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. 

Ship's Plans-USS Electrican, 1917

Shown here is a building plan from the museum's collection.  It appears to be the Navy's newest battleship, ready to be built at a big shipyard like Newport News Shipbuilding rd.  The plans are indeed for a battleship.  This one, however, would never touch the water. 

When the Navy started Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads in 1917, the Department already began shifting the way sailors trained.  As ships became more complex, there was a need to train sailors first on shore in their respective rates before sending out to the Fleet.  To make new sailors into electricians, the Navy constructed a wooden battleship at NOB Hampton Roads. 

Christened the USS Electrician, the battleship had class rooms inside for basic instruction.   It also had all the bells, whistles, circuits, and wires of a Pennsylvania-class battleship (the newest battleship at the time), to give sailors accurately apply what they learned.   Go here to see what Electrician looked once the Navy finished building it.

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! 

Norfolk's Land-Locked Warship

From our collection, we present two group photos standing at attention in front of a large wooden battleship at Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads (now Naval Station Norfolk). The first photo (above) is a company of electrician's mate sailors who just graduated from the base's electrician school.   The second photo (below) shows the band from a Washington, D.C.-based Boy Scouts of America troop.  Not much is known about the band's visit to the base and any assistance would be greatly appreciated. 

In the early part of the 1900s, the Navy had to keep up with the rapidly changing field of wireless communications and electronics.  To meet the demand, it established several electrican schools across the country. The school at NOB Hampton Roads took its education program a few steps farther to provide true hands-on training.  It built a first of its kind simulator: a 3/4-scale model of a Pennsylvania-class battleship out of wood with all the bells and whistles of a real battleship (except for the ordnance!).  Christened USS Electrician, the land-locked warship became a popular backdrop for pictures. 

Naval Station Norfolk's electrician school is still operating today in the same building that it operated out of at the time of these two photos (near McClure Field).  Additionally, the Navy continues to use mock warships to provide real world training in critical areas such as damage control and engineering.  One well-known simulator is USS Buttercup.