CSS Florida's Blakley Rifle Shells

Currently on display in the museum's CSS Florida exhibit are three Bashley Britten shells that were to used with the ship's Blakely Rifles. The shells are named for Bashely Britten, an English inventor who patented this new type of shell in 1855.  This shell has a lead base that would expand upon the gun being fired.  This expansion would  make the shell fit better in the barrel of the weapon as it travelled down the barrel, thus producing better accuracy once the shell left the gun.  This design feature can still seen in modern day small arm bullets and some artillery shells.

The Blakley rifle is named for Captain Theophilus Alexander Blakley, a British ordnance expert who designed a series of light and heavy artillery pieces from the 1850s through the 1880s. His sympathies lay strongly with the Confederacy during the Civil War and did much to assist the Southern states' problem of not having enough modern artillery.  He was more than happy to not only sell finished guns to both the Confederate Army and Navy, but also his knowledge of ordnance via his patents (which in turn was used by men like John Mercer Brooke to design the Brooke Rifle).  Rather than inventing a new type of shell specifically for his guns, Blakely used the widely adopted Britten shell design.

One of Florida's seven-inch Blakleys is currently on display at the Washington Navy Yard's Willard Park. The second gun is currently on display at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Florida's wreck is located in Hampton Roads and the Hampton Roads Naval Museum is the repository for the ship's artifacts.

USS Philippine Sea (CV-47) aircraft in the Korean War

Flight crews warm up the engines of F4U Corsairs from Fighter Squadron 114 (VF-114) during the Korean War, 1950. Loaded with air-to-ground rockets, the versatile Corsair was used extensively as a ground strike platform. These aircraft were bound for fighting around the Chosin Reservoir during the U.N. offensive into North Korea.

The aircraft are on board the Norfolk-based USS Philippine Sea (CV-47), which was raced to the theater shortly after the North Korean assault on South Korea. Despite how some Atlantic Fleet admirals felt about participating in the Korean War in 1950 ("Korea is the Pacific Fleet's problem, the Soviet Union is ours" was a typical quote), several Norfolk-based ships (namely the battleships, Essex-class aircraft carriers, and minesweepers) participated in the war. The Pacific Fleet did not have the resources to handle the high intensity combat operations.

Nonetheless, Korea was only seen as one part of a large Communist plan and many of Norfolk's bigger aircraft carriers stayed in the Atlantic. After this deployment, the Navy transferred Philippine Sea to the Pacific Fleet on a permanent basis.

LEGO Shipbuilding Promo-Quick and Easy Construction!

Want to show off your LEGO shipbuilding skills? Bring come to HRNM on Saturday, February 4 from 10 am to 5pm for HRNM's "Brick by Brick: Lego Shipbuilding" program.  Enter your LEGO ship in the builders' contest contest to win prizes or use design plans to build ships here at the museum from scratch.  Contact us at hrnnavalmuseum@navy.mil for more information!

USS Cayuga Model

This is a ship model of the USS Cayuga, a Civil War-era gunboat.  The ship was one of the "90-day" gunboats built by private shipbuilders at the beginning of the war.  Officially a part of the Unadilla-class, the press gave Cayuga and her twenty-three sister ships the "90-day" label as they allegedly were to built in just three months.  While none of them were finished in time advertised shipbuilders did deliver most of them by the end of 1861.  The class of ship fill the Navy's critical need for coastal warships to serve in the littoral regions of the Confederacy.

USS Cayuga as drawn by noted naval artist R.G. Skerret

Cayuga herself did not served in the Hampton Roads region (she served with Farragut's squadron in the Mississippi River).  However, many of her sister ships like USS Aroostook did.  As all the ships were almost exact duplicates of each other, the model is effective interpretation tool for this part of the region's Civil War history.

Photograph of USS Aroostook in the Far East during anti-piracy duties

The model itself is 1/8 an inch to 1 foot model.  Master ship mode maker Tom Tragel restored the model in 1984.  It can be seen in the museum's Civil War gallery.

1921 Virginia Capes Bombing Tests

Foster and his fellow Shamut shipmates during the operation

One of the more controversial events in history of the U.S. Navy was the bombing tests on old American and German warships off the Virginia Capes in 1921.   With the experiments General Billy Mitchell of the U.S. Army Air Corps set out to prove the superiority of airpower over surface warships (namely battleships), thus a large surface fleet would  no longer be needed in a future war.  Much has been made about the experiments being a fight between the U.S. Navy and Army. In reality, the Navy participated in the experiments just as much, if not more, than the Army.  Read more about the experiments on our command's website.

 While assigned to the minelayer USS Shamut (CM-4), BM3 Robert Foster took several of his own pictures documenting the event.  Shamut served as  the observation platform for Army and Navy inspectors. She also served as a tender to the thirteen seaplanes that were "searching" for the enemy fleet of the German battleship Ostfriesland, light cruiser Franklin, the destroyer G-104, submarine U-117, and USS Iowa (BB-4), which was operating under remote radio control.  Here is some of what Foster witnessed:

German battleship Ostfriesland being hit by a 300-pound bomb

Inspection party boarding USS Iowa (BB-4).  At considerable expense, workers installed an apparatus that allowed the Spanish-American War-era battleship to operated remotely.  This way, pilots would be bombing a moving target. 

Ostfriesland hit by a 300 and a 2000-pound bomb

LEGO Shipbuilding at HRNM!

You may have already heard a bit about HRNM's upcoming LEGO Shipbuilding program, but this blog post contains all details relating to the event.

When: Saturday, February 4, 2012
Time: 10am to 5pm
Where: At HRNM (2nd floor of Nauticus)
Cost: FREE!

What you should do: HRNM wants people to bring their already-built LEGO ships (made from a kit or from scratch) to display at the museum for the day. At 2pm on February 4, staff members and members of the local Lego hobbyist group, HARDLUG, will hold a ship contest. Prizes will be given to the winner of the best adult-built ship and best child-built ship brought in before 2pm.

It is NOT a requirement to bring a ship with you, however. There will be many other fun activities for people who do not bring a ship for the contest. This entire event is for both adults and children.

HRNM will set up a ship-building station during the program, where anyone can build their own ships to enter into the contest or create one from HRNM’s own diagrams. Build everything from simple ship designs to a scale representation of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor. Participants will learn the science behind building ships while using LEGOs. Have fun showcasing your talent while “connecting” with enthusiasts in the Hampton Roads community.

Want to participate in the contest but can't make it to the program? That's okay! Just set up a time to drop off your submission with HRNM staff (see below for contact info).

HRNM is partnering with the local LEGO hobbyist group, Hampton Roads Lego User Group (HARDLUG), to produce this program.
Contact Laura at hrnavalmuseum@navy.mil or 757-322-2987 with any questions. No pre-registration is required. See you at HRNM on February 4!

**Please note: All LEGO creations made with HRNM LEGOs must stay at the museum.

Local View of the 1942 U-boat Operation Paukenschlag

January 1942 Fifth Naval District Map showing successful U-boat kills off the coast of the Virginia Capes and Cape Hatteras. (Click image to enlarge)

It is January at the museum, when cold weather slows visitation. Nothing was slow 70 years ago this month when the Battle of the Atlantic came to Norfolk – or more broadly speaking, to the 5th Naval District, a Navy administrative area stretching across the mid-Atlantic region. Its headquarters were at the Naval Operating Base, the installation now known as the Norfolk Naval Station.This location was deliberate, since Commandant of the 5th Naval District also commanded the Naval Operating Base. In January 1942 German U-boats brought their campaign to cripple Allied shipping to the Atlantic seaboard (which the Germans labeled the campaign Paukenschlag, which loosely translates in English as "Drumbeat"). One day alone, January 19, witnessed a swath of destruction across the shipping lanes near Cape Hatteras: SS Lady Hawkins torpedoed, (250 killed); SS City of Atlanta torpedoed, (44 killed); SS Malay torpedoed, shelled, damaged; SS Ciltvaria, torpedoed and sunk.

The reaction of the local Navy commanders to this crisis is detailed in an official report held by the museum: “War Record of the Fifth Naval District 1942.” These 542 typed pages, held in a standard issue Navy green binder, were compiled per the direction of Rear Admiral Manley H. Simons, who was Commandant during the fateful year. (He also simultaneously served as the Commander of the Chesapeake Task Force of the Eastern Sea Frontier.) The report was described by the anonymous staff officers who wrote it as “a digest of verbal accounts, written stories, and reports of officers and men who have taken part in Fifth Naval District war operations during 1942." Its purpose was to “capture the Fifth Naval District’s participation in the U-boat campaign of 1942.”

While the Battle of the Atlantic’s military actions are well documented, the “War Record” does provide a contemporary point of view, and also details the wide responsibilities of the Navy staff. These included assembling all the basic building blocks of military intelligence such as first-hand accounts of enemy actions, charts, and photographs. At one point on January 28 one naval district officer was dispatched to the burning hulk of the unfortunate SS Empire Gem, abandoned after an enemy attack off Cape Hatteras to retrieve “routing instructions, zigzag tables, confidential books, and Navy merchant codes” from the wheelhouse. He found “the entire wheelhouse, chart room and bridge quarters under water … Thus it was impossible to obtain the papers.”

NAS Norfolk's The Dope Sheet Gets Cold

This alarmist headline is from The Dope Sheet, the official newspaper for Naval Air Station Norfolk. It was not the typical headline from a newspaper that devoted much of its space to changes in command, "bravo zulus" to sailor volunteer work, movie listings at the base theater, and the latest news (and pictures) on Hollywood starlets. Did the sailors at NAS Norfolk know something about the end of the world that others did not? Well, not necessarily. After one reads the accompanying article, one learns that the headline is a bit overblown, but not by much.

1948 was indeed the beginning of dangerous times for the United States and the World as a whole. President Harry S. Truman's 1947 public speech that announced American support for Greece and Turkey against communist forces (the "Truman Doctrine" as it has since been called) is considered by many historians to be the beginning of the Cold War. This was followed by the more secret "NSC-68" paper that concluded, "The issues that face us are momentous, involving the fulfillment or destruction not only of this Republic but of civilization itself."

The Dope Sheet article references a Joint Chiefs of Staff planning document known as the "M-Day Plan." This document outlined what the JCS saw as possible threats, particularly nuclear weapon threats, over the next thirty years. It also produced a map of the current and very real national security threats facing the United States in 1948.

But, fear not, hillbilly music would remain.

HRNM 2012 Public Programs Music Video

Have you ever seen that "lonely" viral video of the movie pirate in the setting of a rap video? Well, here is the Hampton Roads Naval Museum's take on that video, with our very own Blue Jacket Puppet stars Simon and Patty talking about some events happening at the museum next year. 



Below are the lyrics to the song, with links to the events mentioned.  For more info on all 2012 Calendar of Events at HRNM, go to www.hrnm.navy.mil or check out their Facebook page at Facebook.com/hrnavalmuseum. Stay tuned and enjoy the video!  You can continue to listen/download the song HERE.

(Simon)
Here we go. 2012 public programs
Museum events are coming back.

2012 'bout to start, come and visit us
After hours learning history, come and soak it up (soak it up)
Graphic novels in September, come and draw with us
Making cards support sailors will be so much fun.

Brick by brick we're taking LEGOs, making models, building decks,
Bring your mothers and fathers, making crafts, support vets
Boot Camp's in the summer, our Halloween the best
Visit us online you will be impressed!

(Patty)
Let's talk about the Civil War Navy
We've got events at the museum next year (what?)
J. Michael Cobb will present us a lecture (oh, interesting)
on Fort Wool's involvement in the Civil War!

(Simon)
Yeah, that was kinda weird, but we're back to 2012
Watch out naval history is coming off the shelves
McClure Field event, family fun this summer
Tourin' expo houses, see the field like a base runner.

Teachers come to us to book a school program

(Patty)
Is it free?

(Simon)
..they ask and I gotta say "Yes, Ma'am"
Always come to us, our outreach #1
Come to the museum, bring all, and have fun!

(Patty)
If you like to paint (I do), we've got a contest
Paint us some ships from Hampton Roads' shore
We will display them in our museum
During our program on the 8th of March!

Happy Holidays from USS Augusta (CA-31) and Pittsburgh (ACR-4)

This holiday greeting card comes from the Norfolk-based heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31). Built by Newport News Shipbuilding, Augusta was a well-balanced warship that served as a squadron and fleet flagship for most of her career. She was assigned duty as flagship for Commander, Scouting Force, Vice Admiral Arthur L. Willard, on 21 May 1931. During the summer of 1931, she operated with the other warships of Scouting Force carrying out tactical exercises off the New England coast. In August 1931, she was reclassified a heavy cruiser, CA-31. In September, Augusta moved south to Chesapeake Bay, where she joined her colleagues in their normal fall gunnery drills. That employment lasted until mid-November when the cruisers disbanded and retired to their respective home yards. Augusta entered the Norfolk Navy Yard at that time. At the beginning of 1932, she and the other cruisers of the Scouting Force reassembled in Hampton Roads, whence they departed on 8 January on their way to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Augusta conducted training evolutions with the Scouting Force in the vicinity of Guantanamo Bay until 18 February, when the force headed for the Panama Canal on its way to the eastern Pacific to participate in Fleet Problem XIII. She arrived in San Pedro, Calif., on 7 March but returned to sea three days later to execute the fleet problem. During the maneuvers, Augusta and her colleagues in Scouting Force squared off against Battle Force in defense of three simulated "atolls" located at widely separated points on the west coast. The exercises afforded the Fleet training in strategic scouting and an opportunity to practice defending and attacking a convoy.

The second card is from the Newport News Shipbuilding-built armored cruiser USS Pittsburgh (ex-Pennsylvania) (ACR-4). We are not sure when the card was produced, but the ship was renamed Pittsburgh in 1912 to make room for the giant battleship Pennsylvania (BB-38). Our best guess for this card is between 1917 (when she conducted war patrols) and 1922 (when she served as flagship of the U.S. Navy's European Squadron).

Battle of Hampton Roads Watercolor Contest

Mark your calendars! This winter, HRNM is running a Battle of Hampton Roads watercolor contest. Paint watercolor art relating to the battle and you may win a prize! The Battle of Hampton Roads Watercolor Contest is run by the Hampton Roads Naval Museum to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the battle. Please note the following rules regarding the contest. Contact us at hrnavalmuseum@navy.mil or 757-322-3108 with any questions or to submit your registration.

A few guidelines to remember:
- Watercolor art may be developed anytime between now and March 8. March 8 is the deadline for drop off.
- Watercolors must be created on small canvases provided by HRNM.
- All watercolor art must be original and relate to the Battle of Hampton Roads (ships, sailors, battle, etc).
- You must fill out the registration form and email it to hrnnavalmuseum@navy.mil before you start work on your watercolor. Below is a jpeg of the photo which you can print to fill out. This form is also posted here.


- All watercolors must be dropped off at HRNM by 4pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012.

A few points of interest:
- All watercolor art will be unveiled at HRNM during the FREE After Hours History program on March 8, 2012, at 6pm.
- Watercolors will be placed in different age groups and judged by age group.
- The winner in each age group will receive a prize package from HRNM.

HRNM will provide one day to work on your watercolor art at the museum: Saturday, February 25, anytime between 10am and 4pm. Register to attend that session by emailing hrnnavalmuseum@navy.mil.


We hope you'll participate in our program!

Model of USS SC136

Our good friends at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News recently completed a ship model cleaning project for the museum. Here is the result of one of their efforts, the fresh-looking 1982 model of USS Subchaser 136. This sturdy vessel was one of the original 110-foot subchasers of World War I, and was the last hull number in a series of twenty-one built at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Subchaser 136 served in an anti-submarine group along the Atlantic coast headed by USS Jouett (DD-41). SC 136 crossed the ocean in mid-1918, but arrived just as the war ended.

The Navy designed and deployed subchasers as an inexpensive solution to the critical need for anti-submarine platforms. Built out of wood (as steel was scarce in the wartime economy), the ships were built for speed and equipped with 3-inch guns and depth charges. They often worked in groups, usually with a torpedo-boat destroyer accompanying them. American yards turned out over 400 of the ships and many of them were sold to Allied nations.

Other good friends at The Subchaser Archives have posted a great series of images of SC 136 in the Caribbean in 1919, attending to the crew of USS May (SP 164), which grounded near Santo Domingo. They are available here: http://www.subchaser.org/set-sc136-09.

HRNM’s model was built by Mr.Thomas E. Tragle, a renowned builder of ship models, whose USS Monitor is also part of the museum collection. Mr. Tragle studied architectural drafting and mechanical drawing and these skills led him to employment in the model department of Newport News Shipbuilding. Later he joined the training department at Fort Eustis, where he built many different models until his retirement in 1972. From 1976 to 1986 he served as director of model building in the architecture department at Hampton Institute. He died in 1989.

Of interest to readers of this blog, Mr. Tragle was a Navy veteran of World War II, assigned to USS PC 496, a World War II subchaser. PC 496 sank in the Mediterranean as a result of a torpedo attack by an Italian submarine. Mr. Tragle has models in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, including a Union gunboat, USS Carondolet. Other works of his are displayed in the Watermen's Museum, where he served on the board of directors.