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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Photo # NH 85565-KN:  USS Trenton at Villefranche, 1878.  Painting by Tomaso DeSimone

Archive of Older "What's New in the Online Library of Selected Images?" --
Entries posted in March & April 2002

This page features March & April 2002 entries from the Online Library's "What's New?" section.

For the more recent entries, and links to previous years' entries, see:

  • What's New in the Online Library of Selected Images;

    For earlier entries from the year 2002, see:
  • What's New in the Online Library of Selected Images? -- Entries posted in January & February 2002


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


      Photo # NH 56634:  Coffee break in the Chiefs' Mess on board USS Brooklyn, January 1938

    • New subjects added during the final full week of April include four World War II era U.S. Navy ships, three more from World War I as well as one from the Civil War, plus a Japanese destroyer and a Navyman who received the Medal of Honor for heroism in 1904.
      Our new WWII ships include the light cruiser Brooklyn (CL-40), destroyers Farragut (DD-348) and Phelps (DD-360), and the small seaplane tender Suisun (AVP-53). The new Japanese ship is a near-contemporary: the destroyer Akatsuki.
      The World War I era ships include the tug Adelante (a very rare creature indeed -- a tug converted from a yacht), ferryboat Narragansett, and the yacht Narada. From the Civil War era, we have the interesting ironclad torpedo boat Spuyten Duyvil. The presentation on the latter includes a link to a rather lengthy contemporary description of the vessel.
      Our Medal of Honor winner is Lieutenant Mons Monssen, for whom two destroyers were named during World War II.
      29 April 2002


      Photo # 80-G-455906:  Cruisers and destroyers moored in Balboa Harbor, Panama Canal Zone, 23 April 1934

    • The Online Library's latest offerings include a 19th Century entrepreneur and two of his ships, plus the usual outpouring of 20th Century vessels.
      Taking the last first -- we added a presentation on USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37), which completes our efforts to get all of the U.S. Navy's pre-World War II heavy cruisers "on line". We'll now get after the contemporary light cruisers. Two U.S. Navy destroyers also made their appearance, the late 1930s vintage Preston (DD-379) and the World War I program's Southard (DD-207), which served during World War II as a high-speed minesweeper (DMS-10). Our foreign offering for the week is the Japanese light cruiser Yura.
      Other World War I era ships include the transport Nansemond, cargo ship Nantahala, and two barges: Nahunta and Addie & Carrie.
      The 19th Century is represented by the noted businessman Edwin A. Stevens, who shared responsibility for orginating the technologically advanced (but never completed) "Stevens Battery" and the much smaller gunboat Naugatuck. The latter might (in modern vernacular) be regarded as a "technology demonstrator" for the former.
      22 April 2002


      Photo # 80-CF-21338-6:  USS Augusta in the Dewey Drydock, Olongapo, Philippines, January 1936

    • Tax season deadlines and other springtime delights have conspired to diminish the past week's Online Library output. However, an officer and a modest number of new ships joined the ranks. Our new person, Commodore Frank W. Bartlett, was an engineering officer whose long active career ran from 1874 until 1920. He also authored the entertaining manuscript "Naval Yarns", which can be seen elsewhere in the Naval Historical Center's WebSite.
      Freshly-posted ships represent a return to the Twentieth Century, after our recent concentration on earlier subjects. They include the World War II era heavy cruiser Augusta (CA-31) and destroyer McCalla (DD-488), plus the World War I patrol vessels Actus, Nahma, and Zara.
      15 April 2002


      Photo # NH 85565-KN:  USS Trenton at Villefranche, 1878.  Painting by Tomaso DeSimone

    • Following a lengthy struggle, we can finally report the completion of the Online Library's coverage on the March 1889 hurricane at Apia, Samoa, a presentation that includes (either directly or via links) everything we hold on this subject. The week's efforts also included new pages on two contemporary officers, Rear Admirals Norman Von H. Farquhar and Henry L. Howison, and on USS Trenton. The latter was lost in the Apia storm, with then-Captain Farquhar as her Commanding Officer. Howison had commanded USS Vandalia during 1886-88.
      The rest of the week's work includes three World War I era vessels, the patrol boat Acoma, tug Luckenbach # 4 (later USS Nahant) and schooner Nellie Jackson, plus our final Civil War light-draft monitor, USS Tunxis.
      8 April 2002


      Photo # NH 58852:  Chief Engineer Alban C. Stimers, USN.  Engraving published in 1862

    • Somewhat in the spirit of the day, we open the week's report with a likeness (and associated pictorial coverage) on Chief Engineer Alban C. Stimers, a talented and energetic officer whose experiences with the Civil War's light-draft monitor program serve as a valuable cautionary tale for all those who undertake the difficult challenges of Project Management.
      While endeavoring to complete our work on the March 1889 hurricane at Apia, Samoa, we discovered a large number of artworks concerning this event. Accordingly, the whole thing has been temporarily put on ice while these images are prepared for addition to the presentation. However, another ship and two more people that were involved in this tragic incident have been posted. These are the screw sloop Vandalia, which was sunk in the storm; her Commanding Officer, Captain Cornelius M. Schoonmaker, who lost his life; and Commander Dennis W. Mullan, who commanded the gunboat Nipsic at the time.
      Other items added during the past week include the World War I era patrol boat Absegami, barge Freight Lighter Number 60 and three craft with the same name: Mystery of 1916, Mystery of 1917, and Mystery (SP-2744). Civil war contributions include the light-draft monitors Shawnee, Squando and Wassuc.
      1 April 2002


      Photo # NH 2149:  Salvage arrangements on the beach at Apia, Samoa, following the March 1889 hurricane

    • Despite our best intentions and efforts, we didn't quite finish our presentation on the March 1889 hurricane at Apia, Samoa. However, all the pictures have been posted and are now available for examination, and introductory text will follow soon. In addition, pages have been completed on another four of the ships present during that storm, including the U.S. Navy gunboat Nipsic and the German warships Olga, Adler, and Eber. A page was also posted on Rear Admiral Lewis A. Kimberly, USN, who was senior officer present during the hurricane. More relevant ships and people will be added during the next several weeks.
      While the Apia hurricane dominated the past week's work, a few other subjects were also added. These include the World War II patrol craft PC-489, PC-545 and PC-574; World War I era ships Absaroka, Howard C. Moore and Montclair; the Civil War light-draft monitor Modoc; and the German corvette Carola, a sister ship of the Apia hurricane's Olga.
      25 March 2002


      Photo # NH 93173:  President Franklin D. Roosevelt with a shark he caught from on board USS Houston, July 1938

    • The week just past added another doxen ships and a person to the Online Library's offerings. Among the former are the heavy cruiser Houston (CA-30), destroyer Hughes (DD-410), and transport Heywood (AP-12, later APA-6), all of which served during the Second World War I. Ships from the First World War include cargo ship Independence (ID # 3676), patrol vessels Mohican (which was named SP-117 during most of her Naval service) and Abalone (SP-208), and the tug Montauk (SP-1213). The week's Civil War era ship are all light-draft monitors: Chimo, Napa, Naubuc and Nausett.
      Our person this week is Captain Albert H. Rooks, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his service as USS Houston's Commanding Officer during the East Indies campaign of February 1942.
      Finally, we posted a page on the British Royal Navy corvette (or cruiser) Calliope, of 1884. This ship represents the initial gust of forthcoming coverage on the great Samoan hurricane of March 1889.
      18 March 2002


      Photo # USN 711524:  North Vietnamese motor torpedo boat attacking USS Maddox, 2 August 1964

    • Spring appears to be upon us, at least here in the Washington area, bringing with it (for no logically related reason) another batch of new Online Library postings. As has generally been the case of late, most are ships involved with the World War II Guadalcanal Campaign. These include the Australian heavy cruiser Australia, U.S. Navy light cruiser Honolulu (CL-48); USN destroyers Walke (DD-416), Gwin (DD-433) and Lansdowne (DD-486); plus the transports Neville (AP-16, later APA-9) and President Jackson (AP-37, later APA-18). Other World War II ships added are the small seaplane tender Shelikof (AVP-52) and destroyer Maddox (DD-731). The later had a major role in the August 1964 Tonkin Gulf Incident, and views related to that event are included in our presentation on her.
      As might be expected, we also put in a few items from World War I and the Civil War. The "Great War" representatives are the refrigerator ship Moccasin (ID # 1322) and patrol boat Mist (SP-567). From the Civil War are the light-draft monitor Casco and Confederate ironclad Columbia.
      11 March 2002


      Photo # NH 97885:  USS Wichita rides out a winter storm off Iceland, 1941-42

    • New items posted during the final days of February and the first few days of March include presentations on two of the Navy's notable heros, and several ships. World War II vessels among the latter are the heavy cruiser Wichita (CA-45); destroyers Ellet (DD-398) and Hoel (DD-533); oiler Kaskaskia (AO-27) and the small seaplane tender San Carlos (AVP-51), which later became the research ship Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1).
      Patrol boats Miss Toledo (SP-1711) and SP-672 (ex-Miramar) represent the First World War, while the Civil War's contribution is the light-draft monitor Yazoo.
      Our new people include the Civil War Western Rivers' Campaign hero Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Commander William R. Hoel, for whom USS Hoel was named, and posthumous Medal of Honor recipient Elmer Charles Bigelow, in whose honor USS Bigelow (DD-942) was named.
      4 March 2002



    This page features March & April 2002 entries from the Online Library's "What's New?" section.

    For the more recent entries, and links to previous years' entries, see:

  • What's New in the Online Library of Selected Images;

    For earlier entries from the year 2002, see:
  • What's New in the Online Library of Selected Images? -- Entries posted in January & February 2002


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


    Return to Online Library listing.

    Page made 6 May 2002