Monday, March 28, 2011

Maritime Monday - Navy Log Pictures Pt. 2


Stock photos of pretty much every US Navy ship have been available since photography became popular.  My grandfather included a bunch of pictures of various classes of ship in his Navy Log.  I'm curious to know if he just grabbed pictures of any ships he came across, or whether these are all ships he personally saw and sailed near?  I'll never know, as he died in 1982, well before I knew this log book even existed, and before my own stint in the Navy.  These pictures are great for history buffs who are also military buffs, as you can see some vintage machines that have been scrap for many decades now.

I mentioned last time that Naval Aviation was getting started?  Actually, these are from 1927-1030, so Naval Aviation was well underway, but the planes are still the vintage pre-WW2 biplanes made of fabric over wooden frames, very limited in range and payload.  Three other pictures in the logbook are the USS Lexington (CV-2), USS Saratoga (CV-3),  and the USS Langley (CV-1).  The Langley was the first aircraft carrier, being a converted collier (USS Jupiter AC-3).


 On a lighter note, sailors love their comics.  This is as true today (or when I was enlisted, 20 years ago) as it was back in my grandfather's day.  Here's a sampling he included in his log book:

2 comments:

  1. These are the coolest photos Daniel! And I really enjoyed the comics!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm glad you're enjoying them! There are many more to come. The comics are very interesting, a little racy when you consider they were from so long ago, but sailors have always been known for their salty humor... There are a few more comics in there as well.

    ReplyDelete