Old Navy

[Brian James]

The ill fated Nevada Class Battleship USS Oklahoma pictured prior to her launch,at New York Shipbuilding Company, Camden, New Jersey, March 23rd, 1914.

[Brian James]

USS Aroostook pictured at Mare Island Navy Yard on November 11th 1923.
USS Aroostook was the Eastern Steamship Company's SS Bunker Hill converted for planting the World War I North Sea Mine Barrage. Bunker Hill was built in 1907 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for passenger service between Boston and New York City. Bunker Hill and her sister ship Massachusetts were among the eight ships acquired by the U.S. Navy in November 1917. The two coastal passenger steamers were converted to Minelayers at the Boston Navy Yard.
In mid-June 1918, Aroostook took on board a load of mines and then began a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in the company of her sister Minelayer, USS Shawmut. This voyage, aided by the novel technique of refueling at sea, took her to Scotland, where in July she participated in laying the North Sea Mine Barrage, laying thousands of mines across the mouth of the North Sea in order to create a barrier for German U-boats trying to depart from German seaports to the open Atlantic. Aroostook laid a total of 3,180 mines in this operation:This effort, nearly completed, was the major operation of the U.S. Navy in European waters during World War I, and it came to an end on November 11th 1918 with the Armistice with Germany and the end of fighting in World War I. USS Aroostook steamed home to the East Coast in December 1918.
During the spring of 1919, USS Aroostook was refitted as an Aircraft Tender to support the attempt by U.S. Navy naval aviators to make the first transatlantic crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by air. The Navy had four huge Curtiss NC floatplanes built for the project. These aircraft were twice the size of contemporary aircraft. The route for this attempt used southeastern Newfoundland and the Portuguese Azores Islands as stopping-off points for refueling and maintenance work on the new planes, and for rest and mess periods for their aviators. In the event of the attempt, mechanical problems and lack of replacement parts necessitated the cannibalization of one of the aircraft, leaving three 'Nancys' for the attempt. During the first half of May 1919, Aroostook was waiting at the port of Trepassey, Newfoundland, to serve as a floating base for the three medium-sized Curtiss NC floatplanes that took off from the New York City area on May 16th. After taking care of the Curtiss NCs and their crews, and seeing them off towards the Azores, Aroostook next steamed to England, where she rendezvoused with the NC-4, the only aircraft to complete the transatlantic flight, at the end of May. The crewmen of Aroostook then disassembled the NC-4 and loaded her onto the ship for the voyage back to United States.In August and early September, Aroostook carried a cargo of naval mines and supplies to California via the Panama Canal. She spent the rest of the year on the West Coast carrying out transportation missions and also as the Aviation Flagship for the Pacific Fleet.
Though she continued to be classified as a Minelayer, and she received the warship designation CM-3 (Minelayer) in mid-1920, Aroostook's remaining active service was as an Aircraft Tender. Throughout the 1920s, she mainly served on the Eastern Pacific Ocean, but she made occasional voyages to the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Seaboard to take part in the annual, massive fleet problem exercises.
Aroostook also steamed to Hawaii and back in 1925 and 1928, including on the first occasion as the support Aircraft Tender for a pioneering attempt to fly two patrol planes from the West Coast to Hawaii.
Taken out of commission in March 1931 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, Aroostook was laid up in reserve for the next decade. With World War II raging in Europe, and the war threatening to spread worldwide soon, she was considered for reactivation as a cargo ship, and in May 1941, she was redesignated AK-44. However, her age and her limited capabilities kept her inactive. In February 1943, Aroostook was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and then transferred to the War Shipping Administration. Regaining the name Bunker Hill, she stayed in port for the rest of the war. Although she was sold in 1947 to a firm headed by Anthony Cornero that planned to use her as a floating casino off of Malibu,those plans fell through, and the old ship was next seized by the U.S. Government, which sold her for scrapping in October 1947.

[Brian James]

New York Navy Yard,Brooklyn,1918.

[Brian James]

Torpedo Boats pictured at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn,from left to right: USS Winslow (Torpedo Boat # 5); USS Ericsson (Torpedo Boat # 2); USS Cushing (Torpedo Boat # 1); USS MacKenzie (Torpedo Boat # 17); and USS Porter (Torpedo Boat # 6)....November 1900.

[Brian James]

President Theodore Roosevelt pictured on the presidential yacht, USS Mayflower, reviewing the Great White Fleet at Hampton Roads, Virginia, December 16th, 1907.

[Brian James]

Sidewheel Gunboat USS Monocacy pictured in Chinese waters in the 1890's.
Monocacy was launched by A. & W. Denmead & Son, Baltimore, Maryland, on December 14th 1864.
Assigned to the Asiatic Squadron, Monocacy remained there until 1903, a period of service so long that the light-draft gunboat was given the nickname 'Jinricksha of the Navy'.
After patrol duty through 1867, Monocacy joined her squadron in representing the U.S. Government at the opening of the ports of Osaka and Hyōgo, Japan, on January 1st 1868. In December, she surveyed the Inland Sea between Nagasaki and Osaka to locate appropriate sites for lighthouses, another step in the realization of American commercial trade with isolationist Japan. The Gunboat spent most of 1869 and 1870 patrolling off Japan to help check license in the restless years following the Meiji Restoration in 1867.
After repairs at Shanghai, Monocacy began charting the Yangtze River on March 23rd 1871. By April she was underway for Nagasaki,to participate in a five-ship survey expedition to the Salee River, Korea, and, while there, attempt contact with representatives of the Kingdom of Korea. After Korean shore batteries attacked Screw Tug USS Palos near Chemulpo, a landing party of 576 sailors and 110 marines stormed a series of forts along the Salee River on June 10th, losing three killed and seven wounded. The expedition retired in July. In September, she resumed her navigation of the Yangtze before returning to Shanghai February 4th 1872.
For the last quarter of the 19th century, Monocacy cruised along the coasts of Japan, Korea, and China, docking in Japan through the winter months. On October 7th 1884, while at Fuzhou, China, Captain of the guard William H. Belpitt rescued a Chinese man from drowning, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.From October 23rd until November 11th 1899, the veteran ship carried the U.S. Minister to China as she visited the open ports of the Yangtze River.
In 1900, Monocacy became involved in the repercussions of the Boxer Rebellion. On June 14th, she captured seven small craft off Tongku, China. The foreign persecutions ended with the capture of Peking, on August 14th, by the China Relief Expedition, and Monocacy docked at Taku Bar, China, where she remained through the razing of the Taku forts in accordance with the formal settlement signed in September 1901.On June 22nd 1903 Monocacy was struck from the Navy list and sold to Hashimoto & Son, Nagasaki.

[Brian James]

Pipe and Coppersmith's Workshop pictured at Puget Sound Navy Yard in November 1914.

[designeraccd]

Looks similar to this shop, but here is a twin 14" turret for the TEXAS! As she still exists, so does the turret....

Someone should be seeing it soon!! DFO

[Brian James]

Yacht USS Aileen pictured in dry dock at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, while being converted for naval service, May 17th 1898. *Note light armour plate being installed on her hull amidships to protect her boilers.
She was built in 1896 at Chester, Pennsylvania, by John Roach & Sons—was purchased by the Navy on April 28th 1898; converted for naval service by the New York Navy Yard; and commissioned there on May 14th 1898.
Found unfit for cruising the open seas, Aileen served on coastal defense through the Spanish–American War. On May 18th 1899, the converted yacht was transferred to the New York Naval Militia on loan for use as a Training Ship. On November 18th 1909, the New York Naval Militia returned Aileen to the Navy. She was placed in service at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire Navy Yard on April 30th 1910; but, sometime later that year, the yacht was transferred to the Rhode Island Naval Militia and served the state of Rhode Island training naval militiamen until the U.S. entered World War I on April 6th 1917. The following day, Aileen was reacquired by the Navy and placed in commission once again. For the duration of the war, she served in the 2nd Naval District, patrolling the New England coastline between New London, Connecticut and Block Island Sound. After February 1919, she operated from New London with the Reserve Squadron, Anti-Submarine Squadrons, engaged in training missions. She was decommissioned on July 5th 1919 and, 18 days later, was ordered sold. Her name was struck from the Navy list on August 12th. On November 20th1920, she was sold to Tarns, Lemoin & Crane, of New York City.

[Brian James]

Schooner rigged Gunboat USS Marietta pictured at New York Navy Yard, circa 1902.She was laid down by Union Iron Works Shipyard,San Francisco,on April 13th 1896 and launched on March 18th 1897. (Note: Armoured Cruiser USS Brooklyn in background).