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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Album S-583 page 3: Two views of USS Scranton: one looking down on her deck from the mainmast; the other showing her in drydock

Online Library of Selected Images -- Photo Albums

USS Scranton (ID # 3511) Photo Album, 1919
(Naval History and Heritage Command Photographic Lot # S-583) --
General Description

This album was compiled by J.D. Bartar, who served on USS Scranton (ID # 3511) in 1919. It contains 86 photographs (including a few duplicates) printed on postal card stock and one larger photograph which serves as the frontispiece. All images concern the ship, her crew, and her activities while she was employed transporting U.S. troops home from France in March-July 1919. There are no views of her earlier service (from September 1918 to January 1919) as a Navy cargo ship and animal transport. Many of the photographs were taken, presumably from on board Scranton, in the New York Harbor area and in western French waters.

One incident that is extensively covered, with photos scattered throughout the album, concerns an apparent machinery or steering casualty that immobilized Scranton on, or about, 28 March 1919. USS El Sol stood by until another ship (evidently the minesweeper USS Penguin) arrived to take her in tow. One of Scranton's boats capsized during this affair, possibly resulting in loss of life among its crew. The ship appears to have been repaired in the New York Harbor area, where she remained into April.

The album, apparently a standard product for a Navy audience, was produced during the 19-"teens" by F.A. Tombs and Company, 88-90-92 Sands Street, Brooklyn, New York. It has 44 pages of photographs, numbered as "frontispiece", pages 1 through 39, and pages 2a, 3a, 4a & 5a (the latter are the reverse sides of pages 2 through 5 -- all other photo pages have prints on their front sides only). With the exception of the frontispiece, all of these pages were designed to hold postcard format photographs, with die cut corners allowing two cards to be inserted on each side of the sheet. There are also 15 documentary pages, intended for remarks. These include 13 double-sided pages entitled "Smooth Log" and 2 double-sided pages entitled "Cruising Record". However, these pages are "clean", with no commentary written on them. Pages measure 11 inches long and 7 inches high. Covers are 11 3/8 inches long and 7 1/4 inches high. All are punched with two holes on the left margin, and the album was bound with black steel telescoping tubes and a rather deteriorated cord tied in a bow on the front cover side.

The album was obtained privately through an agent of the owner, a descendant of J.D. Bartar, in June 2004 with the intention of donating it to the Naval Historical Center (since renamed "Naval History and Heritage Command"). As of this writing, 32 of the album's photographs have been further cataloged with "NH" numbers, and are featured in other "Online Library" subject presentations. All of these are also seen here, with links provided to their "NH" series Picture Data sheets.

For additional information, see:

  • USS Scranton (ID # 3511), 1918-1919.


    To browse through this album page-by-page:

  • Start with front cover, frontispiece, document pages and pages 1 & 2 and follow page links near the bottom of each presentation page.
  • Pages with photographs oriented along the page axis are presented in vertical format. Those whose photographs are oriented perpendicular to the page axis are presented horizontally.

    To go directly to specific pages, click the appropriate entry on the list below:

    Front Cover, Frontispiece, Document Pages & Photo Pages 1-3

    Photo Pages
    3a-10

    Photo Pages
    11-20

    Photo Pages
    21-30

    Photo Pages
    31-39 & Inside of Back Cover


    For a listing of specific subjects seen in this album, keyed to the pages where they appear, see:

  • USS Scranton Photo Album -- General Description, Part Two: Subject Listings.

    Click on the linked page numbers to see small pictures ("thumbnails") of those pages.
    Click on the thumbnails to access larger images of the pages.


    NOTES:

  • To the best of our knowledge, the pictures referenced here are all in the Public Domain, and can therefore be freely downloaded and used for any purpose.

  • Some images linked from this page may bear obsolete credit lines citing the organization name: "Naval Historical Center". Effective 1 December 2008 the name should be cited as: "Naval History and Heritage Command".


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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    Page made 11 July 2004
    Coding updated 10 May 2009