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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
USS Capella (AK-13) --
Transporting Army 16-inch guns, 1922
USS Capella moored starboard side to Pier D, berth 5
at the New York Navy Yard on 9 September 1922. On 24 September
1922 a Merritt and Chapman tug placed the Merritt and Chapman
derrick Monarch and the Moran Towing and Transportation
Co. barges No. 10 and No. 30 alongside to port.
Barge No. 30 carried an Army Model 1919M1 16-inch gun for
shipment to the Commanding Officer of the Army's Hawaiian Ordnance
Depot at Honolulu, Hawaii. The other gun in this consignment was
probably on barge No. 10. On 25 September 1922 USS Maryland
(BB-46) stood in and moored port side to Pier D, berth 6, across
the pier from Capella.
On 26 September 1922 at 9:45am one 16-inch gun was placed in
its cradle on the port side of the forward main deck of Capella.
At 12:15pm Capella singled up her mooring lines preparatory
to winding ship. At 12:50pm she completed this evolution, which
put her in the same berth but facing the opposite direction, port
side to the pier. At 1:00pm tugs brought the derrick Monarch
and barge No. 30, carrying one gun, back alongside. At
1:30pm the derrick completed loading the gun on the starboard
side of the after main deck of Capella.
Capella sailed from New York on 29 September 1922 and,
after calling at New London, Norfolk, Panama, San Diego, and San
Pedro, moored at the coal pier at Pearl Harbor on 24 December.
She transferred the two Army 16-inch guns to Navy yard craft on
28 December.
The two Army Model 1919 16-inch guns were installed in 1923-24
at Battery Williston, on the west side of the entrance to Pearl
Harbor, where they had a field of fire that completely encircled
the island of Oahu and reached beyond its shores at every point.
A photograph of one of these guns after installation is contained
in E. R. Lewis, Seacoast Fortifications of the United States,
Annapolis, Md., 1979, page 113. These guns were the largest and
most powerful ever produced in the United States as standard pieces
of ordnance, but only eight of them were built because the Army
soon received a windfall of only slightly less powerful Navy 16-inch
guns left over following the cancellation of 12 new capital ships
as a result of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. Four of the remaining
six Army guns were deployed, two on Long Island and two at Boston.
This page features photos of USS Capella with Army 16-inch
guns in 1922.
For other images of this ship, see:
USS Capella (AK-13), 1921-1946.
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 42056
USS Capella (AK-13)
At the New York Navy Yard on 26 September 1922 showing an Army
Model 1919 16" gun stowed on the port side forward for shipment
to Pearl Harbor.
This gun was placed in its cradle at 9:45am; a second gun was
stowed on the starboard side aft at 1:30pm.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 103KB; 610 x 765 pixels |
![](../../images/h42000/h42056t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 42060
USS Capella (AK-13)
At the New York Navy Yard on 26 September 1922 with a 16"
gun stowed on the port side forward for shipment to Pearl Harbor.
The stencilled inscriptions indicate this was an Army Model 1919M1
gun, probably serial number 1, with a shipping weight of 320,000
pounds.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 101KB; 740 x 630 pixels |
![](../../images/h42000/h42060t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 42057
USS Capella (AK-13)
At the New York Navy Yard on 26 September 1922 showing an Army
Model 1919 16" gun stowed on the port side forward for shipment
to Pearl Harbor.
Ships in the background include a Kanawha (AO-1) class
oiler and two destroyers, one of which appears to be USS Billingsley (DD-293).
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 102KB; 740 x 630 pixels |
![](../../images/h42000/h42057t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 42061
Army 16" gun, Model 1919
On board Moran Towing Co. Barge No. 30 on 26 September 1922 in
a sling ready to be lifted onto the after deck of USS Capella
(AK-13).
This was the second of two guns loaded aboard Capella
for shipment to Pearl Harbor.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 68KB; 605 x 765 pixels |
![](../../images/h42000/h42061t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 42064
USS Capella (AK-13)
At the New York Navy Yard on 26 September 1922 loading an Army
16" gun on deck aft for shipment to Pearl Harbor.
The gun is on the Moran Towing and Transportation Co. barge No.
30 outboard of Capella, and the Merritt and Chapman
derrick Monarch is outboard of the barge ready to lift
the gun. USS Maryland (BB-46) is across the pier.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 118KB; 740 x 630 pixels |
![](../../images/h42000/h42064t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 42063
USS Capella (AK-13)
At the New York Navy Yard on 26 September 1922 loading an Army
16" gun on deck aft for shipment to Pearl Harbor.
The Merritt and Chapman derrick Monarch is heeling as
it begins to lift the gun from the Moran Towing and Transportation
Co. barge No. 30. USS Maryland (BB-46) is across
the pier.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 122KB; 740 x 620 pixels |
![](../../images/h42000/h42063t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 42062
USS Capella (AK-13)
At the New York Navy Yard on 26 September 1922 loading an Army
16" gun on deck aft for shipment to Pearl Harbor.
The Merritt and Chapman derrick Monarch has lifted the
gun clear of the Moran Towing and Transportation Co. barge No.
30. USS Maryland (BB-46) is across the pier. The crane
between the two ships is probably moving along rails on the pier.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 129KB; 740 x 620 pixels |
![](../../images/h42000/h42062t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 42058
USS Capella (AK-13)
At the New York Navy Yard on 26 September 1922 loading an Army
16" gun on deck aft for shipment to Pearl Harbor.
The Merritt and Chapman derrick Monarch has been repositioned
alongside Capella after the removal of the barge that
had been between them. The derrick is ready to lower the gun
into stowage on deck.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 122KB; 740 x 620 pixels |
![](../../images/h42000/h42058t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 42059
USS Capella (AK-13)
At the New York Navy Yard on 26 September 1922 loading an Army
16" gun on deck aft for shipment to Pearl Harbor.
The Merritt and Chapman derrick Monarch is lowering the
gun into stowage on deck, completing a half-hour long loading
evolution.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 121KB; 740 x 620 pixels |
![](../../images/h42000/h42059t.jpg) |
For other images of this ship, see:
USS Capella (AK-13), 1921-1946.
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Historical Center home page.
Page made 19 February 2003