Some of the ships of the Great White Fleet passing Bradleys Head on their way into Sydney ...

Some of the ships of the Great White Fleet passing Bradleys Head on their way into Sydney Harbour, seen from Middle Head, NSW. The Great White Fleet sent around the world by United State President Theodore Roosevelt from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909 and consisted of sixteen new battleships of the Atlantic Fleet. The battleships were painted white except for gilded scrollwork on their bows. The Atlantic Fleet battleships only later came to be known as the "Great White Fleet." The fourteen-month long voyage was a grand pageant of American sea power. The squadrons were manned by 14,000 sailors. They covered some 43,000 miles and made twenty port calls on six continents.