New member introductions thread ......

Hi all , newbie collector , SLR , all bits of , have a collection of Energa , and attachments , , Gpmg SF , display being put together now ....just missing odds and sods

Very good forum.

Hi all!

I found this forum while researching one of the two ship's my father served on during World War II, the USS Zircon (PY-16).

The thread I found is here.

Since it was recommended that I not replay to that reply to that nearly three-year-old thread, I thought I would answer some of the questions posed.

The Zircon was sold to the Sandy Hook Pilots Association after the war, and after undergoing refitting, served as a pilot boat in New York for twenty years. Its name was chanced to New York. When the association had a brand new boat built, it sold the ship to John Mecom (technically, the Polymer Engineering Corporation of Houston, Texas... Mecom's company). Mecom appears to have run it aground on 4 May 1988. Mecom's grandson told me that Mecom attempted to rehab it, but that he didn't know what became of it. It's my hope that the ship exists somewhere, perhaps as a house boat. It has not showed up on any registries since that time.

I'm currently in the process of locating families of all the sailors who served aboard the ship. I've spoken with five, and one of those I met. I have been collecting photos from the ship's days as Frederick J. Fisher's yacht, its time as the Zircon, and one as it was undergoing the refitting prior to its Sand Hook service. I also have a newspaper photo of it in service in New York.

I am constantly on the lookout for photos of it or anything related to it. One fellow sent me a photo of a clock his grandfather absconded with during the ship's conversion from the Nakhoda to the Zircon. Most of the expensive detailing on the ship was removed. The granddaughter of the skipper of the Nakhoda has some of the furniture. I found a clipping in the New York Times regarding the sale of other pieces of furniture from the Nakhoda.

I continue my search for sailors' families, trying to find photos that might help me to piece together the bits of the ship's history. I'm blogging about various aspects of my findings here.

Any help or suggestions are welcome.

Hi,
My name is Max and I have just become a new member

Hi All,
I am an American, now living in the Netherlands since 2001- grew up with firearms (strictly for hunting or target) and learned gun safety at a very young age.

I was a firearms instructor while teaching in the US in the early 80's - and have now agreed to purchase a Lee Enfield No5MK1 Jungle Carbine from a collector near us in Limburg. I have always been interested in WWI and WWII firearms and history- living so close to where much of the fighting took place is fascinating! Seeing the Point du Hoc cliffs and the Belgian Ardennes surrounding Bastogne... talking to the people who live there... one of my main interests now is keeping history alive for the next generation.....

I hope to learn alot from you experts here........

Welcome Robert. I travel a lot around there (pre-covid at least). Interesting place. You’ll like it here. See ya

Hello. Just signed up on here. Looks rather interesting.
Whiffles, you know who you are. I need to get your username to list as my referral. Call or text.

Howdy everyone! I'm AJ, I was never really big into firearms until my grandfather gave me a Type 14 Nambu, and an No. 5 Mk. 1 Lee Enfield that had been in his barn at the two houses he and my grandmother have owned (that's the name we refer to his workshop/garage by because it is built exactly like a barn, as are all of his sheds, for aesthetic purposes I guess, as they live in a farming community). Anyways, those two Milsurps are what got me big into firearms, due to my obsession with military history, strategy, tactics, etc. and gave me another hobby in the form of amateur/basement "gunsmithing/armoring". I cleaned up both guns, and am working on restoring the Enfield to her former glory by replacing it's molested flash hider, with one that has the bayonet lug intact.

(I had previous experience with guns, but never got "The Bug" until I got the older pieces in my collection)

I am turning 20 soon, and am currently studying Criminal Justice at a nearby college, with the goal of becoming a State Trooper.

Hello out there, thanks for letting me onboard. Been a collector foe 20+ years, mostly U.S. military but some German. Most recent addition is a Rock-Ola M1 Carbine all parts correct except no magazine. Any help in locating a Rock-Ola magazine will be greatly appreciated.

Hello,
A new member here. Just saying a quick hello. Hello.