Lee A. Tregurtha Downbound at Belle Isle T-Shirt

t-shirts detroit t-shirts transportation t-shirts boat t-shirts detroit river t-shirts michigan t-shirts great lakes t-shirts river t-shirts water t-shirts ship t-shirts transport t-shirts shipping t-shirts interlake steamship company t-shirts

photographs detroit photos transportation photos boat photos detroit river photos michigan photos great lakes photos river photos water photos ship photos transport photos shipping photos interlake steamship company photos

Add This Artwork to Your Favorites Collection

Comment

Add This Artwork to Your Favorites Collection

Comment

In the early days of World War II Bethlehem Steel began construction of the tanker Mobiloil. At her launch in June 1942 she was renamed Samoset. In December of the same year, she was acquired by the U.S. Navy who renamed her U.S.S. Chiwawa. The U.S. Navy chose the name of its tankers from the Native American names for rivers and lakes. She had a length of 501 feet and a beam of 68 feet.

She was assigned to convoy UGS-6 bound for Casablanca. The Chiwawa�s main duties were refueling the destroyers that escorted convoy. The convoy was attacked by 17 U-boats which resulted in the sinking of 4 ships. The Chiwawa was awarded a battle star for this engagement. She returned to America assigned to convoy GUS-6. She continued to service ships and convoys for most of 1943 and 1944, during which time she earned a second battle star.

She was transferred to the Pacific Fleet after a refit. She was based in in Okinawa for several months before returning to the States. For t...

I developed an interest in photography at a young age, often following my father around while he took pictures. From that I learned the basics and purchased my first camera while still in high school. I learned more through reading and trial and error. My first formal training came in 2013 when I took a basic photography class at a community college. During high school I became fascinated with the freighters that sailed on the lakes. The boats intrigued me and for a time I wanted to work on them. My career took me down a different path, but I never lost my interest in the boats. In 2011 I combined my two interests, loading my camera in my car and chasing the boats around the lakes. I hope to highlight the hardworking ships and...