Re: talk about saved from the scrap heap.
There was one in of all places, Germany, right down the street from us!
It was anchored in one of the harbor fingers all by itself, hooked up to it's own electric source for years. This summer it disappeared. One day it was there, next it was gone. Someone said it had been bought by someone in Homburg, and was headed for a complete restoration. Don't know how true this is, but it looked to be in not that bad shape for a ship that age.
Seems to be some great secret here. War toys are not that popular in this country, and those who restore them, tend to do so quietly, out of fear of becoming a target of the activist. Old War Birds, the like, and such ...
It had been sealed against the weather, at all openings, and stripped of all above deck fittings, so it was hard to judge it's true condition. But if you squinted your eyes, you could still see it in it's former glory.
Lets hope it will once again cruise the seas as the proud beast, it once was.