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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
USS Little Rock (CLG-4, later CG-4), 1960-1977
-- At the Reopening of the Suez Canal, 5 June 1975
On 5 June 1975, after having been closed since the June 1967 war between Egypt and Israel, the Suez Canal was formally reopened for business. USS Little Rock, flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, represented the United States at the ceremonies, which were held at Port Said. According the the 1976 "Naval Review", she was the "only foreign warship in the official flotilla that sailed down the canal to Ismalia" on this occasion.
Much damaged by direct military action in 1967, and especially
in another war in October 1973, as well as by the neglect inherent
in its long inactivity, the canal had required considerable effort
to remove sunken wrecks, clear explosives and return its banks
and channels to navigable condition. Its closure had produced
serious disruptions in international commerce, as eastbound shipping
from the Indian Ocean area and the Far East had to make a long
passage around Africa instead of taking the relatively short route
via Suez and the Mediterranean. Some of the expedients adopted
at that time to improve the economics of a non-Suez Canal evironment,
among them enormous supertankers for transporting Persian Gulf
oil to Europe and the Americas, survive to this day.
This page features nearly all the views we have related
to USS Little Rock's participation in ceremonies reopening
the Suez Canal.
For other images related to this ship, see:
USS Little Rock (CLG-4, later
CG-4. Previously CL-92), 1944-1977 -- Views taken 1960-1963.
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 98966
USS Little Rock (CLG-4)
View on the foredeck as the ship was steaming in the Suez Canal,
en route to Port Said for ceremonies reopening the canal, 5 June
1975.
Taken by Commander J.P. Mathews.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 108KB; 575 x 765 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 98967
USS Little Rock (CLG-4)
View looking forward from the bridge as the ship steamed in the
Suez Canal, en route to Port Said for ceremonies reopening the
canal, 5 June 1975.
Taken by Commander J.P. Mathews.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 88KB; 580 x 765 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 98968
USS Little Rock (CLG-4)
Navy bandsmen stand by to play during ceremonies reopening the
Suez Canal, at Port Said, Egypt, on 5 June 1975.
Taken by Commander J.P. Mathews.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 106KB; 740 x 570 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 98970
USS Little Rock (CLG-4)
View on board the ship, as she arrives at Port Said, Egypt, on
5 June 1975, for ceremonies reopening the Suez Canal after it
had been closed for eight years. The ceremonies were held at
the Canal Authority headquarters building, in the background.
Taken by Commander J.P. Mathews.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 96KB; 740 x 570 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 98969
USS Little Rock (CLG-4)
A crewman returns a wave to Egyptians along the shore line as
the ship transits the Suez Canal following ceremonies at Port
Said reopening the canal after it had been closed for eight years,
5 June 1975.
A Sikorski SH-3G "Sea King" helicopter (Bureau # 149702),
of Combat Support Squadron Two (HC-2), is tied down on Little
Rock's after deck.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 101KB; 500 x 765 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 98971
USS Little Rock (CLG-4)
Steams past an Egyptian military outpost as she transits the
Suez Canal on 5 June 1975, following ceremonies at Port Said
reopening the canal after it had been closed for eight years.
Note radar-controlled anti-aircraft gun vehicle dug in at left.
Taken by Commander J.P. Mathews.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 105KB; 740 x 555 pixels |
 |
For other images related to this ship, see:
USS Little Rock (CLG-4, later
CG-4. Previously CL-92), 1944-1977 -- Views taken 1960-1963.
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Page made 6 December 2003