Summer of '67: Training for the Fleet

Seaman Thomas Kirchman works aboard USS Lenawee (APA 195) on the way to South Vietnam. The Fifth Naval District E1-2 School would train additional Sailors for the fleet. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

By Captain Alexander G. Monroe, USN (Ret)

HRNM Docent & Contributing Writer

On June 5th, 1967, three days before the attack on USS Liberty (AGTR 5), I reported to Captain Robert B. Deadmond of the Headquarters of the Fifth Naval District at the U.S. Naval Station, Norfolk, Virginia.[1] I was a Lieutenant (JG),  assigned to the Selected Reserve Crew of USS Henley (DD 762). I was to be Administrative Officer and an instructor in an entity known as the Fifth Naval District E1-2 School. It was established to provide a steady flow of Seamen who could serve the fleet aboard ships and in squadrons or by attending fleet schools and thereafter serving in the fleet or the shore establishment. The war in Vietnam, which had begun as a modest advisory enterprise, had changed both in nature and scope after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of August 7th, 1964. The resolution authorized the President to take all steps necessary to protect American forces in the theater.[2] The school, two weeks in length, was a “Boot Camp” for Navy Reserve Personnel. It had been conducted in other summers but the exigencies of the war made it a key effort for the Navy. It is a cogent reminder that much of importance that happens in the Navy is in such places ashore rather than in major impressive ships at sea.[3] 

Officers at the "Boot Camp" for Naval Reserve in summer 1967. Left to right: Lieutenant Joseph T. Buxton, Commander James L. McBee, Lieutenant William J. Lauer and Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Alexander G. Monroe. 

The officers chosen for this duty were--in addition to myself--Commander James L. McBee (Officer in Charge), Lieutenant William J. Lauer, and Lieutenant Joseph T. Buxton, III. They were supplemented by various senior enlisted personnel, many of whom were teachers and administrators in school systems and colleges on summer holiday. 

Ranger Hall as seen today (M.C. Farrington)

The school was located in Barracks November, near the present parking lot for the staff of Commander Surface Forces, Atlantic Fleet, now known as Ranger Hall.[4] This building was constructed as Barracks N in 1939 through Navy Contract 3243 (8837) as part of the expansion of the Naval Training Station Norfolk, begun just prior to the beginning of World War Two. [5]  The school program in 1967 was two weeks long and was intense by design so that those enrolled might be advanced to Seaman or Fireman (E3) at its conclusion. It was preceded by additional training elsewhere, and it involved classroom instruction that enabled the trainees to complete practical factors for advancement as noted above. Those ordered to the school came from the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Naval Districts and the Naval District of Washington.[6] It also provided hands-on experience in ship maintenance.[7] On September 5, 1967, the school finished its work.

A sailor works in the engine room of USS Sacramento (AOE 1) in 1967. (Naval History and Heritage Command) 

Ranger Hall was constructed in the late 1930s to meet the requirements of a rapidly approaching war. In the summer of 1967, those in charge of the Fifth Naval District E1-E2 School in this building prepared young men for service in the fleet. Subsequently, it has been a women’s barracks and now, it houses the offices of the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Department of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Navy. This is an integral part of an organization dedicated, among other things, to the morale of sailors and the enhancement of their families’ lives, clearly a worthy and necessary task. 

[1] Commandant Fifth Naval District orders 181008 dtd 2 May 1967 w/ends.

[2] This resolution is 78 Statutes at Large 384. Two Senators, Ernest Gruening of Alaska and Wayne Morse of Oregon voted against it.

[3] “Boot Camp Again at Naval Station,” The Seabag, August 3, 1967. Pages 1 and 15. Page 1 has a picture of trainees passing in review on the parade ground in from of Building N26.

[4] See Photo Collection of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, A1043/1044.

[5] Ltr, Chairman of the Station Development Board to COMNAVBASE NORVA, 15 January 1952, “History of the Development of the Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia to December 31, 1941,”

[6] See again footnote 3 above.

[7] The Naval Surface Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet was created on 1 July 1975 by consolidation of the Amphibious (PHIBLANT), Destroyer (DESLANT) Minesweeping (MINELANT) and Service (SERVLANT) Forces 

Building the USS Electrician: New Photos from the National Archives

By Katherine A. Renfrew
Hampton Roads Naval Museum Registrar

This aerial photograph of USS Electrician, a landmark building once located near the headquarters buildings of Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads (now Naval Station Norfolk), gives a sense of the scale of the wooden training mock-up. (Hampton Roads Naval Museum Collection) 

What might seem archaic today was actually cutting edge in the early 1900s. USS Electrician, a building designed to have the appearance and all the electrical features of a modern battleship, represented a very modern method for training sailors nearly a century ago. Offering classroom and hands-on training, the students were able to simulate the same routine they would have on a real ship. Measuring 235 feet long with a 38-foot “beam,” the ship was a ¾-scale model of a Pennsylvania-class battleship; and became an iconic feature of Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads (now Naval Station Norfolk).

Although appearing at first glance like the plans for a seagoing warship, the unusual number of portholes and exterior hatches called for on these blueprints for USS Electrician, as well as the absence of anything below the waterline, are an indicator that these are not the plans for a ship at all.  (Hampton Roads Naval Museum Collection) 

USS Electrician is highlighted in red on this 1920 map of Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads (now Naval Station Norfolk), where it once loomed over the northeast corner of the base parade ground, which is now a parking lot. (Hampton Roads Naval Museum Collection)

This interior photo of USS Electrician shows the immersive classroom environment prospective Electrician's Mates (after the rating name was changed from "Electrician" in 1921) encountered inside the simulated battleship. (Hampton Roads Naval Museum collection)

The ship was furnished with all the intricate equipment of a modern battleship, with the exception of radio apparatus and live ordnance. It contained three decks with lecture and reading rooms; and living accommodations for 160 men. Some of the features of the ship included an electrically operated three-gun turret, gun rammers and ammunition hoist; an operating boat crane, deck winch and electrical anchor; and a completely equipped fire control system with conning tower, substations and spotters’ positions.

The following images of USS Electrician reveal the many phases of its construction from 1918 to 1922: 

(National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1918_20)

(National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1918_21)

(National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1918_22)

(National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1918_14)

(National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1918_24)

(National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1918_28)

(National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1918_15)

(National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1918_29)

(National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1918_63)

This brief history of USS Electrician is the eighth in a series of blogs illustrating the development of Naval Station Norfolk. Unless otherwise noted, the photographs in this series represent the results of a research project seeking images of Hampton Roads naval installations at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). This research, performed by the Southeastern Archaeological Research, Incorporated (SEARCH) was funded by Commander Navy Region Mid-Atlantic as part of an ongoing effort to provide information on historic architectural resources at navy bases in Hampton Roads. The museum is pleased to present these images for the benefit of the general public and interested historians. As far as we know, all of these images are in the public domain and none of the NARA images have been published before. 

Educating Sailors Throughout History

On Thursday, September 20, at 6pm, HRNM is hosting a program about the Navy's use of graphic novels as training tools. But to understand how the Navy began to use such a non-traditional format for teaching sailors, one must look back through history to see how the Navy has trained sailors in the past. Participants in the graphic novels program will view a small, temporary exhibit about the Navy's various ways of training over the years. Here is a preview of one exhibit panel about how the Navy trained sailors in the 20th century. If you're a former (or current) sailor and experienced any of these forms of training, comment and let us know your thoughts!

 The 1921 graduating class in front of Electrician.

During the 20^th century, sailors trained through hands-on experience, training manuals, and via experienced sailors. Most notably, the Bluejacket’s Manual was first issued in 1902. Additionally, the Navy recognized the need for establishing training schools around the country, including the training school at Naval Operating Base Norfolk (now Naval Station Norfolk). Norfolk’s training school included a full-scale ship, the Electrician, on which sailors trained for electrical work and other tasks. Electrician did everything except float.

Training films became popular in the 1940s. 

A couple decades later, the US Navy took advantage of motion pictures by creating training films. The Navy’s films trained sailors on a variety of subjects, including aircraft carrier flight deck safety, hygiene, escaping from disabled submarines, recovering sailors who have fallen overboard, landing aboard an aircraft carrier, firing gun turrets, and many other topics. Many of these films have survived to the present-day, including the ones you'll be able to watch at HRNM on Thursday evening, September 20. RSVP to laura.l.orr@navy.mil today for this FREE program!