- The National Museum of the US Navy is located in the Washington Navy Yard, an active military base.
- Access is limited and security measures are tight, but it contains fascinating artifacts.
- Exhibits include the USS Constitution mast and part of the submersible that found the Titanic.
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Before I could join a dozen others for a tour of the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, DC, I first had to pass through its heavily guarded gate.
Established in 1799, the Washington Navy Yard serves as the Navy‘s ceremonial and administrative center. It also houses the National Museum of the United States Navy, which opened to the public in 1963 and is the only naval museum to chronicle the Navy’s history with artifacts dating from its founding to the present day.
Before we proceeded further, our guide, education specialist Mike Galloway, informed us that we were not allowed to photograph any entrances, service members, or security measures like cameras or police cars. He also emphasized that visitors could not wander around the base unattended and needed to be escorted by a guide at all times.
“I’m responsible for you at this point, and I don’t want to tackle anyone today,” he said, apparently joking.
The museum is in the early stages of building a more accessible space outside its tightly controlled gates. For now, it remains something of a “secret” destination.
Take a look inside the Washington Navy Yard and its museum’s incredible collection of naval history.
The base itself felt reminiscent of a college campus with brick buildings, manicured lawns, and signs advertising events.
This was my first visit to a military base, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I figured I’d see service members in uniform, but I hadn’t anticipated a picnic with a petting zoo for military families or signs advertising karaoke and line dancing.
The museum paid tribute to its past with signage detailing the history of Building 76.
A sign on the museum floor explained the train tracks that once led into the building were used to move manufacturing equipment and guns around the base.
The museum’s centerpiece was a fighting top from the mast of the USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship that’s still afloat.
The USS Constitution is docked at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston and is open to the public. Completed in 1797, the ship got the nickname “Old Ironsides” for its use during the War of 1812.
Fighting tops were platforms used by Marine sharpshooters to fire at enemy ships during battle, our tour guide said.
A wooden figurehead from the early 19th century was believed to be modeled after King George IV.
The figurehead, which would have decorated the bow of a ship, is depicted wearing the Order of St. George and the Star of the Order of the Garter, royal traditions that are still observed today.
Modern weaponry on display included items like an atomic bomb casing similar to the one used on Nagasaki in 1945.
The atomic bomb, known as “Fat Man,” featured a plutonium core. The casing weighs 10,265 pounds, according to the National Museum of Pacific War.
A Japanese Yokosuka MXY7-K1 Ohka plane used as a kamikaze suicide rocket bomb during World War II was suspended from the ceiling.
The Ohka planes were used by Japan to bomb US Navy warships, damaging the vessels and occasionally sinking them entirely, Galloway said.
The museum also displayed a Corsair fighter plane from World War II.
Armed with bombs and rockets, Corsair fighter planes targeted enemy aircraft during World War II.
This twin-mount 38-caliber gun turret was once used to shoot down planes on the USS Reno.
Decommissioned in 1946, the USS Reno earned three battle stars during World War II, according to the Navy.
There was plenty to see, but much of the space remains under construction until the museum’s new permanent home is ready.
Many of the items on display didn’t have accompanying plaques explaining their historical significance. During my first lap around the museum, I walked right past the nuclear-weapon exhibits without knowing what they were. I found that touring the museum with a knowledgeable guide and asking them questions was essential for getting the most out of my visit.
Along the sidewalk, our guide pointed out a collection of cannons captured during historic battles.
Known as “prize guns” or “trophy guns,” artillery pieces captured in battle are engraved with the details of when and where they were taken.
One cannon was captured during a Civil War battle in 1861 when Confederate forces tried to shut down the riverways leading into Washington, DC, by firing cannons from bluffs outside of the capital.
“That’s the great thing about guns and cannons,” Galloway said. “They can actually tell a human story, as well — it’s not just a piece of machinery, and it’s not just a dealer of death.”
We stopped at a cannon that was captured from the British during the War of 1812.
The gun, dating back to the late 18th century, was likely used by a merchantman or privateer.
An original guardhouse from the 1830s was positioned near the cannon displays.
The structure was temporarily moved to a Navy facility in Indian Head, Maryland, and sat abandoned for decades until it was restored and returned to the Washington Navy Yard.
Quarters B is likely the oldest building on the base, possibly dating back to the 1790s.
Quarters B housed the second officer of the Washington Navy Yard.
Next to Quarters B, obscured by the trees, was Tingey House, named for the first Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard, Captain Thomas Tingey. Also known as Quarters A or the Commandant’s House, it is now the official residence of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Both structures, along with Latrobe Gate, survived the War of 1812, when Tingey commanded US forces to burn the Washington Navy Yard to prevent the British from capturing it.
Outside the historic homes, the anchor from the USS Enterprise was mounted on a platform.
According to the museum, the USS Enterprise was the first nuclear aircraft carrier in the world and took part in numerous missions and battles from 1961 until 2012.
The Enterprise tracked the first American orbital spaceflight as part of Project Mercury in 1962, helped evacuate Saigon during Operation Frequent Wind in 1975, and struck Iraqi targets during Operation Desert Fox in 1998, among others.
The old Winch House, where ships were removed from the water to be repaired, has been transformed into a coffee shop.
Before steam winch engines hauled ships onto land, hundreds of sailors would manually pull them in.
We then walked to Willard Park, which displayed more notable artifacts and pieces of artillery.
Willard Park is named for Adm. Arthur Willard, who served as commandant of the Navy Yard during World War I.
A spare propeller blade from the USS Maine, which sank in Havana Harbor in 1898, paid tribute to the lost ship.
The ship’s sinking was a catalyst for the Spanish-American War, during which the US obtained Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines and annexed Hawaii, according to the US Office of the Historian.
One of the coolest artifacts on the tour was the pressure sphere from the Alvin, the submersible that discovered the wreck of the Titanic.
The Titanic was discovered in 1985 — more than 70 years after the sinking — during a secret Navy mission to locate the wrecks of two nuclear submarines. The true nature of the mission only became public in 2008 when oceanographer Robert Ballard published a book about his experience.
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