USS BEDFORD - Ship Of The Week #19 4/23/2015

[Admiral2]

UNITED STATES SHIP BEDFORD
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One of the Farragut-class of ships first laid down in 1956, the Bedford helped usher in the modern era of guided missile naval warfare. She was armed with a box launcher forward for launching the RUR-5 Anti-Submarine Rocket and a rail launcher aft for the RIM-2 Terrier anti-air missile, as well as topedo launch tubes and a five-inch gun. Farraguts were given the designation “DLG”, for “‘Destroyer Leader’ (Frigate), Guided Missile’.”

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THE BEDFORD INCIDENT
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The gripping Cold War thriller starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier. Co-produced by Widmark and based on the novel by Mark Rascovich, The Bedford Incident is a retelling of Moby Dick, where Captain Eric Finlander’s obsession with the Soviet submarine he is pursuing forces him to drive his crew to the brink of collapse and ultimately leads to disaster. The Bedford herself was portrayed by a model of a Farragut-class warship.

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“...if he fires one, I’ll fire one.”

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOll3v55Dmo[/yt]​

 

[Gary Mitchell]

That was a great movie.

 

[J.T.B.]

Awesome. You don't hear much about them now but in the '50s those were hot stuff. Terrier, ASROC, 5-inch and torpedo tubes? Not bad for a big destroyer. The steam plant was apparently a real PITA. They don't look quite as cool as the double-ender Leahys but I thought the model looked pretty good, especially from aft with the transom stern, missiles and SPG-55 radar visible. A really good movie. Nuke 'em, Danno.

 

[Admiral2]

Awesome. You don't hear much about them now but in the '50s those were hot stuff. Terrier, ASROC, 5-inch and torpedo tubes? Not bad for a big destroyer. The steam plant was apparently a real PITA. They don't look quite as cool as the double-ender Leahys but I thought the model looked pretty good, especially from aft with the transom stern, missiles and SPG-55 radar visible. A really good movie. Nuke 'em, Danno.

Heh. I was waiting for a Danno joke...

The image that has always stuck in my mind since I first saw the film is the aft view, because back then I was struck by how modern the Bedford looked for a Navy ship in a black and white film. (Yes, I know, but to that point my mind automatically registered b&w as WWII-set.)

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Awesome. The move is a must-see, worth watching, but I think it's, on balance, heavy-handed.

 

[Push The Button]

A great cold-war thriller, certainly in the same league as Fail Safe, with the same kind of "I can't believe this is happening" type ending.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

A great cold-war thriller, certainly in the same league as Fail Safe, with the same kind of "I can't believe this is happening" type ending.

Personally, I think that Fail Safe blows this away. I think it's too bad that Fail Safe got eclipsed by Dr. Stangelove, despite the fact that Stangelove is a brilliant film. But Kubrick's film is probably simply about the most entertaining WWIII film there is, especially from this era.

 

[J.T.B.]

The image that has always stuck in my mind since I first saw the film is the aft view, because back then I was struck by how modern the Bedford looked for a Navy ship in a black and white film. (Yes, I know, but to that point my mind automatically registered b&w as WWII-set.)

Yeah, I don't think there were a lot of then-present-day navy movies/shows back then, and what there were used WW2 era stuff (like NBC's Ensign O'Toole).

Personally, I think that Fail Safe blows this away. I think it's too bad that Fail Safe got eclipsed by Dr. Stangelove, despite the fact that Stangelove is a brilliant film. But Kubrick's film is probably simply about the most entertaining WWIII film there is, especially from this era.

I like both about the same. Fail Safe was about a system that was uncontrollable despite best efforts, "Bedford" was about the dangerous power of the wrong individual in a crucial position. I'd say both can be fairly called heavy-handed, but in the immediate post-Cuban Missile Crisis atmosphere I don't hold that against them. It is easy to say now that Kubrick's dark satire was the best approach, but a more serious tone might have seemed more appropriate by the people involved at the time. In that context, I think both hold up really well. "Strangelove" is by far my favorite, though.

 

[J.T.B.]

^ And Underdog, Wally Cox.

I never put it together till now that it was Phil Brown from Star Wars who was in charge of picking through the submarine's garbage. But it makes sense as "Bedford" was made at Shepperton and he was a US-born actor who mostly worked in Britain. Ed Bishop from UFO, too.