U.S. Navy Museum
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The National Museum of the United States Navy, or U.S. Navy Museum for short is the flagship museum of the United States Navy, located in the former Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Naval Gun Factory on the grounds of the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., USA. The U.S. Navy Museum is one of 12 official Navy Museums, and is part of the Naval Historical Center, the official history program of the United States Navy. Visit the U.S. Navy Museum's website at http://www.history.navy.mil/museums/index.html
The museum has a variety of artifacts on display, ranging from ship models, art and uniforms to aircraft, gun batteries and the fighting top of USS Constitution.
The museum is divided according to topic into several sections.
[edit] Willard Park
Between the U.S Navy Museum and the destroyer USS Barry is Willard Park, named for Admiral Arthur Willard, Commandant of the Navy Yard from 1927-1930. Alongside the many iron guns on display are a screw from the battleship USS South Dakota, a 6-inch deck gun salvaged from the battleship USS Maine, a bathysphere from the Alvin undersea exploration vehicle, the Swift Boat PCF-1 and a 14-inch naval railway gun from the First World War.
[edit] Museum entrance
In order to visit the museum due to the security situation it is necessary to call 202-433-4882 to make a reservation.
Upon entering the museum, visitors can see the fighting top from USS Constitution, as well as a statue of Boatswain's Mate Charles W. Riggin made from melted dimes. The entrance also features a small temporary gallery and a gift shop.
[edit] Exhibits
[edit] Dive! Dive! U.S. Navy Submarines
This small room is dedicated entirely to the history of American submarines. The room features a pair of working periscopes, targeting computers, battle flags and an educational kiosk.
[edit] The American Revolution and the French Alliance
The violent beginning of the U.S. Navy is documented near the entrance of the museum with a video kiosk, weapons and depictions of early American Navy heroes.
[edit] The Forgotten Wars of the Nineteenth Century
This exhibit features artifacts from the Quasi-War with France, the Barbary Wars, the War of 1812, and the Mexican-American War. The centerpiece of this exhibit is a replica of USS Constitution’s gun deck.
[edit] Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan
A small exhibit is dedicated to the journey of Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan and early contact between the two nations. Various gifts and pieces of Japanese artwork are on display along with a model of Perry’s flagship, USS Powhatan.
[edit] Civil War
The Civil War exhibit shows the sorts warships and equipment used by sailors of the Union and Confederate fleets. Models of the legendary ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia, the commerce raider CSS Alabama and USS Kearsarge are on display.
[edit] Spanish-American War
This exhibit tells the story of the loss of the battleship USS Maine, public outrage and the beginning of the United States as a global power. On display are a number of weapons, items from the home front, a model and diagram of the strange USS Vesuvius and the uniform of Admiral George Dewey.
[edit] Polar Exploration
The story of Admiral Richard Byrd’s 1928 voyage to the South Pole is told through photographs and equipment from his and other subsequent voyages.
[edit] Navigation
Vitally important throughout history, navigational techniques and various pieces of equipment are explained in a small exhibit on the history of navigation at sea. The room is filled with charts, chronometers and meteorological equipment.
[edit] U.S. Navy in World War I
This exhibit detailing the U.S. Navy’s brief involvement in the First World War explains the dangerous task of submarine-hunting and showcases models of warships of the period, a captured German flag and footage of a U.S. Navy railway gun in action.
[edit] In Harms Way, The Navy in World War II
The largest section of the museum, In Harms Way is divided into three sections.
- The Atlantic Theater. This exhibit details convoy protection, the capture of U-505, the breaking of the German Enigma code, and the role of the Merchant Marine, as well as weapons and equipment used by both sides of the war for Europe. A wide variety of cannon, rifles and sidearms are on display along with a high-altitude flying suit, the diving log of U-505 and the XAF Radar Receiver from the battleship USS New York.
- The Home Front. Featuring a replica storefront and a small theater showing film from the World War II period, the home front exhibit is decorated with patriotic posters, aircraft-identification models, and personal items. The role of WAVES is detailed in the exhibit.
- The Pacific Theater. The area dedicated to the war in the Pacific dominates the World War II section of the museum, featuring a full-size replica of the bridge of the destroyer USS Fletcher, four gun batteries, an FG-1D Corsair, a Japanese MXY7 Ohka kamikaze aircraft, two atomic bomb casings, and models of the carrier USS Leyte and battleship USS Missouri, each around twenty feet in length.
[edit] Korea 1950-53: The Navy in the Forgotten War
Uniforms and equipment, along with videos and other artifacts, bring the often-ignored Korean War into focus. Captured Soviet weapons, models of aircraft and warships and even a chunk of the Inchon seawall are on display.
[edit] Other exhibits
The deep submergence vehicle Trieste is the highlight of the Undersea Exploration exhibit. A small exhibit on the Steel Navy (1883-1909) is in the north end, as well as on the battle of Trafalgar, which features a short film on naval artillery based on "Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World".
