Original Item: Only One Available. This is an incredible painted leather album for the USS Arizona from 1936! There are a few pictures inside of the album showing the beautiful mountain scenery on the west coast taken from a train, Balboa Park in San Diego of the mess hall and medical facility and there are also pictures of uniform inspections, dress parades and marching of the colors. The most interesting thing about the photos of the dress parade are the descriptions written by the sailor, “Germans in Back” during the dress parade and “Flying Colors for Germans for Dress Parade”. We have not been able to find any information on German military or dignitaries present for the Fleet Problem or anywhere in CONUS in 1936. AH was in his infancy of power during this time and had his troops occupy the Rhineland during this time, so for German citizens to be in America in this year is very strange!

We are sure by now that if you have never heard of a “Fleet Problem” then you are as lost as we were before we learned about them. The Fleet Problems are a series of naval exercises of the United States Navy conducted in the interwar period, and later resurrected by the Pacific Fleet around 2014.

The first twenty-one Fleet Problems — labeled with roman numerals as Fleet Problem I through Fleet Problem XXI — were conducted between 1923 and 1940. They were usually once-a-year exercises in which U.S. naval forces would engage in mock battles. One or more of the forces would play the part of a European or Asian navy. They were the culmination of the Navy's annual training maneuvers.

Fleet Problem XXII, scheduled for 1941, was canceled because of the rising tensions with Japan that led to the US' entry into World War II. Following the outbreak of war, Fleet Problems underwent a prolonged hiatus, with other names being used to describe large American naval exercises. However, the term was revived in the 21st century under Admiral Scott H. Swift, with Fleet Problem XXIII through XXVIII taking place in the Pacific from 2014 on.

This beautiful Log Album is dated for 1936 and lines up with the Fleet Problem XVII and evidence of this sailor being in Balboa Park solidifies his participation. This problem took place off the west coast of the U.S., Central America, and the Panama Canal Zone in the spring of 1936. It was a five-phase exercise devoted to preparing the fleet for anti-submarine operations, testing communications systems, and training of aircraft patrol squadrons for extended fleet operations, and pitted the Battle Force against the submarine-augmented Scouting Force.

The USS Arizona made a port visit to Balboa in May 1936 during Fleet Problem XVII. On 8 June, Captain George A. Alexander relieved Baum as captain, and, 15 days later, Rear Admiral Claude C. Bloch relieved Pettengill. During gunnery practice on 24 July, the combustion gasses from one gun of Turret II entered the gun turret, burning one crewman. The turret's sprinkling system was turned on to prevent any powder explosion, but the water leaked into the turret's electrical switchboard and started a small fire that was easily put out. Due to the navy's limited budget, the ship spent most of this period in port as a fuel-saving measure. In Fiscal Year 1936–37, the ship was anchored for 267 days; the following year it was in port for 255 days. The ship spent the rest of her career based on the West Coast or in Hawaii.

This is a wonderful example of a ready to use and display US Navy Log Album for the USS Arizona!

USS Arizona (BB-39)
USS Arizona was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of "super-dreadnought" battleships built for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th state's recent admission into the union and commissioned in 1916, the ship remained stateside during World War I. Shortly after the end of the war, Arizona was one of a number of American ships that briefly escorted President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference. The ship was sent to Turkey in 1919 at the beginning of the Greco-Turkish War to represent American interests for several months. Several years later, she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet and remained there for the rest of her career.

Aside from a comprehensive modernization in 1929–1931, Arizona was regularly used for training exercises between the wars, including the annual Fleet Problems (training exercises). When an earthquake struck Long Beach, California, on 10 March 1933, Arizona's crew provided aid to the survivors. In July 1934, the ship was featured in a James Cagney film, Here Comes the Navy, about the romantic troubles of a sailor. In April 1940, she and the rest of the Pacific Fleet were transferred from California to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as a deterrent to Japanese imperialism.

On 7 December 1941, Arizona was hit by Japanese torpedo bombers that dropped armor-piercing bombs during the attack on Pearl Harbor. After one of their bombs detonated in a magazine, she exploded violently and sank, with the loss of 1,177 officers and crewmen. Unlike many of the other ships sunk or damaged that day, Arizona was irreparably damaged by the force of the magazine explosion, though the Navy removed parts of the ship for reuse. The wreck still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor beneath the USS Arizona Memorial. Dedicated on 30 May 1962 to all those who died during the attack, the memorial straddles but does not touch the ship's hull.