USS Bagley and USS Potomac at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 1937

Among collection of construction photos of the destroyer USS Bagley (DD-386) is this January 4, 1937 photo of the warship at pier side after launching.  Notice the ship in the background.  The vessel is USS Potomac (AG-25), President Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential yacht.  Whether the vessel was at the Navy Yard for repairs or a surprise Presidential visit, we are not sure.

Potomac was formerly a U.S. Coast Guard cutter before her new role as F.D.R.'s "Floating White House."  Norfolk Naval Shipyard converted the vessel to her new role from 1935 to 1936 and recommissioned the vessel on March 4, 1936.  The ship is now a National Historic Landmark and docked in Oakland, California.

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.

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.