George Schwarz (NHHC) conducts a metal detector survey over a wreck site. Divers can be deployed with tools, like metal detectors, to assist in identifying or pinpointing iron objects. Some objects become overgrown with marine life and are difficult identify with the naked eye. If the object is buried, more exact location data will assist future research efforts.

Oct. 26, 2022

Navy and NOAA Search for U.S. Schooner Alligator near the 200th Anniversary of Its Loss

In early September 2022, Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) collaborated on a project to locate and study one of the U.S. Navy’s historic wrecks from the early 19th century, the schooner Alligator. The two week project, which took place in

Oct. 19, 2022

In Memoriam: Vice Admiral David M. Bennett, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Vice Admiral David Michael “Dave” Bennett, United States Navy (Retired), on 9 October 2022 at age 87. Vice Admiral Bennett enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in October 1957 and served as a surface warfare officer until his retirement in September 1995 as Navy Department Inspector General. His

Oct. 13, 2022

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Donald P. Harvey, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral Donald Phillips “Don” Harvey, U.S. Navy (Retired), on 25 September 2022 at age 98. Don Harvey enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in March 1943 and served as a naval intelligence officer until his retirement in September 1978 as the Director of Naval Intelligence/Commander Naval

"CONSTITUTION.” Earliest known painted image, c.1803, attributed to Michele Felice Cornè Navy Art Collection.

Oct. 12, 2022

USS Constitution Launches – “A Magnificent Spectacle!” – Part II

Editor’s Note: On May 10, 2022, Naval History and Heritage Command began commemorating the 225th anniversary of the launch of the first of the U.S. Navy’s six frigates (United States), which began the new United States Navy. The launch of the frigates is a significant moment in both U.S. Navy and American history, and the U.S. Navy’s earliest

Attack aircraft carrier USS KITTY HAWK (CVA-63) steams the Pacific Ocean 21 July 1969. Photographed by Photographer's Mate First Class D.B. Wood. (USN 1140842)

Oct. 11, 2022

Racial Unrest Aboard Kitty Hawk

At approximately 1830 on 12 October 1972, Seaman Apprentice Terry Avinger waited in line to receive his evening meal while serving in the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk (CVA-63). When he approached the white cook serving food, Avinger, a black man, requested two sandwiches, but the cook sharply refused, offering only one. Frustrated by the rebuff,

Sailor W.R. Martin points out details of the Japanese trophy flags painted on the cruiser's pilothouse as a scoreboard of enemy ships claimed sunk in the Battle of Cape Esperance, 11-12 October 1942. The six Japanese ships (two heavy cruisers, a light cruiser and three destroyers) represented in this scoreboard greatly overstates the actual enemy losses, which were one heavy cruiser (Furutaka) and one destroyer (Fubuki) sunk and one heavy cruiser (Aoba) badly damaged. This overclaiming was typical of contemporary night surface actions. Photographed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, soon after Boise arrived there for battle damage repairs in November 1942. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. (NHHC 80-G-36296)

Oct. 5, 2022

Variation on a Theme: Groping Blindly in the Dark at Savo Island and Cape Esperance

Low-hanging clouds drifted listlessly across a moonless sky on a tropical midsummer night. The occasional thunderclap stirred the silence and temporarily illuminated the otherwise calm seas that enveloped the Solomon Islands. In the months following the initial July 1942 occupation of Guadalcanal by Japanese forces, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN)

Sept. 20, 2022

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral James Granville Storms III, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral James Granville Storms III, U.S. Navy (Retired), on 19 July 2022 at age 90. Rear Admiral Storms entered the Naval Reserve in September 1951 and served as a surface warfare officer until his retirement in September 1986 as Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Surface Warfare

Sept. 20, 2022

In Memoriam: Vice Admiral Albert Joseph Herberger, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Vice Admiral Albert Joseph Herberger, U.S. Navy (Retired), on 26 August 2022 at age 91. Vice Admiral Herberger was commissioned in the U.S. Naval Reserve in February 1955 and served as a surface warfare officer until his retirement in April 1990 as deputy commander-in-chief/chief of staff for

“Navy-Yard.” broadside distributed by Constitution’s constructor George Claghorn two days before the frigate’s scheduled launch. The New England Magazine

Sept. 19, 2022

“…she will be one of the finest vessels that ever floated” – The First Attempts to Launch USS Constitution – Part I

Editor’s Note: On May 10, 2022, Naval History and Heritage Command began commemorating the 225th anniversary of the launch of the first of the U.S. Navy’s six frigates (United States), which began the new United States Navy. The launch of the frigates is a significant moment in both U.S. Navy and American history, and the U.S. Navy’s earliest

Chief of Naval Operations Lieutenant Elmo “Bud” Zumwalt and Mouza Zumwalt (right) attend a luncheon with Commandant of the Marine Corps General Leonard Chapman and Emily Champan (left).

Sept. 16, 2022

When Bud Met Mouza: The Zumwalts' Whirlwind Romance and Lifelong Love

Mouza Coutelais-du-Roche married Lieutenant Elmo Zumwalt Jr. after a three-week whirlwind romance in Shanghai. The challenges she faced adapting to both a new country and life as a Navy spouse inspired her lifelong mission to support Navy families.