I have a paperback somewhere with the loading manifes for the USS
Constitution when it set sail to go out and raise hell with the Brits.
it had a healthy amount of rum aboard but nowhere near 49,500 gallons.
That's almost 200 tons!
FWIW there was a later CV(ASW)Princeton; I visited her when she was in
Buckner Bay in about 1955. The Captain had just jettisoned at sea an
F4U5N that had dinged a prop on landing. (Sob!) The wardroom was very
impressive to us Air Force guys living at Naha AB. Linen, china,
silver, stewards. Then I saw where the junior officers lived. (I was a
2Lt at the time). Reminded me of a small school gym dressing room,
with triple tiered bunks and gym lockers. Maybe thrity guys sgared
that one not s large very dark room. My guide, another brown bar, said
"Let me show you our private quarters. He was evidently quite proud of
them, so I followed along. He and his rommie shared an odd shaped
room, sort of half an inverted truncated cone. I looked up, thought of
where it might be, and asked "is there a flak gun up there?" He
replied 'Yeah'. "And there's a catapult running past over there?"
"Yeah." When I got back to my private room (about 12 by 12 with a
shared bath and kitchenette) I didn't feel so bad after all. Opened up
a cold beer, turned on the stereo, and laid back on my real bed.
Walt BJ