Navy Fleet Sailing in the Mediterranean

(Original Caption) Eleven ships of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, some of them shown here cruising in the central Mediterranean Sea in 1954, sailed from Naples into the Mediterranean Sea August 6th. The Navy did not disclose the vessels' destination, but the movement was believed connected with the Suez crisis. The ships were led by the 39,800 ton aircraft carrier Randolph shown in foreground above. The flagship of the fleet, the cruiser Salem, (directly behind the Randolph), left Venice August 6th on a scheduled visit to Yugoslavia. Vice Adm. Charles Randall Brown took command of the fleet from Vice Adm. Harry d. Felt in a ceremony in Venice aboard the Salem August 4th.