Sailing of the Great White Fleet from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth
April 5, 1907
The Great White Fleet which Theodore Roosevelt assembled to circumnavigate the globe illustrating America’s naval power sailed out of the shipyard and was greeted home by the president in 1909. The four squadrons of warships, dubbed the “Great White Fleet,” were manned by 14,000 sailors and marines under the command of Rear Adm. Robley “Fighting Bob” Evans. All were embarking upon a naval deployment the scale of which had never been attempted by any nation before – the first ’round-the-world cruise by a fleet of steam-powered, steel battleships. The 43,000 mile, 14-month circumnavigation would include 20 port calls on six continents; it is widely considered one of the greatest peacetime achievements of the US Navy.
Sailing of the Great White Fleet from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth
April 5, 1907
The Great White Fleet which Theodore Roosevelt assembled to circumnavigate the globe illustrating America’s naval power sailed out of the shipyard and was greeted home by the president in 1909. The four squadrons of warships, dubbed the “Great White Fleet,” were manned by 14,000 sailors and marines under the command of Rear Adm. Robley “Fighting Bob” Evans. All were embarking upon a naval deployment the scale of which had never been attempted by any nation before – the first ’round-the-world cruise by a fleet of steam-powered, steel battleships. The 43,000 mile, 14-month circumnavigation would include 20 port calls on six continents; it is widely considered one of the greatest peacetime achievements of the US Navy.