Looking down from the mast of a U.S. Navy gunboat on the China Station, this photograph captures the forecastle - anchor windlass, deck gun, and mooring gear - with a traditional Chinese junk passing in the distance. Throughout the 1930s, small American gunboats patrolled the Yangtze River and China coast to protect U.S. citizens and commercial interests, a mission that ended only with the outbreak of full-scale war in the Pacific. Project: 218177