Old Ironsides Visits Norfolk-1931

This is a 1931 photograph of the legendary frigate USS Constitution in the Elizabeth River.  "Old Ironsides" docked in Norfolk for one week in September.  She berthed at the "Old Indian Wharf," near the Berkley Bridge.  She then sailed to Yorktown for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown.The last time Constitution docked in Norfolk was in 1838 when Commodore Jesse Elliot brought the ship and several dozen Arabian horses, cattle, donkeys, and antiquities home from a Mediterranean cruise. 

The 1931 call was part of a national "thank you" tour.   Because Congress was unwilling to appropriate public funds to restore Constitution in the 1920s (it was in the process of gutting the Navy as a whole), the Navy solicited private donations.  Through  a series of creative funding raising methods done across the United States, $600,000 was raised.

Norfolk Mayor Jeff E. Robertson (at right) pretends (we think) to

give a sample of grog to Norfolk City Attorney John Sebrell, while

on board Constitution.  It looks like the picture was taken in jest,

 as Prohibition was still in effect.

Fundraisers still fell short of their goals, though.  Congress eventually decided to appropriate an additional $300,000 to make up the difference. To thank the American public for its financial and political support of Constitution, Secretary of the Navy Charles Francis Adams arranged for a three-year, coast-to-coast tour for the frigate.  More pictures of Constitution's visit to Norfolk can be found at the Norfolk Public Library's website.   

World War I Yeoman (F) Uniform

In our World War I gallery is this Navy uniform belonging to Josie Badger, who served as a Yeoman (F) during the war.  Yeoman (F) (sometimes somewhat rudely referred to as "yeomanettes") was a rate created by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. It allowed women to enlist in the U.S. Navy as administrative clerks and secretaries.  Daniels believed that, with women serving in administrative duties, more men could serve on ships.

Not a lot of thought went into the Yeoman (F) uniform, as it used commerically available designs.  The jacket is a "Norfolk jacket"-design that civilian police officers used.  Possibly named after the Duke of Norfolk, the "Norfolk-jacket" was originally designed for the well-off gentleman who wanted a stylish jacket that allowed him freedom of movement in his arms so he could quickly pull out his shotgun or rifle while hunting.   It would seem that police officers wanted the same qualities in their uniform.  For Yeoman (F), the Navy wanted them to look professional, but also distinctive from male sailors. The uniform was made from high quality wool with three buttons and belt just above third button.

The same thought process went into choosing the Yeoman (F)'s cover.  Fortunately, for the Navy, one of the hottest items in women's fashion at the time was called the "sailor hat."  Thus, the Navy simply went to the civilian cloth wholesalers and procured thousands of blue felt "sailor hats" for their female sailors.

Read more about the Yeoman (F), the official uniform regulations, and several more images at our command's website.

Midway Naval Aviator in Hampton Roads

I had the honor to spend the past weekend interviewing Captain N. Jack "Dusty" Kleiss, a veteran of the Battle of Midway and recipient of the Navy Cross for his actions in that battle. At age 96 (and a half, as he always tells people), Kleiss is filled with stories of his time in the Navy. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1938 and was stationed in Norfolk for a couple years before being sent to the West Coast prior to the start of World War II. Post-war, the Navy sent him again to Norfolk, this time to COMAIRLANT (now COMNAVAIRLANT), or Commander Air Forces Atlantic Fleet. Below is a photograph of the staff of COMAIRLANT in 1955 that Kleiss shared. 

The staff of COMAIRLANT, Naval Air Station Norfolk, in 1955.

Kleiss is in the front row, fifth man from the right (the one with the cocky smile on his face!). At the time of this photograph, Kleiss held the rank of commander. He would retire from the Navy in 1962 as a captain. Over the next few months, I'll be sharing some more of the stories I've learned from Kleiss during our interviews.  Read about his experiences at the Battle of Midway here.

Captain Jack Kleiss in his retirement photo, March 31, 1962.

The "Flying Squadron" Early Morning in Hampton Roads, 1898

This is a print entitled The Flying Squadron Early Morning in Hampton Roads.  Drawn by Carlton T. Chapman, it appeared in the April 9, 1898, edition of Harper's Weekly.  From left to right, the image shows the second-class battleship USS Texas, the armored cruiser and squadron flagship USS Brooklyn (ACR-3), the protected cruisers USS Minneapolis (C-13) and Columbia (C-12), and the first-class battleship USS Massachusetts  (BB-3).  The torpedo boat at the forefront was not identified.  The print currently hangs in the museum's Spanish-American War gallery. 

The "Flying Squadron" was one of the two battle squadrons organized by the Atlantic Fleet in response to the declaration of war on Spain.  While the main squadron headed south toward Cuba with a mix of heavy battleships and patrol gunboats, the Flying Squadron ships temporarily stayed back in Hampton Roads in case the Spanish battle fleet decided to attack the American mainland.  It was not clear where the Spanish squadron might go, so the Americans had to have fast ships to quickly react to the threat.  Because Hampton Roads is the rough geographical center of the East Coast, it was only natural to have the squadron based here.  In the end, the Spanish warships steamed for Cuba, and upon hearing this news, the Flying Squadron left Hampton Roads and headed south. 

The artist of this work, Carlton T. Chapman, produced a large amount of U.S. Navy artwork.  Though he trained at the best art schools in Europe, it would seem the summers spent at his uncle's shipyard in Maine proved to be his biggest influence.  He traveled with the Flying Squadron to Cuba as a contract artist and produced several pieces of battle art based on eyewitness views.  He also produced several War of 1812 pieces for the U.S. Naval Academy.

Chapman's work represented the major changes taking place in Harper's Weekly.  Gone were the woodcut engravings that made the publication famous during the American Civil War.  In their place, the magazine used photographs, lithographs, and oil-based paintings.  For example, in the same April 1898 issue, the editors published photographs of the ships of the Flying Squadron in Hampton Roads and other ships that served in auxiliary squadrons (see pictures at right).

USS Norfolk (DL-1) and UNITAS VI, 1965

USS Norfolk (DL-1) during UNITAS VI, 1965

The museum recently received several dozen photographs of USS Norfolk (DL-1) during UNITAS VI in 1965.   UNITAS (Latin for "unity") is an annual exercise the U.S. Navy has with its South American allies. Norfolk participated in several UNITAS exercises and frequently served as the flagship. The operation has been ongoing since the 1950s. UNITAS LIII was just completed last week.   

Norfolk with the Brazilian destroyer Betoiga (ex-USS Pennewill (DE-175)), with
 an S-2E Tracker anti-submarine warfare aircraft from squadron VP-23 above them.

A deck level photo of Norfolk and Betoiga

Colombian destroyer Antioquia (ex-USS Hale (DD-642))

Forecastle of USS Norfolk (DL-1) during UNITAS VI. 
The bell can now be seen at Wisconsin Square in downtown Norfolk.

Peruvian destroyer Guise (ex-USS Isherwood (DD-520)) with USS Van Voorhis (DE-1028).

USS Atule (SS-403) during UNITAS VI.  Frequently, UNITASs served as anti-submarine warfare training operations.

USS Louisiana in the Vera Cruz Expedition, 1914-1915

The Hampton Roads Naval Museum recently received several dozen photographs of the U.S. Navy's 1914 occupation of Vera Cruz, Mexico.  Printed on postcard stock paper, the photographs show several different scenes of the expedition, principally from the viewpoint of the locally-based battleship USS Louisiana (BB-19).

While the battleship was picking up new recruits, someone from the ship took the above picture of the former wooden steam frigate Franklin.  The wooden ship served as the Navy's barracks, receiving, and recruiting depot for Norfolk and Portsmouth.

En route to Vera Cruz, Louisiana's Marine detachment conducts battle drills on the fantail.

Officially, the original plan for the operation called for U.S. Navy sailors to simply occupy Vera Cruz's custom house and port facilities in order to enforce an American arms embargo on the Mexican forces fighting each other in the Mexican Revolution.  Louisiana's sailors were not part of this first landing as the ship was still en route to Mexico.

In fact, the cruise south was very easy for Louisiana's sailors.  Here are members of the ship's 7th division with two ship mascots, a goat named Billy and what looks like a turkey.  The ship also had a bull terrier as a mascot.   

The ship's baseball team even took time out to get into their uniforms and take a team picture. 

But when Louisiana arrived along with several other warships from the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, American forces found themselves engaged in street fighting with local militiamen and naval cadets loyal to Mexican president General Victoriano Huerta.  Here, Louisiana's sailors are deployed in the streets with Krag rifles and Colt automatics. 

Louisiana returned to Hampton Roads in August 1914, but the Navy ordered her back to Mexico in early 1915.  At left, the battleship's company hand-fills bags of coal from a barge.   The ship's coal bunker could hold over 2,000 tons of coal.  After the 1915 deployment to Mexico, she returned home and the Navy placed her in reserve status.    

Israeli 707s at NAS Oceana, 1973

Editors at Hampton Roads' evening edition newspaper, the Ledger-Star, received a tip on October 10, 1973, that a Boeing 707 with unusual markings landed at Oceana Naval Air Station.   Witnesses soon determined that the aircraft belonged to Israel, though U.S. Navy sailors quickly put paper and paint over the tail to hide the markings.  Ledger-Star photojournalists and reporters made their way to the base early in the morning and took the picture above.   The Virginian-Pilot (parent company of the now-defunct Ledger-Star) recently donated pictures of this unusual event to the Naval Museum.

The reporters and civilians witnessed sailors loading several pallets of AIM-9 Sidewinder (see the museum's Sidewinder here) and AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles on board.  A U.S. Air Force C-141 then flew in and parked itself near the 707.  Crews unloaded several more pallets of 250- and 500-lb bombs.  Navy spokesmen at the region's installations said only, "No comment."  After the plane was loaded up, reporters and witnesses watched the 707 take off and head east.

A short time later, the operation became less of a secret when the Nixon Administration publicly announced that it would be providing military materiel support to Israel's war effort against the Egyptian and Syrian offensives in what is called the Yom Kippur War.  With the Soviet Union providing massive amounts of military aid to Egypt and Syria, the Nixon administration acted on behalf of Israel. 

Upon the President's order, the U.S. Air Force initiated Operation Nickel Grass and summoned every available cargo and airlift plane it had in its inventory.  The planes landed at several military airfields across the country, including Oceana, received any surplus weapon stocks on hand, and shipped them off to Israel. 

Special thanks to Jakon Hays of the Virginian-Pilot for these photos!