| Original caption: “One of the deadly aerial torpedoes carried by the United States Navy’s crack torpedo bomber — the Grumman “Avenger.” The photograph was taken aboard an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific. USS Suwannee (ACV/CVE-27) Airedales – aircraft handlers – receive instruction in loading the Mark 13 torpedo, the standard aircraft air-dropped weapon from the Grumman/General Motors TBM Avenger. Several Avengers are behind the group waiting for their torpedoes to be loaded. Photo by Lieutenant Charles E. Kerlee (March 28, 1907 – January 23, 1981), United States Naval Reserve. Kerlee was already well-known as a professional, award-winning commercial photographer. As such, he was approached by a United States Navy Reservist, Lieutenant Commander Edward Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973), himself a famous commercial photographer from New York. Steichen had a simple proposal – that Kerlee consider joining the United States Navy, not as a sailor or soldier, but as a cameraman. The top brass within the United States Navy, realizing that Steichen’s talents could help foster public support, had tasked him with assembling a special naval unit of the world’s best photographers and videographers to document the war effort. Steichen, in turn, called on his circle of friends, associates, and competitors, including Kerlee. Within a few months, Charles Kerlee found himself on board the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) and headed out to sea and into battle. Lieutenant Kerlee would next get a taste of war zones on board the escort carrier USS Suwannee, which was fresh from the North Africa landings and being fitted out for the Pacific, where it was expected to see more action. USS Suwannee’s skipper, Captain Joseph J. “Jocko” Clark (November 12, 1893 – July 13, 1971), had seen Lieutenant Horace Bristol (November 16, 1908 – August 4, 1997) from Steichen’s unit in action firsthand and was more than willing to take along another member. Leaving on December 5, 1942, from Norfolk, the ship cleared the Panama Canal on December 12 and arrived in New Caledonia on January 4, 1943. Kerlee would spend the next 6 days on the ship, flying with aircrews providing escort to Navy and merchant vessels in and around the Solomon Islands, including support to the Marines on Guadalcanal, but he didn’t see any significant action during his short stay and was back in Washington by the end of January. For the next 7 months, USS Suwannee provided air escort for transports and supply ships replenishing and bolstering the Marines on Guadalcanal, as well as for the forces occupying other islands in the Solomon Islands group. During that span of time, she visited Guadalcanal, Efate, Espiritu Santo, and New Caledonia. Kerlee’s camera remained at work until the last days of the war, when he documented the flight crews and actions of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-12) in the South China Sea, not far from the coast of Japan. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1625.jpg |
| Image Size | 806.79 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1974 x 2664 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 5, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Nouméa |
| State or Province | Grande Terre |
| Country | New Caledonia |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-80-G-41869 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database