions for the various offices on board the ship and emergency numbers. The date stamp under the hat visor is Dec. 18, 1978. This hard hat was manufactured by "Hard Boiled" and is in near perfect condition.
These hard hats (in various colors), are used by ship's officers and crew while the ship is in the yard and while heavy work is being performed on board the ship. They are also worn on various shipboard inspections, etc.
Here are is an album of photos of this interesting bit of US Navy uniform equipment:
Here are a few modern photos of hard hats being worn by US Navy personnel:
Here are a few shots of the hard hats being worn by United States Coast Guard crews:
