USS ROANOKE AOR-7

A Collection of Super 8mm movies from 1976 thru 1979

by Harry Martin FTM1, USN (RET)

NOW ON DVD

I was a plankowner on the Roanoke from 1976 to 1979. While I was on the ship, I would use a small (barely working) 8mm movie camera to record events I found interesting. What I have done is spliced all my reels of super 8mm film into one large reel and had it converted to a DVD, a rather long and expensive process. Each and every frame of the film was individually converted to a hi-res digital image and placed on a DVD, and onto a hard drive for archive and editing.

The DVD is divided into chapters as set by the company who made the conversion. Some chapters are only 3 minutes, other chapters are much longer. There are 12 chapters where the first 6 deal with the ship and crew, and the remaining chapters deal with the crew and R&R.

The quality of the film varies from scratches and spots to virtually no scratches or spots. It's amazing that the films survived long enough to make it to conversion. Scenes vary based on my ability to get my camera and find movie film.

Considering how busy we were while underway and while in port, it's amazing I got the scenes. There are pans of the ship from the dock, top of the mast (where I did a lot of radar work on antennas) and from the liberty boat while in Hong Kong harbor. There are scenes while entering the Philippines, the dog sled race in Anchorage Alaska, Australia, and flocks of albatross birds performing dynamic soaring off the fantail (watching albatross was a favorite pastime from the fantail).

You will see UNREP and VERTREP in progress, from shot line to sending fuel and cargo. You will see helo transfer of cargo and a passenger. You will see other ships coming along side or shooting their big guns. You will also see what gun slinging sailors are capable of doing when they are not at sea. Stuff like hang gliding, parachuting, camping, and 4X4 racing.

Here is a rundown of what's in the movie:

Chapter 1

• USS Roanoke AOR-7 , Pre-commissioning - dressed with flags (1976)

Chapter 2

• Scenes of Roanoke from top of mast looking down. San Diego, CA 
• Servicing the AN/SPS-58 Search Radar

Chapter 3

• UNREP and helo transfer with USS John Paul Jones DDG-32

Chapter 4

• UNREP - Fuel with USS John Paul Jones DDG-32
• USS Hull DD-945 fires rounds from forward and aft guns, splash on horizon
• Alongside USS Mars AFS-1

Chapter 5

• Albatross birds, dynamic soaring off fantail
• Cold weather OPS near Alaska - BRRRRRRRR, it was cold!
• Anchorage, Alaska - Dog sled race - Snow had to be trucked in to start race.

Chapter 6

• Roanoke main deck activities, preps for UNREPS
• Alongside USS Bronstein FF-1037
• Entering Philippines, Hong Kong, Perth, Australia
• Sightings of USS Enterprise CVN-65 & USS Long Beach CGN-9
• VERTREP with USS Mars AFS-1
• Return to San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Oakland Bay Bridge
• End WESTPAC

Chapter 7

• R&R Replenishment (R&RREPS)
• I drove my 4X4 into a canal on Christmas Day!
• DC-3 takes off with Roanoke passengers and parachutes

Chapter 8

• Gun slinging Roanoke Sailors on R&R, desert camping, 4X4 racing

Chapter 9

• Roanoke Sailors jumping out of perfectly good airplanes

Chapter 10

• Roanoke Sailors taking hang gliding lessons near San Francisco, CA

Chapter 11

• Roanoke Sailors advanced hang gliding at Genesse, CA (population 6)

Chapter 12

• Roanoke Ex-sailor (me) flying in LA, CA. I left the Navy for college and "more R&R" (1979)

Movie Length: 1 hour, 9 minutes
$20.00, Includes shipping, checks accepted.