Rick E Davis wrote:
Yes photos that were "released" to the news media were often censored for anything considered sensitive. However, many photos found at NARA from official USN files, are not censored.
Ian is likely right about when and where the TDY-1 and other RCM gear was installed. I have two photos of USS ALASKA at Hunter's Point Navy Yard "dated" the first week in January 1945. See attached. USS ALASKA went in for a brief availability. She has been repainted into Ms 22. A side note; Note in the second photo the cross marks at the top of the photo, this was done by the censor indicating that the antennas should be deleted in the "public released" images.
DANFS Entry;
Alaska departed Philadelphia on 12 November 1944 for the Caribbean, in company with Thomas E. Fraser (DM-24), and, after two weeks of standardization trials out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, sailed for the Pacific on 2 December. She completed her transit of the Panama Canal on 4 December, and reached San Diego on the 12th. Thereafter, the new large cruiser trained in shore bombardment and anti-aircraft firing off San Diego before an availability at Hunter's Point, near San Francisco.
On 8 January 1945, Alaska sailed for Hawaii, and reached Pearl Harbor on the 13th, where, on the 27th, Capt. Kenneth M.Noble relieved Capt. Fischler, who had achieved flag rank. Over the ensuing days, Alaska conducted further training before getting underway as a unit of Task Group (TG) 12.2, weighing anchor for the western Pacific on 29 January. She reached Ulithi, the fleet anchorage in the Caroline Islands, on 6 February, and there joined TG 58.5, a task group in the famed Task Force (TF) 58, the fast carrier task force.
I have a two additional images taken at sea after leaving HPNY, dated 13 and 22 January 1945 (accuracy of dates in 80-G are always suspect), showing her painted in Ms 22. The HPNY photos and the one dated 13 January 1945, doesn't show the TDY-1 antenna or the SPR antennas yet installed. The photo dated 22 January 1945, isn't high enough res to see these antennas. PHNY starting as early as September 1944, was installing RCM gear on destroyers and I assume also on heavier units. At first this was primarily limited to "Radar Warning" systems, SPR-1, DBM, and early DBM "like" antennas of the "interim RCM suite". The "ultimate RCM suite" including TDY-1 jammer wasn't available until early 1945. Hence, I feel confident that the RCM gear on USS ALASKA was installed at PHNY in mid-January 1945.
Would there be records of these changes from PHNY available either at NARA II (or at the Seattle branch, where I believe Tracy White had unearthed some radar installation drawings?)
Last year, I corresponded with archivists at NARA II to locate the microfilm drawings for ALASKA held at College Park and paid to have the index reel scanned and digitized. After almost 9mo of waiting I received the copies in digital format, but sadly the text of the index reel was so blurry as to be nearly unreadable. My usual tricks in Photoshop weren't able to clean it up. I am not particularly experienced with microfilm and wonder if it was either poorly scanned, or out of focus when the original was shot onto microfilm. At some point I would like to go and view the microfilm in person which would be much more cost effective!
The archivists were able to locate the "virtual" reel for ALASKA (Reel #32069), which consists of 26 physical reels (32069-1 through 32069-25). The total cost to digitize all 25 reels was quoted at $3250.00!
Attaching an example frame of the blurry index reel for reference. As you can see it's "relatively" readable but definitely difficult. Cheers
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