DescriptionBlack-and-white photo of a deck gun being hoisted on to a merchantman ship at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Hoboken, November 26, 1941. 7" x 9" wide print. Photograph taken by Acme Newspictures, New York (credit inkstamp as "Acme Photo" on reverse.) Also on reverse: mimeographed caption; editorial markup; dated file inkstamp: Reference Dept. Nov 28 1941 PRESS. The caption does not state the location as Bethlehem Steel (as opposed to possibly the Todd Shipyards Hoboken Shipyard). The view is looking northeast, where upriver on the west shore, two gantry cranes (in the lower left background) are seen with the "Erie" name on the them. This Erie Railroad freight yard was in Weehawken and the cranes' scale in the vista is appropriate to placing this photo in the Beth Steel yard rather than Todd. The merchant ship is not named. World War II had been underway in Europe since 1939 and the United States entry into it was imminent as the attack on Pearl Harbor was less than two weeks away. ==== Text on reverse: 628826 . . . New York Bureau UNCLE SAM ACTS UNDER THE REVISED NEUTRALITY ACT. HOBOKEN, N.J. -- A deck gun is shown being hoisted into position aboard an American merchantman at Hoboken today, as the Navy began to arm U.S. ships under the revised Neutrality Act. The vessel, one of the first to be armed, will probably be ready for service in a few days. Credit line (Acme) 11-26-41 (SA) FULL HDH MIL LV FT.W ==== ==== ---- war / military / enemy action / shipping / U.S. Navy / artillery / armaments / defense / liberty