USS ASTORIA CA-34
The Official Home of 'Nasty Asty'
Fleet Problem XVII and East Coast Tour 1936
Skippers of USS ASTORIA, 26 August 1935. CAPT C.M. Austin (left) and Edmund S. Root.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
Captain Edmund S. Root gives a farewell speech to his crew during ASTORIA's first Change of Command, 26 August 1935.
-U.S. Navy photos from Brent Jones collection
Change of Command ceremony aboard USS ASTORIA, 26 August 1935. Captain C.M. Austin relieves Edmund S. Root as commanding officer.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
Following her 1935 cruise, USS ASTORIA put into Mare Island Navy Yard for a drydock period. Her hull was scraped and cleaned. In April 1936, she set out again from Southern California to participate in Fleet Problem XVII off Panama.
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Port beam view of USS ASTORIA in San Diego harbor circa 1936. The fleet departed from Southern California ports for Fleet Problem XVII off Latin America.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 80-G-1027110
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During Fleet Problem XVII in May 1936, the entire participating U.S. Fleet crossed the equator near the Galapagos Islands. 29,751 polywogs were initiated into the Royal Order of Shellbacks.
Above: The message from the Commander-in-Chief U.S. Fleet as reported aboard USS ASTORIA.
Below: The sentence for ASTORIA Machinist's Mate V.N. Ennis: "The works."
-from Brent Jones collection
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Trusty Shellbacks aboard USS ASTORIA hidden behind a screen on the bow at the outset of the Line Crossing Ceremony, 20 May 1936.
-photo courtesy of Steve Schutt
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"The gauntlet to make you scream and pray." An ASTORIA Lowly Polywog runs the gauntlet as Trusty Shellbacks initiate him.
-photo courtesy of Steve Schutt
"Polywog slubgullion." Plankowner and Shellback Lee C. Robinson, assistant to the Royal Doctor, shoves quinine dough pills in the mouths of Polywogs.
-photo reproduced from Jones ed., USS ASTORIA (CA-34) and the Men Who Sailed Her
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"The slime and squirt gun to test your insides." Crossing the Line continues, 20 May 1936.
-photo courtesy of Steve Schutt
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Members of the Neptunus Rex party aboard USS ASTORIA on 20 May 1936. At center (left to right) are the Royal Wizard, Amphitrite and Davy Jones, Royal Chief of Naval Staff. In the background are the Royal Doctor and Baby.
-photo courtesy of Steve Schutt
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The USS ASTORIA Neptunus Rex Party, 20 May 1936. Taken at sea off the coast of South America.
-photo courtesy of Steve Schutt
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A "Neptune Passport" certificate issued to ASTORIA Marine Samuel R. Schutt, a newly initiated Trusty Shellback as of 20 May 1936.
-courtesy of Steve Schutt
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Following fleet maneuvers, USS ASTORIA made an official call to Callao, Peru. Decked out in full colors, she is shown here circa 28 May 1936.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
From Peru, USS ASTORIA headed through the Panama Canal for the first time.
USS ASTORIA Marine Sam Schutt (left) in Balboa, C.Z. (Canal Zone) in May 1936.
-courtesy of Steve Schutt
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Inlet at Balboa, C.Z. taken from ASTORIA in May 1936.
-courtesy of Steve Schutt
Cargo transport at Balboa, C.Z. taken from ASTORIA in May 1936.
-courtesy of Steve Schutt
After transiting into the Atlantic, USS ASTORIA spent the next several months touring the East Coast beginning with a visit to New York City. The photographic record indicates that during this time she upgraded her floatplane unit to the newer Curtiss SOC, the plane she would use for the remainder of her career.
Entering New York Harbor. The Staten Island Ferry passes in front of the Statue of Liberty.
-courtesy of Steve Schutt
Lower Manhattan from the Hudson River.
-courtesy of Steve Schutt
Midtown Manhattan from the Hudson River. The Empire State Building rises at center and the Chrysler building is visible at left. Both were completed just a few years earlier.
-courtesy of Steve Schutt
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USS ASTORIA CA-34 in the Hudson River, June 1936.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
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A late 1936 postcard of USS ASTORIA CA-34. Her floatplanes have been upgraded to Curtiss SOCs.
-from Brent Jones collection
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The 1936-37 USS ASTORIA baseball team.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
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The 1936-37 USS ASTORIA basketball team.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
An ASTORIA sailor reads a letter in his berthing compartment.
-from Brent Jones collection
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USS ASTORIA returns from the East Coast, transiting Miraflores Lock circa 12-13 December, 1936. Her third cruise is almost complete. Note all four SOC floatplanes with wings folded on her catapults.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
An SOC-1 floatplane aboard USS ASTORIA as she passes through the Panama Canal in December 1936. The markings indicate Scout Plane 11 from Cruiser Division 7.
-photo courtesy of Carole and Jan Estrup
The number 34 painted in large block numbers on turret 3 of USS ASTORIA as she passes through the Panama Canal in December 1936. This identification system replaced the colored panel system of 1935.
-photo courtesy of Carole and Jan Estrup
Sources
Bandeen, Sue. Private photo collection.
Estrup, Carole and Jan. Private photo collection.
Jones, Brent. Private photo and document collection.
Jones, Pat (ed.) The USS ASTORIA (CA-34) and the Men Who Sailed Her. USS ASTORIA Reunion Association. Privately printed, 1992.
Mooney, James L. (ed.) Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Washington, D.C.: Naval History Division, 1958-1981.
National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.archives.gov/research/
Nofi, Albert A. To Train the Fleet for War: The U.S. Navy Fleet Problems. Newport, RI: Naval War College Press, 2010.
Schutt, Steve. Private photo and document collection.
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