| Information source: http://www.pacerfarm.org/i-400/ss267.htm
Just north of the Torpedo Factory art
complex in Alexandria, Virginia, where a city park occupies the West bank
of the Potomac River, a marine propeller is mounted on a stone base under
a willow tree at the water's edge.
There is no historical marker or plaque
in place and the propeller appears to have been set there purely for aesthetic
reasons. A closer examination of the propeller leaves no doubt as to its
provenance.
Both the screw and cap piece are clearly
marked for the POMPON.
[ Images courtesy of Washington
Grove Pacer Farm ]
U.S. Naval Torpedo
Station
The original buildings which comprised
the U. S. Naval Torpedo Station, Alexandria, were authorized in 1918 by
President Woodrow Wilson. Ground was broken for the complex on November
12, 1918, the day after Armistice Day. The buildings were used for the
manufacture and maintenance of torpedoes until 1923, when most activity
ceased and the buildings were used for munitions storage. In 1935 the Navy
ordered production to resume, and the facility eventually grew to consist
of ten buildings.
The green torpedo presently on display
in the main hall of the Art Center, a submarine-borne Mark XIV, was the
principal torpedo manufactured at the facility, although Mark XIII aircraft
torpedoes like the silver torpedo on display at the Art Center were repaired
there. The Naval Station engaged in wartime production throughout World
War II until an order to cease was issued in June of 1945.
The Torpedo Factory
Exhibit
An exhibit in the main hall includes
mementos of those who worked here--torpedo earrings and pens made as Navy
Day souvenirs, model torpedoes made for loved ones, a worker’s badge, and
issues of their newsletter, The Torp. Also on display is a gyroscope, used
to guide the torpedo. The 23 foot long Mark XIV torpedo is still accompanied
by its log book, which records its trips on submarines in the Pacific.
The Torpedo is bright green, but the Navy assures us that this color is
authentic. Newly manufactured torpedoes were painted green so that they
could be recovered from the water after testing.
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