This close-up view of a warship's tripod foremast and bridge structure was taken aboard a US Navy vessel serving on the China Station during the 1920s-1930s, a period when American gunboats and cruisers patrolled the Yangtze River and coastal China to protect US interests and citizens. The open spotting top, searchlight platforms, and riveted steel construction typify naval architecture of the era, prior to the sweeping technological changes brought by WWII. Project: 218178