Plebes on a cruise in 1889 fire what was then a 'big gun' from the port of a sailing man-'o-war. These were the days when warships fired broadsides in close range slugging matches and their officers and men--as the Plebes are doing in this picture--carried cutlasses and pistols to repel boarding parties. [#3400; 219K]

Crossing Topgallant Yards "Stand by to Sway", an 1890 photograph of midshipmen receiving sailing training. Midshipmen continue to learn sailing today on the Naval Academy's fleet of 44' sail craft and other smaller vessels. [#3405; 242K]

Midshipmen in the Class of 1902 aboard the USS HOLLAND, Lieutenant Harry H. Caldwell (USNA Class of 1891) commanding. The first submarine purchased by the Navy, the USS HOLLAND was 53'10" in length, displaced 64 tons, had four torpedo tubes, and carried a crew of seven. LT Caldwell (standing by conning tower), H.G. Wallace ('02, in conning tower), J.H. Blackburn ('02, by mast), J.W. Woodruff ('02, next to LT), W.J. Moses (by the flag). [#3408; 219K]

Summer cruise 1921. Fixing a leak at sea, midshipmen observe a diver about to enter the water from a launch pulled alongside the ship. Midshipmen of the first, second, and third classes were assigned to ships of Battleship Squadron 2, United States Atlantic Fleet, consisting of the Connecticut, Kansas, Michigan, South Carolina, and Minnesota. They traveled from Annapolis to Christiania, Norway, via the Azores; Lisbon, Portugal; Gibraltar, Spain; Guantanamo, Cuba; and back to Annapolis. [#3416; 198K]

Joint Army-Navy Operation CAMID, second class Cadet-Midshipman Amphibious Maneuvers, August 19, 1946. Navy transports support tank landings. [#3471; 219K]

Joint Army-Navy Operation CAMID, second class Cadet-Midshipman Amphibious Maneuvers, August 19, 1946. Landing craft ferries Marine jeep ashore. [#3472; 225K]

Joint Army-Navy Operation CAMID, second class Cadet-Midshipman Amphibious Maneuvers, August 19, 1946. Tanks and ground forces secure the beachhead. [#3474; 249K]

Joint Army-Navy Operation CAMID, second class Cadet-Midshipman Amphibious Maneuvers, Little Creek, Virginia, August 19, 1946. Left to Right: VADM Aubrey Fitch, Superintendent, USNA, Secretary of the Navy, James. V. Forrestal, Cadet B.C. Vreeland, Cadet D.T. Huie, Midshipman 2/C K.H. Huss, Midshipman 2/C J.M. Davis, and ADM Barbey. [#3468; 225K]

Gunnery drill on the waterfront at the Naval Academy. Midshipmen of the first class in the professional courses in the Department of Ordnance and Gunnery learning to operate the Twin Mount 40 MM anti-aircraft guns. November 1953. [#5336; 728K]

Summer Cruise - July 1967. Midshipman 1/C Joseph T. Anderson uses the periscope aboard the USS RATON (AGSS-270) while undergoing his summer at sea training with submarine flotilla one. [#3520; 219K]

The mission of the Naval Science Department is to provide the midshipmen with the fundamental concepts and principals of naval science and with the professional naval knowledge necessary to establish a sound basis for future growth as naval officers. Midshipmen are seen here in the combat information center taking part in a practical classroom exercise in 1967. [#2569; 219K]

A female midshipman receives instructions in the handling of a 30 caliber M1 rifle, Plebe summer, July 1976. This was the first class of female midshipmen to enter the Naval Academy. [#5347; 732K]

Professionally oriented classroom studies are supplemented with practical at sea course work as seen in this 1979 photo of an Oceanography exercise taking place on one of the Academy's YP craft. [#2512; 219K]

The Naval Academy continues to train future officers in the practical operation of sail craft to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the sea. This 1984 photo of midshipmen training on the 48 foot "Constellation" demonstrates the continuance of that tradition. [#3228; 219K]