In addition to his own snapshots, Abner maintained a large collection of commercially produced prints and postcards, particularly of naval themes and Chinese life. Sadly, the vast bulk of this collection is now lost. The following images are all that remain.
The USS LANGLEY (CV-1) was a converted collier (formerly the JUPITER) and the US Navy's first dedicated aircraft carrier. I have no evidence that Abner ever came into contact with the LANGLEY, but she was undoubtedly one of the most unusual and famous Navy ships of her time. I have positively identified the lower photo as one taken while the LANGLEY was docked at the carrier pier at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego, CA, possibly in 1925. That's a Douglas DT-2 taking off from her flight deck.
This is the USS MARBLEHEAD (CL-12) an, OMAHA-class scout cruiser. MARBLEHEAD participated in the protective action in Shanghai in the summer of 1927, so it is possible Abner had some contact with her or her crew. She was joined in that operation by two other scout cruisers, the RICHMOND (CL-9) and the TRENTON (CL-11), which makes me wonder whether the unidentified cruiser on the previous page was one of these latter two.
The USS MARYLAND (BB-46) was commissioned in July of 1921, so during the 1920s you can imagine it was one of the newest and proudest battleships in the fleet. The pencil marks were made by either myself, my brother, my father or my uncle. MARYLAND was in Battleship Row when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and sustained two bomb hits. Following repairs, MARYLAND began her wartime service in February of 1942, and was part of the task force during the Battle of Midway.
Ironically, the fourth commissioned US naval ship to be named in honor of the Old Line State is a submarine (SSBN-738).
Here is the hulk of the USS S-51 next to her recovery pontoons in the Brooklyn Naval Yard. The S-51 sank off Block Island on 25 September 1925 with the loss of 33 lives after a collision with the SS City of Rome. She was raised 5 June 1926. I imagine every US submariner of Abner's generation was well-acquainted with tragedy of the S-51.
The USS V-1 (SS-163) BARRACUDA class fleet submarine. I have no idea why this particular boat was part of Abner's photo collection.
This photo was a mystery to me for some time. In the foreground is an unknown American R-1 (SS-78) class submarine, but in the center is the U-111, a captured German U-Boat. Yet the photo is labeled "'Round the world' Holland submarine." Did the R-1 class boat go around the world? USS HOLLAND was the name of the Navy's first modern submarine, but had sunk years before. But then the modern US submarine was developed by a man named Holland, so perhaps they were known for a time as "Holland submarines." I still don't understand the caption, but I do know the U-111 was used during bond drives after World War I, during exhibition cruises along the eastern seaboard. This photo was probably taken somewhere in New England in 1919, maybe near Cape Cod. The Treaty of Versailles prohibited the US from absorbing captured U-boats into its Navy, so after a series of tests, the U-111 was finally sunk as a target during gunnery practice in 1921.
Torpedos being fired from an unidentified surface ship.
These three photos seem to be part of the same series of submarine interior shots, and though there is nothing in the labels to suggest it, I think they are of the interior of a captured German U-boat. Certainly the center photo, of the submarine control board, is from a German craft, since all the text visible on the machinery is in German. Upper photo: submarine engine room.
Center photo: submarine control board.
Lower photo: submarine torpedo tubes.
