This Online Library section provides convenient access to a modest number of specially selected historical images of broad potential interest. All are taken from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command's Photographic Section. Users should be aware that there are frequently other pictures on the same subjects, in some cases very good pictures, in our own collections and in those of other institutions.
The text provided places pictures in their historical context. Taken as a whole, these written materials constitute a very brief overview of important and defining elements of the United States Navy's history. Within the extensive literature on U.S. Naval history there are many other sources providing similar information in far greater depth and sophistication.
NOTE: This page, and those linked from it, are "works in progress". They are currently incomplete and subject to considerable revision.
This page features a selection of iconic naval images from the American Revolution through the Cold War, with further links to a broader selection of such views.
1775-1783. Battle between Continental Ship Bonhomme Richard and HMS Serapis, 23 September 1779. Picture Data HI-RES |
1783-1812. Decatur boarding the Tripolitan Gunboat, 3 August 1804 Picture Data HI-RES |
1812-1815. U.S. Frigate Constitution captures HMS Guerriere, 19 August 1812 Picture Data HI-RES |
1815-1861. Sailing frigate Congress and steam frigate Susquehanna at Naples, 1857 Picture Data HI-RES |
1861-1865. USS Monitor engages CSS Virginia, 9 March 1862. The first battle between armored steam-powered warships Picture Data HI-RES |
1865-1886. Old Sailors "Spinning a Yarn" on board USS Enterprise, circa 1890 Picture Data HI-RES |
1886-1898. Crew members pose by the forward twelve-inch guns on USS Iowa, 1898 Picture Data HI-RES |
USS Connecticut, flagship during the "Great White Fleet"'s World cruise, 1907-1909 Picture Data HI-RES |
USS George Washington brings President Woodrow Wilson home from the World War I peace conference Picture Data HI-RES |
1919-1941. Vought O2U-2 aircraft flies past USS Saratoga while preparing to land on board, circa 1930 Picture Data HI-RES |
Troops wade ashore on Omaha Beach, during the Normandy landings, 6 June 1944 Picture Data HI-RES |
F6F "Hellcat" fighters landing on USS Enterprise after strikes on Truk, February 1944 Picture Data HI-RES |
WAVES aircraft mechanics working on an SNJ training plane, circa 1943-1945 Picture Data HI-RES |
1945-1953. USS Pickerel surfaces at a 48 degree up angle, 1 March 1952. Picture Data HI-RES |
Snowy flight deck of USS Valley Forge, operating off Korea circa early 1951 Picture Data HI-RES |
Nuclear-powered task force operating in the Mediterranean Sea, 18 June 1964 Picture Data HI-RES |
1964-1975. UH-34 helicopters lift off from USS Princeton to land Marines ashore in the Republic of Vietnam, 26 March 1966 Picture Data HI-RES |
1970-1991. Admiral Elmo Zumwalt meets with Sailors at Yokosuka, Japan, 2 July 1971 Picture Data HI-RES |
NOTES:
If you want other reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page In Work 4 June 2009