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Many historically-important ships have been preserved as museums. But unfortunately, many more weren't. Which ships do you feel played important enough roles in history (for whatever reasons you feel qualify) that they should have been preserved as museums, but weren't? For discussion's sake, let's limit ourselves to ships that actually could have been preserved in real life, had the will or the funds permitted. Ships that were lost in combat or sunk by accident can't be counted; thus no Titanic or Bismarck.
Here are my choices:
Passenger ships:
Olympic, ocean liner. She was one of the two sister ships to the Titanic, and the only one of the three ships of her class to have a long and successful career. I would have preserved her not due to her own value, but rather because of her very close resemblance to her infamous sister.
Pacific Princess, cruise ship. This was the "Love Boat," made famous in the TV show of that name. Given that The Love Boat probably did more to boost the cruise-ship industry than anything else ever did, I think the ship that "started" it all should have been saved.
Cargo ship:
Exxon Valdez, oil tanker. She is famous for having run around and spilled a whole lot of oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound. Her value as a museum would have been either as a cautionary tale or as a look at how those huge tankers operate, depending on your philosophical bent.
Warships:
Enterprise, U.S. aircraft carrier. She fought in nearly every battle of World War II and was instrumental in turning the tide during the Battle of Midway. She was called "the one ship that most nearly symbolized the United States Navy in World War II." I am aware that a preservation effort had been mounted but fell short, and she ended her life in the scrapyard.
Haruna, Japanese battleship. She too fought in nearly every battle of World War II, and was IMO the single most effective Japanese battleship of the war. She was half-sunk in a shallow harbor at the end of the war, but it wouldn't have been too difficult to raise and restore her.
Katsuragi, Japanese aircraft carrier. She was commissioned late in the war and did not fight in any battles. But I would have preserved her because she was the only remaining carrier that physically resembled the six carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor.
Dreadnought, British battleship. This pre-World War I ship so revolutionized battleship design that her name became synonymous with her type of ship, in the same way that Kleenex is synonymous with tissues.
While I agree that some of those ships could (and possibly should) have been preserved, there is the fact that space is limited for such things. There just isn't room for that many waterfront museums!
Something that I have always wished had been different was the way that World War Two and Korean War aircraft were not preserved. Are you aware that there are many such aircraft that have NO examples preserved? They were ALL scrapped, made into pots and pans and beer cans! There are also many which have only non-airworthy display models left.
1) Enterprise (CV-6) They actually tried but fell short
2) Bunker Hill (CV-17) Last unmodified Essex class carrier. Used for years as a electronics test bed, they tried but failed in 1972 to preserve her
I totally agree with the RMS Olympic and the USS Enterprise.
The Olympic, would easily be a major tourist attraction, especially after the movie Titanic came out. Not only was she the sister ship of the Titanic but she has an interesting history of her own, including sinking a German submarine during WW1! Imagine if she was tied up somewhere along Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, perhaps along pier 54, where the Titanic was supposed to dock!
In addition to the Enterprise, one of the most decorated and historic ships from the Pacific War in WW2, I would have tried to save the USS Saratoga. Both ships managed to survive the entire war despite being attacked on numerous occasions. The Saratoga in addition to being an early example of aircraft carrier, still had elements of her battlecruiser roots.
It is a shame that at least one British battleship was not preserved, the Warspite in particular.
I'm surprised not one of the original SSBN submarines were saved from the razor blade factory, referring to the pre-Ohio class boats. They were dubbed the "41 for Freedom".
Whilst not the subject of much attention these days back in the 1960's they were quite the subject of interest.
The SS United States. Built in the 1950's as an ocean-going passenger ship, she was the largest and fastest passenger ship ever constructed in the United States. She was intended to be utilized as a troop ship during war, but never fulfilled that role.
She held the record for fastest eastbound transatlantic crossings by a passenger vessel until it was broken in 1990 by an ocean-going catamaran. The SS United States still holds the westbound transatlantic crossing speed record.
Withdrawn from service in 1969, she is currently docked in Philadelphia, rusting away. Attempts to finance her restoration have fallen through, the main issue being the toxic materials used in her construction (an extremely large amount of asbestos insulation, among other issues, I believe), but there are current efforts to keep her from being scrapped.
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