Destroyer USS Strong transiting the Panama Canal May

Destroyer USS Strong transiting the Panama Canal May 1952, View of the Panama Canal and locks from the deck of the USS Strong. Strong was attached to Destroyer Divisions (DesDiv) 21 and 262 bound for action in the Korean War Zone. Strong sailed from Norfolk Naval Base, Va., via Panama, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, and Yokosuka Japan. “It was a big thing, I never saw anything like that,” Sullivan said as he described his and fellow Sailors reactions as the Strong transited the Panama Canal. Built in 1914, the Panama Canal is more than 40 miles in length and shortens a U.S. Navy ships journey from the Atlantic to Pacific, or reverse by 8,000 nautical miles. Once constructed the U.S. Navy wasted no time employing the Canal to its advantage, on Oct. 12, 1914, the USS Jupiter, a coal collier, was the first U.S. Navy ship to transit the Panama Canal. A coal collier was the Navy’s 19th Century’s version of today’s re-fueling supply ships. (Digitally re-touched photos provided by Martin Joseph Sullivan, USS Strong Sailor, Korean War Veteran/Released)