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Images of the 1920's and 30's
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All images are actually from National Archives/U.S. Navy and used in Cory's book "The Navy In Puget Sound"
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USS
Gannet (AM-41)
was a minesweeper-turned-seaplane tender built at the end of World War
I. The ship was often stationed in Alaska but steamed south to Sand
Point in June 1926 to pick up a Loening
amphibious aircraft. The Gannet was sunk by a German U-boat
off Bermuda in June 1942.
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The
naval airfield at
Sand Point was carved from a wooded foreland on the shores of Lake
Washington. Mud Lake, seen above the gravel dredge in this 1928
photograph, was filled in as the navy air station expanded. Rumor has
it that several pieces of earthmoving equipment were lost in the muddy
bog before it was completely conquered.
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On an October day in 1938, Catalina patrol planes assigned to Naval Air Station Seattle (Sand Point) cruise over Lake Washington in celebration of Navy Day. The long-lived amphibious aircraft were a fairly common site in Seattle from the Late 1930s to the 1950's. In wartime, the planes were often used to escort ships, fly long search missions, or snoop out enemy submarines. |
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In the years before World War II, the naval air station at Sand Point grew considerably. This image from February 17, 1939, shows the construction of new seaplane hangers at the north edge of the base. Note the paved ramp at the water's edge, allowing amphibious aircraft like the Consolidated PBY Catalina to taxi from Lake Washington onto land. |
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