Save The Ships!

As naval wargamers, these warships are the objects of our enduring fascination with naval warfare and all of them need our support if they are to be preserved for future generations. Here are some links to organizations dedicated to the preservation of these historic vessels so please consider supporting their efforts through membership or contribution. A visit to these historic ships is truly inspiring and something a naval wargamer is likely to remember for quite some time.

We welcome all organizations supporting historic warships anywhere in the world to send us your information for this page.

CERBERUS in 1971  
 CERBERUS (Victoria, Australia)

Join the Victorian Navy and help support the efforts to save and refurbish the monitor CERBERUS. Click on the photo to visit the official web site.

Historic Naval Ships Association
Thirty-seven years ago, a group of individuals representing a number of former naval vessels established the Historic Naval Ships Association (HNSA). Its purpose is to facilitate the exchange of information and provide mutual support among those who are working hard to maintain their aging vessels physically and financially.

Battleship TEXAS Foundation
The Battleship Texas Foundation was created to assist ongoing preservation and educational efforts aboard this historic ship. Your membership in the Foundation helps ensure that the "Mighty T" continues to tell the story of those who fought for freedom on both sides of the globe.

Friends of the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA
This grand lady, known as The Showboat, deserves special recognition and support. The Friends of the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA was incorporated as a non-profit organization whose role is to support the Museum Department and promote the preservation of the Battleship. Members of the Friends form a special circle of caring people who join forces to enhance the unique opportunity to reach out and touch World War II, an era which is, arguably, the most significant period of our National and world history in the 20th Century.

USS ALABAMA Battleship Foundation
The USS ALABAMA needs our help. The Battleship Commission has begun a campaign to raise $8 million to protect the battleship and her companion, the USS DRUM submarine, for generations to come. Since 1965, the ship has been proudly anchored in Mobile Bay’s Battleship Park as a tourist attraction and live history lesson. Thousands of tourists, school and Scout groups tour her each year. But her strength is fading. Time and nature have taken their toll on her mighty hull. Without intervention, the ship and submarine will continue to deteriorate, and both may have to be scrapped unless enough money is raised to preserve them.

Cruiser OLYMPIA - Independence Seaport Museum
Cruiser OLYMPIA was decommissioned in 1922 and has been part of Independence Seaport Museum’s Historic Ship Zone since 1996. There are many benefits to giving, but none so special as knowing that you've helped to shape the future by preserving the past.

USS WISCONSIN Foundation
Your support is essential. The USS WISCONSIN Foundation is working diligently to maximize public and private funding for the preservation of America's "last battleship".

Battleship NEW JERSEY
As a non-profit museum, memorial and educational resource, the Battleship New Jersey relies on many sources of generous contributions to fulfill her mission. From donations of artifacts to personal memberships, each gift benefits the ongoing restoration and educational programs aboard the "Big J". Each tax-deductible donation makes a difference.

Battleship MASSACHUSETTS and Battleship Cove
Ask not what Battleship Cove can do for you; ask instead what you can do for Battleship Cove. As a nonprofit memorial museum and educational center, Battleship Cove relies on grants and contributions to perpetuate its mission.

The Friends of the Mighty Mo - Battleship MISSOURI
Support the Battleship Missouri Memorial – Become a Friend Today! The Friends of the 'Mighty Mo' is an annual gift club that supports the programs and the operations of the USS Missouri Memorial Association. It is designed to bring its members inside information about the restoration, programs and operations involved in restoring, maintaining and teaching the lessons of this incredible ship.

Patriot's Point - YORKTOWN and LAFFEY
Located on South Carolina's beautiful Charleston Harbor, Patriots Point is one of the largest museums of its kind in the world and features the carrier YORKTOWN (CV-10, destroyer LAFFEY (DD-724). Their membership programs offer something for the whole family, including discounts on tickets and in the ships store, newsletter subscription, gifts and much more.

HMCS HAIDA National Historic Site
She is the last remaining example of the 27 Tribal Class destroyers built for the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy between 1937 and 1945. It has been said that The Tribals were "magnificent in appearance, majestic in movement and menacing in disposition". Technologically, they represented the most advanced naval architecture, marine propulsion systems and weaponry of their time.

Flower Class Corvette HMCS SACKVILLE
HMCS Sackville was one of more than 120 corvettes built in Canada during the Second World War. Sackville is the last remaining corvette and was retired from the Royal Canadian Navy in 1982. She was transferred to the Canadian Naval Corvette Trust and restored to her 1944 appearance.

HMS BELFAST
In service with the Royal Navy until 1965, she was saved for the nation in 1971 as a unique reminder of Britain’s naval heritage. As Europe's only surviving big-gun armoured warship, she offers a unique opportunity to experience how sailors lived, worked and fought aboard a Royal Navy cruiser.

Save the CERBERUS website
Launched in 1868 Cerberus is one of three remaining Monitors (the first generation of modern battleships) left in the world. It is the only remaining monitor with its gun turrets. Cerberus has rested in 3 metres of water at Half Moon Bay since being scuttled to form a breakwater in 1926. To the casual observer there appeared to be no deterioration until a major collapse took place in 1993. Since then Cerberus has continued to collapse at a rate of approximately 16 mm per year.

USNSM and USS SALEM
The United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum is located in historic Quincy, Massachusetts and is home to the USS SALEM, the world's only preserved Heavy Cruiser. In October of 1994, SALEM once again made her way north to her birthplace in Quincy, where she is now the centerpiece of the United States Naval and Shipbuilding Museum. Now "crewed" by a staff of museum professionals and enthusiastic volunteers, she is being restored to her full glory.

USS DES MOINES (CA-134)
The heavy cruiser USS Des Moines (CA-134) is presently in mothballs at the Naval shipyard in Philadelphia and is tugging at her hawsers to get underway just one more time for a final voyage to Milwaukee County's Veterans Park where she will be permanently displayed as a historic naval ship. Philadelphia has been her home since 1961. In the very near future, the ship will either find a new home in Milwaukee or the Navy will tow her out to sea to sink her by torpedo and rocket fire as a target ship. What a tragic ending for an outstanding keeper of the peace.