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Photo # NH 98970:  USS Little Rock arrives at Port Said for ceremonies reopening the Suez Canal, 5 June 1975

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Little Rock (CLG-4, later CG-4), 1960-1977
-- At the Reopening of the Suez Canal, 5 June 1975

On 5 June 1975, after having been closed since the June 1967 war between Egypt and Israel, the Suez Canal was formally reopened for business. USS Little Rock, flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, represented the United States at the ceremonies, which were held at Port Said. According the the 1976 "Naval Review", she was the "only foreign warship in the official flotilla that sailed down the canal to Ismalia" on this occasion.

Much damaged by direct military action in 1967, and especially in another war in October 1973, as well as by the neglect inherent in its long inactivity, the canal had required considerable effort to remove sunken wrecks, clear explosives and return its banks and channels to navigable condition. Its closure had produced serious disruptions in international commerce, as eastbound shipping from the Indian Ocean area and the Far East had to make a long passage around Africa instead of taking the relatively short route via Suez and the Mediterranean. Some of the expedients adopted at that time to improve the economics of a non-Suez Canal evironment, among them enormous supertankers for transporting Persian Gulf oil to Europe and the Americas, survive to this day.

This page features nearly all the views we have related to USS Little Rock's participation in ceremonies reopening the Suez Canal.

For other images related to this ship, see:

  • USS Little Rock (CLG-4, later CG-4. Previously CL-92), 1944-1977 -- Views taken 1960-1963.


    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 98966

    USS Little Rock
    (CLG-4)

    View on the foredeck as the ship was steaming in the Suez Canal, en route to Port Said for ceremonies reopening the canal, 5 June 1975.
    Taken by Commander J.P. Mathews.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 108KB; 575 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 98967

    USS Little Rock
    (CLG-4)

    View looking forward from the bridge as the ship steamed in the Suez Canal, en route to Port Said for ceremonies reopening the canal, 5 June 1975.
    Taken by Commander J.P. Mathews.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 88KB; 580 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 98968

    USS Little Rock
    (CLG-4)

    Navy bandsmen stand by to play during ceremonies reopening the Suez Canal, at Port Said, Egypt, on 5 June 1975.
    Taken by Commander J.P. Mathews.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 106KB; 740 x 570 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 98970

    USS Little Rock
    (CLG-4)

    View on board the ship, as she arrives at Port Said, Egypt, on 5 June 1975, for ceremonies reopening the Suez Canal after it had been closed for eight years. The ceremonies were held at the Canal Authority headquarters building, in the background.
    Taken by Commander J.P. Mathews.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 96KB; 740 x 570 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 98969

    USS Little Rock
    (CLG-4)

    A crewman returns a wave to Egyptians along the shore line as the ship transits the Suez Canal following ceremonies at Port Said reopening the canal after it had been closed for eight years, 5 June 1975.
    A Sikorski SH-3G "Sea King" helicopter (Bureau # 149702), of Combat Support Squadron Two (HC-2), is tied down on Little Rock's after deck.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 101KB; 500 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 98971

    USS Little Rock
    (CLG-4)

    Steams past an Egyptian military outpost as she transits the Suez Canal on 5 June 1975, following ceremonies at Port Said reopening the canal after it had been closed for eight years.
    Note radar-controlled anti-aircraft gun vehicle dug in at left.
    Taken by Commander J.P. Mathews.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 105KB; 740 x 555 pixels

     

    For other images related to this ship, see:

  • USS Little Rock (CLG-4, later CG-4. Previously CL-92), 1944-1977 -- Views taken 1960-1963.


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


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    Page made 6 December 2003