International Naval Research Organization

Publishers of Warship International

Mystery Photo Gallery

Vol.57 (2020) No.2—Mystery Photo No.219 A U.S. Navy pre-Dreadnought battleship in dock. Official U.S. Navy Photograph (National Archives), NARA Photographic Branch Entry 19- E, Box 2, included in a folder labeled “unidentified”. Does anyone recognize this photograph and is anyone able to demonstrate which ship is seen here? The approximate period of time (about the mid- 1910s) is suggested by the presence of two cage masts (implemented after completion) and also by the lack of clear evidence that any main deck 7-in. guns have been removed. (On the removal of main deck secondary battery guns from U.S. battleships during World War I, see W.I. Vol.42 (2005) No.3:267- 270.)

Vol.57 (2020) No.1—Mystery Photo No.218 Three British warships in Grand Harbor, Malta, sometime during the mid-1870s. The large ship in the center is Mediterranean Fleet flagship Hercules (present on this station during 1875-1877), with the smaller ironclad Research beyond. The cruiser (corvette) in the foreground appears to be Briton, en route home from the East Indies Station, but confirmation is needed. Can someone date the photo and provide a movement history for Briton, if indeed that is the ship in the foreground, during this time?

Can you identify the ships in the these pictures?

Vol.56 (2019) No.3—Mystery Photo No.216 A very obscure 19 th -Century warship. Photograph courtesy Paul H. Silverstone Collection. (For the answer, see W. I. Vol.56 (2019) No.4:269 and Vol.57 (2020) No.1:21-24.)

Vol.55 (2018) No.4—Mystery Photo No.213 Warships at Salonica, from a contemporary postcard. The card has a sender’s manuscript date of 30 July 1903 and a postmark of 30 August 1903. Who can identify these ships and describe their operations here? (For the answer, see W.I. Vol.56 (2019) No.3:177; see also a feature article on the fleet in question in Vol.57 (2020) No.2:132-166.)

Vol.55 (2018) No.3—Mystery Photo No.212 This photograph was obtained from a collection of personal snapshots belonging to a sailor of the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic Fleet. The photograph had no captioning information. Can any members give us information as to the identity of the two ships moored here together? (For the answer, see W.I. Vol.55 (2018) No.4:263-265 and Vol.56 (2019) No.1:11-12. Note, however, that we still await specific information on the smaller of the two vessels!)

Vol.55 (2018) No.2—Mystery Photo No.211 This photograph was obtained from a Uruguayan source, and thus may have been taken at the port of Montevideo, perhaps around 1900. The two objects near the bow of the ship in the foreground appear to be funnels of a third ship in the background. Enlargement of the photograph, however, suggests that they are in fact objects on the bow of the white- painted ship in the foreground. The ship in the left background is a Spanish Alfonso XII-class cruiser. Who can identify these ships and describe their operations at this time? For the answer, see W.I. Vol.17 (1980) No.1:47-- a previously-published example of this image, from another source.

Vol.57 (2020) No.3—Mystery Photo No.220 A rare view of a British Colossus class battleship underway, steaming abreast of two Edgar class cruisers. Can anyone identify these specific ships and date the photograph? The original print has no captioning data other than what is shown--'line abreast'. It is known that the first ship of the Edgar class to complete, Edgar, was serving in the Mediterranean Fleet with battleship Edinburgh of the Colossus class at the time of the loss of battleship Victoria in June 1893. The second unit of the Edgar class to complete, Hawke, arrived in the Mediterranean in July and thus offers the earliest possible association of three such ships. But can someone verify authoritatively the specific identity of the battleship, based on outfit details (searchlights, semaphores, etc.)? Colossus also was a unit of the Mediterranean Fleet until sometime in 1893, though may have returned home by July(?) Were three such units of these classes together in later exercises, including in home waters?

Vol.58 (2021) No.4—Mystery Photo No.223 Two views of a British aircraft carrier, identified as “HMS Courageous in Alexandria Harbor.” Can anyone verify that identification and date this photograph? If Courageous, rather than Glorious—the other unit of this class, and if taken at Alexandria, Egypt, then that would imply that the Royal Navy had established net and boom defenses at Alexandria before World War II. (Courageous was lost in home waters shortly after the outbreak of the war.) If so, when were those defenses created? Photographs courtesy Mr. Alan McGivern. (One proposed answer has been received that will be published in issue Vol.58 (2021) No.4.)

Vol.58 (2021) No.3—Mystery Photo No.222 An unidentified British light cruiser, photographed between the two world wars, possibly at Hong Kong. Can anyone identify this ship and explain the hull pendant number assignment? Photographs courtesy of Mr. Alan McGivern. (Two proposed answers will appear in issue Vol.58 (2021) No.3.)

Vol.58 (2021) No.90-92—Mystery Photo No.221 A photograph given to our member Mr. Henk Cruijff recently, with a question on what ship it shows? Can anyone identify this ship? Apparently it is a warship—judging from the ram bow, being scrapped. The original print has the handwritten date 15 May 1910 written on the back, without any indication what relevance that date has. The original print shows what might be a Russian flag—white, blue, and red—flying from the lighter on the ship’s starboard side. (One proposed answer appears in issue Vol.58 (2021) No.90-92.)