[Waterfish]

I am restoring a surplus U.S. Navy chair that was manufactured in 1943 by the W. H. Gunlocke Chair Company.

There are two U.S. Navy tags on the back of the chair

The 13th Naval District was formed in 1903 and headquartered in the Puget Sound Navy Yard (Bremerton, WA). Headquarters were transferred to Seattle in 1926. The 13th Naval District was disestablished in 1980.

Thirteenth Naval District

The boundaries of the Thirteenth Naval District, to be headquartered at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington, were established on 7 May 1903 in accordance with General Order No. 128, signed by Acting Secretary of the Navy Charles H. Darling. The headquarters of the district was...

www.history.navy.mil

Note that the number on both tags ends in "13". A coincidence, or is that an identifier for the 13th Naval District?

The chair was in very rough shape when I started on it. Note the missing slat; I cut a piece of red oak to size and steam bent it to the same curvature of the original slats. My restoration will be done tomorrow and I am putting the Navy tags back in place. It would be interesting to know more about the 13th Naval District and its connection to Portland.

 

[Waterfish]

Come on, surely some of you old Squids must have been in the 13th Naval District and can give this old Jarhead some history on it...

 

[RB Drifter]

You might want to put this on the Pioneer License Thread, that’s where all the olds are hanging out 😂

As a Navy Vet I think what you have is awesome!

 

[Waterfish]

Here are photos of the restored chair. The steam bent replacement slat looks exactly like the original slats. The leather cushion was worn out after 79 years. An upholstery shop did a nice job of reupholstering it in leather that matched the original (photo makes it appear reddish, but it is actually brown). When the chair was made in 1943 it was stuffed with horsehair and cotton. The upholsterer said that the horsehair made a good base so it was left in, but new cotton padding was added.

Now it's ready for another 79 years of use.

The chair's swivel system was worn out and rusty. I sandblasted it, welded in thicker material and replaced the worn out tilt axle, and painted it. The swivel base works like new now. The chair was manufactured in 1943, but the metal base on the bottom has a patent date of 1918.

 

[ccw]

First class work. It’s great to see classy items being restored and used/celebrated.

Classic Military weapons also are nice when restored/repaired/fired instead of being chopped/customized or relegated to a safe for some future generation that seem to care less and less about things so many of us held as valuable.

 

[Waterfish]

First class work. It’s great to see classy items being restored and used/celebrated.

Classic Military weapons also are nice when restored/repaired/fired instead of being chopped/customized or relegated to a safe for some future generation that seem to care less and less about things so many of us held as valuable.

I totally agree with that! Not long ago I posted photos of my original condition Swiss K-31 rifle (on Life in General or the Hunting board?) That rifle is in near mint condition, and I plan on using it for deer hunting.

 

[fop]

Really nice work That chair and I are the same age. Can you
make me look good?

fop

 

[Waterfish]

Really nice work That chair and I are the same age. Can you
make me look good?

fop

Well, with some sandblasting possibly. If you need to shed any pounds we can run you through my thickness planer.

 

[STGRule]

As a retired government employee who was in charge of inventory for many years I can tell you with some confidence that those are inventory tags. Everything the government used to buy (some things are modified now) are assigned a property number that will trace it back to the government entity that acquired it, trace it through transfers, what type of funds were used to purchase it, what it's depreciated value is, and where it resides. They used to be those metal tags and then for the state of Oregon they changed to metallic stamped stickers. I had to inventory Federal surplus that we acquired, BPA purchased items and State of Oregon purchased items.

It looks like it was purchased and inventoried by the Navy when it was purchased and then by the district when they acquired it. One item having multiple inventory control numbers is a pain for the inventory person.

 

[Waterfish]

As a retired government employee who was in charge of inventory for many years I can tell you with some confidence that those are inventory tags. Everything the government used to buy (some things are modified now) are assigned a property number that will trace it back to the government entity that acquired it, trace it through transfers, what type of funds were used to purchase it, what it's depreciated value is, and where it resides. They used to be those metal tags and then for the state of Oregon they changed to metallic stamped stickers. I had to inventory Federal surplus that we acquired, BPA purchased items and State of Oregon purchased items.

It looks like it was purchased and inventoried by the Navy when it was purchased and then by the district when they acquired it. One item having multiple inventory control numbers is a pain for the inventory person.

Thanks for your insight on this. As for the tags, even after removing them during the restoration, and putting them back on the chair I am not sure what the material is; they are not metallic. My best guess is that they are leather, or possibly some kind of pressed fibrous material.

 

[STGRule]

Thanks for your insight on this. As for the tags, even after removing them during the restoration, and putting them back on the chair I am not sure what the material is; they are not metallic. My best guess is that they are leather, or possibly some kind of pressed fibrous material.

I'm sure they were made of different materials depending on the age. If that chair was manufactured in 1942 that was during WW2 so metal was probably at a premium and they used something else.

 

[Hold Fast]

As a navy vet 87-93, i appreciate the preservation of the chair. Thanks for sharing. I bought a chelsea ships clock i had a clockmaker go through. It was dated during the war, too. I need to get her out and wind her up.

 

[Waterfish]

As a navy vet 87-93, i appreciate the preservation of the chair. Thanks for sharing. I bought a chelsea ships clock i had a clockmaker go through. It was dated during the war, too. I need to get her out and wind her up.

I bet that is a cool clock, post a photo!

 

[Waterfish]

Did a famous World War II Fleet Admiral such as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz or
Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. ever sit on the Navy chair that I restored? If so, that fact has been lost to history.

 

[Hold Fast]

I bet that is a cool clock, post a photo!

This is your victory lap, not mine. Its fun to think about what great decisions may have been made, and by whom. So much gets lost to history. Ive got a ww2 Remington 1911 built in spring of 44. I sometimes wonder if she saw action on Okanawa or Tinian or Saipan. Maybe Peleliu. Or on the hip of a Marine charging up the slopes of Mt. Suribachi, the Battle of Leyte Gulf or the Sumar Straight. So much history gone.