Convoy WS-12X

This a picture of Convoy WS-12X in November 1941 in the South Atlantic en route to Cape Town, South Africa. The convoy was carrying soliders from the Winnipeg Rifles (a Canadian infantry unit) on the unit's first leg of its very long journey to reinforce the Hong Kong garrison. The Canadians would eventually be captured when Hong Kong surrendered to Japan in 1942 (and later liberated by sailors from USS Wisconsin (BB-64) in 1945).

All of the warships and troopships in the convoy are U.S. Navy vessels out of Norfolk.The scout bomber is off the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4), one of the heavy cruisers is USS Vincennes (CA-44), and one of the troop transports is USS West Point (AP-23).

John C. McGinley at HRNM!

Actor John C. McGinley, famous for his role of "Dr. Cox" on NBC's Scrubs, came to the museum and Battleship Wiscosin on Saturday 15 November 2008. Mr. McGinley was in town for a conference and took some time to come down to our museum. Suprised and a little starstruck, SK1 Kelly Chastain and Educators Matthew Eng and Stephen Hebert asked him to sign an autograph of a ship's picture. Mr. McGinley thankfully did so and stuck around to ask a few questions and take pictures with our grateful staff members. Here they are.

Pictured: Stephen Hebert, John C. McGinley, SK1 Kelly Chastain)

Pictured: Stephen Hebert, John C. McGinley, Matthew Eng

Pictured: John C. McGinley, SK3 Ashley Moody-David

Frigate Chesapeake's First War of 1812 Cruise

(click on map to see a larger view)

We present here a map produced by museum staff members that traces the first cruise of the frigate USS Chesapeake during the War of 1812. The map was produced as a part of a new article on the frigate that has appeared in The Daybook, the museum's quarterly journal of local naval history and museum events.

Built at the Gosport Shipyard in Portsmouth, Chesapeake is infamous for her string of bad breaks and luck. The British scored their biggest naval victory in the War of 1812 when HMS Shannon defeated Chesapeake off the coast of Boston in 1813. But that happened in her second cruise.

During the first cruise, Chesapeake captured several British ships (and one American ship trading for the British). Among the captures was one of the most valuable captures in Naval history. In January 1813 she captured the British merchant ship Liverpool Hero, which was carrying over $185,000 (1813 dollars) worth of pig iron and copper.


Click here to see the article.

Home Squadron off the coast of Texas

This is a sketch of the U.S. Navy's Home/Gulf Squadron off the coast of the Brazos de Santiago at the start of the Mexican-American War in 1846. The sail ships in the sketch from left to right are USS John Adams, USS Raritan, USS Somers, USS Cumberland, and USS Potomac. The two steamers are carrying U.S. Sailors and Marines to reinforce the U.S. Army garrison at Point Isabel.

Battleship Wisconsin's 1944 Shakedown Cruise

This is a rare World War II color photo of USS Wisconsin (BB-64). The photo is looking down the forecastle during the ship's initial shakedown cruise in 1944. The photo comes courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who sent a photographer to cover the ship's commissioning. The photo is part of the museum's Eugene Kohn collection. The Yale trained journalist was an ensign in the U.S. Navy and Wisconsin's first public affairs officer.