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Photo # NH 42062:  USS Capella loading Army 16-inch gun aft, 26 September 1922.

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.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    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

     
    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

     
    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

     
    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

     
    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

     
    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

     
    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

     
    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

     
    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

     

    For other images of this ship, see:

  • USS Capella (AK-13), 1921-1946.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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    Page made 19 February 2003