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Photo # NH 99995:  Raising the National Ensign as USS Lewis Hancock is recommissioned in May 1951

Archive of Older "What's New in the Online Library of Selected Images?" --
Entries posted in January through March 2005


This page features the Online Library's 'What's New?' entries for January through March 2005.

For the more recent entries, and links to previous years' entries, see:

  • What's New in the Online Library of Selected Images.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions.


    Photo # S-511-9:  Preliminary design plan for a proposed flight deck cruiser, 8 December 1939

    This report's most significant offering is a new album: The Bureau of Ships' "Spring Styles" book for the period from late 1939 through 1944. It presents more than seventy drawings prepared by the Bureau's Preliminary Design Section during studies of a variety of proposed ship designs, some of which were built and some of which were not. These plans are presented in a format large enough to facilitate close study, and provide valuable insights into the concepts and compromises involved in producing new types of Navy ships. We hope our patrons (some of whom have been commendably patient in waiting for this project to reach completion) will find them both interesting and useful.

    Photo # NH 89081:  Removing the dead from USS Bennington following her boiler explosion, at San Diego, California, 21 July 1905

    Two events have been recently posted. Both represent accidents, one with tragic consequences and the other a most remarkable survival story. The first is the boiler explosion on the gunboat Bennington, which took the lives of five dozen members of her crew. July 2005 will mark the 100th anniversary of this awful incident, a monument to which, erected atop the Point Loma hills, can be seen from ships passing in and out of San Diego Harbor, California. The second event, the accidental loss of the submarine S-5 at the beginning of September 1920, had a much happier outcome. After a day and a half trapped inside their nearly completely sunken sub, under miserable conditions, all of S-5's crew were saved. Text remains to be written on this event, but the pictures are there now.
    As part of these two projects we also prepared complete picturial coverage on the two ships involved: USS Bennington (Gunboat # 4) and USS S-5 (Submarine # 110), as well as on their Commanding Officers, both of whom later reached flag rank: Rear Admiral Lucien Young and Admiral Charles M. Cooke, Jr..

    Photo # 80-G-43874:  USS O-2 diving during training operations, 26 November 1943

    In addition to those two ships, we posted pages on another four submarines, one old torpedo boat and eleven destroyers. The subs are: L-2 (Submarine # 41), O-2 (Submarine # 63), R-14 (Submarine # 91), and Sargo (SS-188). Torpedo boat is MacKenzie (Torpedo Boat # 17), and the destroyers are: Terry (Destroyer # 25), Sigourney (Destroyer # 81), Anthony (Destroyer # 172), MacKenzie (Destroyer # 175), William Jones (DD-308), Terry (DD-513), Anthony (DD-515), Young (DD-580), MacKenzie (DD-614), Sigourney (DD-643) and Stormes (DD-780). Name sources for some of these ships are also among the recent additions, including: Lieutenant Commander Alexander Slidell MacKenzie (1842-1867) and Sergeant Major William Anthony, USMC, (1843-1899). Other newly posted ships from the period from 1920 through World War II, and later, are stores issue ship Cybele (AKS-10), tugs Kalmia (AT-23) and Kalmia (ATA-184), and tank landing ship LST-757.

    Photo # NH 71503:  Ship's Company of USS Conestoga, circa early 1921. Nearly all these men were lost when their ship disappeared in March or April of that year.

    We have a vast quantity of World War I era acquired vessels, beginning with the hospital ship Comfort (AH-3), and three cargo ships that also served as troop transports in 1919: Santa Clara (ID # 4523), Santa Paula (ID # 1590) and Santa Rosa (ID # 2169). There are also eight cargo ships that retained that role for their entire Naval service: Choctaw (ID # 1648), Clare (ID # 2774), Cohasset (ID # 3679), Corozal (no ID #), Craster Hall (ID # 1486), Kamesit (ID # 3829), Santa Barbara (ID # 4522), and Santa Rosalia (ID # 1503), Other auxiliary ships include the oiler Chinampa (ID # 1952), salvage ship Chesapeake (ID # 3395), and tug Conestoga (SP-1128, later AT-54). The latter disappeared with her entire complement in 1921, and we also added a page on her Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Ernest L. Jones.

    Photo #  NH 101040:  Motor boat Chingachgook underway at high speed, October 1916. She was briefly USS Chingachgook in 1917

    Moving into the ranks of WWI acquired patrol vessels, there are nine yachts, three of which had prior service beginning in 1898: Emerald (SP-177), Felicia (SP-642), Florence (SP-173), Freelance (1898-1899, and SP-830), Gem (SP-41), Guinevere (SP-512), Henry P. Williams (SP-509) -- which was USS Oneida in 1898-1915, Juniata (SP-602), and Kemah (SP-415). Larger patrol craft (all ex-fishing vessels) include Comber (SP-344), Commodore Maury (SP-656), Comet (SP-772) and Congress (ID # 3698). Their smaller running mates are: Chichota (SP-65), Chingachgook (SP-35), Clarinda (SP-185), Cleo (SP-232), Coco (SP-110), Commodore (SP-1425), Constance II (SP-633), Corinthia (SP-938), Cossack (SP-695), Coyote (SP-84), and Cozy (SP-938).

    Photo # NH 57596:  S.S. Alanthus standing by the sunken submarine S-5, September 1920.

    Taking a deep breath, we move on to harbor service craft and the like that were taken into service during the "Great War" era. Harbor tugs lead the list, including Concord (SP-773) -- which was later renamed Mendota and Muscotah (YT-33), Cherokee (SP-458) -- lost at sea in February 1918 with most of her crew, Credenda (ID # 3278). Other self-propelled vessels are the dredge Clapet Number 4 (no ID #), steam lighter Commerce (ID # 2763, later YF-123), work boats Clifton (SP-2080) and Cometa (no ID #), and the harbor utility vessels Clio (ID # 2279) and Commander (SP-1247). In the non-self-propelled category we find: Christine (ID # 2058), Christiana (ID # 2396) -- which became Coal Barge # 426, Concrete Barge # 1 (ID # 2531) -- which became Coal Barge # 516, and Curacao (ID # 2269) -- which became Fuel Oil Barge # 36. Lastly (for this paragraph, at least), there are three ocean-going steamers and a tug that were examined for possible service, but not taken over by the Navy. The wooden freighter Alanthus leads the way, by right of heroism. Her small crew's performance was critical to saving the crew of the sunken submarine S-5. Other big ships are Chipchung and City of Savannah. The tug is Columbia.

    Photo # NH 102847:  Chief Specialist Robert William ("Bob") Feller, probably on board USS Alabama, circa 1942-1943.

    March's contribution to earlier pictorial history is USS Fulton (1837-1861), the second steam-powered ship built for the U.S. Navy. In honor of the impending arrival of baseball season, we offer a just-discovered (in our collections, anyway) photo of the great Cleveland "Indians" pitcher Robert A. ("Bob") Feller, who hurled 40mm projectiles (with a little help from then-modern technology) at about 27 times the speed of his usually blazing fast-ball, while serving as a gunner on the battleship Alabama during World War II

    Finally, lest anybody think all the above represents a normal month's output, rest assured that many of the items listed were holdovers from an excessively ambitious January and February agenda.

    31 March 2005


    Photo # NH 65672:  USS Memphis wrecked at Santo Domingo, 29 August 1916

    Our initial 2005 "What's New" report comes to you only about a month overdue, as the rocks and shoals (mainly the latter) of subject page compilation kept hanging up the great ship of progress all through January and February. Anyway, what follows represents rather more than a good month's work, expanded (as sagely defined by that great Naval historian, C. Northcote Parkinson) "to fill the time available for its completion."
    Our most significant new subject is the armored cruiser Tennessee of 1906, whose loss in August 1916 (soon after she had been renamed Memphis) provides a timely reminder that powerful tsunamis afflict the Caribbean, as well as other parts of the World.

    Photo # NH 95456: Miss Annie Keith Frazier and other attendees at the organizational meeting of the Society of Sponsors of the U.S. Navy, February 1908

    Related subjects include the gunboat Castine, which barely escaped the tsunami that wrecked the Memphis; Captain Edward L. Beach, Memphis's Commanding Officer at the time of her loss (and father of a well-known author of Navy historical and fictional books); Rear Admiral Claud A. Jones, the wrecked ship's Chief Engineer; and Annie Keith Frazier (later Mrs. R.N. Somerville), Tennessee's Sponsor, who in 1908 was a founder of the Society of Sponsors of the United States Navy.


    Photo # NH 99995:  Raising the National Ensign as USS Lewis Hancock is recommissioned in May 1951

    As is usually the case, we added several destroyers and related types, including Gwin (Torpedo Boat # 16), Monaghan (Destroyer # 32), Gwin (Destroyer # 71), Osborne (Destroyer # 295), Lewis Hancock (DD-675), Rich (DD/DDE-820) and Rinehart (DE-196). Also recently posted are pictorial presentations on the officers for which most of those ships were named: Lieutenant Commander William Gwin, Ensign John R. Monaghan, Dental Corps Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Weedon E. Osborne, and Lieutenant Commander Lewis Hancock, Jr.
    New undersea craft are L-1 (Submarine # 40), O-1 (Submarine # 62), S-3 (Submarine # 107) and Sealion (SS-195). The latter was the first U.S. Navy submarine lost during World War II.
    Also recently joining the Online Library are three other Second World War era vessels: Teton (AGC-14), Samar (ARG-11) and PT-96.

    Photo #  NH 65071:  Motor boat Scoter passing the submarine L-1, probably in 1916

    The ongoing project to keep bright an earlier generation's effort to "keep the World safe for democracy" is represented by the usual flood of World War I era acquired (or potentially acquired) ships and craft. Among the larger of these are three troop transports: Santa Elena (ID # 4052), Santa Elisa (ID # 4352) and Santa Luisa (ID # 2873); cargo ships Celebes (ID # 2680), Challenger (ID # 3630), Charlton Hall (ID # 1359) and West Elcajon (ID # 3907); and yachts Druid (SP-321) and Emeline (SP-175). Patrol boats include Celeritas (SP-665), Cero (SP-1189), Chanticleer (SP-663), Charlie B. Mason (SP-1225), Charmian II (SP-696), Helori (SP-181) and Scoter (SP-20). Acquired tugs are Challenge (SP-1015, later AT-59 and YT/YTM-126), Charles P. Crawford (SP-366), Charles P. Kuper (SP-1235) and Chase S. Osborn (SP-1121, later YT-41).
    Lastly, there are some vessels considered, but not (or apparently not) taken into service: harbor tugs Atlantic, Brilliant, Charles T. Gallagher and Radiant; steam lighter George H. Johnson and barge Charles S..
    28 February 2005


    This page features the Online Library's 'What's New?' entries for January through March 2005.

    For the more recent entries, and links to previous years' entries, see:

  • What's New in the Online Library of Selected Images.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions.


    Return to Online Library listing.

    Page made 31 March 2005