World War II Database

1.  David Stubblebine says:
24 Jan 2016 09:52:05 AM

The ship in this photo is displaying an interesting quirk: The ensign (flag) is absent from the flagstaff (stern) but is flying from the gaff (aftermast) as if underway but the jack is flying from the jackstaff (bow) as if anchored or moored and the ship is clearly at anchor. This ship was either caught in act of shifting colors (unlikely given the strain on the anchor chain) or life aboard is pretty relaxed at this point or perhaps both.

2. Rich MILLER says:
23 Dec 2024 07:32:39 AM

so something wrong with the captioning as Chester was in Attu Alaska on June 12 1944.

She was in Mare Island drydock the month before (May 8-11 and 20-21). I would suspect this picture was taken then, notably because the second drydock was due to an engineering casualty with her shaft packing. She had gone into degaussing on May 20, probably over at Hunter's Point, when they found the problem with the shafts. Either being in degaussing or the casualty could explain the flag discrepancy.
The June date may be the filing date.

3.  David Stubblebine says:
24 Dec 2024 01:54:42 PM

Rich Miller (above):
You’re right again. The date listed in the photo itself cannot be correct. After a closer look at Chester’s logs, I believe this photo was almost certainly taken on the morning of 20 May 1944 while Chester rode at anchor in San Francisco Bay. The caption has been changed accordingly and I thank you for pointing out this discrepancy.