Monday, February 28, 2011

Sailor's Diary-Ask For Permission First, 1937

If the Navy wanted you to have modern devices, they would have issued them. Here is SK2 Lukei, out of Norfolk on USS Arkansas (BB 33) May 1937, seeking permission to have an electric razor. Arkansas at the time was cruising to Annapolis to pick up Midshipmen for the practice cruise of 1937. Their destination: Kiel, Germany. The same ship would later bombard German soliders on D-day. That June day, SK2 Lukei was crossing the International Date Line en route to another battle at Saipan. Click on the image to enlarge the text of Lukei's permission slip for his personal electric razor.

Battleship USS Arkansas (BB-33), early 1930s.


Friday, February 25, 2011

A Sailor's Diary, 1927

Reese F. Lukei enlisted in the Navy in 1927 and reported to Norfolk for basic training in July. Lukei kept a typewritten diary of his Navy career for the next 20 years - through 1947. This page, his first entry, provides an interesting look at the early Naval Station. Note that Naval Station headquarters is called "the Glass house." Vaccination for typhoid and small pox required a quarantine that lasted almost one month. Click on the image to enlarge text.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Builder's Model USS America

One of the crown jewels of the museum's collection is the builder's model of the aircraft carrier USS America (CV-66).  Built by the model shop of Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in the 1960s, the model is made of wood and is over six feet long at a scale 1/8" of model to one foot of real ship. The aircraft on the ship represent a 1960s-era Naval air wing with A-4 SkyhawksRA-5 Vigilantes, A-7 Corsiar IIs, A-6 Intruders, F-4 Phantoms, and C-2 Greyhounds,   It is one of the largest ship models in the Navy's collection and can be seen in the museum's Cold War gallery.




Friday, February 18, 2011

Constructing Destroyers at Norfolk Naval Shipyard-Part 2

 These are a few more of the pictures the museum recently received on the construction of three destroyers at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in the mid-1930s. These pictures show the construction USS Bagley (DD-386).
Frames for Bagley's hull pre-fabricated at the Yard's Shop 11, June 1935

While the workers made the frames, the keel was laid down at the same time.

View of structure, September 1935

Workers at the Yard's boiler shop assemble the ship's stack and breeching, March 1936.

Launch day-September 1936. Miss Bella Worth Bagley, sister of the ship's namesake, christens the ship.


Bagley in the Elizabeth River, shortly after launch. Workers later assembled the ship's guns, bridge, and stack.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Constructing Destroyers at Norfolk Naval Shipyard-Part 1

Keel-laying ceremony for USS Helm (DD-388)
The museum was recently given two photo albums depicting the construction of the destroyers Bagley (DD-386), Blue (DD-387), and Helm (DD-388) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard-Portsmouth between 1936 and 1938. All three ships were built from funding provided by President Franklin Roosevelt's National Industrial Recovery Act, a controversial "New Deal" program designed to revitalize American manufacturing. All three warships had very active Naval careers during World War II.

The photos show the complete cycle of construction from the ceremonial keel laying to builders' trials. Here are a few of the pictures. More will be published later this week.

The finished product of Helm's bridge and deck house at one the Yard's manfacturing shops.

Hulls of Blue (left) and Helm (right). Notice the sign at the far right. It reminds workers that the ships were built under funding provided by the National Industrial Recovery Act.

Installing the bridge and deck house on the Helm's hull.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Ensign Jesse Brown

In honor of African American history month, we present a picture of Ensign Jesse Brown, the Navy's first African American aviator.  Ensign Brown flew with VF-32, a squadron of F4U Corsairs based out of Oceana Naval Air Station. 

During a combat mission in the Korean War, Ensign Brown was shot down while flying close air support near the Chosin Reservoir in November 1950.  Despite several attempts to rescue him, Brown died of his injuries.  He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.  See more images of Ensign Brown at the Naval History and Heritage Command's website.  If you are interested in learning more about the  history of  African Americans in the U.S. Navy, contact our education department at 757-322-2987 and ask about the "Blacks in Blue" program.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Fight Night-NAAS Oceana, 1944





A typical "smoker" at Naval Auxillary Air Station (NAAS) Oceana, in which a hangar has been converted into a boxing auditorium. Note the Navy band at left, in uniform, the aircraft under repair in the background and the (admittedly few) female guests. These events were sailors' entertainment in the mostly rural part of Princess Anne County (Virginia Beach).